Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to V K Shah.
Mol- mutants of Klebsiella pneumoniae requiring high levels of molybdate for nitrogenase and nitrate reductase activity were characterized. The effects of mol mutations on nitrogenase activity were very similar to those caused by nifQ mutations. Mol- mutants of K. pneumoniae appear to be equivalent to ChlD- mutants of Escherichia coli.
NifQ- and Mol- mutants of Klebsiella pneumoniae show an elevated molybdenum requirement for nitrogen fixation. Substitution of cystine for sulfate as the sulfur source in the medium reduced the molybdenum requirement of these mutants to levels required by the wild type. Cystine also increased the intracellular molybdenum accumulation of NifQ- and Mol- mutants. Cystine did not affect the molybdenum requirement or accumulation in wild-type K. pneumoniae. Sulfate transport and metabolism in K. pneumoniae were repressed by cystine. However, the effect of cystine on the molybdenum requirement could not be explained by an interaction between sulfate and molybdate at the transport level. Cystine increased the molybdenum requirement of Mol- mutants for nitrate reductase activity by at least 100-fold. Cystine had the same effect on the molybdenum requirement for nitrate reductase activity in Escherichia coli ChlD- mutants. This shows that cystine does not have a generalized effect on molybdenum metabolism. Millimolar concentrations of molybdate inhibited nitrogenase and nitrate reductase derepression with sulfate as the sulfur source, but not with cystine. The inhibition was the result of a specific antagonism of sulfate metabolism by molybdate. The effects of nifQ and mol mutations on nitrogenase could be suppressed either by the addition of cystine or by high concentrations of molybdate. This suggests that a sulfur donor and molybdenum interact at an early step in the biosynthesis of the iron-molybdenum cofactor. This interaction might occur nonenzymatically when the levels of the reactants are high.
The antimicrobial and antifungal activities of a series of 5-nitro-3-phenyliminoindol-2(3H)-ones and their 1-piperidinomethyl analogues (N-Mannich bases) were investigated. Growth inhibition of Gram-positive bacteria was observed with little or no activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Antifungal activity was absent. The syntheses were accomplished from 5-nitroindol-2,3-dione by condensation with the appropriate aniline followed by formation of the N-Mannich base.
NifQ- mutants of Klebsiella pneumoniae are defective in nitrogen fixation due to an elevated requirement for molybdenum. When millimolar concentrations of molybdate were added to the medium, the effects of the nifQ mutations were suppressed. NifQ- mutants were not impaired in the uptake of molybdate, but molybdate accumulation was defective in these mutants. All of the nif-coded proteins were present in NifQ- cells derepressed in the absence of molybdenum. Molybdenum-activatable nitrogenase component I was found at the same level observed in the wild type. Molybdenum, thus, does not play a role in nif expression or in the short-term stability of nif-coded proteins. The defect in NifQ- mutants was in the incorporation of molybdenum into nitrogenase component I. The nifQ gene product acts together with the products of nifB, nifN, and nifE in the biosynthesis of the iron-molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase.
Klebsiella pneumoniae accumulates molybdenum during nitrogenase derepression. The molybdenum is primarily in nitrogenase component I in the form of iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMo-co). Mutations in any of three genes (nifB, nifN, and nifE) involved in the biosynthesis of FeMo-co resulted in very low molybdenum accumulation and in a molybdenum-free nitrogenase component I. A mutant lacking both subunits of nitrogenase component I accumulated 60% of the amount of molybdenum present in the wild type. The molybdenum was in protein-bound form and behaved differently than that in the wild type with respect to electrophoretic mobility, size, and extractability by organic solvents. Two forms of molybdenum could be extracted from the protein fraction of the mutant; one of them was not detected in the wild type, and the other behaved like FeMo-co in nonaqueous gel filtration chromatography. Crude extracts of this mutant were able to complement in vitro K. pneumoniae or Azotobacter vinelandii mutants unable to produce FeMo-co. These data show that biosynthesis of FeMo-co does not require the presence of nitrogenase component I. In its absence, FeMo-co is accumulated on a different protein, presumably an intermediate in the normal FeMo-co biosynthetic pathway.
