A Ca2+-binding motif underlies the unusual properties of certain photosynthetic bacterial core light-harvesting complexes.

The mildly thermophilic purple phototrophic bacterium Allochromatium tepidum provides a unique model for investigating various intermediate phenotypes observed between those of thermophilic and mesophilic counterparts. The core light-harvesting (LH1) complex from A. tepidum exhibits an absorption maximum at 890 nm and mildly enhanced thermostability, both of which are Ca2+-dependent. However, it is unknown what structural determinants might contribute to these properties. Here, we present a cryo-EM structure of the reaction center-associated LH1 complex at 2.81 Å resolution, in which we identify multiple pigment-binding α- and ß-polypeptides within an LH1 ring. Of the 16 α-polypeptides, we show that six (α1) bind Ca2+ along with ß1- or ß3-polypeptides to form the Ca2+-binding sites. This structure differs from that of fully Ca2+-bound LH1 from Thermochromatium tepidum, enabling determination of the minimum structural requirements for Ca2+-binding. We also identified three amino acids (Trp44, Asp47, and Ile49) in the C-terminal region of the A. tepidum α1-polypeptide that ligate each Ca ion, forming a Ca2+-binding WxxDxI motif that is conserved in all Ca2+-bound LH1 α-polypeptides from other species with reported structures. The partial Ca2+-bound structure further explains the unusual phenotypic properties observed for this bacterium in terms of its Ca2+-requirements for thermostability, spectroscopy, and phototrophic growth, and supports the hypothesis that A. tepidum may represent a "transitional" species between mesophilic and thermophilic purple sulfur bacteria. The characteristic arrangement of multiple αß-polypeptides also suggests a mechanism of molecular recognition in the expression and/or assembly of the LH1 complex that could be regulated through interactions with reaction center subunits.

Photosynthetic Growth and Energy Conversion in an Engineered Phototroph Containing Thermochromatium tepidum Light-Harvesting Complex 1 and the Rhodobacter sphaeroides Reaction Center Complex.

Light-harvesting complex 1 (LH1) of the thermophilic purple sulfur bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum can be expressed in the purple non-sulfur bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides and forms a functional RC-LH1 complex with the native Rba. sphaeroides reaction center (Nagashima, K. V. P., et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2017, 114, 10906-10911). Although there is a large uphill energy gap between Tch. tepidum LH1 and the Rba. sphaeroides RC in this chimeric complex, it has been shown that light energy can be transferred, consistent with that seen in the native Rba. sphaeroides RC-LH1 complex. In this study, the contribution of this chimeric complex to growth and photosynthetic energy conversion in the hybrid organism was quantified. The mutant synthesizing this chimeric complex was grown phototrophically under 940 nm light-emitting diode (LED) light preferentially absorbed by Tch. tepidum LH1 and showed faster growth at low intensities of this wavelength than both a mutant strain of Rba. sphaeroides lacking LH2 and a mutant lacking all light-harvesting complexes. When grown with 850 nm LED light, the strain containing the native Rba. sphaeroides LH1-RC grew faster than the chimeric strain. Electron transfer from the RC to the membrane-integrated cytochrome bc1 complex was also estimated by flash-induced absorption changes in heme b. The rate of ubiquinone transport through the LH1 ring structure in the chimeric strain was virtually the same as that in native Rba. sphaeroides. We conclude that Tch. tepidum LH1 can perform the physiological functions of native LH1 in Rba. sphaeroides.

Sequential energy transfer driven by monoexponential dynamics in a biohybrid light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2).

Enhancing the light-harvesting potential of antenna components in a system of solar energy conversion is an important topic in the field of artificial photosynthesis. We constructed a biohybrid light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2) engineered from Rhodobacter sphaeroides IL106 strain. An artificial fluorophore Alexa Fluor 647 maleimide (A647) was attached to the LH2 bearing cysteine residue at the N-terminal region (LH2-NC) near B800 bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl) assembly. The A647-attached LH2-NC conjugate (LH2-NC-A647) preserved the integrity of the intrinsic chromophores, B800- and B850-BChls, and carotenoids. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy revealed that the sequential energy transfer A647 → B800 → B850 occurs at time scale of 9-10 ps with monoexponential dynamics in micellar and lipid bilayer systems. A B800-removed conjugate (LH2-NC[B800(-)]-A647) exhibited a significant decrease in energy transfer efficiency in the micellar system; however, surprisingly, direct energy transfer from A647 to B850 was observed at a rate comparable to that for LH2-NC-A647. This result implies that the energy transfer pathway is modified after B800 removal. The results obtained suggested that a LH2 complex is a potential platform for construction of biohybrid light-harvesting materials with simple energy transfer dynamics through the site-selective attachment of the external antennae and the modifiable energy-funnelling pathway.

