Cold Osmotic Shock Research Articles

A robust fractionation method for protein subcellular localization studies in Escherichia coli.

Fractionation in Gram-negative bacteria is used to identify the subcellular localization of proteins, in particular the localization of exported recombinant proteins. The process of cell fractionation can be fraught with cross-contamination issues and often lacks supporting data for fraction purity. Here, we comparethree periplasm extraction and two cell disruption techniques in different combinations to investigate which process gives uncontaminated compartments from Escherichia coli. From these data, a robust method named PureFrac was compiled thatgives pure periplasmic fractions and a superior recovery of soluble cytoplasmic proteins. The process extracts periplasm using cold osmotic shock with magnesium, prior to sonication and ultracentrifugation to separate the cytoplasm from insoluble material. This method handles cells cultivated in various conditions and allows preparation of active proteins in their respective compartments.

High-level soluble expression of a thermostable xylanase from thermophilic fungus Thermomyces lanuginosus in Escherichia coli via fusion with OsmY protein

A thermostable xylanase is encoded by xynA from fungus Thermomyces lanuginosus. The problem emerged from overexpression of xynA in Escherichia coli has been the formation of inclusion bodies. Here we describe the xynA was fused with the hyperosmotically inducible periplasmic protein of E. coli, OsmY. The fusion protein OsmY-xynA was expressed as almost all soluble form. The soluble expression level of fusion protein reached 98±6U/ml when cells containing pET-OsmY-xynA were expressed without IPTG induction at 37°C. The induction is probably due to auto-induction due to lactose in the medium (Studier (2005) [21]). The cells harboring pET-OsmY-xynA expressed an activity level about 24 times higher than that expressed from pET-20b-xynA. Xylanase activity was observed in the extracellular (36±1.3U/ml) and the periplasmic (42±4U/ml) when cells containing pET-OsmY-xynA were induced without IPTG addition. After the cold osmotic shock procedure followed by nickel affinity chromatography, the purified fusion protein showed a single band on SDS–PAGE gel with a molecular mass of 44kDa. The purified fusion enzyme exhibited the highest activity at 65°C and pH 6.0.

Cloning and expression of a novel antifreeze protein AFP72 from the beetle Tenebrio molitor

A novel antifreeze protein AFP72 cDNA (GenBbank accession No. AY929389) was obtained by RT-PCR from Tenebrio molitor. The 216 bp fragment encodes a protein of 72 amino acid residues. Sequence analysis revealed that the cDNA displays a high degree of homology with T. molitor antifreeze proteins, ranging up to 90.78%. Recombinant plasmids pMAL-p2X-afp72 and pMAL-c2X-afp72 were transferred into E. coil TBI to induce a MBP fusion protein by IPTG. The target fusion protein was released from the periplasm and cytoplasm by the cold osmotic shock procedure and sonication respectively. The content of the fusion protein came up to 38.9 and 41.5% of the total dissolved protein, respectively. The fusion protein was purified through an amylose affinity column, and incised by factor Xa. Molecular sieve chromatography was used to achieve a high state of purity of the target protein. The purified target protein displayed a single band in SDS-PAGE. The fusion protein was shown to increase resistance to low temperatures in bacteria. This finding could help in further investigations of the properties and function of antifreeze proteins.

Cell inactivation and membrane damage after long‐term treatments at sub‐zero temperature in the supercooled and frozen states

The survival of cells subjected to cooling at sub-zero temperature is of paramount concern in cryobiology. The susceptibility of cells to cryopreservation processes, especially freeze-thawing, stimulated considerable interest in better understanding the mechanisms leading to cell injury and inactivation. In this study, we assessed the viability of cells subjected to cold stress, through long-term supercooling experiments, versus freeze-thawing stress. The viability of Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and leukemia cells were assessed over time. Supercooled conditions were maintained for 71 days at -10 degrees C, and for 4 h at -15 degrees C, and -20 degrees C, without additives or emulsification. Results showed that cells could be inactivated by the only action of sub-zero temperature, that is, without any water crystallization. The loss of cell viability upon exposure to sub-zero temperatures is suggested to be caused by exposure to cold shock which induced membrane damage. During holding time in the supercooled state, elevated membrane permeability results in uncontrolled mass transfer to and from the cell maintained at cold conditions and thus leads to a loss of viability. With water crystallization, cells shrink suddenly and thus are exposed to cold osmotic shock, which is suggested to induce abrupt loss of cell viability. During holding time in the frozen state, cells remain suspended in the residual unfrozen fraction of the liquid and are exposed to cold stress that would cause membrane damage and loss of viability over time. However, the severity of such a stress seems to be moderated by the cell type and the increased solute concentration in the unfrozen fraction of the cell suspension.

