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PubMed1986

Autoregulation of the nar operon encoding nitrate reductase in Escherichia coli.

Nitrate reductase is demonstrated to exert an autogenous control on its own synthesis. This effect requires the participation of the molybdenum cofactor. Use of strains in which the control region of the nar operon is mutated reveals two loci in this region: one, affected in strain LCB94, is common to both autoregulation and induction by nitrate while the other, mutated in strain LCB188, is specific for the induction by nitrate. It is proposed that the autogenous control prevents the unnecessary accumulation of the nitrate reductase subunits in the cytoplasm.

Aerobiosis↗
PubMed1984

Electron paramagnetic resonance studies on the molybdenum center of assimilatory NADH:nitrate reductase from Chlorella vulgaris.

The assimilatory nitrate reductase from Chlorella contains flavin, heme, and molybdenum as prosthetic groups. The molybdenum in assimilatory nitrate reductase is associated with a pterin moiety (molybdopterin) as evidenced by the ability of the enzyme to donate active molybdenum cofactor to the Neurospora nitrate reductase mutant nit-1 and by the oxidative conversion of the pterin to two well characterized fluorescent derivatives. The properties of the molybdenum center have been examined by EPR spectroscopy. A molybdenum V signal, absent in the resting enzyme, is elicited upon reduction with NADH and abolished upon reoxidation with nitrate. Reaction of the reduced enzyme with cyanide also abolishes the molybdenum V signal. The line shape and g values of the signal show pH dependence analogous to those observed previously with hepatic sulfite oxidase. The gav for molybdenum V at pH 7.0 was 1.977 and at pH 9.0, 1.961. The signal observed at pH 7.0 exhibits interaction with a single exchangeable proton. Potentiometric titration of the molybdenum center at pH 7.0 indicates that the oxidation-reduction potentials of the molybdenum VI/V and molybdenum V/IV couples are -34 and -54 mV, respectively. These potentials are significantly different from the potentials of the molybdenum center of respiratory-type nitrate reductase and in fact quite closely resemble those of hepatic sulfite oxidase. The oxidized enzyme exhibits the EPR signal of a low spin ferric heme which is abolished upon reduction with NADH.

Chlorella↗
PubMed1981

Histochemical localization of nitrate reductase.

NADH-dependent nitrate reductase (E.C. 1.6.6.1) was ultrastructurally localized in norflurazon-treated and control soybean cotyledons [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] by a method based upon the increase in osmiophilia due to the formation of an azo dye. The reaction product was observed in small vesicles throughout the cytoplasm. An apparent transport of nitrite to the plastid, the site of nitrite reduction, may occur through fusion of the nitrite-containing vesicles with the chloroplast envelope. Plants grown in tungstate lacked nitrate reductase activity as measured by standard assay procedures, and showed no increase in osmiophilia, suggesting a degree of specificity of this cytochemical procedure.

Herbicides↗
PubMed1977

Assimilatory nitrate reductase from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus.

A soluble nitrate reductase from the bacterium Acinetobacter calcoaceticus grown on nitrate has been characterized. The reduction of nitrate to nitrite is mediated by an enzyme of 96000 molecular weight that can use as electron donors either viologen dyes chemically reduced with dithionite or enzymatically reduced with NAD(P)H, through specific diaphorases which utilize viologens as electron acceptors. Nitrate reductase activity is molybdenumdependent as shown by tungstate antagonistic experiments and is sensitive to--SH reagents and metal chelators such as KCN. The enzyme synthesis is repressed by ammonia. Moreover, nitrate reductase activity undergoes a quick inactivation either by dithionite and temperature or by dithionite in the presence of small amounts of nitrate. Cyanate prevents this inactivating process and can restore the activity once the inactivation had occurred, thus suggesting that an interconversion mechanism may participate in the regulation of Acinetobacter nitrate reductase.

Acinetobacter↗
PubMed1990

Functional domains of assimilatory nitrate reductases and nitrite reductases.

