No abstract

The Embden-Meyerhof (EM) or Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathways of sugar degradation were analyzed in representative species of the hyperthermophilic archaeal genera Thermococcus, Desulfurococcus, Thermoproteus, and Sulfolobus, and in the hyperthermophilic (eu)bacterial genus Thermotoga. The analyses included (1) determination of 13C-labeling patterns by 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy of fermentation products derived from pyruvate after fermentation of specifically 13C-labeled glucose by cell suspensions, (2) identification of intermediates of sugar degradation after conversion of 14C-labeled glucose by cell extracts, and (3) measurements of enzyme activities in cell extracts. Thermococcus celer and Thermococcus litoralis fermented 13C-glucose to acetate and alanine via a modified EM pathway (100%). This modification involves ADP-dependent hexokinase, 6-phosphofructokinase, and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (GAP:FdOR). Desulfurococcus amylolyticus fermented 13C-glucose to acetate via a modified EM pathway in which GAP:FdOR replaces GAP-DH/phosphoglycerate kinase. Thermoproteus tenax fermented 13C-glucose to low amounts of acetate and alanine via simultaneous operation of the EM pathway (85%) and the ED pathway (15%). Aerobic Sulfolobus acidocaldarius fermented 13C-labeled glucose to low amounts of acetate and alanine exclusively via the ED pathway. The anaerobic (eu)bacterium Thermotoga maritima fermented 13C-glucose to acetate and lactate via the EM pathway (85%) and the ED pathway (15%). Cell extracts contained glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 2-keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate aldolase, key enzymes of the conventional phosphorylated ED pathway, and, as reported previously, all enzymes of the conventional EM pathway. In conclusion, glucose was degraded by hyperthermophilic archaea to pyruvate either via modified EM pathways with different types of hexose kinases and GAP-oxidizing enzymes, by the nonphosphorylated ED pathway, or by a combination of both pathways. In contrast, glucose catabolism in the hyperthermophilic (eu)bacterium Thermotoga involves the conventional forms of the EM and ED pathways. The data are in accordance with various previous reports.

SummaryThe accumulation of organic solutes is a prerequisite for osmotic adjustment of all microorganisms. Thermophilic and hyperthermophilic organisms generally accumulate very unusual compatible solutes namely, di-myo -inositol-phosphate, di-mannosyl-di-myoinositol-phosphate, di-glycerol-phosphate, mannosylglycerate and mannosylglyceramide, which have not been identified in bacteria or archaea that grow at low and moderate temperatures. There is also a growing awareness that some of these compatible solutes may have a role in the protection of cell components against thermal denaturation. Mannosylglycerate and di-glycerol-phosphate have been shown to protect enzymes and proteins from thermal denaturation in vitro as well, or better, than compatible solutes from mesophiles. The pathways leading to the synthesis of some of these compatible solutes from thermophiles and hyperthermophiles have been elucidated. However, large numbers of questions remain unanswered. Fundamental and applied interest in compatible solutes and osmotic adjustment in these organisms, drives research that, will, in the near future, allow us to understand the role of compatible solutes in osmotic protection and thermoprotection of some of the most fascinating organisms known on Earth.

No abstract

No abstract

The involvement of nicotinamide adenine nucleotides (NAD ؉ , NADH) in the regulation of glycolysis in Lactococcus lactis was investigated by using 13 C and 31 P NMR to monitor in vivo the kinetics of the pools of NAD ؉ , NADH, ATP, inorganic phosphate (P i ), glycolytic intermediates, and end products derived from a pulse of glucose. Nicotinic acid specifically labeled on carbon 5 was synthesized and used in the growth medium as a precursor of pyridine nucleotides to allow for in vivo detection of 13 C-labeled NAD ؉ and NADH. The capacity of L. lactis MG1363 to regenerate NAD ؉ was manipulated either by turning on NADH oxidase activity or by knocking out the gene encoding lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). An LDH ؊ deficient strain was constructed by double crossover. Upon supply of glucose, NAD ؉ was constant and maximal (ϳ5 mM) in the parent strain (MG1363) but decreased abruptly in the LDH ؊ strain both under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. NADH in MG1363 was always below the detection limit as long as glucose was available. The rate of glucose consumption under anaerobic conditions was 7-fold lower in the LDH ؊ strain and NADH reached high levels (2.5 mM), reflecting severe limitation in regenerating NAD ؉ . However, under aerobic conditions the glycolytic flux was nearly as high as in MG1363 despite the accumulation of NADH up to 1.5 mM. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase was able to support a high flux even in the presence of NADH concentrations much higher than those of the parent strain. We interpret the data as showing that the glycolytic flux in wild type L. lactis is not primarily controlled at the level of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase by NADH. The ATP/ADP/P i content could play an important role.Lactococcus lactis plays an essential role in the manufacture of a wide range of dairy products. The relative simplicity of L. lactis metabolism that converts sugars via the glycolytic pathway to pyruvate, generating energy mainly through substrate level phosphorylation, makes it an attractive model organism to test metabolic engineering strategies. Moreover, the large number of genetic tools available for L. lactis (1) and the recent release of the complete genome sequence are additional incentives to study the physiology of this organism in great depth (2).Despite numerous studies, a satisfactory answer to the question, What controls the glycolytic flux in L. lactis? has not been put forward. During homolactic fermentation, regulation of the carbon flux has been associated with high levels of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (FBP), 1 which activates lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; EC 1.1.1.27) and pyruvate kinase (PK; EC 2.7.1.40), directing the flux toward the production of lactate (3). A metabolic shift from homolactic (lactate production) to mixed acid fermentation (ethanol, acetate, and formate production) was observed in glucose-limited chemostat cultures (4). A deviation from homolactic fermentation was also reported under aerobic conditions (5) or during the metabolism of galactose (6). The format...

