Evidence against a common use of the diaphorase subunits by... bidirectional hydrogenase and by the respiratory complex I
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Evidence against a common use of the diaphorase subunits by... bidirectional hydrogenase and by the respiratory complex I
FEMS Microbiology Letters 174 (1999) 159^165 Evidence against a common use of the diaphorase subunits by the bidirectional hydrogenase and by the respiratory complex I in cyanobacteria Gudrun Boison a , Hermann Bothe b a *, Alfred Hansel b , Peter Lindblad b a Botanical Institute, University of Cologne, GyrhofstraMe 15, D-50923 Cologne, Germany Department of Physiological Botany, Uppsala University, Villavaëgen 6, S-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden Received 1 February 1999; received in revised form 8 March 1999; accepted 10 March 1999 Abstract The diaphorase subunits Hox(E)FU of the cyanobacterial bidirectional hydrogenase complex have been suggested to serve also as the three missing proteins of the cyanobacterial respiratory complex I. These subunits, encoded by nuoEFG in Escherichia coli, contain the NAD and FMN binding sites. Previous physiological and molecular experiments demonstrated that neither the bidirectional hydrogenase activity nor hoxYH, encoding the hydrogenase dimer of the bidirectional enzyme, occur in the heterocystous cyanobacterium Nostoc PCC 73102. The present study demonstrates, by heterologous Southern blot hybridizations, that the genes hoxFU, encoding diaphorase subunits of the bidirectional enzyme, are both not present in Nostoc PCC 73102, whilst the genes hoxFU were detectable in all other heterocystous and unicellular cyanobacteria examined which possess the bidirectional hydrogenase. However, Nostoc PCC 73102 respires with rates comparable to those of other cyanobacteria and sequences similar to the genes ndhJ, ndhD2, ndhA and ndhI, encoding subunits of the respiratory complex I of Synechocystis PCC 6803, are present within the genome of Nostoc PCC 73102. Previous studies, using the unicellular strains Anacystis nidulans and Synechocystis PCC 6803, demonstrated that mutants in the diaphorase genes hoxU or hoxF are unable to evolve H2 , whereas the respiration is not affected. Altogether, these data are strongly against the hypothesis of a common use of the hox(E)FU gene products by the bidirectional hydrogenase and by the respiratory complex I in cyanobacteria. z 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords : Bidirectional hydrogenase; Cyanobacterium ; Hydrogen metabolism ; Respiratory complex I; Nostoc PCC 73102 1. Introduction The bidirectional hydrogenase of cyanobacteria catalyzes the reversible formation of H2 from 2H +2e3 in vitro [1]. The enzyme consists of the * Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 (221) 470 2760; Fax: +49 (221) 470 5181; E-mail: [email protected] hydrogenase dimer HoxYH containing the active NiFe-site and the diaphorase moiety Hox(E)FU. The latter mediates the transfer of electrons from the hydrogenase dimer to NAD . The relatedness of the DNA and protein sequences of the cyanobacterial bidirectional hydrogenase to those of the NAD - or NADP -dependent hydrogenases of Alcaligenes eutrophus or Desulfovibrio fructosovorans, respectively, has been outlined in detail in a preced- 0378-1097 / 99 / $20.00 ß 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 3 7 8 - 1 0 9 7 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 1 3 6 - 6 FEMSLE 8733 15-4-99 160 G. Boison et al. / FEMS Microbiology Letters 174 (1999) 159^165 ing publication ([2]). For cyanobacteria, the genes hoxEFU have been described for the unicellular strains Synechocystis (S.) PCC 6803 and A. nidulans [3^5] whereas hoxFU, but presumably not hoxE, occur in the ¢lamentous Anabaena