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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Methanobactin and MmoD work in concert to act as the 'copper-switch' in methanotrophs
Environmental Microbiology, Volume 15, No. 11, Year 2013
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Description
Summary: Biological oxidation of methane to methanol by aerobic bacteria is catalysed by two different enzymes, the cytoplasmic or soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) and the membrane-bound or particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO). Expression of MMOs is controlled by a 'copper-switch', i.e. sMMO is only expressed at very low copper:biomass ratios, while pMMO expression increases as this ratio increases. Methanotrophs synthesize a chalkophore, methanobactin, for the binding and import of copper. Previous work suggested that methanobactin was formed from a polypeptide precursor. Here we report that deletion of the gene suspected to encode for this precursor, mbnA, in Methylosinus trichosporiumOB3b, abolishes methanobactin production. Further, gene expression assays indicate that methanobactin, together with another polypeptide of previously unknown function, MmoD, play key roles in regulating expression of MMOs. Based on these data, we propose a general model explaining how expression of the MMO operons is regulated by copper, methanobactin and MmoD. The basis of the 'copper-switch' is MmoD, and methanobactin amplifies the magnitude of the switch. Bioinformatic analysis of bacterial genomes indicates that the production of methanobactin-like compounds is not confined to methanotrophs, suggesting that its use as a metal-binding agent and/or role in gene regulation may be widespread in nature. © 2013 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Semrau, Jeremy D.
United States, Ann Arbor
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Jagadevan, Sheeja
United States, Ann Arbor
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Dispirito, Alan A.
United States, Ames
Iowa State University
Khalifa, Ashraf Y.Z.
United Kingdom, Coventry
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
Egypt, Beni Suef
Faculty of Sciences
Scanlan, Julie
United Kingdom, Coventry
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine
Bergman, Brandt H.
United States, Ames
Iowa State University
Freemeier, Brittani C.
United States, Ames
Iowa State University
Baral, Bipin S.
United States, Ames
Iowa State University
Bandow, Nathan L.
United States, Ames
Iowa State University
Vorobev, Alexey
United States, Ann Arbor
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Haft, Daniel H.
United States, Rockville
J. Craig Venter Institute
Vuilleumier, Stéphane
France, Strasbourg
Génétique Moléculaire, Génomique, Microbiologie Gmgm
Colin Murrell, J.
United Kingdom, Norwich
University of East Anglia
Statistics
Citations: 119
Authors: 13
Affiliations: 7
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/1462-2920.12150
ISSN:
14622912
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics