Microbial metabolism of oxochlorates: A bioenergetic perspective (original) (raw)
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Electron transport in microbial chlorate respiration
Several bacterial species are capable to use perchlorate and/or chlorate as an alternative electron acceptor in absence of oxygen. Microbial respiration of oxochlorates is important for biotreatment of effluent from industries where oxochlorates are produced or handled. One of these species, the Gram-negative Ideonella dechloratans, is able to reduce chlorate but not perchlorate. Two soluble enzymes, chlorate reductase and chlorite dismutase, participate in the conversion of chlorate into chloride and molecular oxygen. The present study deals with the electron transport from the membrane-bound components to the periplasmic chlorate reductase. Soluble c cytochromes were investigated for their ability to serve as electron donors to chlorate reductase. The results show that a 6 kDa c cytochrome serves as electron donor for chlorate reductase. This cytochrome also serves as electron donor for a terminal oxidase in the reduction of oxygen that is produced in the course of chlorate respiration. A gene encoding a soluble c cytochrome was found in close proximity to the gene cluster for chlorate reduction. This gene was cloned and expressed heterologously, and the resulting protein was investigated as a candidate electron donor for chlorate reductase. Electron transfer from this protein could not be demonstrated, suggesting that the gene product does not serve as immediate electron donor for chlorate reductase.
c Cytochromes as Electron Carriers in Microbial Chlorate Respiration
2011
Microbial respiration of oxochlorates is important for the biotreatment of effluents from industries where oxochlorates are produced or handled. Several bacterial species are capable to use perchlorate and/or chlorate as an alternative electron acceptor in absence of oxygen. The present study deals with the electron transport from the membrane-bound components to the periplasmic chlorate reductase, in the gram-negative bacterium Ideonella dechloratans. Both chlorate reductase and the terminal oxidase of I. dechloratans were found to utilize soluble c cytochromes as electron donors. For further investigation, two major heme-containing components were purified and characterized. The most abundant was a 9 kDa c-type cytochrome (class I), denoted cytochrome c-Id1. This protein was shown to serve as electron donor for both chlorate reductase, and for a terminal oxidase. The other major component was a 55 kDa homotetrameric cytochrome c', (class II). A function for this cytochrome could not be demonstrated but it does not appear to serve as electron donor to chlorate reductase. A gene predicted to encode a soluble c cytochrome was found in close proximity to the gene cluster for chlorate reduction. The predicted sequence did not match any of the cytochromes discussed above. The gene was cloned and expressed heterologously, and the resulting protein was investigated as a candidate electron donor for chlorate reductase. Electron transfer from this protein could not be demonstrated, suggesting that the gene product does not serve as immediate electron donor for chlorate reductase. * After several subcultivations on chlorate, Ideonella dechloratans loses the ability to use nitrate as electron acceptor (Malmqvist et al, 1994).
Biotechnology Journal, 2014
Chlorite is a serious environmental concern, as rising concentrations of this harmful anthropogenic compound have been detected in groundwater, drinking water, and soil. Chlorite dismutases (Clds) are therefore important molecules in bioremediation as Clds catalyze the degradation of chlorite to chloride and molecular oxygen. Clds are heme b-containing oxidoreductases present in numerous bacterial and archaeal phyla. This review presents the phylogeny of functional Clds and Cld-like proteins, and demonstrates the close relationship of this novel enzyme family to the recently discovered dye-decolorizing peroxidases. The available X-ray structures, biophysical and enzymatic properties, as well as a proposed reaction mechanism, are presented and critically discussed. Open questions about structure-function relationships are addressed, including the nature of the catalytically relevant redox and reaction intermediates and the mechanism of inactivation of Clds during turnover. Based on analysis of currently available data, chlorite dismutase from "Candidatus Nitrospira defluvii" is suggested as a model Cld for future application in biotechnology and bioremediation. Additionally, Clds can be used in various applications as local generators of molecular oxygen, a reactivity already exploited by microbes that must perform aerobic metabolic pathways in the absence of molecular oxygen. For biotechnologists in the field of chemical engineering and bioremediation, this review provides the biochemical and biophysical background of the Cld enzyme family as well as critically assesses Cld's technological potential.
