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Fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry as a rapid means of screening mixtures of ether-linked polar lipids from extremely halophilic archaebacteria for the presence of novel chemical structures.

Fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry was used to analyse intact polar ether lipids present at microgram levels in crude lipid mixtures extracted from Halobacterium halobium, Natronococcus occultus and Halobacterium marismortui. Negative-ion spectra showed the intact deprotonated lipid molecules and in some instances their sodium salts. The simplicity of the mass spectra permits the rapid screening of polar lipid mixtures for the presence of novel lipids. Additional structural information of ions with selected masses was obtained after collisionally induced decomposition.

Archaea↗

Proteomics of Halophilic archaea.

Halophilic archaea is a member of the Halobacteriacea family, the only family in the Halobacteriales order. Most Halophilic archaea require 1.5M NaCl both to grow and retain the structural integrity of the cells. The proteins of these organisms have thus been adapted to be active and stable in the hypersaline condition. Consequently, the unique properties of these biocatalysts have resulted in several novel applications in industrial processes. Halophilic archaea are also to be useful for bioremediation of hypersaline environment. Proteome data have expended enormously with the significant advance recently achieved in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS). The whole genome sequencing of Halobacterium species NRC-1 was completed and this would also provide tremendous help to analyze the protein mass data from the similar strain Halobacterium salinarum. Proteomics coupled with genomic databases now has become a basic tool to understand or identify the function of genes and proteins. In addition, the bioinformatics approach will facilitate to predict the function of novel proteins of Halophilic archaea. This review will discuss current proteome study of Halophilic archaea and introduce the efficient procedures for screening, predicting, and confirming the function of novel halophilic enzymes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Newly isolated archaerhodopsin from a strain of Chinese halobacteria and its proton pumping behavior.

A strain of extremely salt-loving halobacteria Halobacterium species xz515 from a salt lake in Tibet was isolated. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows that there is only one protein on claret membrane, which is the same membrane fraction as purple membrane from Halobacterium salinarum, with a molecular weight close to bacteriorhodopsin (br). The purified retinal containing protein from xz515 has an absorption peak at around 550 nm. These facts indicate that it is a br-like protein. The partial sequence determination [H. Wang et al., Chin. Sci. Bull., 45 (2000)] shows that this br-like protein belongs to the archaerhodopsin family. The measurements of light-induced medium pH change in intact cells and cell envelope vesicles of xz515 suggest that this type of archaerhodopsin has a proton pumping function. However, the study about the dynamics of pumped protons across the membrane reveal that the proton release and proton uptake is in reverse order compared to br. The probable reason, attributing to regulating the rate of proton release is discussed.

Archaeal Proteins↗

Cell-free synthesis, functional refolding, and spectroscopic characterization of bacteriorhodopsin, an integral membrane protein.

Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is an integral membrane protein which functions as a light-driven proton pump in Halobacterium halobium (also known as Halobacterium salinarium). The cell-free synthesis of bR in quantities sufficient for FTIR and NMR spectroscopy and the ability to selectively isotope label bR using aminoacylated suppressor tRNAs would provide a powerful approach for studying the role of specific amino acid residues. However, no integral membrane protein has yet been expressed in a cell-free system in quantities sufficient for such biophysical studies. We report the cell-free synthesis of bacterioopsin, its purification, its refolding in polar lipids from H. halobium, and its regeneration with all-trans-retinal to yield bacteriorhodopsin in a form functionally similar to bR in purple membrane. Importantly, the yields obtained from in vitro and in vivo expression are comparable. Functionality of the cell-free expressed bR is established using static and time-resolved absorption spectroscopy and FTIR difference spectroscopy.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

Ciprofloxacin and etoposide (VP16) produce a similar pattern of DNA cleavage in a plasmid of an archaebacterium.

