title: Formation of volutin granules in Corynebacterium glutamicum.
abstract: Volutin granules are intracellular storages of complexed inorganic polyphosphate (poly P). Histochemical staining procedures differentiate between pathogenic corynebacteria such as Corynebacterum diphtheriae (containing volutin) and non-pathogenic species, such as C. glutamicum. Here we report that strains ATCC13032 and MH20-22B of the non-pathogenic C. glutamicum also formed subcellular entities (18-37% of the total cell volume) that had the typical characteristics of volutin granules: (i) volutin staining, (ii) green UV fluorescence when stained with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, (iii) electron-dense and rich in phosphorus when determined with transmission electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis, and (iv) 31P NMR poly P resonances of isolated granules dissolved in EDTA. MgCl2 addition to the growth medium stimulated granule formation but did not effect expression of genes involved in poly P metabolism. Granular volutin fractions from lysed cells contained polyphosphate glucokinase as detected by SDS-PAGE/MALDI-TOF, indicating that this poly P metabolizing enzyme is present also in intact poly P granules. The results suggest that formation of volutin is a more widespread phenomenon than generally accepted.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biotechnologie (IBT-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Srinivas Reddy
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Pallerla
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Knebel
authors.forename: Tino
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Polen
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Klauth
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hollender
authors.forename: Volker F
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Wendisch
authors.forename: Siegfried M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Schoberth
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D048230:Corynebacterium glutamicum / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004577:Electron Probe Microanalysis; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D007287:Inorganic Chemicals / Q000378:metabolism*; D015636:Magnesium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010759:Phosphorus Isotopes; D010770:Phosphotransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D011122:Polyphosphates / Q000378:metabolism*; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D007287:Inorganic Chemicals; D010759:Phosphorus Isotopes; D011122:Polyphosphates; D011506:Proteins; D015636:Magnesium Chloride; D010770:Phosphotransferases; C024812:polyphosphate-glucose phosphotransferase