Functional Expression and Purification of Bovine Enterokinase Light Chain in Recombinant Escherichia coli

Enterokinase (EC 3.4.21.9) is a serine proteinase of the intestinal brush border that exhibits specificity for the sequence (Asp)4‐Lys and converts trypsinogen into its active form, trypsin. A codon optimized sequence coding light chain (catalytic subunit) of bovine enterokinase gene (sBEKLC) was synthesized, and it was fused with DsbA to construct the expression vector (pET39‐sBEKLC). Then, the plasmid was transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) for expression. Under optimal conditions, the volumetric productivity of fusion protein reached 151.2 mg L−1, i.e., 80.6 mg sBEKLC L−1. The cold osmotic shock technique was successfully used to extract sBEKLC from periplasmic space, and nickel affinity chromatography was employed to obtain mature sBEKLC. Finally, about 6.8 mg of bioactive sBEKLC was purified from 1 liter fermentation broth and could be used to cleave one tested fusion protein with an inter‐domain enteropeptidase recognition site. This work will be helpful for large‐scale production of this increasingly demanded enterokinase.

Export Pathway Selectivity of Escherichia coli Twin Arginine Translocation Signal Peptides

The Escherichia coli genome encodes at least 29 putative signal peptides containing a twin arginine motif characteristic of proteins exported via the twin arginine translocation (Tat) pathway. Fusions of the putative Tat signal peptides plus six to eight amino acids of the mature proteins to three reporter proteins (short-lived green fluorescent protein, maltose-binding protein (MBP), and alkaline phosphatase) and also data from the cell localization of epitope-tagged full-length proteins were employed to determine the ability of the 29 signal peptides to direct export through the Tat pathway, through the general secretory pathway (Sec), or through both. 27/29 putative signal peptides could export one or more reporter proteins through Tat. Of these, 11 signal peptides displayed Tat specificity in that they could not direct the export of Sec-only reporter proteins. The rest (16/27) were promiscuous and were capable of directing export of the appropriate reporter either via Tat (green fluorescent protein, MBP) or via Sec (PhoA, MBP). Mutations that conferred a >or=+1 charge to the N terminus of the mature protein abolished or drastically reduced routing through the Sec pathway without affecting the ability to export via the Tat pathway. These experiments demonstrate that the charge of the mature protein N terminus affects export promiscuity, independent of the effect of the folding state of the mature protein.

The galactose binding protein and its relationship to the beta-methylgalactoside permease from Escherichia coli.

Cold osmotic shock following treatment with Tris-EDTA liberates two galactose binding components from the cell envelope of E. coli. One of them, most probably identical with the so-called galactose binding protein, is shown to be related to the function of the β-methylgalactoside permease in E. coli. Galactose and β-glycerolgalactoside, the most efficiently transported substrates of the permease, show apparent Km values of uptake which are of the same order of magnitude as the dissociation constants of these sugars to the galactose binding protein. Glucose, β-glycerolgalactoseide, β-methylgalactoside and d-fucose inhibit the galactose uptake by the β-methylgalactoside permease in the same decreasing order as they inhibit the galactose binding activity of the galactose binding protein. Two out of three permease-less mutants contain the binding protein. The binding protein isolated from these mutants appears to be identical to the corresponding binding protein from the permease positive strain by their immunochemical behavior as well as by their galactose binding activity. The second galactose binding component also binds β-glycerolgalactoside. Its dissociation constant to galactose is higher than that of the galactose binding protein; its 280/260 mμ absorption ratio is 0.85.

Prevention of domain swapping inhibits dimerization and amyloid fibril formation of cystatin C: use of engineered disulfide bridges, antibodies, and carboxymethylpapain to stabilize the monomeric form of cystatin C.