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Pyruvate:flavodoxin oxidoreductase, the nifJ gene product of Klebsiella pneumoniae, was purified to homogeneity. Pyruvate:flavodoxin oxidoreductase, flavodoxin, and nitrogenase components I and II are the only proteins required for pyruvate-coupled nitrogenase activity. The physiological source of electrons to nitrogenase in K. pneumoniae is pyruvate. Flavodoxin from Azotobacter vinelandii was only one-third as effective as K. pneumoniae flavodoxin in transferring electrons from pyruvate:flavodoxin oxidoreductase to Azotobacter and Klebsiella nitrogenases. Ferredoxins from aerobic, anaerobic and photosynthetic nitrogen-fixing organisms, as well as benzyl viologen and methyl viologen, were ineffective in coupling pyruvate oxidation to nitrogenase activity. One mol each of acetyl-CoA, CO2, and ethylene are formed by pyruvate-supported acetylene reduction. The enzyme contains 8.0 +/- 0.6 mol of iron and 6.6 +/- 0.2 mol of acid-labile sulfide per mol of protein (Mr = 240,000). Pyruvate:flavodoxin oxidoreductase is irreversibly inactivated by air.
A single mutation, nifC1005 (Jin et al. Sci. Sin. 23:108-118, 1980), located between nifH and nifJ in the nif cluster of Klebsiella pneumoniae, genetically complemented mutations in each of the 17 known nif genes. This suggested that the mutation is located in a new nif gene. We showed by complementation analyses that only 3 of 12 nifJ mutations tested were complemented by nifC1005. Nitrogenase activity in cell extracts of the mutant with nifC1005 as well as NifJ- mutants was stimulated by the addition of the iron-molybdenum cofactor or nitrogenase component I. The molecular weight of the native NifJ protein is approximately 257,000--a dimer of identical subunits. Some nifC-/nifJ- or nifJ-/nifJ- merodiploids produced active but unstable nifJ proteins. Fine-structure mapping placed the nifC1005 allele within the nifJ gene bounded on both sides by well-characterized nifJ mutations. This indicates that the nifC1005 does not define a separate gene from nifJ. The data are consistent with the occurrence of intragenic complementation between two defective nifJ polypeptides. This explains the isolated examples of genetic complementation between the nifC1005 mutation and certain nifJ mutations.
A molybdenum-iron cluster (Mo-Fe cluster) containing 6 Fe atoms per Mo was isolated by methyl ethyl ketone extraction of component I of nitrogenase from Azotobacter vinelandii. The cluster has no EPR signal in the g = 4 region but has an intense signal at g = 2.05 and 2.01. After the cluster was transferred from methyl ethyl ketone to N-methylformamide, the signal in the g = 2 region disappeared and a signal similar to that found with Fe-Mo cofactor appeared. The Mo-Fe cluster is the EPR-active center that undergoes reversible oxidation-reduction during catalytic turnover at the active site of the enzyme. In contrast to the Fe-Mo cofactor, which contains 8 Fe atoms per Mo, the Mo-Fe cluster failed to activate either inactive component I in extracts of A. vinelandii mutant strain UW45 or tungsten-containing component I from wild-type A. vinelandii. On the other hand, the Mo-Fe cluster showed as much acetylene-reduction activity with sodium borohydride as the reductant as did the Fe-Mo cofactor. Like nitrogenase-dependent and Fe-Mo cofactor-dependent acetylene reduction, the Mo-Fe cluster-dependent acetylene reduction is strongly inhibited by carbon monoxide.
No inhibition of nitrogenase activity by physiological levels of NH4+ or carbamyl phosphate was observed in extracts of Azotobacter vinelandii. All of the 15N2 reduced by cultures which received no NH4+ was found in the cells. By contrast, more than 95% of the 15N2 reduced by cultures which had been given NH4+ was found in the medium. Failure to examine the culture medium would lead to the erroneous conclusion that N2 fixation is inhibited by NH4+. Nitrogenase in a derepressed mutant strain of A. vinelandii was fully active in vivo in the presence of NH4+. The addition of NH4Cl to N2-fixing cultures resulted in no decrease in the N2-reducing activity of intact cells of Klebsiella pneumoniae or Clostridium pasteurianum and only a small (15%) decrease in A. vinelandii. Therefore, no significant inhibition of nitrogenase by NH4+ or metabolites derived from NH4+ exists in A. vinelandii, K. pneumoniae, or C. pasteurianum.