variabilis [2,5]. Immunological data suggested that the bidirectional hydrogenase is associated with the cytoplasmic membrane in Anacystis nidulans [6] and mainly with the thylakoid membranes in A. variabilis [7]. The diaphorase subunits show striking similarities, on deduced amino acid sequence levels, to the NADH oxidizing subunits NuoEFG of the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase from Escherichia coli and their counterparts with the NAD and FMN binding sites of respiratory complex I of bovine heart mitochondria [8]. Generally, respiratory complex I consists of at least 14 polypeptides. In cyanobacteria and chloroplasts, only 11 of these have been identi¢ed [3,5,8,9]. The remaining three, corresponding to the nuoEFG gene products of E. coli and containing the NAD and FMN binding sites, can, e.g., not be deduced from the completely sequenced chromosome of S. PCC 6803 [3,8,9]. The signi¢cant sequence identities, the occurrence of conserved potential iron-sulfur cluster binding motifs within the sequences and the results from the localization studies lead us [8] to assume that the bidirectional hydrogenase in these organisms is coupled to respiratory complex I and that the diaphorase subunits Hox(E)FU function as the missing NADH oxidizing proteins of complex I. However, mutants in hoxU of A. nidulans [5] and in hoxF of S. PCC 6803 [10] showed nonimpaired respiratory O2 uptake whilst being a¡ected in H2 evolution catalyzed by the bidirectional hydrogenase. These results do not necessarily disprove the hypothesis of a common use of Hox(E)FU in both the bidirectional hydrogenase and respiratory complex I of cyanobacteria. The respiration in these organisms is complex and several respiratory chains with di¡erent electron carrier compositions exist [11]. Other respiratory pathway(s) may overtake the disposal of electrons when HoxF or HoxU is mutated. The bidirectional hydrogenase is a common enzyme being present in both unicellar [1,3,5] and ¢lamentous cyanobacteria [1,2,7]. In the three strains examined in detail (A. nidulans, A. variabilis and S. PCC 6803), the physical arrangements of the struc- tural genes and the occurrence of open reading frames within the gene cluster(s) are remarkably dissimilar [5]. Interestingly, neither the bidirectional hydrogenase activity nor the corresponding genes hoxYH encoding the hydrogenase dimer are present in Nostoc (N.) PCC 73102, a strain originally isolated from a coralloid root of the cycad Macrozamia [12]. The occurrence of the diaphorase part Hox(E)FU in this strain would be a strong indication for the involvement of these proteins in respiratory complex I. The present investigation was, therefore, undertaken to screen for hoxEFU in N. PCC 73102. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Organisms and their growth Nostoc sp. PCC 73102, Synechocystis PCC 6803, Synechococcus PCC 7942 (= Anacystis R2), Nostoc muscorum Agardh CCAP 1453/12, Anabaena variabilis ATCC 29413, Anabaena PCC 7120 and Anacystis nidulans SAUG 1402-1 (= Synechococcus PCC 6301) were purchased from the culture collections. All cyanobacteria were grown in BG11 medium, at 25³C, as described [2,12]. 2.2. DNA isolation and Southern blot hybridizations Genomic DNA was isolated from the di¡erent cyanobacteria as described [13]. For each Southern blot, 20 Wg of DNA from each strain was restricted by EcoRI/HindIII. DNA was separated on 1% agarose gels and directly blotted onto nylon membranes using 0.4 N NaOH as the transfer solution as described by the supplier (Amersham Pharmacia, Uppsala, Sweden). All probes (Table 1) were non-radioactively labelled using the digoxigenin labelling and hybridization kit (Boehringer, Mannheim, Germany). The labelling was performed during PCR ampli¢cation (10 WM of each primer, 5^10 ng