Compatible Solutes in the Halotolerant Methylotroph Methylobrevis pamukkalensis PK2T
摘要
It has been shown that compatible solutes trehalose and N-acetylglutaminylglutamine amide (NAGGN) are accumulated in the cells of aerobic methylotrophs Methylobrevis pamukkalensis PK2T, Methylobacterium nodulans ORS 2060T, Hansshlegelia quercus Dub, and Methylopila capsulata IM1T growing in a saline medium. Trehalose was found to be the dominant compound in the total compatible solute pools in these bacteria. Homologues of the enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of NAGGN, N-acetylglutaminylglutamine synthetase (Ngg) and N-acetylglutaminylglutamyl amidotransferase (AsnO) were found in a number of genomes of methylotrophs belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria, and these genes were generally arranged into a single cluster also containing the gene for a putative aminopeptidase of the M42 family. Genomic analysis has shown that NAGGN-synthesizing methylotrophs encode up to three trehalose biosynthesis pathways. Cultivation of M. pamukkalensis PK2T on methanol or mannitol in the presence of choline was accompanied by the reduced level of NAGGN and the lack of trehalose in the cells. The involvement of NAGGN and trehalose in the adaptation of methylotrophs to existence either under the conditions of high salinity or in association with plants is discussed. The discovery of a new spectrum of compatible solutes in aerobic methylotrophs expands our understanding of their metabolic diversity and opens up new potential applications.