Under anaerobic conditions the molybdenum-iron protein (MoFe protein) from Azotobacter vinelandii can be reversibly oxidized with thionine. Electron paramagnetic resonance studies reveal that the oxidation proceeds in two distinct phases: the MoFe protein can be oxidized by four electrons without loss of the EPR signal from the S = 3/2 cofactor centers. A second oxidation step, involving two electrons, leads to the disappearance of the cofactor EPR signal. In order to correlate the events during the thionine titration with redox reactions involving individual iron centers we have studied the MoFe proteins from A vinelandii and Clostridium pasteurianum with Mössbauer spectroscopy. Spectra were taken in the temperature range from 1.5 K to 200 K in applied magnetic fields of up to 54 kG. Analysis of the Mössbauer data allows us to draw three major conclusions: (1) the holoprotein contains 30 +/- 2 iron atoms. (2) Most probably, 12 iron atoms belong to two, apparently identical, iron clusters (labeled M) which we have shown previously to be structural components of the iron and molybdenum containing cofactor of nitrogenase. The M-centers can be stabilized in three distinct oxidation states, MOXe- in equilibrium MNe- in equilibrium MR. The diamagnetic (S = 0) state MOX is attained by oxidation of the native state MN with either thionine or oxygen. MR is observed under nitrogen fixing conditions. (3) The data strongly suggest that 16 iron atoms are associated with four iron centers which we propose to call P-clusters. Each P-cluster contains four spin-coupled iron atoms. In the native protein the P-clusters are in the diamagnetic state PN, yielding the Mössbauer signature which we have labeled previously 'components D and Fe2+'. Three irons of the D-type and one iron of the Fe2+-type appear to comprise a P-cluster. A one-electron oxidation yields the paramagnetic state POX. Although the state POX is characterized by half-integral electronic spin a peculiar combination of zero-field splitting parameters and spin relaxation renders this state EPR-silent. Spectroscopically, the P-clusters are novel structures; there is, however, evidence that they are closely related to familiar 4Fe-4S centers.
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A molybdenum cofactor (Mo-co) from xanthine oxidase (xanthine:oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.2.3.2) can be isolated from the enzyme by a technique that has been used to isolate an iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMo-co) from component I of nitrogenase. N-Methylformamide is used for the extraction of these molybdenum cofactors. Mo-co from xanthine oxidase activates nitrate reductase (NADPH:nitrate oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.6.2) in an extract from Neurospora crassa mutant strain Nit-1; however, FeMo-co is unable to activate nitrate reductase in strain Nit-1. Mo-co from xanthine oxidase is unable to activate nitrogenase in an extract of Azotobacter vinelandii mutant strain UW45. Inactive component I in this extract can be activated by FeMo-co. These results indicate that nitrate reductase and xanthine oxidase share a common molybdenum cofactor, but this cofactor is different from the molybdenum cofactor in nitrogenase.A. vinelandii synthesizes both Mo-co and FeMo-co. Mo-co is produced when the cells fix N(2) and also when they are repressed for nitrogenase synthesis by growth in a medium containing excess ammonium. However, FeMo-co is not produced when cells are grown in an ammonium-containing medium. Partially purified preparations of component I from A. vinelandii and Klebsiella pneumoniae contain both FeMo-co and Mo-co. The presence of both FeMo-co and Mo-co activities in partially purified preparations of component I explains previous reports of activation of inactive nitrate reductase in strain Nit-1 by acid-treated component I of nitrogenase. The Mo-co can be separated from FeMo-co in these preparations by chromatography on Sephadex G-100 in N-methylformamide. Both FeMo-co and Mo-co are sensitive to oxygen.
A method for the isolation of an iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMoCo) from component I of nitrogenase is described. This method is used to isolate FeMoCo from aerobic, anaerobic, facultative, and photosynthetic nitrogen-fixing organisms. The Fe/Mo ratio in the FeMoCo from Azotobacter vinelandii and Clostridium pasteurianum is 8:1. The FeMoCo contains six atoms of acid-labile sulfide per eight Fe atoms. Crystalline component I from A. vinelandii contains 2 Mo, 33 Fe, and 27 acid-labile sulfide atoms per molecular weight of 250,000. The specific activity of FeMoCo is 425 nmol of C(2)H(4) formed/min per nmol of Mo. There is better than 98% reconstitution between FeMoCo and inactive component I in A. vinelandii mutant strain UW45. The FeMoCo yield from component I is about 90%. FeMoCo from nitrogenase component I of C. pasteurianum, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus polymyxa, and Rhodospirillum rubrum activates inactive component I in an extract from mutant strain UW45 and follows saturation kinetics. The FeMoCo in various nitrogen-fixing organisms seems to be very similar. Wild-type A. vinelandii derepressed for nitrogenase synthesis in tungsten-containing medium and K. pneumoniae mutant strain UN109 are also activated in vitro by FeMoCo. The FeMoCo is very sensitive to oxygen, but is stable even at room temperature as long as it is kept anaerobic and in N-methylformamide, the solvent used for its isolation. FeMoCo is unstable in an aqueous environment, even though it is kept strictly anaerobic. Knowledge of the structure of this cofactor should be useful for understanding the role of molybdenum at the active site of nitrogenase, role of ligands close to molybdenum in electron and proton transfer, and the catalytic mechanism of nitrogen fixation. The FeMoCo might be used as a model for synthesizing catalysts for chemical nitrogen fixation.