template DNA, 35 cycles of the following protocol: denaturation at 94³C for 40 s, annealing at 50³C for 1 min, elongation at 72³C for 1 min) including dig-dUTP in the nucleotide mix as described in the dig-kit (Boehringer). The correct size of the obtained DNA fragments was veri¢ed by 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. FEMSLE 8733 15-4-99 G. Boison et al. / FEMS Microbiology Letters 174 (1999) 159^165 Hybridizations were carried out at 60³C using standard hybridization bu¡er (5UDenhardts/5USSPE/ 0.5% SDS). Filters were washed (10 min, 60³C, two times) with 2USSPE/0.1% SDS. 2.3. Respiratory O2 uptake measurements The respiration rates by N. PCC 73102 and other cyanobacterial strains were measured using a conventional Clark-type electrode [5]. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Absence of hoxFU homologues in N. PCC 73102 Representative cyanobacteria (two unicellular, non-N2 -¢xing strains: Synechococcus PCC 7942 and S. PCC 6803, as well as four heterocystous, N2 -¢xing forms: Nostoc muscorum CCAP 1453/12, N. PCC 73102, A. variabilis ATCC 29413 and Anabaena PCC 7120) were screened for the presence of hoxFU by heterologous Southern blot hybridizations. Distinct hybridization signals were detected with the hoxF and hoxU probes in all strains examined, with the sole exception being N. PCC 73102 (Fig. 1). This is in agreement with previous data 161 demonstrating the absence of the structural genes hoxYH, encoding the hydrogenase part, in this particular strain [12]. The absence of any hybridization signal between the probes for the cyanobacterial diaphorase genes hoxF and hoxU and genomic DNA isolated from N. PCC 73102 might not necessarily mean the absence of such genes within the N. PCC 73102 genome. Negative results in Southern experiments have to be interpreted with caution. However, cyanobacterial hydrogenases generally show high sequence similarities. HoxF and HoxU from A. variabilis, A. nidulans and S. PCC 6803 reveal identities of 59^69% on the amino acid sequence level [5,14,15]. Moreover, a part of the C-terminus of hoxH is 89 and 79% identical when comparing the corresponding sequences in A. variabilis with those of A. PCC 7120 and Nostoc muscorum, respectively [14,15]. In addition, in Anabaena PCC 7120 and N. PCC 73102, the structural genes hupSL, encoding an uptake hydrogenase, are 84% identical [16]. The uniformity of the negative results with the two diaphorase genes hoxF and hoxU (Fig. 1, Table 2) as well as the two genes encoding the hydrogenase part of the enzyme [12] and only in the case of N. PCC 73102 clearly indicate the absence of all subunits, including the diaphorase moiety, of the bidirectional hydrogenase in this pe- Table 1 Primers and probes used for the detection of DNA sequences homologous to diaphorase and respiratory complex I genes in cyanobacteria Genes Diaphorase genes hoxE hoxF hoxU Complex I genes ndhA ndhD2 ndhI ndhJ DNA fragment and size Source organism 560-bp PCR fragment (primers CTACTTCTGAAACGACACCC and CTTGGACTTGTTGCCAGACC) 850-bp PCR fragment (primers GATCGCTGCCTATGCTGTGG and ACCAAGACCACACAAGCTGG) 560-bp PCR fragment ([13]) Synechococcus PCC 6301 900-bp PCR fragment (primers CTGGAAAGAAAGATTTCCGC and CAATTGGTCAATACGCACCC) 900-bp PCR fragment (primers TTCATCATGTGGGAACTGGA and ATGGACAACAGGTAAATCGG) 390-bp PCR fragment (primers CAAGCGGCTAAGTATATCGG and GGGCAACCTTCCCAAAGCCAC) 380-bp PCR fragment (primers TGGCTGACCACCAATGGCTTTG and CCGGCATCAAAATCCGTTTC) Synechocystis PCC 6803 A. variabilis Synechococcus PCC 6301 Synechocystis PCC 6803 Synechocystis PCC 6803 Synechocystis PCC 6803 The primers indicated are based on sequences of the genes in the source organisms indicated and were used to generate probes by PCR. All probes are given from the 5P to the 3P end. FEMSLE 8733 15-4-99 162 G. Boison et al. / FEMS Microbiology Letters 174 (1999) 159^165 FEMSLE 8733 15-4-99 G. Boison et al. / FEMS Microbiology Letters 174 (1999) 159^165 163 Fig. 1. (A) Southern blots of hybridizations of genomic DNA with probes for the diaphorase genes hoxE, F, U. Genomic DNA from several cyanobacterial strains was digested by a combination of HindIII and EcoRI and probed with digoxigenin-labelled DNA fragments covering parts of the diaphorase genes hoxE, U (source Anacystis nidulans SAUG 1402-1) and hoxF (source Anabaena variabilis). 