Diagnostic significance of apical membranous and cytoplasmic dot-like CD26 expression in encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma: a useful marker for capsular invasion.

Non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) and invasive encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (EFV-PTC) are indistinguishable preoperatively. CD26 expression in follicular tumor-uncertain malignant potential (FT-UMP) is reported to be clearly higher than in that without capsular invasion. To verify the diagnostic significance of CD26 immunostaining in EFV-PTC, we examined the expression pattern of CD26 in non-invasive EFV-PTC (NIFTP) and invasive EFV-PTC. We performed immunohistochemical analysis using CD26 antibody for 37 NIFTPs and 54 EFV-PTCs (34 minimally invasive EFV-PTCs and 20 widely invasive EFV-PTCs). Most NIFTP samples showed an apical membranous pattern or a cytoplasmic diffuse pattern of expression. Invasive EFV-PTCs more frequently showed a cytoplasmic dot-like pattern, and the labeling indices of tumor cells with cytoplasmic dot-like patterns were significantly higher than those in NIFTPs. The sizes of dots seen in NIFTPs (mean: 1.12 µm) were significantly smaller than in invasive EFV-PTCs (1.33 µm), minimally invasive EFV-PTC (1.27 µm), and widely invasive EFV-PTC (1.38 µm). We, therefore, conclude that cytoplasmic diffuse and/or cytoplasmic dot-like CD26 expression, particularly the larger CD26-positive dots, could be useful markers for capsular invasion in EFV-PTC. CD26 immunostaining, using cell blocks or cytological specimens, may preoperatively distinguish between NIFTP and invasive EFV-PTC.

Probing structure-function relationships in early events in photosynthesis using a chimeric photocomplex.

The native core light-harvesting complex (LH1) from the thermophilic purple phototrophic bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum requires Ca2+ for its thermal stability and characteristic absorption maximum at 915 nm. To explore the role of specific amino acid residues of the LH1 polypeptides in Ca-binding behavior, we constructed a genetic system for heterologously expressing the Tch. tepidum LH1 complex in an engineered Rhodobacter sphaeroides mutant strain. This system contained a chimeric pufBALM gene cluster (pufBA from Tch. tepidum and pufLM from Rba. sphaeroides) and was subsequently deployed for introducing site-directed mutations on the LH1 polypeptides. All mutant strains were capable of phototrophic (anoxic/light) growth. The heterologously expressed Tch. tepidum wild-type LH1 complex was isolated in a reaction center (RC)-associated form and displayed the characteristic absorption properties of this thermophilic phototroph. Spheroidene (the major carotenoid in Rba. sphaeroides) was incorporated into the Tch. tepidum LH1 complex in place of its native spirilloxanthins with one carotenoid molecule present per αß-subunit. The hybrid LH1-RC complexes expressed in Rba. sphaeroides were characterized using absorption, fluorescence excitation, and resonance Raman spectroscopy. Site-specific mutagenesis combined with spectroscopic measurements revealed that α-D49, ß-L46, and a deletion at position 43 of the α-polypeptide play critical roles in Ca binding in the Tch. tepidum LH1 complex; in contrast, α-N50 does not participate in Ca2+ coordination. These findings build on recent structural data obtained from a high-resolution crystallographic structure of the membrane integrated Tch. tepidum LH1-RC complex and have unambiguously identified the location of Ca2+ within this key antenna complex.

Biochemical and Spectroscopic Characterizations of a Hybrid Light-Harvesting Reaction Center Core Complex.

