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Control of luciferase synthesis in a newly isolated strain of Photobacterium leiognathi.

In previous studies with luminous bacteria of all different species it has been reported that the synthesis of luciferase is autoinducible: during growth at low cell densities synthesis is effectively repressed while after induction, at higher cell densities, the rate of synthesis of enzyme is up to five times the growth rate. In this paper we report on newly isolated strains of Photobacterium leiognathi which show continued luciferase synthesis irrespective of the cell density. The specific synthesis rate may nevertheless differ from the rate of growth and depends on the luciferase content of the inoculated cells. A ratio of 1 was established for cells having a maximum luciferase content varying to a ratio of about 2 for cells that contained only 1% of the maximum.

Luciferases↗

Osmotic control of luminescence and growth in Photobacterium leiognathi from ponyfish light organs.

Osmolarity was found to control the luminescence and growth of Photobacterium leiognathi strain LN-1a isolated from the light organ of the ponyfish Leiognathus nuchalis (family Leiognathidae). Low osmolarity (ca. 400 mOsm) stimulated luminescence per cell 80 to 100-fold to a level (ca. 2.0 X 10(4) quanta . s-1 . cell-1) equal to that of bacteria taken directly from the light organ and increased the level of luciferase per cell 8 to 10-fold compared to high osmolarity (ca. 800 mOsm). Conversely, high osmolarity stimulated oxygen uptake and growth rate 2 to 4-fold compared to low osmolarity. Of 21 additional tested strains of P. leiognathi from light organs of 9 other ponyfish species, all responded similarly. Low osmolarity may be a host control factor that functions to stimulate the luminescence and restrict the growth of ponyfish light organ bacteria in situ.

Animals↗

The acute toxicity of gluconic acid, beta-alaninediacetic acid, diethylenetriaminepentakismethylenephosphonic acid, and nitrilotriacetic acid determined by Daphnia magna, Raphidocelis subcapitata, and Photobacterium phosphoreum.

Acute toxicity of four relatively new chelating agents and their equimolar manganese and cadmium complexes was studied. The chelating agents studied were gluconic acid (GA), beta-alaninediacetic acid (ADA), diethylenetriaminepentakismethylenephosphonic acid (DTPMP), and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA). Three common bioassays, namely Daphnia magna, Raphidocelis subcapitata, and Photobacterium phosphoreum (Microtox bioassay) were applied. R. subcapitata proved the most sensitive to these compounds. With D. magna bioassay the LC(50) values were 600-900 mg/L with all other studied chelates and their Mn complexes, except Mn-GA, which yielded LC(50) value of 240 mg/L. The Cd-chelate complexes proved highly more toxic compared to Mn-chelate complexes or uncomplexed chelates exhibiting LC(50) values of 130-200 microg/L. However, Cd-DTPMP was an exception exhibiting LC(50) value of 2170 microg/L. That is to say, DTPMP proved the strongest chelating agent to reduce the Cd toxicity in the present study. The results from these bioassays were well in agreement to each other as well as with the results published elsewhere.

Acetic Acid↗

Solute accumulation in the deep-sea bacterium Photobacterium profundum.

The identity and amounts of intracellular solutes in the deep-sea bacterium Photobacterium profundum strain SS9 were studied using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. P. profundum strain SS9, a moderate piezophile which grows optimally at 20-30 MPa primarily accumulated glutamate and betaine, with lesser amounts of alanine, beta-hydroxybutyrate (beta-HB) and oligomers composed of the beta-HB units when grown at 0.1 MPa to early stationary phase. When grown at the optimal pressure, the cells preferentially increased intracellular concentrations of beta-HB and beta-HB oligomers, while the amino acid pools remained relatively constant. Since the organic solutes increased with increasing external NaCl in the medium, they are functioning as osmolytes. The beta-HB molecules represent a novel class of osmolytes, termed 'piezolytes,' whose cellular levels responded to hydrostatic pressure as well as osmotic pressure. Factors such as cell growth stage and temperature were also examined for their effect on the solute distribution in these cells.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗

Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida: an integrated view of a bacterial fish pathogen.