The fluoroquinolone ciprofloxacin, an inhibitor of eubacterial DNA gyrase, induces single- and double-stranded DNA breaks in the plasmid pGRB-1 from the halophilic archaebacterium Halobacterium GRB when the cells are treated by this drug in a magnesium-depleted medium. This reaction is prevented by a dose of novobiocin known to specifically inhibit DNA gyrase. Cleavage of pGRB-1 DNA induced by either ciprofloxacin or the antitumoral drug etoposide (VP16) produces DNA fragments of identical lengths. These results indicate that ciprofloxacin, novobiocin, and etoposide have a common target in Halobacterium GRB: an archaebacterial type II DNA topoisomerase. The similarity of DNA cleavage patterns induced by ciprofloxacin and etoposide is a new and strong argument that quinolone and epipodophyllotoxins have the same mode of interaction with the DNA-DNA topoisomerase II complexes. The plasmid pGRB-1 could be used to prescreen in the same system both antibiotics that inhibit bacterial gyrase and antitumoral drugs that inhibit eukaryotic DNA topoisomerase II.

Ciprofloxacin↗

Magic angle sample spinning 13C nuclear magnetic resonance of isotopically labeled bacteriorhodopsin.

Bacteriorhodopsin (bR), the light-driven proton pump protein from Halobacterium halobium, was biosynthetically labeled with [4-13C]Asp. The incorporation yield was 48%. The magic angle sample spinning (MASS) 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of this sample revealed six different peaks superimposed on a broad band of naturally abundant peptide-bond 13C. Two of the six carbonyl signals can be attributed to internal-protonated Asp carboxyl groups, one of which might be Asp115. An additional resonance at 110 ppm can be associated with the C-11 carbon of Trp, indicating an unusual biosynthetic pathway of this amino acid in Halobacterium halobium. Similar measurements performed on papain-treated purple membrane which lacks the C-terminal tail display two new intense signals at 178 and 178.9 ppm. If the same spectrum is taken without cross-polarization, these signals do not decrease or disappear. On the basis of their intensities and their chemical shifts, one can assign in addition to the C-terminal Asp four Asp residues facing the cytoplasmic phase. In native bR, at least two of these form a salt-bridge-like bond which also might include the C-terminal tail. These experiments not only provide data about the chemical environment of the Asp residues within the hydrophobic core of bacteriorhodopsin but also yield information about the interactions between surface components.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

FTIR analysis of the SII540 intermediate of sensory rhodopsin II: Asp73 is the Schiff base proton acceptor.

Sensory rhodopsin II (SRII), a repellent phototaxis receptor found in Halobacterium salinarum, has several homologous residues which have been found to be important for the proper functioning of bacteriorhodopsin (BR), a light-driven proton pump. These include Asp73, which in the case of bacteriorhodopsin (Asp85) functions as the Schiff base counterion and proton acceptor. We analyzed the photocycles of both wild-type SRII and the mutant D73E, both reconstituted in Halobacterium salinarum lipids, using FTIR difference spectroscopy under conditions that favor accumulation of the O-like, photocycle intermediate, SII540. At both room temperature and -20 degrees C, the difference spectrum of SRII is similar to the BR-->O640 difference spectrum of BR, especially in the configurationally sensitive retinal fingerprint region. This indicates that SII540 has an all-trans chromophore similar to the O640 intermediate in BR. A positive band at 1761 cm-1 downshifts 40 cm-1 in the mutant D73E, confirming that Asp73 undergoes a protonation reaction and functions in analogy to Asp85 in BR as a Schiff base proton acceptor. Several other bands in the C=O stretching regions are identified which reflect protonation or hydrogen bonding changes of additional Asp and/or Glu residues. Intense bands in the amide I region indicate that a protein conformational change occurs in the late SRII photocycle which may be similar to the conformational changes that occur in the late BR photocycle. However, unlike BR, this conformational change does not reverse during formation of the O-like intermediate, and the peptide groups giving rise to these bands are partially accessible for hydrogen/deuterium exchange. Implications of these findings for the mechanism of SRII signal transduction are discussed.

Archaeal Proteins↗

Bacteriorhodopsin expressed in Schizosaccharomyces pombe pumps protons through the plasma membrane.

