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Journal of Bacteriology, June 2004, p. 3640-3648, Vol. 186, No. 11
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.11.3640-3648.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Dimethylselenide Demethylation Is an Adaptive Response to Selenium Deprivation in the Archaeon Methanococcus voltae

Ulf M. Niess and Albrecht Klein*

Genetics, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, D-35032 Marburg, Germany

Received 20 November 2003/ Accepted 17 February 2004

The archaeon Methanococcus voltae needs selenium for optimal growth. A gene group most likely involved in the demethylation of dimethylselenide was discovered, the expression of which is induced upon selenium deprivation. The operon comprises open reading frames for a corrinoid protein and two putative methyltransferases. It is shown that the addition of dimethylselenide to selenium-depleted growth medium relieves the lack of selenium, as indicated by the repression of a promoter of a transcription unit encoding selenium-free hydrogenases which is normally active only upon selenium deprivation. Knockout mutants of the corrinoid protein or one of the two methyltransferase genes did not show repression of the hydrogenase promoter in the presence of dimethylselenide. The mutation of the other methyltransferase gene had no effect. Growth rates of the two effective mutants were reduced compared to wild-type cells in selenium-limited medium in the presence of dimethylselenide.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Genetics, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Karl von Frisch St. 8, D-35032 Marburg, Germany. Phone: 49-6421-2823014. Fax: 49-6421-2828971. E-mail: uniess{at}web.de.

Journal of Bacteriology, June 2004, p. 3640-3648, Vol. 186, No. 11
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.11.3640-3648.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Lenz, M., Smit, M., Binder, P., van Aelst, A. C., Lens, P. N. L. (2008). Biological Alkylation and Colloid Formation of Selenium in Methanogenic UASB Reactors. J. Environ. Qual. 37: 1691-1700 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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