Pasteurellosis, or pseudotuberculosis, is a bacterial septicaemia caused by the halophilic bacterium Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida (formerly Pasteurella piscicida). Although this disease was first described in wild populations of white perch and striped bass, currently the natural hosts of the pathogen are a wide variety of marine fish. The disease has great economic impact both in Japan, where it affects mainly yellowtail cultures, and in the Mediterranean area, due to the losses it causes in seabream and seabass farms. This microorganism serves as a perfect model to study a bacterial fish pathogen, either at an applied level, to resolve or to mitigate the high economic losses of fish farmers, or at a basic level, for a better understanding of P. damselae subsp. piscicida biology. This article discusses the methods employed in our laboratory to study the causative agent of pasteurellosis. It reviews important aspects, from the diverse procedures for the detection and isolation of the pathogen to the latest molecular studies that have allowed its correct taxonomic allocation. Characterization of some virulence mechanisms and the available methods to prevent the disease are also presented.

Animals↗

Identification of Fur regulated genes in the bacterial fish pathogen Photobacterium damselae ssp. piscicida using the Fur titration assay.

Bacteria have developed a series of iron-scavenging and transport systems. The expression of many of the iron utilization genes is tightly regulated by the Fe2+ loaded Fur repressor protein. In this study, the Fur titration assay (FURTA) was used to screen for DNA fragments from a genomic DNA library of Photobacterium damselae ssp. piscicida containing potential Fe2+ Fur binding sites or iron binding-proteins which withdraw iron from Fur. One of the clones encoded a tonB gene and adjacent a functionally related exbB gene. An additional and complete tonB exbB exbD gene cluster was identified and sequenced. A gene homologous to the ferritin gene was found whose FURTA-positive phenotype may be explained by its iron-binding ability. Genes encoding a putative complete iron-regulated outer membrane transport protein and a pseudogene of a transport protein were found. The FURTA assay also revealed iron regulation of the AraC type transcriptional regulation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The terminal oxidase of Photobacterium phosphoreum. A novel cytochrome.

The terminal oxidase of Photobacterium phosphoreum has been purified to the electrophoretically homogeneous state and some of its properties have been studied. The enzyme catalyses oxidation of ascorbate in the presence of phenazine methosulphate or N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine. The reaction is inhibited by cyanide. Nitrite at comparatively high concentrations inhibits the enzyme, but the enzyme does not catalyse nitrite reduction with ascorbate plus the electron mediator as the electron donor. The enzyme shows the absorption peaks at 632, 565, 534 and 436 nm in the reduced form. It has two kinds of haems: protohaem and haem d. Namely, the enzyme is a 'cytochrome bd'-type oxidase; a novel cytochrome.

Cytochromes↗

Inhibition of bioluminescence in Photobacterium phosphoreum by sulfamethizole and its stimulation by thymine.

In bioluminescent bacteria very few agents have been reported that can selectively inhibit the luminescence. In sensitivity tests with Photobacterium phosphoreum, using 55 different antibiotics, it was found that sulfamethizole, an inhibitor of dihydropteroate synthetase and the formation of folic acid, inhibited bioluminescence more than growth. Likewise, in mutants requiring thymine for growth, the luminescence per cell was much less in a medium low in thymine. In neither case could the decreased specific luminescence be attributed to a decrease in the cellular level of luciferase or aldehyde factor; the involvement of additional but unidentified factors in the regulation of in vivo bioluminescence is postulated.

FMN Reductase↗

Structure and properties of luciferase from Photobacterium phosphoreum.

The nucleotide sequences of the luxA and luxB genes coding for the alpha and beta subunits, respectively, of luciferase from Photobacterium phosphoreum have been determined. The predicted amino acid sequences of the alpha and beta subunits were shown to be significantly different from other bacterial luciferases with 62 to 88% identity with the alpha subunits and 47 to 71% identity with the beta subunits of other species. Expression of the different luciferases appear to correlate with the number of modulator codons. Kinetic properties of P. phosphoreum luciferase were shown to reflect the bacterium's natural cold temperature habitat.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Crystallographic characterization of a Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase from Photobacterium leiognathi.