Bacterioopsin (bO) from Halobacterium salinarium ("Halobacterium halobium") has been functionally expressed in a heterologous system, the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Regeneration of bO to bacteriorhodopsin (bR) in S. pombe has been achieved in vivo by addition of the chromophore retinal to the culture medium, as shown for a retinal-negative mutant of H. salinarium (JW5). Western blot analysis revealed that bR is more stable than bO against proteolysis in fission yeast and also in JW5. The light-driven proton pump is expressed in the eukaryotic organism and incorporated into the plasma membrane. Illumination of intact yeast cells leads to acidification of the external medium due to the translocation of H+ from inside to outside of the cell, indicating the same orientation of bR in the yeast plasma membrane as in H. salinarium. The kinetics of proton release into the water phase was observed with the optical pH indicator pyranine. Time-resolved absorbance changes of isolated plasma membrane measured by flash spectroscopy showed rise and decay of the M intermediate during the photocycle similar to those in the homologous system. Photocurrents and photovoltages were recorded with yeast plasma membrane attached to a planar lipid membrane and to a polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) film, respectively. Stationary currents measured in the presence of a protonophore showed continuous pumping activity of bR. The action spectrum of the photocurrent and the kinetics of the photovoltage were analyzed and compared with signals obtained from purple membranes. From all these different investigations we conclude that the integral membrane protein bR is correctly folded in vivo into the cytoplasmic membrane of the fission yeast S. pombe.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

Salt tolerance of archaeal extremely halophilic lipid membranes.

The membranes of extremely halophilic Archaea are characterized by the abundance of a diacidic phospholipid, archaetidylglycerol methylphosphate (PGP-Me), which accounts for 50-80 mol% of the polar lipids, and by the absence of phospholipids with choline, ethanolamine, inositol, and serine head groups. These membranes are stable in concentrated 3-5 m NaCl solutions, whereas membranes of non-halophilic Archaea, which do not contain PGP-Me, are unstable and leaky under such conditions. By x-ray diffraction and vesicle permeability measurements, we demonstrate that PGP-Me contributes in an essential way to membrane stability in hypersaline environments. Large unilamellar vesicles (LUV) prepared from the polar lipids of extreme halophiles, Halobacterium halobium and Halobacterium salinarum, retain entrapped carboxyfluorescein and resist aggregation in the whole range 0-4 m NaCl, similarly to LUV prepared from purified PGP-Me. By contrast, LUV made of polar lipid extracts from moderately halophilic and non-halophilic Archaea (Methanococcus jannaschii, Methanosarcina mazei, Methanobrevibacter smithii) are leaky and aggregate at high salt concentrations. However, adding PGP-Me to M. mazei lipids results in gradual enhancement of LUV stability, correlating with the PGP-Me content. The LUV data are substantiated by the x-ray results, which show that H. halobium and M. mazei lipids have dissimilar phase behavior and form different structures at high NaCl concentrations. H. halobium lipids maintain an expanded lamellar structure with spacing of 8.5-9 nm, which is stable up to at least 100 degrees C in 2 m NaCl and up to approximately 60 degrees C in 4 m NaCl. However, M. mazei lipids form non-lamellar structures, represented by the Pn3m cubic phase and the inverted hexagonal H(II) phase. From these data, the forces preventing membrane aggregation in halophilic Archaea appear to be steric repulsion, because of the large head group of PGP-Me, or possibly out-of-plane bilayer undulations, rather than electrostatic repulsion attributed to the doubly charged PGP-Me head group.

Archaeal Proteins↗

Halobacterial rhodopsins.

Following the discovery of the bacteriorhodopsin proton pump in Halobacterium halobium (salinarum), not only the halorhodopsin halide pump and two photosensor rhodopsins (sensory rhodopsin and phoborhodopsin) in the same species, but also homologs of these four rhodopsins in strains of other genera of Halobacteriaceae have been reported. Twenty-eight full (and partial) sequences of the genomic DNA of these rhodopsins have been analyzed. The deduced amino acid sequences have led to new strategies and tactics for understanding bacterial rhodopsins on a comparative basis, as summarized briefly in this article. The data discussed include (i) alignment of the sequences to qualify/characterize the conserved residues; (ii) assignment of residues that cause differences in function(s)/properties; and (iii) phylogeny of the halobacterial rhodopsins to suggest their evolutionary paths. The four kinds of rhodopsin in each strain are assumed, on the basis of their genera-specific distributions, to have arisen by at least two gene-duplication processes during evolution prior to generic speciation. The first duplication of the rhodopsin ancestor gene yielded two genes, each of which was duplicated again to give four genes in the ancestor halobacterium. The bacterium carrying four rhodopsin genes, after accumulating mutations, became ready for generic speciation and the delivery of four rhodopsins to each species. The original rhodopsin ancestor is speculated to be closest to the proton pump (bacteriorhodopsin).

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Classification of iron-sulfur cores in ferredoxins by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

A 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study was carried out on various ferredoxins which possess one of three types of iron-sulfur clusters, (2Fe-2S), (3Fe-3S), or (4Fe-4S). In the isolated form, (2Fe-2S) ferredoxins from spinach (Spinacea oleracia), pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), a blue-green alga (Spirulina platensis), and a halobacterium (Halobacterium halobium) exhibited two broad resonances common in chemical shift at the region downfield of 10 ppm. In their reduced forms, seven contact-shifted resonances appeared spread over 30 ppm. Although the positions of the contact-shifted resonances in the reduced state differed among the four, a common trend in the temperature dependence of their resonance positions was recognized. Two (4Fe-4S) ferredoxins from Bacillus stearothermophilus and Bacillus thermoproteolyticus exhibited almost indistinguishable spectral patterns in both the oxidized and reduced forms. The ferricyanide-treated ferredoxins of B. stearothermophilus and B. thermoproteolyticus showed characteristic contact-shifted resonances distinct from the spectra of the original (4Fe-4S) ferredoxins. This corresponds to the recent finding of the interconversion of (4Fe-4S) and (3Fe-3S) clusters with ferricyanide in the ferredoxin. Based on our data together with reported NMR data on other ferredoxins, contact-shift resonances of three types of clusters were tabulated. The reliability of NMR classification increases when we compare the NMR spectra of a ferredoxin with the classification standards at the two redox states. Moreover, not only the absolute values of the chemical shifts of contact-shifted resonances but also their temperature dependence give distinctive information applicable to iron core identification.

Azotobacter↗

Lipids of extremely halophilic archaeobacteria from saline environments in India: a novel glycolipid in Natronobacterium strains.

Several strains of extremely halophilic archaeobacteria, both non-alkaliphilic and alkaliphilic, including Halobacterium, Haloferax and Natronobacterium species, were isolated from salt locales in India. The major phospholipids in these strains were the C20-C20-glycerol diether analogues of phosphatidylglycerolmethylphosphate (PGP-Me), phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and phosphatidic acid (PA). In addition, the Halobacterium strains possessed the characteristic glycolipids, sulfated triglycosyl and tetraglycosyl diethers (S-TGD-1 and S-TeGD, respectively) and the unsulfated triglycosyl diether (TGD-1); and the Haloferax strains had the characteristic sulfated and unsulfated diglycosyl glycerol diethers (S-DGD-1 and DGD-1, respectively). The PGP-Me, and PG components of the haloalkaliphiles each occurred as two molecular species with C20-C20- and C20-C25-(isopranoid) glycerol diether lipid cores. In contrast to previous reports of the absence of glycolipids in natronobacteria, the Natronobacterium strains from India were found to contain small amounts of a novel glycolipid identified as glucopyranosyl-1-->6-glucopyranosyl-1-->1-glycerol diether (DGD-4). The lipid cores of DGD-4 also contained mainly unhydroxylated or hydroxylated C20-C20, C20-C25 and C25-C25 molecular species with unsaturated (isoprenoid) chains. Hydroxylated lipid cores have previously been identified only in some methanogenic archaeobacteria.

Carbohydrate Sequence↗

Australian Halobacteria and their retinal-protein ion pumps.