Biochemical investigation of nitrate assimilation enzymes spans the past four decades. With the molecular cloning of genes for nitrate reductases and nitrite reductases, exciting new prospects are developing for the study of these enzymes. As large, complex enzymes with multiple redox centers, these two types of reductases should help us gain understanding of structural, functional and evolutionary relationships among the diverse group of multicenter redox enzymes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1977

Regulation of the Neurospora crassa assimilatory nitrate reductase.

Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-nitrate reductase from Neurospora crassa was purified and found to be stimulated by certain amino acids, citrate, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Stimulation by citrate and the amino acids was dependent upon the prior removal of EDTA from the enzyme preparations, since low quantities of EDTA resulted in maximal stimulation. Removal of EDTA from enzyme preparations by dialysis against Chelex-containing buffer resulted in a loss of nitrate reductase activity. Addition of alanine, arginine, glycine, glutamine, glutamate, histidine, tryptophan, and citrate restored and stimulated nitrate reductase activity from 29- to 46-fold. The amino acids tested altered the Km of NADPH-nitrate reductase for NADPH but did not significantly change that for nitrate. The Km of nitrate reductase for NADPH increased with increasing concentrations of histidine but decreased with increasing concentrations of glutamine. Amino acid modulation of NADPH-nitrate reductase activity is discussed in relation to the conservation of energy (NADPH) by Neurospora when nitrate is the nitrogen source.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1989

Chloride inhibition of spinach nitrate reductase.

Initial rate studies of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) nitrate reductase showed that NADH:nitrate reductase activity was ionic strength dependent with elevated ionic concentration resulting in inhibition. In contrast, NADH:ferricyanide reductase was markedly less ionic strength dependent. At pH 7.0, NADH:nitrate reductase activity exhibited changes in the V(max) and K(m) for NO(3) (-) yielding V(max) values of 6.1 and 4.1 micromoles NADH per minute per nanomoles heme and K(m) values of 13 and 18 micromolar at ionic strengths of 50 and 200 millimolar, respectively. Control experiments in phosphate buffer (5 millimolar) yielded a single K(m) of 93 micromolar. Chloride ions decreased both NADH:nitrate reductase and reduced methyl viologen:nitrate reductase activities, suggesting involvement of the Mo center. Chloride was determined to act as a linear, mixed-type inhibitor with a K(i) of 15 millimolar for binding to the native enzyme and 176 millimolar for binding to the enzyme-NO(3) (-) complex. Binding of Cl(-) to the enzyme-NO(3) (-) complex resulted in an inactive E-S-I complex. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra showed that chloride altered the observed Mo(V) lineshape, confirming Mo as the site of interaction of chloride with nitrate reductase.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1975

chlD gene function in molybdate activation of nitrate reductase.

chlD mutants of Escherichia coli lack active nitrate reductase but form normal levels of this enzyme when the medium is supplemented with 10-3 M molybdate. When chlD mutants were grown in unsupplemented medium and then incubated with molybdate in the presence of chloramphenicol, they formed about 5% the normal level of nitrate reductase. Some chlD mutants or the wild type grown in medium supplemented with tungstate accumulated an inactive protein which was electrophoretically identical to active nitrate reductase. Addition of molybdate to those cells in the presence of chloramphenicol resulted in the formation of fully induced levels of nitrate reductase. Two chlD mutants, including a deletion mutant, failed to accumulate the inactive protein and to form active enzyme under the same conditions. Insertion of 99-Mo into the enzyme protein paralleled activation; 185-W could not be demonstrated to be associated with the accumulated inactive protein. The rates of activation of nitrate reductase at varying molybdate concentrations indicated that the chlD gene product facilitates the activation of nitrate reductase at concentrations of molybdate found in normal growth media. At high concentrations, molybdate circumvented this function in chlD mutants and appeared to activate nitrate reductase by a mass action process. We conclude that the chlD gene plays two distinguishable roles in the formation of nitrate reductase in E. coli. It is involved in the accumulation of fully induced levels of the nitrate reductase protein in the cell membrane and it facilitates the insertion of molybdenum to form the active enzyme.