Amyloidogenic proteins like cystatin C and prion proteins have been shown to form dimers by exchange of subdomains of the monomeric proteins. This process, called "three-dimensional domain swapping," has also been suggested to play a part in the generation of amyloid fibrils. One variant of cystatin C, L68Q cystatin C, is highly amyloidogenic, and persons carrying the corresponding gene suffer from massive cerebral amyloidosis leading to brain hemorrhage and death in early adult life. The present work describes the production of two variants of wild type and L68Q cystatin C with disulfide bridges at positions selected to inhibit domain swapping without affecting the biological function of the four cystatin C variants as cysteine protease inhibitors. The capacity of the four variant proteins to form dimers was tested and compared with that of wild type and L68Q cystatin C. In contrast to the latter two proteins, all four protein variants stabilized by disulfide bridges were resistant toward the formation of dimers. The capacity of the two stabilized variants of wild type cystatin C to form amyloid fibrils was investigated and found to be reduced by 80% compared with that of wild type cystatin C. In an effort to investigate whether exogenous agents could also suppress the formation of dimers of wild type and L68Q cystatin C, a monoclonal antibody or carboxymethylpapain, an inactivated form of a cysteine protease, was added to systems inducing dimerization of wild type and L68Q cystatin C. It was observed that catalytic amounts of both the monoclonal antibody and carboxymethylpapain could suppress dimerization.

Penicillin acylase release from Escherichia coli cells by mechanical cell disruption and permeabilization

AbstractThe release of Penicillin acylase from Escherichia coli cells through mechanical cell disruption using high‐pressure homogenization and sonication was studied. From these cell disruption processes, the enzyme activity was totally released although with low specific activities, 0.1–0.3 IU(mg prot)−1. Intracellular total soluble protein release was quantified and modelled by a first order kinetic model. The effect of the driving force for each mechanical method, namely acoustic power input and homogenization pressure, on the respective kinetic disruption constants was also analysed. The release of Penicillin acylase by cell permeabilization using osmotic shock was also evaluated. The effects of cell concentration, penicillin acylase activity in E coli cells, type of buffer, pH, hypertonic solution composition, temperature and time used for osmotic shock were evaluated. Using cold osmotic shock, highly selective penicillin acylase release was attained with specific enzyme activities of about 4 IU(mg prot)−1 and enzyme activity release yields higher than 90%. The high purity of the penicillin acylase was a consequence of the optimized differential enzyme release method which was validated by SDS gel electrophoresis.© 2002 Society of Chemical Industry

Proteomics of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803

Periplasmic proteins isolated by cold osmotic shock of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 cells were identified using 2D PAGE, MS and genome analysis. Most of the periplasmic proteins represent 'hypothetical proteins' with unknown function. A number of proteases of different specificity, and several enzymes involved in cell wall biosynthesis were also found. In salt-adapted cells, six proteins were greatly enhanced and three proteins were newly induced. Most of the salt-enhanced proteins are involved in the alteration of cell wall structure of salt-adapted cells. The precursors of all 57 periplasmic proteins identified have a signal peptide; 47 of them contain a typical Sec-dependent signal peptide, whereas 10 contain a putative twin-arginine signal peptide.

Characterization of oxygen-dependent lysis of Escherichia coli cells infected by bacteriophage T4

Infection of Escherichia coli cells by T4 phage at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.01 caused inhibition of cell lysis for up to 4 h. Such cells grown under aerobic condition were lysed by external stimuli such as cold shock, osmotic shock or addition of toxic substances, e.g., carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). However, the effects of these external stimuli were reduced by transferring the cells to static incubation, by which dissolved oxygen was consumed by the cells within 10 min. The cells became insensitive to such external stimuli when the culture was deoxygenated with nitrogen gas. Following infection with a lysozyme amber mutant, eL1a, the cell membrane permeability was found to be increased either by cold shock or osmotic shock treatment of cells grown under aerobic conditions, but not in cells transferred to the static incubation. Oxygen limitation was suggested to enhance membrane stability in relation to cell lysis following the cold or osmotic shock treatment.

Isolation of salt-induced periplasmic proteins from Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803.

Periplasmic proteins were obtained from control cells and salt-adapted cells of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 using the method of cold osmotic shock. Two of these proteins (PP 1, apparent mol. mass 27.6 kDa, and PP 3, apparent mol. mass 39.9 kDa) were accumulated in high amounts in the periplasm of salt-adapted cells, while the major periplasmic protein (PP 2, apparent mol. mass 36.0 kDa) was accumulated independently from salt. After isolation from gels and partial sequencing, the proteins could be assigned to proteins deduced from the complete genome sequence of Synechocystis. Neither salt-induced periplasmic proteins (PP 1, Slr0924 and PP 3, Slr1485) exhibited sequence similarity to proteins of known function from databases. The major protein (PP 2-Slr0513) showed significant sequence similarities to iron-binding proteins. All proteins included typical leader sequences at their N-terminus.

