Poly- and Monoamine Metabolism in Streptomyces coelicolor: The New Role of Glutamine Synthetase-Like Enzymes in the Survival under Environmental Stress

Abstract

Soil bacteria from the genus <i>Streptomyces</i>, phylum Actinobacteria, feature a complex metabolism and diverse adaptations to environmental stress. These characteristics are consequences of variable nutrition availability in the soil and allow survival under changing nitrogen conditions. <i>Streptomyces coelicolor</i> is a model organism for Actinobacteria and is able to use nitrogen from a variety of sources including unusual compounds originating from the decomposition of dead plant and animal material, such as polyamines or monoamines (like ethanolamine). Assimilation of nitrogen from these sources in <i>S. coelicolor</i> remains largely unstudied. Using microbiological, biochemical and in silico approaches, it was recently possible to postulate polyamine and monoamine (ethanolamine) utilization pathways in <i>S. coelicolor.</i> Glutamine synthetase-like enzymes (GS-like) play a central role in these pathways. Extensive studies have revealed that these enzymes are able to detoxify polyamines or monoamines and allow the survival of <i>S. coelicolor</i> in soil containing an excess of these compounds. On the other hand, at low concentrations, polyamines and monoamines can be utilized as nitrogen and carbon sources. It has been demonstrated that the first step in poly-/monoamine assimilation is catalyzed by GlnA3 (a γ-glutamylpolyamine synthetase) and GlnA4 (a γ-glutamylethanolamide synthetase), respectively. First insights into the regulation of polyamine and ethanolamine metabolism have revealed that the expression of the <i>glnA3</i> and the <i>glnA4</i> gene are controlled on the transcriptional level.