Cell-Free System↗
PubMed1993

Product-mediated regulation reveals the polymorphic nature of the yeast assimilatory nitrate reductase.

Nitrite functioned as an effective inducer of nitrate reductase, the enzyme responsible for the reduction of nitrate in the nitrate assimilation pathway in Candida utilis. Nitrite-induced synthesis of nitrate reductase in C. utilis was repressed by various metabolites of nitrate, including ammonia. Readily-assimilable sources of nitrogen such as ammonia and glutamate exerted a stronger repression on nitrate reductase induction than did less-readily assimilable hydrazine and hydroxylamine. Nitrite-mediated induction of nitrate reductase appeared more sensitive to repression by nitrate metabolites than was nitrate-mediated induction. Based on the inducer-specific differences in the sensitivity of the enzyme to repression by various intermediary metabolites and on other properties, it is proposed that the C. utilis nitrate reductase is either polymorphic or utilizes alternative receptor(s) for binding various gratuitous inducers including nitrite in initiating the induction pathway.

Candida↗
PubMed2001

Properties of a thermostable nitrate reductase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrobaculum aerophilum.

The nitrate reductase of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrobaculum aerophilum was purified 137-fold from the cytoplasmic membrane. Based on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis, the enzyme complex consists of three subunits with apparent molecular weights of 130,000, 52,000, and 32,000. The enzyme contained molybdenum (0.8-mol/mol complex), iron (15.4-mol/mol complex) and cytochrome b (0.49-mol/mol complex) as cofactors. The P. aerophilum nitrate reductase distinguishes itself from nitrate reductases of mesophilic bacteria and archaea by its very high specific activity using reduced benzyl viologen as the electron donor (V(max) with nitrate, 1,162 s(-1) (326 U/mg); V(max) with chlorate, 1,348 s(-1) (378 U/mg) [assayed at 75 degrees C]). The K(m) values for nitrate and chlorate were 58 and 140 microM, respectively. Azide was a competitive inhibitor and cyanide was a noncompetitive inhibitor of the nitrate reductase activity. The temperature optimum for activity was > 95 degrees C. When incubated at 100 degrees C, the purified nitrate reductase had a half-life of 1.5 h. This study constitutes the first description of a nitrate reductase from a hyperthermophilic archaeon.

Enzyme Stability↗
PubMed1996

Identification of Ser-543 as the major regulatory phosphorylation site in spinach leaf nitrate reductase.

Spinach leaf NADH:nitrate reductase (NR) responds to light/dark signals and photosynthetic activity in part as a result of rapid regulation by reversible protein phosphorylation. We have identified the major regulatory phosphorylation site as Ser-543, which is located in the hinge 1 region connecting the cytochrome b domain with the molybdenum-pterin cofactor binding domain of NR, using recombinant NR fragments containing or lacking the phosphorylation site sequence. Studies with NR partial reactions indicated that the block in electron flow caused by phosphorylation also could be localized to the hinge 1 region. A synthetic peptide (NR6) based on the phosphorylation site sequence was phosphorylated readily by NR kinase (NRk) in vitro. NR6 kinase activity tracked the ATP-dependent inactivation of NR during several chromatographic steps and completely inhibited inactivation/phosphorylation of native NR in vitro. Two forms of NRk were resolved by using anion exchange chromatography. Studies with synthetic peptide analogs indicated that both forms of NRk had similar specificity determinants, requiring a basic residue at P-3 (i.e., three amino acids N-terminal to the phosphorylated serine) and a hydrophobic residue at P-5. Both forms are strictly calcium dependent but belong to distinct families of protein kinases because they are distinct immunochemically.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1979

Purification and characterization of the respiratory nitrate reductase of Bacillus licheniformis.