2004
The effect of nitrate on perchlorate and chlorate reduction by perchlorate-respiring bacteria (PRB), and on chlorate reduction by chlorate-respiring bacteria (CRB), is not well understood, particularly with respect to the induction of pathways used to degrade these different chemicals. Based on kinetic data obtained in a series of batch tests, we determined that perchlorate respiratory enzymes were inducible (by chlorate or perchlorate) and separate from those used for denitrification by PRB strain Dechlorosoma sp. KJ. Aerobically grown cultures of KJ had lag times of greater than 0.3-2 days when transferred to a medium containing only perchlorate, chlorate, or nitrate as an electron acceptor. There were no lag times for transfers between identical media. Washed cells reduced very little nitrate (o10%) when grown only on chlorate or perchlorate. When grown on nitrate, they degraded little chlorate or perchlorate. The same lack of activity with these electron acceptors was also observed using cell extracts and methyl viologen as an electron carrier, indicating a lack of reactivity was not due to failure of the chemical to diffuse into the cell. Taken together, these results indicated that enzymes for perchlorate and nitrate reduction are separately expressed in strain KJ. The presence of small amounts of nitrate in contaminated groundwater may actually help to increase rates of perchlorate reduction once the nitrate is completely removed. When strain KJ was pre-grown on nitrate and perchlorate, perchlorate degradation (in the absence of nitrate) was more rapid compared to cells grown only on perchlorate. Pseudomonas sp. PDA was unable to degrade perchlorate or grow using nitrate, and the induction of enzymes necessary for chlorate respiration differed for strains KJ and PDA. While chlorate reductase and chlorite dismutase activity were induced in KJ by chlorate or perchlorate under anaerobic conditions, these two enzymes were constitutively expressed by PDA under anaerobic and aerobic conditions independent of the presence of chlorate. To our knowledge, this is the first report of constitutive expression of both chlorate reductase and chlorite dismutase in a bacterium. r
Kinetics of a hydrogen-oxidizing, perchlorate-reducing bacterium
Water Research, 2006
This paper provides the first kinetic parameters for a hydrogen-oxidizing perchloratereducing bacterium (PCRB), Dechloromonas sp. PC1. The q max for perchlorate and chlorate were 3.1 and 6.3 mg/mgDW-day, respectively. The K for perchlorate was 0.14 mg/L, an order of magnitude lower than reported for other PCRB. The yields Y on perchlorate and chlorate were 0.23 and 0.22 mgDW/mg, respectively, and the decay constant b was 0.055/day. The growth-threshold, S min , for perchlorate was 14 mg/L, suggesting that perchlorate cannot be reduced below this level when perchlorate is the primary electron-acceptor, although it may be possible when oxygen or nitrate is the primary acceptor. Chlorate accumulated at maximum concentrations of 0.6-4.3 mg/L in batch tests with initial perchlorate concentrations ranging from 100 to 600 mg/L. Furthermore, 50 mg/L chlorate inhibited perchlorate reduction with perchlorate at 100 mg/L. This is the first report of chlorate accumulation and inhibition for a pure culture of PCRB. These Chlorate effects are consistent with competitive inhibition between perchlorate and chlorate for the (per)chlorate reductase enzyme.