The light-harvesting 1 reaction center (LH1-RC) complex from Thermochromatium tepidum exhibits a largely red-shifted LH1 Q y absorption at 915 nm due to binding of Ca2+, resulting in an "uphill" energy transfer from LH1 to the reaction center (RC). In a recent study, we developed a heterologous expression system (strain TS2) to construct a functional hybrid LH1-RC with LH1 from Tch. tepidum and the RC from Rhodobacter sphaeroides [Nagashima, K. V. P., et al. (2017) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 114, 10906]. Here, we present detailed characterizations of the hybrid LH1-RC from strain TS2. Effects of metal cations on the phototrophic growth of strain TS2 revealed that Ca2+ is an indispensable element for its growth, which is also true for Tch. tepidum but not for Rba. sphaeroides. The thermal stability of the TS2 LH1-RC was strongly dependent on Ca2+ in a manner similar to that of the native Tch. tepidum, but interactions between the heterologous LH1 and RC became relatively weaker in strain TS2. A Fourier transform infrared analysis demonstrated that the Ca2+-binding site of TS2 LH1 was similar but not identical to that of Tch. tepidum. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence measurements revealed that the uphill energy transfer rate from LH1 to the RC was related to the energy gap in an order of Rba. sphaeroides, Tch. tepidum, and strain TS2; however, the quantum yields of LH1 fluorescence did not exhibit such a correlation. On the basis of these findings, we discuss the roles of Ca2+, interactions between LH1 and the RC from different species, and the uphill energy transfer mechanisms.

Exchange and complementation of genes coding for photosynthetic reaction center core subunits among purple bacteria.

A mutant of the phototrophic species belonging to the ß-proteobacteria, Rubrivivax gelatinosus, lacking the photosynthetic growth ability was constructed by the removal of genes coding for the L, M, and cytochrome subunits of the photosynthetic reaction center complex. The L, M, and cytochrome genes derived from five other species of proteobacteria, Acidiphilium rubrum, Allochromatium vinosum, Blastochloris viridis, Pheospirillum molischianum, and Roseateles depolymerans, and the L and M subunits from two other species, Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Rhodopseudomonas palustris, respectively, have been introduced into this mutant. Introduction of the genes from three of these seven species, Rte. depolymerans, Ach. vinosum, and Psp. molischianum, restored the photosynthetic growth ability of the mutant of Rvi. gelatinosus, although the growth rates were 1.5, 9.4, and 10.7 times slower, respectively, than that of the parent strain. Flash-induced kinetic measurements for the intact cells of these three mutants showed that the photo-oxidized cytochrome c bound to the introduced reaction center complex could be rereduced by electron donor proteins of Rvi. gelatinosus with a t1/2 of less than 10 ms. The reaction center core subunits of photosynthetic proteobacteria appear to be exchangeable if the sequence identities of the LM core subunits between donor and acceptor species are high enough, i.e., 70% or more.

Photo-induced electron transfer in intact cells of Rubrivivax gelatinosus mutants deleted in the RC-bound tetraheme cytochrome: insight into evolution of photosynthetic electron transport.

Deletion of two of the major electron carriers, the reaction center-bound tetrahemic cytochrome and the HiPIP, involved in the light-induced cyclic electron transfer pathway of the purple photosynthetic bacterium, Rubrivivax gelatinosus, significantly impairs its anaerobic photosynthetic growth. Analysis on the light-induced absorption changes of the intact cells of the mutants shows, however, a relatively efficient photo-induced cyclic electron transfer. For the single mutant lacking the reaction center-bound cytochrome, we present evidence that the electron carrier connecting the reaction center and the cytochrome bc(1) complex is the High Potential Iron-sulfur Protein. In the double mutant lacking both the reaction center-bound cytochrome and the High Potential Iron-sulfur Protein, this connection is achieved by the high potential cytochrome c(8). Under anaerobic conditions, the halftime of re-reduction of the photo-oxidized primary donor by these electron donors is 3 to 4 times faster than the back reaction between P(+) and the reduced primary quinone acceptor. This explains the photosynthetic growth of these two mutants. The results are discussed in terms of evolution of the type II RCs and their secondary electron donors.

Complete genome sequence of phototrophic betaproteobacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus IL144.

Rubrivivax gelatinosus is a facultative photoheterotrophic betaproteobacterium living in freshwater ponds, sewage ditches, activated sludge, and food processing wastewater. There have not been many studies on photosynthetic betaproteobacteria. Here we announce the complete genome sequence of the best-studied phototrophic betaproteobacterium, R. gelatinosus IL-144 (NBRC 100245).

The cytochrome c8 involved in the nitrite reduction pathway acts also as electron donor to the photosynthetic reaction center in Rubrivivax gelatinosus.