Some kinetic properties of purified component I (Mo-Fe protein) and component II (Fe protein) of nitrogenase (EC 1.7.99.2) from Azotobacter vinelandii have been examined. The apparent Km values for reducible substrates (0.1 atm for N2, 0.01 atm for acetylene) and dithionite (0.5 mM) are similar for osmotically shocked cell lysates and purified components. However, the ATP dependence of acetylene and N2 reduction varies sigmoidally with ATP concentration and as a function of the relative and absolute concentration of components I and II in the assay. Acetylene is reduced in preference to N2 in competitive assays when component I is in relative excess. Acetylene reduction is not as dependent upon ATP concentration as is N2 reduction, so that acetylene is also a preferred substrate at lower ATP levels. Hydrogen specifically inhibits N2 reduction, diverting electrons to acetylene when both substrates are present in the assay. We propose a model of the enzyme activity, in which the substrates for reduction are bound to component I with electrons being activated by component II. ATP may be involved in activating electrons and in maintaining the appropriate conformation or reduction state of components to allow effective reduction of substrates. The relative rate of reduction of alternative substrates is dependent on the concentration of the particular state(s) capable of reacting with each substrate. The concentration of a particular state of component I is a function of components I, II and ATPL
We have studied the molybdenum-iron protein (MoFe protein, also known as component I) from Azobacter vinelandi using Mössbauer spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance on samples enriched with 57Fe. These spectra can be interpreted in terms of two EPR active centers, each of which is reducible by one electron. A total of four different chemical environments of Fe can be discerned. One of them is a cluster of Fe atoms with a net electronic spin of 3/2, one of them is high-spin ferrous iron and the remaining two are iron in a reduced state (probably in clusters). The results are as follows: Chemical analysis yields 11.5 Fe atoms and 12.5 labile sulfur atoms per molybdenum atom; the molecule contains two Mo atoms per 300 000 daltons. The EPR spectrum of the MoFe protein exhibits g values at 4.32, 3.65 and 2.01, associated with the ground state doublet of a S = 3/2 spin system. The spin Hamiltonian H = D(S2/z minus 5/4 + lambda(S2/x minus S2/y)) + gbeta/o S-H fits the experimental data for go = 2.00 and lambda = 0.055. Quantitative analysis of the temperature dependence of the EPR spectrum yields D/k = 7.5 degrees K and 0.91 spins/molybdenum atom, which suggests that the MoFe protein has two EPR active centers. Quantitative evaluation of Mössbauer spectra shows that approximately 8 iron atoms give rise to one quadrupole doublet; at lower temperatures magnetic spectra, associated with the groud electronic doublet, are observed; at least two magnetically inequivalent sites can be distinguished. Taken together the data suggest that each EPR center contains 4 iron atoms. The EPR and Mössbauer data can only be reconciled if these iron atoms reside in a spin-coupled (S = 3/2) cluster. Under nitrogen fixing conditions the magnetic Mössbauer spectra disappeared concurrently with the EPR signal and quadrupole doublets are obserced at all temperatures. The data suggest that each EPR active center is reduced by one electron. The Mössbauer investigation reveals three other spectral components characteristic of iron nuclei in an environment of integer or zero electronic spin, i.e. they reside in complexes which are "EPR-silent". One of the components (3-4 iron atoms) has Mössbauer parameters characteristic of the high-spin ferrous iron as in reduced ruberdoxin. However, measurements in strong fields indicate a diamagnetic environment. Another component, representing 9-11 iron atoms, seems to be diamagnetic also. It is suggested that these atoms are incorporated in spin-coupled clusters.