1. Respiratory nitrate reductase of Bacillus licheniformis was extracted from the bacterial membranes by treatment with deoxycholate and purified to a homogeneous state by means of gel chromatography and anion-exchange chromatography. 2. The enzyme (Mr = 193,000, s20, w = 8.6) consists of two subunits, having apparent molecular weight of 150,000 (alpha subunit) and 57,000 (beta subunit), which are present in an equimolar ratio. It does not contain carbohydrate. Ageing of the enzyme appears to result in splitting of the polypeptide chains at specific sites followed by dissociation and reassociation of the digestion products in various combinations. 3. In contrast to Klebsiella aerogenes repiratory nitrate reductase, which is isolated in a tetrameric form that can be reversibly dissociated into a monomeric form by detergents, B. licheniformis nitrate reductase, after isolation, is always present in a monomeric form. This property is related to the difference in membrane localization of the enzyme in the two organisms. 4. B licheniformis nitrate reductase contains 6.9 atoms of non-heme iron, 6.7 atoms of acid-labile sulfide and 0.93 atoms of molybdenum per molecule of enzyme. The molybdenum seems to be part of a low-molecular weight peptide Mo-cofactor) to which it may be bound by interaction with thiol-groups. 5. Antiserum against the native enzyme contains antibodies against both subunits as well as the Mo-cofactor. The Mo-cofactor does not have any antigenic determininants in common with either the alpha or the beta subunit. Also neither subunit cross-reacts with antiserum against the other subunit. Whereas the respiratory nitrate reductases from K. aerogenes and Escherichia coli are immunologically related, the native enzyme from B. licheniformis does not show any cross-reaction with antiserum prepared against either the K. aerogenes or the E. coli enzyme.

Bacillus↗
PubMed1973

A nitrate reductase inactivating enzyme from the maize root.

The nitrate reductase in the mature root extract of 3-day maize (Zea mays) seedlings was relatively labile in vitro. Insoluble polyvinylpyrrolidone used in the extraction medium produced only a slight increase in the stability of the enzyme. Mixing the mature root extract with that of the root tip promoted the inactivation of nitrate reductase in the latter. The inactivating factor in the mature root was separated from nitrate reductase by (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitation. Nitrate reductase was found in the 40% (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitate, while the inactivating factor was largely precipitated by 40 to 55% (NH(4))(2)SO(4). The latter fraction of the mature root inactivated the nitrate reductase isolated from the root tip, mature root, and scutellum. The inactivating factor, which has a Q(10) 15 to 25 C of 2.2, was heat labile, and hence has been designated as a nitrate reductase inactivating enzyme. The reduced flavin mononucleotide nitrate reductase was also inactivated, while an NADH cytochrome c reductase in nitrate-grown seedlings was inactivated but at a slower rate. The inactivating enzyme had no influence on the activity of nitrite reductase, glutamate dehydrogenase, xanthine oxidase, and isocitrate lyase. The activity of the nitrate reductase inactivating enzyme was not influenced by nitrate and was also found in the mature root of minus nitrate-grown seedlings.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1983

Assimilatory nitrate reductase from the green alga Ankistrodesmus braunii.

Assimilatory nitrate reductase (NAD(P)H-nitrate oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.6.2) from the green alga Ankistrodesmus braunii can be purified to homogeneity by dye-ligand chromatography on blue-Sepharose. The purified enzyme, whose turnover number is 623 s-1, presents an optimum pH of 7.5 and Km values of 13 microM, 23 microM and 0.15 mM for NADH, NADPH and nitrate, respectively. The NADH-nitrate reductase activity exhibits an iso ping pong bi bi kinetic mechanism. The molecular weight of the native nitrate reductase is 467 400, while that of its subunits is 58 750. These values suggest an octameric structure for the enzyme, which has been confirmed by electron microscopy. As deduced from spectrophotometric and fluorimetric studies, the enzyme contains FAD and cytochrome b-557 as prosthetic groups. FAD is not covalently bound to the protein and is easily dissociated in diluted solutions from the enzyme. Its apparent Km value is 4 nM, indicative of a high affinity of the enzyme for FAD. The results of the quantitative analyses of prosthetic groups indicate that nitrate reductase contains four molecules of flavin, four heme irons, and two atoms of molybdenum. The three components act sequentially transferring electrons from reduced pyridine nucleotides to nitrate, thus forming a short electron transport chain along the protein. A mechanism is proposed for the redox interconversion of the nitrate reductase activity. Inactivation seems to occur by formation of a stable complex of reduced enzyme with cyanide or superoxide, while reactivation is a consequence of reoxidation of the inactive enzyme. Both reactions imply the transfer of only one electron.