The purple photosynthetic bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus has, at least, four periplasmic electron carriers, i.e., HiPIP, two cytochromes c8with low- and high-midpoint potentials, and cytochrome c4 as electron donors to the photochemical reaction center. The quadruple mutant lacking all four electron carrier proteins showed extremely slow photosynthetic growth. During the long-term cultivation of this mutant under photosynthetic conditions, a suppressor strain recovering the wild-type growth level appeared. In the cells of the suppressor strain, we found significant accumulation of a soluble c-type cytochrome that has not been detected in wild-type cells. This cytochrome c has a redox midpoint potential of about +280 mV and could function as an electron donor to the photochemical reaction center in vitro. The amino acid sequence of this cytochrome c was 65% identical to that of the high-potential cytochrome c8of this bacterium. The gene for this cytochrome c was identified as nirM on the basis of its location in the newly identified nir operon, which includes a gene coding cytochrome cd1-type nitrite reductase. Phylogenetic analysis and the well-conserved nir operon gene arrangement suggest that the origin of the three cytochromes c8 in this bacterium is NirM. The two other cytochromes c8, of high and low potentials, proposed to be generated by gene duplication from NirM, have evolved to function in distinct pathways.

Photocurrent and electronic activities of oriented-His-tagged photosynthetic light-harvesting/reaction center core complexes assembled onto a gold electrode.

A polyhistidine (His) tag was fused to the C- or N-terminus of the light-harvesting (LH1)-α chain of the photosynthetic antenna core complex (LH1-RC) from Rhodobacter sphaeroides to allow immobilization of the complex on a solid substrate with defined orientation. His-tagged LH1-RCs were adsorbed onto a gold electrode modified with Ni-NTA. The LH1-RC with the C-terminal His-tag (C-His LH1-RC) on the modified electrode produced a photovoltaic response upon illumination. Electron transfer is unidirectional within the RC and starts when the bacteriochlorophyll a dimer in the RC is activated by light absorbed by LH1. The LH1-RC with the N-terminal His-tag (N-His LH1-RC) produced very little or no photocurrent upon illumination at any wavelength. The conductivity of the His-tagged LH1-RC was measured with point-contact current imaging atomic force microscopy, indicating that 60% of the C-His LH1-RC are correctly oriented (N-His 63%). The oriented C-His LH1-RC or N-His LH1-RC showed semiconductive behavior, that is, had the opposite orientation. These results indicate that the His-tag successfully controlled the orientation of the RC on the solid substrate, and that the RC produced photocurrent depending upon the orientation on the electrode.

An LH1-RC photocomplex from an extremophilic phototroph provides insight into origins of two photosynthesis proteins.

Rhodopila globiformis is the most acidophilic of anaerobic purple phototrophs, growing optimally in culture at pH 5. Here we present a cryo-EM structure of the light-harvesting 1-reaction center (LH1-RC) complex from Rhodopila globiformis at 2.24 Å resolution. All purple bacterial cytochrome (Cyt, encoded by the gene pufC) subunit-associated RCs with known structures have their N-termini truncated. By contrast, the Rhodopila globiformis RC contains a full-length tetra-heme Cyt with its N-terminus embedded in the membrane forming an α-helix as the membrane anchor. Comparison of the N-terminal regions of the Cyt with PufX polypeptides widely distributed in Rhodobacter species reveals significant structural similarities, supporting a longstanding hypothesis that PufX is phylogenetically related to the N-terminus of the RC-bound Cyt subunit and that a common ancestor of phototrophic Proteobacteria contained a full-length tetra-heme Cyt subunit that evolved independently through partial deletions of its pufC gene. Eleven copies of a novel γ-like polypeptide were also identified in the bacteriochlorophyll a-containing Rhodopila globiformis LH1 complex; γ-polypeptides have previously been found only in the LH1 of bacteriochlorophyll b-containing species. These features are discussed in relation to their predicted functions of stabilizing the LH1 structure and regulating quinone transport under the warm acidic conditions.

Asymmetric structure of the native Rhodobacter sphaeroides dimeric LH1-RC complex.

Rhodobacter sphaeroides is a model organism in bacterial photosynthesis, and its light-harvesting-reaction center (LH1-RC) complex contains both dimeric and monomeric forms. Here we present cryo-EM structures of the native LH1-RC dimer and an LH1-RC monomer lacking protein-U (ΔU). The native dimer reveals several asymmetric features including the arrangement of its two monomeric components, the structural integrity of protein-U, the overall organization of LH1, and rigidities of the proteins and pigments. PufX plays a critical role in connecting the two monomers in a dimer, with one PufX interacting at its N-terminus with another PufX and an LH1 ß-polypeptide in the other monomer. One protein-U was only partially resolved in the dimeric structure, signaling different degrees of disorder in the two monomers. The ΔU LH1-RC monomer was half-moon-shaped and contained 11 α- and 10 ß-polypeptides, indicating a critical role for protein-U in controlling the number of αß-subunits required for dimer assembly and stabilization. These features are discussed in relation to membrane topology and an assembly model proposed for the native dimeric complex.

