The ‘strict’ anaerobe Desulfovibrio gigas contains a membrane‐bound oxygen‐reducing respiratory chain

FEBS Letters

LeGall, Jean¹  Teixeira, Miguel¹  Xavier, António V¹  Gomes, Cláudio M¹  Santana, Margarida¹  Lemos, Rita S¹ 

[1] Instituto de Tecnologia Quı́mica e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, APT 127, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal

关键词: Anaerobe;    Aerobic respiratory chain;    Cytochrome bd;    Desulfovibrio;    DM;    n-dodecyl-β-D-maltoside;    DMN;    dimethylnaphthoquinone;    DQ;    duroquinone;    HQNO;    2-n-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide;    TMPD;    N;    N;    N′;    N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride;   

DOI  :  10.1016/S0014-5793(01)02399-7

学科分类：生物化学/生物物理

来源: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

【 摘 要 】

Sulfate-reducing bacteria are considered as strict anaerobic microorganisms, in spite of the fact that some strains have been shown to tolerate the transient presence of dioxygen. This report shows that membranes from Desulfovibrio gigas grown in fumarate/sulfate contain a respiratory chain fully competent to reduce dioxygen to water. In particular, a membrane-bound terminal oxygen reductase, of the cytochrome bd family, was isolated, characterized, and shown to completely reduce oxygen to water. This oxidase has two subunits with apparent molecular masses of 40 and 29 kDa. Using NADH or succinate as electron donors, the oxygen respiratory rates of D. gigas membranes are comparable to those of aerobic organisms (3.2 and 29 nmol O₂ min⁻¹ mg protein⁻¹, respectively). This ‘strict anaerobic’ bacterium contains all the necessary enzymatic complexes to live aerobically, showing that the relationships between oxygen and anaerobes are much more complex than originally thought.

【 授权许可】

Unknown