Crystals of a copper-zinc superoxide dismutase from Photobacterium leiognathi, a luminescent marine bacterium that is the species-specific symbiont of the ponyfish, have been obtained from 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol solutions. The space group was determined using screenless small-angle precession photographs, and was confirmed by analyzing area detector diffraction data with the XENGEN programs for indexing and refinement. The crystals are monoclinic, space group C2 (a = 126.4 A, b = 87.0 A, c = 44.4 A, beta = 92.8 A), and have two 32,000 Mr dimers per asymmetric unit. The crystals diffract to at least 2.7 A resolution, are resistant to radiation damage, and are suitable for determination of the structure by X-ray diffraction.

Photobacterium↗

Crystallization of Photobacterium leiognathi non-fluorescent flavoprotein, an unusual flavoprotein with limited sequence identity to bacterial luciferase.

Single crystals of the non-fluorescent flavoprotein (NFP) purified from Photobacterium leiognathi strain S1 have been grown from ammonium sulphate solutions using the hanging drop vapour diffusion technique. The crystals grow as thin (0.06 mm) plates and belong to the orthorhombic space group C222(1): a = 57.06(3) A, b = 92.41(6) A, c = 99.52(6) A. There is one NFP monomer per asymmetric unit and crystals diffract to 2.2 A spacings on film. A complete native data set to 2.5 A resolution has been collected on a San Diego Multiwire Detector system at the University of Alberta and a heavy-atom derivative search is presently in progress.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Quantitative structure-activity relationships and mixture toxicity of organic chemicals in Photobacterium phosphoreum: the Microtox test.

Quantitative structure-activity relationships were calculated for the inhibition of bioluminescence of Photobacterium phosphoreum by 22 nonreactive organic chemicals. The inhibition was measured using the Microtox test and correlated with the partition coefficient between n-octanol and water (Poct), molar refractivity (MR), and molar volume (MW/d). At log Poct less than 1 and greater than 3, deviations from linearity were observed. Introduction of MR and MW/d improved the quality of the relationships. The influences of MR or MW/d may be related with an interaction of the tested chemicals to the enzyme system which produces the light emission. The sensitivity of the Microtox test to the 22 tested compounds is comparable to a 14-day acute mortality test with guppies for chemicals with log Poct less than 4. The inhibition of bioluminescence by a mixture of the tested compounds was slightly less than was expected in case of concentration addition. The Microtox test can give a good estimate of the total aspecific "minimum toxicity" of polluted waters. When rather lipophilic compounds or pollutants with more specific modes of action are present, this test will underestimate the toxicity to other aquatic life.

Chemical Phenomena↗

Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase from Photobacterium phosphoreum shares properties with a mammalian mitochondrial homologue.

The marine bioluminescent bacterium Photobacterium phosphoreum expresses a bifunctional methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase with dual cofactor specificity. An investigation of the kinetic parameters of the P. phosphoreum enzyme indicate that its utilization of dinucleotide cofactors shares similarities with the human mitochondrial dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase. Both enzymes exhibit dual cofactor specificity and the NAD(+)-dependent dehydrogenase activities from both enzymes can be activated by inorganic phosphate. Furthermore, an analysis of multiply aligned dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase sequences from 11 species revealed that bacterial and mitochondrial enzymes are more closely related to each other than to the dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase domains from eukaryotic trifunctional enzymes, and that the bacterial and mitochondrial enzymes share a common point of divergence. Since the NADP+ cofactor is kinetically favoured by a factor of 18 over NAD+, and is therefore likely to be the preferred in vivo cofactor, we propose that the P. phosphoreum enzyme and the human mitochondrial enzyme evolved from a common ancestral dehydrogenase-cyclohydrolase with dual cofactor specificity, but that cofactor preference in these two enzymes diverged in response to different metabolic requirements.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Expression and properties of the recombinant lumazine (riboflavin) protein from Photobacterium leiognathi.

Photobacterium leiognathi lumazine protein has been expressed in Escherichia coli in high yield, 30 mg/l. The cloned gene was one previously reported by Illarionov (EMBL X56534), that had a similar sequence and was located in the same position as the lumazine protein gene in P. phosphoreum. This gene was placed downstream of the T7 gene 10 promoter of the plasmid pT7-7. When the E. coli are grown at 37 degrees C the protein accumulates in inclusion bodies but solubilization can be achieved in 6 M urea. By a simple procedure of dialysis in the presence of riboflavin and centrifugation, without any chromatography, the recombinant holoprotein is purified to 95% homogeneity. The spectral properties of this recombinant riboflavin protein are the same as those of a fluorescent riboflavin-bound protein produced by many strains of P. leiognathi. The absorption spectrum has the same maxima, 276, 386, 464 nm, the circular dichroism is also the same, and both absorption spectrum and CD are the same as that of apo-lumazine protein having riboflavin bound. The riboflavin on the recombinant can be easily replaced by 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. The absorption and fluorescence spectra, fluorescence yield, and bioluminescence properties of this rebound protein identify it as authentic lumazine protein.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Isolation of the lux genes from Photobacterium leiognathi and expression in Escherichia coli.

