title: Regulation of H(+)-ATPase synthesis in response to reduced pH in ruminal bacteria.
abstract: The capacity of ruminal bacteria to regulate H(+)-ATPase synthesis in response to reduced pH was investigated to explain acid tolerance. The activity of H(+)-ATPase in Streptococcus bovis, an acid-tolerant bacterium, was 2.2-fold higher at pH 4.5 than at pH 5.5. The increase in the amount of H(+)-ATPase protein was similar, suggesting that the increase in H(+)-ATPase activity is owing to the increase in H(+)-ATPase synthesis. The level of atp-mRNA at pH 4.5 was 2.5-fold higher than at pH 5.5, indicating that H(+)-ATPase synthesis is regulated at the transcriptional level, responding to low pH. In Ruminococcus albus, an acid-sensitive bacterium, H(+)-ATPase activity, the amount of H(+)-ATPase protein, and the level of atp-mRNA at pH 7.0 were similar to the values at pH 6.0, the lowest pH permitting growth. This result suggests that R. albus is incapable of enhancing H(+)-ATPase synthesis at low pH. Thus, acid tolerance appeared to be related to the capacity to augment the synthesis of H(+)-ATPase responding to low pH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, College of Agriculture, Meiji University, Higashimita, Tama-ku, Kawasaki 214-8571, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miwa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohkawara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001406:Bacillaceae / Q000201:enzymology*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D009821:Oils; D010636:Phenols; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012417:Rumen / Q000382:microbiology*; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000201:enzymology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D009821:Oils; C027222:P & S Liquid; D010636:Phenols; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases