This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wildschut, J. D.
Right arrow Articles by Voordouw, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wildschut, J. D.
Right arrow Articles by Voordouw, G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, September 2006, p. 6253-6260, Vol. 188, No. 17
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00425-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Rubredoxin:Oxygen Oxidoreductase Enhances Survival of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough under Microaerophilic Conditions

Janine D. Wildschut, R. Michael Lang, Johanna K. Voordouw, and Gerrit Voordouw*

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada

Received 27 March 2006/ Accepted 21 June 2006

Genes for superoxide reductase (Sor), rubredoxin (Rub), and rubredoxin:oxygen oxidoreductase (Roo) are located in close proximity in the chromosome of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough. Protein blots confirmed the absence of Roo from roo mutant and sor-rub-roo (srr) mutant cells and its presence in sor mutant and wild-type cells grown under anaerobic conditions. Oxygen reduction rates of the roo and srr mutants were 20 to 40% lower than those of the wild type and the sor mutant, indicating that Roo functions as an O2 reductase in vivo. Survival of single cells incubated for 5 days on agar plates under microaerophilic conditions (1% air) was 85% for the sor, 4% for the roo, and 0.7% for the srr mutant relative to that of the wild type (100%). The similar survival rates of sor mutant and wild-type cells suggest that O2 reduction by Roo prevents the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under these conditions; i.e., the ROS-reducing enzyme Sor is only needed for survival when Roo is missing. In contrast, the sor mutant was inactivated much more rapidly than the roo mutant when liquid cultures were incubated in 100% air, indicating that O2 reduction by Roo and other terminal oxidases did not prevent ROS formation under these conditions. Competition of Sor and Roo for limited reduced Rub was suggested by the observation that the roo mutant survived better than the wild type under fully aerobic conditions. The roo mutant was more strongly inhibited than the wild type by the nitric oxide (NO)-generating compound S-nitrosoglutathione, indicating that Roo may also serve as an NO reductase in vivo.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada. Phone: (403) 220-6388. Fax: (403) 289-9311. E-mail: voordouw{at}ucalgary.ca.


Journal of Bacteriology, September 2006, p. 6253-6260, Vol. 188, No. 17
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00425-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.




This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Kawasaki, S., Satoh, T., Todoroki, M., Niimura, Y. (2009). b-Type Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase Is Purified as a H2O2-Forming NADH Oxidase from Bifidobacterium bifidum. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 629-636 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bender, K. S., Yen, H.-C. B., Hemme, C. L., Yang, Z., He, Z., He, Q., Zhou, J., Huang, K. H., Alm, E. J., Hazen, T. C., Arkin, A. P., Wall, J. D. (2007). Analysis of a Ferric Uptake Regulator (Fur) Mutant of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 5389-5400 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mukhopadhyay, A., Redding, A. M., Joachimiak, M. P., Arkin, A. P., Borglin, S. E., Dehal, P. S., Chakraborty, R., Geller, J. T., Hazen, T. C., He, Q., Joyner, D. C., Martin, V. J. J., Wall, J. D., Yang, Z. K., Zhou, J., Keasling, J. D. (2007). Cell-Wide Responses to Low-Oxygen Exposure in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough. J. Bacteriol. 189: 5996-6010 [Abstract] [Full Text]