Fructosamines are thought to play an important role in the development of diabetic complications. Little is known about reactions that could metabolize these compounds in mammalian tissues, except for recent indications that they can be converted to fructosamine 3-phosphates. The purpose of the present work was to identify and characterize the enzyme responsible for this conversion. Erythrocyte extracts were found to catalyze the ATP-dependent phosphorylation of 1-deoxy-1-morpholinofructose (DMF), a synthetic fructosamine. The enzyme responsible for this conversion was purified approximately 2,500-fold by chromatography on Blue Sepharose, Q Sepharose, and Sephacryl S-200 and shown to copurify with a 35,000-M(r) protein. Partial sequences of tryptic peptides were derived from the protein by nanoelectrospray-ionization mass spectrometry, which allowed for the identification of the corresponding human and mouse cDNAs. Both cDNAs encode proteins of 309 amino acids, showing 89% identity with each other and homologous to proteins of unknown function predicted from the sequences of several bacterial genomes. Both proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. They were shown to catalyze the phosphorylation of DMF, fructoselysine, fructoseglycine, and fructose in order of decreasing affinity. They also phosphorylated glycated lysozyme, though not unmodified lysozyme. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of phosphorylated DMF and phosphorylated fructoseglycine showed that the phosphate was bound to the third carbon of the 1-deoxyfructose moiety. The physiological function of fructosamine-3-kinase may be to initiate a process leading to the deglycation of fructoselysine and of glycated proteins.

The proton NMR spectra of the tetrahaem cytochrome c3 from Desulfovibrio gigas were examined while varying the pH and the redox potential. The analysis of the N M R reoxidation pattern was based on a model for the electron distribution between the four haems that takes into account haem-haem redox interactions. The intramolecular electron exchange is fast on the N M R time scale (larger than lo5 s-I ) . The NMR data concerning the pH dependence of the chemical shift of haem methyl resonances in different oxidation steps and resonance intensities are not compatible with a non-interacting model and can be explained assuming a redox interaction between the haems. A complete analysis at pH* = 7.2 and 9.6, shows that the haem-haem interacting potentials cover a range from -50 mV to +60 mV. The midpoint redox potentials of some of the haems, as well as some of their interacting potentials, are pH-dependent. The physiological relevance of the modulation of the haem midpoint redox potentials by both the pH and the redox potential of the solution is discussed.Cy tochromc c3 ( M , 13 000) is a multihaem protein found in anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacteria belonging to the genus Desulfuvibrin. Each molecule contains four haems with an unusually low redox potential. They are covalently attached to the polypeptide chain by thioether linkages provided by cysteinyl residues and two histidines are used as axial ligands.Cytochrome [39] have been applied to elucidate the mechanism of electron transfer in cytochrome c3.The midpoint redox potentials of the four haems are different, in general. EPR measurements coupled with potentiometric titrations were performed to determine the midpoint redox potentials of the individual haems of D. gigas cytochrome c3 [27] (-235mV, -235mV, -306mV, -315mV) [35]; the experiments were fitted by digital simulations and the best fit was obtained with -220mV, -272mV, -292mV, and --310mV, for the four macroscopic midpoint redox potentials. Bianco et al. [36] reported values of -170mV, -310mV, -360mV and -400mV for the half-wave potentials of cytochrome c3 from D. desidfuricans (Norway 4). However. it should be emphasized that the individual potentials obtained from electrochemical studies are macroscopic rather than microscopic parameters and can not be compared directly with the values obtained from EPR measurements. Furthermore, thc EPR measurements