The pathways involved in aromatic compound oxidation under perchlorate and chlorate [collectively known as (per)chlorate]-reducing conditions are poorly understood. Previous studies suggest that these are oxygenase-dependent pathways involving O2 biogenically produced during (per)chlorate respiration. Recently, we described Sedimenticola selenatireducens CUZ and Dechloromarinus chlorophilus NSS, which oxidized phenylacetate and benzoate, two key intermediates in aromatic compound catabolism, coupled to the reduction of perchlorate or chlorate, respectively, and nitrate. While strain CUZ also oxidized benzoate and phenylacetate with oxygen as an electron acceptor, strain NSS oxidized only the latter, even at a very low oxygen concentration (1%, vol/vol). Strains CUZ and NSS contain similar genes for both the anaerobic and aerobic-hybrid pathways of benzoate and phenylacetate degradation; however, the key genes (paaABCD) encoding the epoxidase of the aerobic-hybrid phenylacetate pathway were not found in either genome. By using transcriptomics and proteomics, as well as by monitoring metabolic intermediates, we investigated the utilization of the anaerobic and aerobic-hybrid pathways on different electron acceptors. For strain CUZ, the results indicated utilization of the anaerobic pathways with perchlorate and nitrate as electron acceptors and of the aerobic-hybrid pathways in the presence of oxygen. In contrast, proteomic results suggest that strain NSS may use a combination of the anaerobic and aerobic-hybrid pathways when growing on phenylacetate with chlorate. Though microbial (per)chlorate reduction produces molecular oxygen through the dismutation of chlorite (ClO2−), this study demonstrates that anaerobic pathways for the degradation of aromatics can still be utilized by these novel organisms. IMPORTANCE S. selenatireducens CUZ and D. chlorophilus NSS are (per)chlorate- and chlorate-reducing bacteria, respectively, whose genomes encode both anaerobic and aerobic-hybrid pathways for the degradation of phenylacetate and benzoate. Previous studies have shown that (per)chlorate-reducing bacteria and chlorate-reducing bacteria (CRB) can use aerobic pathways to oxidize aromatic compounds in otherwise anoxic environments by capturing the oxygen produced from chlorite dismutation. In contrast, we demonstrate that S. selenatireducens CUZ is the first perchlorate reducer known to utilize anaerobic aromatic degradation pathways with perchlorate as an electron acceptor and that it does so in preference over the aerobic-hybrid pathways, regardless of any oxygen produced from chlorite dismutation. D. chlorophilus NSS, on the other hand, may be carrying out anaerobic and aerobic-hybrid processes simultaneously. Concurrent use of anaerobic and aerobic pathways has not been previously reported for other CRB or any microorganisms that encode similar pathways of phenylacetate or benzoate degradation and may be advantageous in low-oxygen environments.
Kinetics of Perchlorate and Chlorate-Respiring Bacteria
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2001
Ten chlorate-respiring bacteria were isolated from wastewater and a perchlorate-degrading bioreactor. Eight of the isolates were able to degrade perchlorate, and all isolates used oxygen and chlorate as terminal electron acceptors. The growth kinetics of two perchlorate-degrading isolates, designated "Dechlorosoma" sp. strains KJ and PDX, were examined with acetate as the electron donor in batch tests. The maximum observed aerobic growth rates of KJ and PDX (0.27 and 0.28 h ؊1 , respectively) were only slightly higher than the anoxic growth rates obtained by these isolates during growth with chlorate (0.26 and 0.21 h ؊1 , respectively). The maximum observed growth rates of the two non-perchlorate-utilizing isolates (PDA and PDB) were much higher under aerobic conditions (0.64 and 0.41 h ؊1 , respectively) than under anoxic (chlorate-reducing) conditions (0.18 and 0.21 h ؊1 , respectively). The maximum growth rates of PDX on perchlorate and chlorate were identical (0.21 h ؊1 ) and exceeded that of strain KJ on perchlorate (0.14 h ؊1 ). Growth of one isolate (PDX) was more rapid on acetate than on lactate. There were substantial differences in the half-saturation constants measured for anoxic growth of isolates on acetate with excess perchlorate (470 mg/liter for KJ and 45 mg/liter for PDX). Biomass yields (grams of cells per gram of acetate) for strain KJ were not statistically different in the presence of the electron acceptors oxygen (0.46 ؎ 0.07 [n ؍ 7]), chlorate (0.44 ؎ 0.05 [n ؍ 7]), and perchlorate (0.50 ؎ 0.08 [n ؍ 7]). These studies provide evidence that facultative microorganisms with the capability for perchlorate and chlorate respiration exist, that not all chlorate-respiring microorganisms are capable of anoxic growth on perchlorate, and that isolates have dissimilar growth kinetics using different electron donors and acceptors.