A previously unrecognized membrane protein in the Rhodobacter sphaeroides LH1-RC photocomplex.

Rhodobacter (Rba.) sphaeroides is the most widely used model organism in bacterial photosynthesis. The light-harvesting-reaction center (LH1-RC) core complex of this purple phototroph is characterized by the co-existence of monomeric and dimeric forms, the presence of the protein PufX, and approximately two carotenoids per LH1 αß-polypeptides. Despite many efforts, structures of the Rba. sphaeroides LH1-RC have not been obtained at high resolutions. Here we report a cryo-EM structure of the monomeric LH1-RC from Rba. sphaeroides strain IL106 at 2.9 Å resolution. The LH1 complex forms a C-shaped structure composed of 14 αß-polypeptides around the RC with a large ring opening. From the cryo-EM density map, a previously unrecognized integral membrane protein, referred to as protein-U, was identified. Protein-U has a U-shaped conformation near the LH1-ring opening and was annotated as a hypothetical protein in the Rba. sphaeroides genome. Deletion of protein-U resulted in a mutant strain that expressed a much-reduced amount of the dimeric LH1-RC, indicating an important role for protein-U in dimerization of the LH1-RC complex. PufX was located opposite protein-U on the LH1-ring opening, and both its position and conformation differed from that of previous reports of dimeric LH1-RC structures obtained at low-resolution. Twenty-six molecules of the carotenoid spheroidene arranged in two distinct configurations were resolved in the Rba. sphaeroides LH1 and were positioned within the complex to block its channels. Our findings offer an exciting new view of the core photocomplex of Rba. sphaeroides and the connections between structure and function in bacterial photocomplexes in general.

Cytochrome c4 can be involved in the photosynthetic electron transfer system in the purple bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus.

Three periplasmic electron carriers, HiPIP and two cytochromes c8 with low- and high-midpoint potentials, are present in the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus. Comparison of the growth rates of mutants lacking one, two, or all three electron carrier proteins showed that HiPIP is the main electron donor to the photochemical reaction center and that high-potential cytochrome c8 plays a subsidiary role in the electron donation in photosynthetically growing cells. However, the triple deletion mutant was still capable of photosynthetic growth, indicating that another electron donor could be present. A new soluble cytochrome c, which can reduce the photooxidized reaction center in vitro, was purified. Based on amino acid sequence comparisons to known cytochromes, this cytochrome was identified as a diheme cytochrome c of the family of cytochromes c4. The quadruple mutant lacking this cytochrome and three other electron carriers showed about three times slower growth than the triple mutant under photosynthetic growth conditions. In conclusion, cytochrome c4 can function as a physiological electron carrier in the photosynthetic electron transport chain in R. gelatinosus.

Characterization of a blue-copper protein, auracyanin, of the filamentous anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium Roseiflexus castenholzii.

A blue-copper protein auracyanin of the filamentous anoxygenic phototroph Roseiflexus castenholzii was purified and characterized. Genomic sequence analysis showed that R. castenholzii has only one auracyanin, whereas Chloroflexus aurantiacus is known to have two auracyanins, A and B. Absorption spectrum of the Roseiflexus auracyanin was similar to that of auracyanin B of C. aurantiacus. On the other hand, ESR spectrum of the Roseiflexus auracyanin resembles that of auracyanin A of C. aurantiacus. These results suggest that the blue-copper protein auracyanin from R. castenholzii shares features with each of auracyanin A and B. Amino acid sequence alignment of auracyanins from filamentous anoxygenic phototrophs also demonstrated the chimeral feature of the primary structure of the Roseiflexus auracyanin, i.e., auracyanin A-like amino-terminal characteristics and auracyanin B-like one-residue spacing at the Cu-binding loop in the carboxyl-terminus.

Effects of the deletion of hup genes encoding the uptake hydrogenase on the activity of hydrogen production in the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus IL144.