Chlorophyta↗
PubMed2001

Characterization of the reduction of selenate and tellurite by nitrate reductases.

Preliminary studies showed that the periplasmic nitrate reductase (Nap) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides and the membrane-bound nitrate reductases of Escherichia coli are able to reduce selenate and tellurite in vitro with benzyl viologen as an electron donor. In the present study, we found that this is a general feature of denitrifiers. Both the periplasmic and membrane-bound nitrate reductases of Ralstonia eutropha, Paracoccus denitrificans, and Paracoccus pantotrophus can utilize potassium selenate and potassium tellurite as electron acceptors. In order to characterize these reactions, the periplasmic nitrate reductase of R. sphaeroides f. sp. denitrificans IL106 was histidine tagged and purified. The V(max) and K(m) were determined for nitrate, tellurite, and selenate. For nitrate, values of 39 micromol x min(-1) x mg(-1) and 0.12 mM were obtained for V(max) and K(m), respectively, whereas the V(max) values for tellurite and selenate were 40- and 140-fold lower, respectively. These low activities can explain the observation that depletion of the nitrate reductase in R. sphaeroides does not modify the MIC of tellurite for this organism.

Cupriavidus necator↗
PubMed1974

Use of protein in extraction and stabilization of nitrate reductase.

The in vitro instability of nitrate reductase (EC 1.6.6.1) activity from leaves of several species of higher plants was investigated. Decay of activity was exponential with time, suggesting that an enzyme-catalyzed reaction was involved. The rate of decay of nitrate reductase activity increased as leaf age increased in all species studied. Activity was relatively stable in certain genotypes of Zea mays L., but extremely unstable in others. In all genotypes of Avena sativa L. and Nicotiana tabacum L. studied, nitrate reductase was unstable. Addition of 3% (w/v) bovine serum albumin or casein to extraction media prevented or retarded the decay of nitrate reductase activity for several hours. In addition, the presence of bovine serum albumin or casein in the enzyme homogenate markedly increased nitrate reductase activity (up to 15-fold), especially in older leaf tissue.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Intact plastids are required for nitrate- and light-induced accumulation of nitrate reductase activity and mRNA in squash cotyledons.

Induction of nitrate reductase activity and mRNA by nitrate and light is prevented if chloroplasts are destroyed by photooxidation in norflurazon-treated squash (Cucurbita maxima L.) cotyledons. The enzyme activity and mRNA can be induced if norflurazon-treated squash seedlings are kept in low-intensity red light, which minimizes photodamage to the plastids. It is concluded that induction of nitrate reductase activity and nitrate reductase mRNA requires intact plastids. If squash seedlings grown in low-intensity red light are transferred to photooxidative white light, nitrate reductase activity accumulates during the first 12 hours after the shift and declines thereafter. Thus photodamage to the plastids and the disappearance of nitrate reductase activity and mRNA are events separable in time, and disappearance of the enzyme activity is a consequence of the damage to the plastids.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Introduction and expression of a deregulated tobacco nitrate reductase gene in potato lead to highly reduced nitrate levels in transgenic tubers.

Twenty transformed Solanum tuberosum plants issued from five different varieties and carrying a chimeric tobacco nitrate reductase gene (a truncated tobacco Nia2 coding sequence fused to the CaMV 35S promoter) were cultivated in field conditions at INRA Ploudaniel in 1999 and 2000. In 60% of the transgenic plants, the presence of the tobacco Nia2 transcript was detected by RT-PCR. These clones exhibited a drastic decrease in the nitrate content in tubers. Indeed the nitrate content decreased by about 95% in the tubers of transformed plants compared to nontransformed potato plants from the same variety. This decrease was correlated with a modified regulation of NR expression as revealed by a higher chlorate sensitivity of these transgenic lines. Two methods of nitrate content determination in tubers were also compared and were found to give similar results.

Base Sequence↗