Halophiles collected in Western Australia have been found to be examples of extremely halophilic rod-shaped archaebacteria, members of the genus Halobacterium. Most of them contain retinal proteins, and these proteins differ from one another and also from both bacteriorhodopsin (bR) and halorhodopsin [and sensory rhodopsins (sR)] isolated from Halobacterium salinarium (halobium), as revealed by their peptide maps and amino acid sequences. However, these retinal proteins still have the ability to pump protons or chloride ions in the light. These new ion pumps, designated archaerhodopsins (aR) [Mukohata et al. (1988) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 151, 1339-1345], are almost identical in terms of their molecular sizes and transient photochemical properties to the ion pumps identified previously. Differences are found in the: (1) apparent extinction coefficient of dark/light-adapted aR-2; (2) titration profiles at acidic pH of the absorption spectra of all aRs; and (3) circular dichroism spectra, which are influenced by the coexistent isoprenoid bacterioruberin. The amino acid sequences of two proton pumps from the Australian halobacteria, namely aR and aR-2, are approximately 90% homologous and both sequences are about 60% homologous with that of bR. Hydropathy plots suggest that these pumps also have a seven-helical structure similar to that of bR. The amino acid residues are highly conserved in the helical regions, in particular in the case of helices C and G (91 and 84%, respectively), among the three proton pumps.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Comparative study of the structure of gas vacuoles.

The fine structure of gas vacuoles was examined in two blue-green algae, two green bacteria, three purple sulfur bacteria, and two halobacteria. The gas vacuole is a compound organelle, composed of a variable number of gas vesicles. These are closed, cylindrical, gas-containing structures with conical ends, about 80 to 100 nm in width and of variable length, ranging from 0.2 to over 1.0 mum. The wall of the gas vesicle is a non-unit membrane 2 to 3 nm in thickness, bearing very regular striations with a periodicity of 4 nm, oriented more or less at right angles to the long axis of the cylinder. This fine structure could be clearly resolved in isolated gas vesicles prepared from a blue-green alga and from Halobacterium halobium, and its presence in the gas vesicles of the green bacterium Pelodictyon clathratiforme was inferred from thin sections. The gas vacuole thus appears to be a homologous organelle in all of these procaryotic groups. Minor differences with respect to the length and arrangement of the gas vesicles were observed. In blue-green algae and green bacteria, the vesicles are relatively long and tend to be arrayed in parallel bundles; in purple sulfur bacteria and Halobacterium, they are shorter and more irregularly distributed in the cell.

Bacteria↗

Coumarin and quinolone action in archaebacteria: evidence for the presence of a DNA gyrase-like enzyme.

The action of novobiocin and coumermycin (two coumarins which interact with the gyrB subunit of eubacterial DNA gyrase) and ciprofloxacin (a fluoroquinolone which interacts with the gyrA subunit of DNA gyrase) was tested on several archaebacteria, including five methanogens, two halobacteria, and a thermoacidophile. Most strains were sensitive to doses of coumarins (0.02 to 10 micrograms/ml) which specifically inhibit DNA gyrase in eubacteria. Ciprofloxacin inhibited growth of the haloalkaliphilic strain Natronobacterium gregoryi and of the methanogen Methanosarcina barkeri. In addition, ciprofloxacin partly relieved the sensitivity to coumarins (and vice versa). Novobiocin inhibited DNA replication in Halobacterium halobium rapidly and specifically. Topological analysis has shown that the 1.7-kilobase plasmid from Halobacterium sp. strain GRB is negatively supercoiled; this plasmid was relaxed after novobiocin treatment. These results support the existence in archaebacteria of a coumarin and quinolone target related to eubacterial DNA gyrase.

Aminocoumarins↗

Saturation mutagenesis of the TATA box and upstream activator sequence in the haloarchaeal bop gene promoter.