The efficiency of hydrogen gas production by nitrogenase in bacteria has been improved by the inhibition of antagonistic activity by the uptake hydrogenase. In this study, a mutant lacking the gene coding for the uptake hydrogenase was generated from the photosynthetic beta-proteobacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus IL144 to explore new ways of hydrogen gas production driven by light energy. The mutant cells produced 25-30% higher amounts of molecular hydrogen than the wild-type cells under nitrogen-deficient conditions under light. Furthermore, by the addition of 5 mM glutamate, the photosynthetic growth rate was greatly enhanced, and the hydrogen gas production activity reached 41.1 (mmol/l) in the mutant.

Transcription of three sets of genes coding for the core light-harvesting proteins in the purple sulfur bacterium, Allochromatium vinosum.

The nucleotide sequence of the puf operon coding for the subunits of the photosynthetic reaction center and the core light-harvesting complex (LH1) of the purple sulfur bacterium, Allochromatium (A.) vinosum (formally Chromatium vinosum), was completely determined. Unlike other known puf operons, which contain only one set of genes coding for the LH1 apoproteins, pufB and pufA, the A. vinosum puf operon included three sets of pufB and pufA genes with a gene order of pufB (1) A (1) LMCB (2) A (2) B (3) A (3). Northern hybridization analysis suggested that all of the nine puf genes are co-transcribed as a 4.43 kb mRNA. Three small mRNAs corresponding to pufB (2) A (2) B (3) A (3), pufB (2) A (2) B (3), and pufB (2) A (2) were detected, as well as two small mRNAs covering pufB (1) A (1). Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the puf operon, including the flanking regions and 5'-ends of the six mRNAs, suggested that the transcription of the A. vinosum puf operon is initiated at 74 bp downstream from the bchZstop codon (295 bp upstream from the pufB (1) start codon), and regulated by a promoter located at its direct upstream. The possible promoter is overlapped with a binding motif of a repressor protein for pigment-biosynthesis genes, PpsR or CrtJ, known in other purple bacteria. No other possible promoters were found within the puf genes. These findings indicate that three sets of pufA and pufB genes of A. vinosum are co-transcribed as a long mRNA containing all the puf genes, and, from this long mRNA, the five short mRNAs are possibly derived by post-transcriptional modifications.

Phylogenetic distribution of unusual triheme to tetraheme cytochrome subunit in the reaction center complex of purple photosynthetic bacteria.

To understand the evolutionary relationship between triheme and tetraheme cytochrome subunits in the reaction center complex, genes located downstream of that coding for the M subunit of the reaction center complex (pufM) were amplified by PCR and analyzed in six established and two unidentified species of the genus Rhodovulum and five species of the genus Rhodobacter. All the Rhodovulum species tested had the pufC gene coding for the reaction-center-bound cytochrome subunit, while all the Rhodobacter species were found to have the pufX gene at the corresponding position. Analyses of the amino acid sequences of the pufC gene products showed that the cytochrome subunits of all the Rhodovulum species have three heme-binding-motifs and lack a methionine residue probably working as the sixth axial-ligand to one of the three hemes. Phylogenetic relationships among Rhodovulum species based on the pufC gene products were basically consistent with those based on 16S rRNA sequences, suggesting that the basic characteristics of the triheme cytochrome subunit have been conserved during the evolutionary process of the Rhodovulum species.

Cerebroside elicitor confers resistance to fusarium disease in various plant species.

ABSTRACT In the rice blast fungus pathosystem, cerebroside, a compound categorized as a sphingolipid, was found in our previous study to be a non-racespecific elicitor, which elicits defense responses in rice. Here we describe that cerebroside C is produced in diverse strains of Fusarium oxysporum, a common soilborne agent of wilt disease affecting a wide range of plant species. In addition, some type of cerebroside elicitor involving cerebroside A, B, or C was detected in other soilborne phytopathogens, such as Pythium and Botrytis. Treatment of lettuce (Lactuca sativa), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), melon (Cucumis melo), and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) with cerebroside B resulted in resistance to infection by each pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum. Induction of pathogenesis-related genes and H(2)O(2) production by treatment with cerebroside B were observed in tomato root tissues. The cerebroside elicitor showed no antifungal activity against F. oxysporum in vitro, indicating that the cerebroside elicitor activates defense mechanisms to confer resistance to Fusarium disease. These results suggest that cerebroside functions as a non-race-specific elicitor in a wide range of plant-phytopathogenic fungus interactions. Additionally, cerebroside elicitor serves as a potential biologically derived control agent.