Filter-type and sample handling affect determination of organic substrate uptake by bacterioplankton

AME Aquatic Microbial Ecology Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials AME 17:311-321 (1999) - doi:10.3354/ame017311 Filter-type and sample handling affect determination of organic substrate uptake by bacterioplankton Ronald P. Kiene*, Laura J. Linn Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama 36688, USA and Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528, USA *E-mail: rkiene@jaguar1.usouthal.edu ABSTRACT: Natural assemblages of bacterioplankton (coastal seawater and seawater filtrates), treated with radiolabeled organic substrates, were used to test the effectiveness of various types of 0.2 μm pore size filters in capturing labeled cell materials. The highest retention of cell material was observed with filters made of either polyethersulfone (PES), mixed cellulose esters (MCE) or Nylon. PES filters retained up to 22% less than MCE or Nylon filters in some comparisons, but in most cases these filters gave similar, apparently high retention of cell materials. In contrast, retention of labeled cell material by track-etched polycarbonate (PC) or polyester (PE) filters was 10 to 80% less than for PES, MCE or Nylon filters, even at low filtration vacuum (5 cm Hg). Radiolabel lost from PC filters was recovered as dissolved compounds in the filtrates, and tests showed that cell breakage/leakage occurred, not during filtration per se, but rather at the end of filtration when filters ran dry. Higher filtration vacuum over the range 5 to 38 cm Hg caused greater losses with PC filters whereas retention of radiolabel by PES filters was nearly independent of vacuum. Losses on PC filters were greatest during early phases of incubations, when label in the cells was found mostly as untransformed parent substrate, and losses were greater for substrates known to function as intracellular osmolytes (e.g. glycine betaine and dimethylsulfoniopropionate) than for substrates (e.g. leucine and glucose) that were rapidly incorporated into macromolecules. Treatment of PES-filtered cells by a cold osmotic shock procedure resulted in nearly identical losses to those which occurred with non-shocked cells on PC filters. Likewise, addition of formalin (2% final concentration) to a seawater filtrate culture which had already taken up 14C-glycine betaine caused rapid losses of 14C from particulate materials, resulting in the same amount of loss as occurred when parallel live samples were filtered onto PC filters. The results suggest that a major fraction of the soluble components of bacterioplankton can be selectively lost during filtration through polycarbonate-type membranes, and by procedures which subject cells to osmotic shock and poisoning. Furthermore, our results indicate that PES, MCE and nylon filters function similarly well at retaining most cell materials. KEY WORDS: Filtration · Artifact · Osmolyte · DOC · Filter comparison · Betaine Full text in pdf format PreviousExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AME Vol. 17, No. 3. Publication date: June 18, 1999 Print ISSN: 0948-3055; Online ISSN: 1616-1564 Copyright © 1999 Inter-Research.

Lipoprotein from the osmoregulated ABC transport system OpuA of Bacillus subtilis: purification of the glycine betaine binding protein and characterization of a functional lipidless mutant

The OpuA transport system of Bacillus subtilis functions as a high-affinity uptake system for the osmoprotectant glycine betaine. It is a member of the ABC transporter superfamily and consists of an ATPase (OpuAA), an integral membrane protein (OpuAB), and a hydrophilic polypeptide (OpuAC) that shows the signature sequence of lipoproteins (B. Kempf and E. Bremer, J. Biol. Chem. 270:16701-16713, 1995). The OpuAC protein might thus serve as an extracellular substrate binding protein anchored in the cytoplasmic membrane via a lipid modification at an amino-terminal cysteine residue. A malE-opuAC hybrid gene was constructed and used to purify a lipidless OpuAC protein. The purified protein bound radiolabeled glycine betaine avidly and exhibited a KD of 6 microM for this ligand, demonstrating that OpuAC indeed functions as the substrate binding protein for the B. subtilis OpuA system. We have selectively expressed the opuAC gene under T7 phi10 control in Escherichia coli and have demonstrated through its metabolic labeling with [3H]palmitic acid that OpuAC is a lipoprotein. A mutant expressing an OpuAC protein in which the amino-terminal cysteine residue was changed to an alanine (OpuAC-3) was constructed by oligonucleotide site-directed mutagenesis. The OpuAC-3 protein was not acylated by [3H]palmitic acid, and part of it was secreted into the periplasmic space of E. coli, where it could be released from the cells by cold osmotic shock. The opuAC-3 mutation was recombined into an otherwise wild-type opuA operon in the chromosome of B. subtilis. Unexpectedly, this mutant OpuAC system still functioned efficiently for glycine betaine acquisition in vivo under high-osmolarity growth conditions. In addition, the mutant OpuA transporter exhibited kinetic parameters similar to that of the wild-type system. Our data suggest that the lipidless OpuAC-3 protein is held in the cytoplasmic membrane of B. subtilis via its uncleaved hydrophobic signal peptide.