Effect of O2 exposure on perchlorate reduction by Dechlorosoma sp. KJ
2004
Anaerobic bioreactors have been developed to remove perchlorate from water, but backwashing and operational interruptions can expose biofilms to oxygen. While it is well known that oxygen is a preferential electron acceptor to perchlorate for perchlorate-respiring bacteria, little is known about the effect of oxygen exposure or redox potentials on perchlorate reduction. Four different dissolved oxygen scavengers were tested for their ability to quickly restore anaerobic conditions and allow perchlorate reduction by a facultative, perchlorate respiring bacterium Dechlorosoma sp. KJ. Of the four different oxygen scavengers tested (Oxyraset, l-cysteine, Na 2 S and FeS), only Oxyraset was able to rapidly (o30 min) scavenge dissolved oxygen and allow cell growth. There was no cell growth after addition of Na 2 S and FeS, and l-cysteine produced a long lag in cell growth. To investigate the effect of dissolved oxygen on perchlorate reduction, anaerobically grown cultures Dechlorosoma sp. KJ, were exposed to dissolved oxygen for various periods ranging from 1 to 32 h. Perchlorate reduction and redox potential were then measured for cells returned to an anaerobic environment containing an oxygen scavenger. It was determined that cells exposed to dissolved oxygen for more than 12 h were incapable of reducing perchlorate. Cells exposed to dissolved oxygen for less than 12 h quickly reduced the redox potential to negative values (À127 mV to À337 mV) and were able to reduce perchlorate or chlorite. Our results suggest that aeration during backwashing of biofilm reactors, or exposure of perchlorate-degrading cell suspensions to dissolve oxygen for less than 12 h, will not be detrimental to the ability of perchlorate-degrading bacteria to use perchlorate as an electron acceptor. r
Environmental Factors That Control Microbial Perchlorate Reduction
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2002
As part of a study to elucidate the environmental parameters that control microbial perchlorate respiration, we investigated the reduction of perchlorate by the dissimilatory perchlorate reducer Dechlorosoma suillum under a diverse set of environmental conditions. Our results demonstrated that perchlorate reduction by D. suillum only occurred under anaerobic conditions in the presence of perchlorate and was dependent on the presence of molybdenum. Perchlorate reduction was dependent on the presence of the enzyme chlorite dismutase, which was induced during metabolism of perchlorate. Anaerobic conditions alone were not enough to induce expression of this enzyme. Dissolved oxygen concentrations less than 2 mg liter ؊1 were enough to inhibit perchlorate reduction by D. suillum. Similarly to oxygen, nitrate also regulated chlorite dismutase expression and repressed perchlorate reduction by D. suillum. Perchlorate-grown cultures of D. suillum preferentially reduced nitrate in media with equimolar amounts of perchlorate and nitrate. In contrast, an extended (40 h) lag phase was observed if a similar nitrate-perchlorate medium was inoculated with a nitrate-grown culture. Perchlorate reduction commenced only when nitrate was completely removed in either of these experiments. In contrast to D. suillum, nitrate had no inhibitory effects on perchlorate reduction by the perchlorate reducer Dechloromonas agitata strain CKB. Nitrate was reduced to nitrite concomitant with perchlorate reduction to chloride. These studies demonstrate that microbial respiration of perchlorate is significantly affected by environmental conditions and perchlorate reduction is directly dependent on bioavailable molybdenum and the presence or absence of competing electron acceptors. A microbial treatment strategy can achieve and maintain perchlorate concentrations below the recommended regulatory level, but only in environments in which the variables described above can be controlled.
Biotechnological Applications of Microbial (Per)chlorate Reduction
Microorganisms, 2017
While the microbial degradation of a chloroxyanion-based herbicide was first observed nearly ninety years ago, only recently have researchers elucidated the underlying mechanisms of perchlorate and chlorate [collectively, (per)chlorate] respiration. Although the obvious application of these metabolisms lies in the bioremediation and attenuation of (per)chlorate in contaminated environments, a diversity of alternative and innovative biotechnological applications has been proposed based on the unique metabolic abilities of dissimilatory (per)chlorate-reducing bacteria (DPRB). This is fueled in part by the unique ability of these organisms to generate molecular oxygen as a transient intermediate of the central pathway of (per)chlorate respiration. This ability, along with other novel aspects of the metabolism, have resulted in a wide and disparate range of potential biotechnological applications being proposed, including enzymatic perchlorate detection; gas gangrene therapy; enhanced xenobiotic bioremediation; oil reservoir bio-souring control; chemostat hygiene control; aeration enhancement in industrial bioreactors; and, biogenic oxygen production for planetary exploration. While previous reviews focus on the fundamental science of microbial (per)chlorate reduction (for example see Youngblut et al., 2016), here, we provide an overview of the emerging biotechnological applications of (per)chlorate respiration and the underlying organisms and enzymes to environmental and biotechnological industries.