Genes necessary for luminescence (lux genes) in the marine bacterium Photobacterium leiognathi, strain PL721, were isolated and expressed in Escherichia coli. A 15-kb fragment obtained from a partial digestion of PL721 DNA with HindIII was cloned into the plasmid pACYC184, resulting in the hybrid plasmid pSD721. When pSD721 was transformed into E. coli ED8654, the resulting transformants were luminous with no additions to the cells, indicating that it contained the structural genes coding for the alpha and beta subunits of luciferase (luxA and luxB), and for components involved in aldehyde biosynthesis. Hybridization analysis with luxA and luxB 32P probes confirmed the location of these two genes on the 15-kb insert. When pSD721 was transformed into four different strains of E. coli, luminescence expression varied widely in amount and in pattern. In some strains, luminescence developed like an autoinducible system, and at maximum induction was very bright, even with no addition of aldehyde, while in others, luminescence was 100-fold less, and no induction was seen. In no case was luminescence affected by shifts in temperature, osmolarity, or iron concentration. These results indicate that, while the complete lux regulon is apparently contained on the 15-kb cloned fragment, the regulation of the lux regulon in pSD721 is subject to host controls by E. coli, controls which vary widely among different E. coli strains.

Cloning, Molecular↗

Isolation of bioluminescent functions from Photobacterium leiognathi: analysis of luxA, luxB, luxG and neighboring genes.

Genes encoding luminescence of Photobacterium leiognathi have been cloned in Escherichia coli. The luminescent clones were readily apparent. Among them, a clone containing a recombinant plasmid with a 13.5-kb insertion was identified. This DNA fragment contained all of the luminescence-encoding genes. The luciferase-encoding genes (lux) in this DNA fragment were localized. We have sequenced a part of the cloned lux region and identified the luxA, luxB and luxG genes encoding the alpha and beta subunits of luciferase and a gamma protein with an Mr of 26,180, respectively. The analysis of deduced amino acid sequences and comparison with known luciferase sequences from Vibrio harveyi, indicate the common origin of these proteins.

Acyltransferases↗

Sequence of the luxD gene encoding acyltransferase of the lux operon from Photobacterium leiognathi.

The nucleotide sequence of luxD (EMBL accession No. X65611), encoding acyltransferase (ACT), of the lux operon from Photobacterium leiognathi PL741 was determined, and the amino acid (aa) sequence was deduced. ACT is a component of the fatty acid reductase complex, which is responsible for converting fatty acid to aldehyde that serves as the substrate in the luciferase-catalyzed bioluminescent reactions. The protein has a calculated M(r) of 34,384 and comprises 305 aa residues. Alignment and comparison of the ACT of P. leiognathi with that of Vibrio fischeri ATCC7744, V. harveyi B392 and Xenorhabdus luminescens Hm shows that there is 66%, 59% and 61% aa identity, respectively.

Acyltransferases↗

Sequence of the ompH gene from the deep-sea bacterium Photobacterium SS9.

In contrast to studies of many other extremophiles, the molecular characterization of the barophilic or high-pressure-adapted bacteria of the deep ocean is virtually nonexistent. One exception is the discovery that the moderate barophile Photobacterium SS9 preferentially synthesizes a 37-kDa outer membrane protein, designated OmpH, in response to elevated hydrostatic pressure. We report here on the molecular characterization of the ompH gene. The deduced amino acid sequence of mature OmpH is similar to a number of porin proteins, including significant similarity to porin protein P2 from Haemophilus influenzae. It appears likely that OmpH is a unique porin whose synthesis is responsive to changes in the pressure regime of the deep-sea bacterium.

Adaptation, Physiological↗