1: Nostoc muscorum, 2: N. PCC 73102, 3: Anabaena variabilis, 4: Anabaena PCC 7120, 5: Synechococcus PCC 7942 (hoxU, F)/Anacystis nidulans 1402-1 (hoxE), 6: S. PCC 6803. Obtained hybridization signals in lanes 3, 5 and 6 all have the expected sizes, which were deduced from the published sequences of the bidirectional hydrogenase hox cluster from A. variabilis, Synechoccus PCC 7942 and S. PCC 6803 [5]. (B) Southern blots of hybridizations of genomic DNA with probes for the four complex I genes ndhJ, D2, A, I. Genomic DNA from several cyanobacterial strains was digested by a combination of HindIII and EcoRI and probed with digoxigenin-labelled DNA fragments covering parts of the complex I genes ndhJ, D2, A, I (source Synechocystis PCC 6803). 1: Nostoc muscorum, 2: N. PCC 73102, 3: Anabaena variabilis, 4: Anabaena PCC 7120, 5: Anacystis nidulans 1402-1, 6: S. PCC 6803. The obtained hybridization signals in lane 6 all have the expected sizes, which were deduced from the completely published sequences of the chromosome of S. PCC 6803 [5]. More than one band per lane indicates either the occurrence of a second copy of the gene (especially in the case of ndhD2, which is only one of ¢ve ndhD genes) or a restriction site within the hybridizing sequence. 6 culiar strain. An extensive sequence alteration resulting in negative results in all four structural genes and only in this strain is highly unlikely. 3.2. Peculiarities in the case of the hoxE gene Hybridization with the hoxE probe from A. nidulans gave a distinct signal only with genomic DNA from A. nidulans (Fig. 1A) and S. PCC 7942 (= Anacystis R2, Table 2), but not with the other strains tested. This is somewhat surprising in the case of S. 6803 since the hoxE sequence is included in the chromosome ([3]). Even when the stringency was lowered to 50³C, no unequivocal signal was detected when hybridizing S. 6803 DNA with the hoxE probe from A. nidulans encompassing the whole hoxE gene. On the other hand, the homologous hybridization was positive with DNA and the probe from S. 6803 (not documented). The hoxE gene from A. nidulans and S. 6803 shares only 53% sequence identity on the amino acid level, which may explain the negative results in heterologous probing. The gene hoxE may have developed by duplication of part of hoxF [5]. The physiological role of its gene product remains as unclear as its distribution. HoxE may serve as the protein which couples the bidirectional hydrogenase with the cytoplasmic membrane in unicellular strains, e.g. in A. nidulans. Immunogold labelling [6] and solubilization experiments [17] showed that the bidirectional enzyme is associated with the cytoplasmic membrane in this cyanobacterium. Using di¡erent polyclonal antisera and the ¢lamentous strain A. variabilis, a subcellular localization mainly to the thylakoid regions of the cells was demonstrable [7] which would be in accordance with the presumptive absence of HoxE in ¢lamentous heterocystous forms. Table 2 Summary of the results from the heterologous Southern blot hybridizations Strain N. muscorum N. PCC 73102 A. variabilis A. PCC 7120 S. PCC 7942 S. PCC 6803 Probe hoxE A. nidulans hoxF A. variabilis hoxU A. nidulans ndhJ S. PCC 6803 ndhD2 S. PCC 6803 ndhA S. PCC 6803 ndhI S. PCC 6803 