Degenerate oligonucleotides were used to randomize 21 bp of the 53-bp minimal bop promoter in three 7-bp segments, including the putative TATA box and the upstream activator sequence (UAS). The mutagenized bop promoter and the wild-type structural gene and transcriptional terminator were inserted into a shuttle plasmid capable of replication in the halophilic archaeon Halobacterium sp. strain S9. Active promoters were isolated by screening transformants of an orange (Pum- bop) Halobacterium mutant for purple (Pum+ bop+) colonies on agar plates and analyzed for bop mRNA and/or bacteriorhodopsin content. Sequence analysis yielded the consensus sequence 5'-tyT(T/a)Ta-3', corresponding to the promoter TATA box element 30 to 25 bp 5' of the transcription start site. A putative UAS, 5'-ACCcnactagTTnG-3', located 52 to 39 bp 5' of the transcription start site was found to be conserved in active promoters. This study provides direct evidence for the requirement of the TATA box and UAS for bop promoter activity.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

A new pathway for salvaging the coenzyme B12 precursor cobinamide in archaea requires cobinamide-phosphate synthase (CbiB) enzyme activity.

The ability of archaea to salvage cobinamide has been under question because archaeal genomes lack orthologs to the bacterial nucleoside triphosphate:5'-deoxycobinamide kinase enzyme (cobU in Salmonella enterica). The latter activity is required for cobinamide salvaging in bacteria. This paper reports evidence that archaea salvage cobinamide from the environment by using a pathway different from the one used by bacteria. These studies demanded the functional characterization of two genes whose putative function had been annotated based solely on their homology to the bacterial genes encoding adenosylcobyric acid and adenosylcobinamide-phosphate synthases (cbiP and cbiB, respectively) of S. enterica. A cbiP mutant strain of the archaeon Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1 was auxotrophic for adenosylcobyric acid, a known intermediate of the de novo cobamide biosynthesis pathway, but efficiently salvaged cobinamide from the environment, suggesting the existence of a salvaging pathway in this archaeon. A cbiB mutant strain of Halobacterium was auxotrophic for adenosylcobinamide-GDP, a known de novo intermediate, and did not salvage cobinamide. The results of the nutritional analyses of the cbiP and cbiB mutants suggested that the entry point for cobinamide salvaging is adenosylcobyric acid. The data are consistent with a salvaging pathway for cobinamide in which an amidohydrolase enzyme cleaves off the aminopropanol moiety of adenosylcobinamide to yield adenosylcobyric acid, which is converted by the adenosylcobinamide-phosphate synthase enzyme to adenosylcobinamide-phosphate, a known intermediate of the de novo biosynthetic pathway. The existence of an adenosylcobinamide amidohydrolase enzyme would explain the lack of an adenosylcobinamide kinase in archaea.

Amidohydrolases↗

The cobZ gene of Methanosarcina mazei Go1 encodes the nonorthologous replacement of the alpha-ribazole-5'-phosphate phosphatase (CobC) enzyme of Salmonella enterica.

Open reading frame (ORF) Mm2058 of the methanogenic archaeon Methanosarcina mazei strain Gö1 was shown in vivo and in vitro to encode the nonorthologous replacement of the alpha-ribazole-phosphate phosphatase (CobC; EC 3.1.3.73) enzyme of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2. Bioinformatics analysis of sequences available in databases tentatively identified ORF Mm2058, which was cloned under the control of an inducible promoter and was used to support growth of an S. enterica strain under conditions that demanded CobC-like activity. The Mm2058 protein was expressed with a decahistidine tag at its N terminus and was purified to homogeneity using nickel affinity chromatography. High-performance liquid chromatography followed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry showed that the Mm2058 protein had phosphatase activity that converted alpha-ribazole-5'-phosphate to alpha-ribazole, as reported for the bacterial CobC enzyme. On the basis of the data reported here, we refer to ORF Mm2058 as cobZ. We tested the prediction by Rodionov et al. (D. A. Rodionov, A. G. Vitreschak, A. A. Mironov, and M. S. Gelfand, J. Biol. Chem. 278:41148-41159, 2003) that ORF HSL01294 (also called Vng1577) encoded the nonorthologous replacement of the bacterial CobC enzyme in the extremely halophilic archaeon Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1. A strain of the latter carrying an in-frame deletion of ORF Vng1577 was not a cobalamin auxotroph, suggesting that either there is redundancy of this function in Halobacterium or the gene was misannotated.

Bacterial Proteins↗