Affiliation:
1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville , Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
2. Department of Biological Sciences, Wasit University , Wasit, Iraq
Abstract
ABSTRACT
All nitrogen-fixing bacteria and archaea (diazotrophs) use molybdenum (Mo) nitrogenase to reduce dinitrogen (N
2
) to ammonia, with some also containing vanadium (V) and iron-only (Fe) nitrogenases that lack Mo. Among diazotrophs, the regulation and usage of the alternative V-nitrogenase and Fe-nitrogenase in methanogens are largely unknown.
Methanosarcina acetivorans
contains
nif
,
vnf
, and
anf
gene clusters encoding putative Mo-nitrogenase, V-nitrogenase, and Fe-nitrogenase, respectively. This study investigated nitrogenase expression and growth by
M. acetivorans
in response to fixed nitrogen, Mo/V availability, and CRISPRi repression of the
nif
,
vnf
, and/or
anf
gene clusters. The availability of Mo and V significantly affected growth of
M. acetivorans
with N
2
but not with NH
4
Cl.
M. acetivorans
exhibited the fastest growth rate and highest cell yield during growth with N
2
in medium containing Mo, and the slowest growth in medium lacking Mo and V. qPCR analysis revealed the transcription of the
nif
operon is only moderately affected by depletion of fixed nitrogen and Mo, whereas
vnf
and
anf
transcription increased significantly when fixed nitrogen and Mo were depleted, with removal of Mo being key. Immunoblot analysis revealed Mo-nitrogenase is detected when fixed nitrogen is depleted regardless of Mo availability, while V-nitrogenase and Fe-nitrogenase are detected only in the absence of fixed nitrogen and Mo. CRISPRi repression studies revealed that V-nitrogenase and/or Fe-nitrogenase are required for Mo-independent diazotrophy, and unexpectedly that the expression of Mo-nitrogenase is also required. These results reveal that alternative nitrogenase production in
M. acetivorans
is tightly controlled and dependent on Mo-nitrogenase expression.
IMPORTANCE
Methanogens and closely related methanotrophs are the only archaea known or predicted to possess nitrogenase. Methanogens play critical roles in both the global biological nitrogen and carbon cycles. Moreover, methanogens are an ancient microbial lineage and nitrogenase likely originated in methanogens. An understanding of the usage and properties of nitrogenases in methanogens can provide new insight into the evolution of nitrogen fixation and aid in the development nitrogenase-based biotechnology. This study provides the first evidence that a methanogen can produce all three forms of nitrogenases, including simultaneously. The results reveal components of Mo-nitrogenase regulate or are needed to produce V-nitrogenase and Fe-nitrogenase in methanogens, a result not seen in bacteria. Overall, this study provides a foundation to understand the assembly, regulation, and activity of the alternative nitrogenases in methanogens.
Funder
U.S. Department of Energy
National Science Foundation
Arkansas Biosciences Institute
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Ecology,Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology,Food Science,Biotechnology
Cited by
2 articles.
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