title: Retentive memory of bacteria: Long-term regulation of dehalorespiration in Sulfurospirillum multivorans.
abstract: The gram-negative, strictly anaerobic epsilonproteobacterium Sulfurospirillum multivorans is able to gain energy from dehalorespiration with tetrachloroethene (perchloroethylene [PCE]) as a terminal electron acceptor. The organism can also utilize fumarate as an electron acceptor. Prolonged subcultivation of S. multivorans in the absence of PCE with pyruvate as an electron donor and fumarate as an electron acceptor resulted in a decrease of PCE dehalogenase (PceA) activity. Concomitantly, the pceA transcript level equally decreased as shown by reverse transcriptase PCR. After 35 subcultivations (approximately 105 generations), a pceA transcript was not detectable and the PceA protein and activity were completely absent. In such long-term subcultivated S. multivorans cells, the biosynthesis of catalytically active PceA was restored to the initial level within about 50 h (approximately three generations) by the addition of PCE or trichloroethene. Single colonies obtained from PceA-depleted cultures were able to induce PCE dechlorination, indicating that long-term subcultured cells still contained the functional pceA gene. The results point to a novel type of long-term regulation of PCE dehalogenase gene expression in S. multivorans.
authors.affiliation: Friedrich-Schiller University, Institute for Microbiology, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: John
authors.forename: Raffael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rubick
authors.forename: Roland P H
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rakoczy
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Diekert
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002713:Chlorine / Q000378:metabolism*; D003470:Culture Media; D020565:Epsilonproteobacteria / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013750:Tetrachloroethylene / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003470:Culture Media; D002713:Chlorine; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C112990:tetrachloroethene dehalogenase; D013750:Tetrachloroethylene