MrdH, a novel metal resistance determinant of Pseudomonas putida KT2440, is flanked by metal-inducible mobile genetic elements.

We report here the identification and characterization of mrdH, a novel chromosomal metal resistance determinant, located in the genomic island 55 of Pseudomonas putida KT2440. It encodes for MrdH, a predicted protein of approximately 40 kDa with a chimeric domain organization derived from the RcnA and RND (for resistance-nodulation-cell division) metal efflux proteins. The metal resistance function of mrdH was identified by the ability to confer nickel resistance upon its complementation into rcnA mutant (a nickel- and cobalt-sensitive mutant) of Escherichia coli. However, the disruption of mrdH in P. putida resulted in an increased sensitivity to cadmium and zinc apart from nickel. Expression studies using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR showed the induction of mrdH by cadmium, nickel, zinc, and cobalt. In association with mrdH, we also identified a conserved hypothetical gene mreA whose encoded protein showed significant homology to NreA and NreA-like proteins. Expression of the mreA gene in rcnA mutant of E. coli enhanced its cadmium and nickel resistance. Transcriptional studies showed that both mrdH and mreA underwent parallel changes in gene expression. The mobile genetic elements Tn4652 and IS1246, flanking mrdH and mreA were found to be induced by cadmium, nickel, and zinc, but not by cobalt. This study is the first report of a single-component metal efflux transporter, mrdH, showing chimeric domain organization, a broad substrate spectrum, and a location amid metal-inducible mobile genetic elements.

A calcium binding protein from cell wall of Neurospora crassa.

Isolated cell wall preparations of N. crassa bind significant levels of Ca, Mg and other divalent cations. Enzymatic treatment of the cell wall with beta-(1,3)-glucanase, but not with chitinase, resulted in solubilization of only the calcium-binding protein fraction. A calcium-binding protein (CaBP) was purified by metal-chelate affinity chromatography and reversed phase HPLC. CaBP has an Mr of around 6 kDa on SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry showed that it has a molecular mass of 5744 Da. One mole of CaBP binds 2 moles of calcium and is partially inhibited (15-50%) by other divalent cations (Mg, Ni and Cu). Quenching of tryptophan fluorescence was observed upon copper binding but not calcium binding. This is a first report of a calcium binding protein from the cell wall of fungi.

A comparative analysis of metal transportomes from metabolically versatile Pseudomonas.

BACKGROUND: The availability of complete genome sequences of versatile Pseudomonas occupying remarkably diverse ecological niches enabled to gain insights into their adaptative assets. The objective of this study was to analyze the complete genetic repertoires of metal transporters (metal transportomes) from four representative Pseudomonas species and to identify metal transporters with "Genomic Island" associated features. METHODS: A comparative metal transporter inventory was built for the following four Pseudomonas species: P.putida (Ppu) KT2440, P.aeruginosa (Pae) PA01, P.fluorescens (Pfl) Pf-5 and P.syringae (Psy)pv.tomato DC3000 using TIGR-CMR and Transport DB. Genomic analysis of essential and toxic metal ion transporters was accomplished from the above inventory. Metal transporters with "Genomic Island" associated features were identified using Islandpath analysis. RESULTS: Dataset cataloguing has been executed for 262 metal transporters from the four spp. Additional metal ion transporters belonging to NiCoT, Ca P-type ATPase, Cu P-type ATPases, ZIP and MgtC families were identified. In Psy DC3000, 48% of metal transporters showed strong GI features while it was 45% in Ppu KT2440. In Pfl Pf-5 and Pae PA01 only 26% of their metal transporters exhibited GI features. CONCLUSION: Our comparative inventory of 262 metal transporters from four versatile Pseudomonas spp is the complete suite of metal transportomes analysed till date in a prokaryotic genus. This study identified differences in the basic composition of metal transportomes from Pseudomonas occupying diverse ecological niches and also elucidated their novel features. Based on this inventory we analysed the role of horizontal gene transfer in expansion and variability of metal transporter families.

Metal transportome of Neurospora crassa.

Neurospora crassa has been the model filamentous fungus for the study of many fundamental cellular mechanisms of transport and metabolism. The recently completed genome sequence of N. crassa has over 10,000 genes without significant matches for a large number of genes (41%) in the sequence databases, indeed presents many challenges for new discoveries. Using transporter database and BLAST searches a total of 65 open reading frames for putative cation transporter genes have been identified in N. crassa. These were further confirmed by characteristic features of the family like transmembrane domains (TOPPRED 2), conserved motifs (Clustal W) and phylogenetic analysis (TREETOP). In Neurospora cation transporter genes constitute nearly 18.3% of the total membrane transport systems, which is higher than E. coli (8.8%), S. cerevisiae (13.7%), S. pombe (17.2%), A. fumigatus (10.1%), A. thaliana (16.8%) and H. sapiens (15.6%). We refer to the complete complement of metal ion transporter genes as "Metal Transportome". There are a total of 33 putative transporters for alkali and alkaline earth metals constituting 18 for calcium (P-ATPase, VIC, CaCA, Mid1), 7 for sodium (P-ATPase, CPA1, CPA2), 4 for potassium (Trk, VIC, KUP), and 4 for magnesium (MIT). Transition metal ion transporters account for 32 transporters including 7 for zinc (ZIP), 6 for copper (Ctr2, Ctr1), 2 each for manganese (Nramp), iron (OFeT), arsenite (ArsAB, ACR3) and other metal ions (ABC and P-ATPase) and 1 each for nickel (NiCoT) and chromate (CHR). N. crassa has 7 linkage groups of which LGI harbors 21 of metal ion transporters and in contrast LGVII has only 2. Studies on metal transportomes of different organisms will help to unravel the role of metal ion transporters in homeostasis.