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Bd oxidase homologue of photosynthetic purple sulfur bacterium Allochromatium vinosum is co-transcribed with a nitrogen fixation related gene

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Abstract

Purple sulfur bacteria, which are known to be the most ancient among anoxygenic phototrophs, play an important role in the global sulfur cycle. Allochromatium vinosum oxidizes reduced sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, elemental sulfur and thiosulfide. At low oxygen concentrations, A. vinosum can grow chemotrophically using oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor. Being also a nitrogen fixer, A. vinosum is faced with the paradox of co-existence of aerobic metabolism and nitrogen fixation. Due to growth difficulties, only a few studies have dealt with the aerobic metabolism of the organism and, until now, there has been no information about the genes involved in the respiratory metabolism of purple sulfur bacteria. In this article we show the first terminal oxidase gene for A. vinosum. The presence of a Bd type of quinol oxidase is necessary to protect nitrogenases against the inhibitory effects of oxygen. In this case, a nitrogen fixation related gene is part of the cyd operon and this gene is co-transcribed with cydAB genes. Bd oxidase of A. vinosum may be the earliest form of oxidase where the function of the enzyme is to scavenge the contaminant oxygen during nitrogen fixation. This may be an important clue about the early evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis, perhaps as a protective mechanism for nitrogen fixation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) TBAG-105T080). We would like to thank Christiane Dahl of Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn for providing the A. vinosum DSMZ180T culture and for valuable suggestions. We would also like to thank Charlotte Kampf for valuable discussions and suggestions. We would like to acknowledge technical assistance from Elif Aysimi Duman and Mustafa Kolukirik during different stages of this project. The first cydA construct was cloned by the first author in Dr. David Knaff’s laboratory at Texas Tech University from Strain D of A. vinosum.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Sciences and Letters, Istanbul Technical University, Maslak, 34469, Istanbul, Turkey

    H. Benan Dincturk, Volkan Demir & Tutku Aykanat

  2. Tulpenstraat 20, Kraainem, 1950, Belgium

    H. Benan Dincturk

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  1. H. Benan Dincturk
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  2. Volkan Demir
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  3. Tutku Aykanat
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Correspondence to H. Benan Dincturk.

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Dincturk, H.B., Demir, V. & Aykanat, T. Bd oxidase homologue of photosynthetic purple sulfur bacterium Allochromatium vinosum is co-transcribed with a nitrogen fixation related gene. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 99, 211–220 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-010-9478-5

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