3 3 3 3 + 3 + 3 + + + + + 3 + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Genomic DNA isolated from several cyanobacteria and di¡erent probes containing parts of either the diaphorase moiety of the bidirectional hydrogenase (hoxE, hoxF and hoxU) or four subunits of the cyanobacterial respiratory complex I (ndhJ, ndhD2, ndhA and ndhI) were used. +, indicates a clear, unequivocal signal ; 3, means no detectable signal in the respective heterologous Southern blot hybridizations. FEMSLE 8733 15-4-99 164 G. Boison et al. / FEMS Microbiology Letters 174 (1999) 159^165 3.3. Respiratory capacity of N. PCC 73102 N. PCC 73102 was originally isolated from a coralloid root of the cycad Macrozamia. In the symbiosis in situ, the host provides photosynthase to the cyanobiont (see [18]). Therefore it had to be ruled out that N. PCC 73102, like clostridia, is an obligate fermentative cyanobacterium which does not respire. Probes containing parts of genes encoding other subunits of the respiratory complex I were therefore developed, based on the sequences in S. PCC 6803 [3], to identify the corresponding sequences in N. PCC 73102. The following single copy genes in S. PCC 6803 were chosen: NdhJ (slr1281) from the operon ndhCKJ, ndhA, containing the sequence motif for the plastoquinone binding site, and ndhI with the motif for the FeS-cluster of the peripheral part. In addition, ndhD2 (slr1291) was selected as a representative out of ¢ve putative ndhD genes. Probes encoding parts of all four genes gave distinct hybridization signals in all six strains examined, including N. PCC 73102 (Fig. 1B, Table 2). This exempli¢es that at least four of the genes of the cyanobacterial complex I are present in N. PCC 73102. Despite of harboring this genetic information, N. PCC 73102 may not respire due to the absence of the NuoEFG/HoxFU counterparts. However, the respiratory O2 uptake in N. PCC 73102 was 306 þ 89 nmol O2 h31 mg31 protein and lies thus in the same range as in the other cyanobacteria tested (for N. muscorum 333 þ 66, A. variabilis 180 þ 30, A. nidulans 213 þ 46 and S. PCC 7942 141 þ 53 nmol O2 consumed h31 mg31 protein). Thus, the composition of the respiratory complexes in N. PCC 73102 might be the same as in other cyanobacteria. The question remains which are the NuoEFG counterparts in cyanobacteria, in particular in strains like N. PCC 73102 which does respire despite the absence of hoxFUYH. One possible candidate could be NADPH:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (FNR) [9,19,20]. This enzyme accepts either NADPH or NADH as an electron donor and has recently been shown to associate with the chloroplastic NAD(P)H dehydrogenase complex [21]. In chloroplasts, cyclic photophosphorylation may involve NAD(P)H and FNR [22]. In unicellular cyanobacteria, as shown with particles from A. nidulans, an active ferredox- in-dependent cyclic photophosphorylation exists which is apparently independent of NAD(P)H, FNR and of a complex poising which is in contrast to the reaction in chloroplasts of higher plants ([23], but see [24]). Thus, chlororespiration and cyclic photophosphorylation might be di¡erent in chloroplasts and in cyanobacteria. Several isoenzymes of FNR exist in cyanobacteria [11]. One of the isoenzymes of FNR may substitute for the missing NuoEFG counterparts in cyanobacterial complex I, thus being speci¢cally involved in the respiration but not in the cyclic photophosporylation. However, a direct involvement of the cyanobacterial complex I, containing only the 11 identi¢ed subunits, in a cyclic electron £ow passing electrons from photosystem I back to the plastoquinone pool can not be ruled out [25]. Acknowledgments This work was kindly supported by a travel scholarship from the E.U. 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