Yersinia pestis LcrV forms a stable complex with LcrG and may have a secretion-related regulatory role in the low-Ca2+ response.

Yersinia pestis contains a virulence plasmid, pCD1, that encodes many virulence-associated traits, such as the Yops (Yersinia outer proteins) and the bifunctional LcrV, which has both regulatory and antihost functions. In addition to LcrV and the Yops, pCD1 encodes a type III secretion system that is responsible for Yop and LcrV secretion. The Yop-LcrV secretion mechanism is believed to regulate transcription of lcrV and yop operons indirectly by controlling the intracellular concentration of a secreted repressor. The activity of the secretion mechanism and consequently the expression of LcrV and Yops are negatively regulated in response to environmental conditions such as Ca2+ concentration by LcrE and, additionally, by LcrG, both of which have been proposed to block the secretion mechanism. This block is removed by the absence of Ca2+ or by contact with eukaryotic cells, and some Yops are then translocated into the cells. Regulation of LcrV and Yop expression also is positively affected by LcrV. Previously, LcrG was shown to be secreted from bacterial cells when the growth medium lacks added Ca2+, although most of the LcrG remains cell associated. In the present study, we showed that the cell-associated LcrG is cytoplasmically localized. We demonstrated that LcrG interacts with LcrV to form a heterodimeric complex by using chemical cross-linking and copurification of LcrG and LcrV. Additionally, we found that small amounts of LcrV and YopE can be detected in periplasmic fractions isolated by cold osmotic shock and spheroplast formation, indicating that their secretion pathway is accessible to the periplasm or to these procedures for obtaining periplasmic fractions. We propose that the cytoplasmically localized LcrG blocks the Yop secretion apparatus from the cytoplasmic side and that LcrV is required to remove the LcrG secretion block to yield full induction of Yop and LcrV secretion and expression.

Induction, Localization, and Purification of a Novel Sialidase, Deaminoneuraminidase (KDNase), from Sphingobacterium multivorum

Recently, we reported the discovery of a new type of sialidase, KDNase, which specifically hydrolyzes the ketosidic linkages of 2-keto-3-deoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-nononic acid (KDN), but not N-acylneuraminyl linkages. We now report that this enzyme, designated KDNase SM, is an inducible enzyme that is localized in the periplasm of Sphingobacterium multivorum. Growth of S. multivorum in the presence of KDN-containing oligosaccharide alditols, KDNalpha2-->3Galbeta1-->3GalNAc alpha1-->3[KDNalpha2--> (8KDN alpha2-->)n-->6]GalNAcol, as a sole carbon source induced KDNase SM activity 15 40-fold, compared with growth in the absence of inducer. KDN, Neu5Ac, or Neu5Ac oligomers were ineffective as inducers. The enzyme was released from the periplasm of induced cells by cold osmotic shock and purified 700-fold to homogeneity. The specific activity of the pure enzyme was 82,100 units/mg of protein. KDNase SM activity resided in a single polypeptide chain with an estimated molecular weight of approximately 47,500. Enzyme activity was maximal at near neutral pH. The availability of pure KDNase will now make it possible to study the structure and functional role of KDN-glycoconjugates and to determine the molecular mechanism whereby the enzyme can discriminate between KDN and N-acylneuraminic acid.

Production of enzymatically active rat protein disulfide isomerase in Escherichia coli.

We report the development of a bacterial expression system allowing high-level synthesis of enzymatically active rat protein disulfide isomerase (rPDI). After expression of the rpdi gene under control of the inducible trc promoter (Ptrc), a significant amount of soluble, active rPDI was detected in the periplasmic contents, which were released from the cells by cold osmotic shock. However, the exported molecules were incompletely or improperly processed, while the major amount of synthesized rPDI was in fact detected in the soluble cellular fraction. Substitution of the autologous eukaryotic export signal with the nucleotide (nt) sequence encoding the signal peptide (sOmpA) of the bacterial outer membrane protein A, and expression of the sompA::rpdi fusion gene under control of both the lpp promoter (Plpp) and the lac promoter-operator (POlac), resulted in high-level production of rPDI. Furthermore, the latter was efficiently exported into the periplasmic compartment, from where it was recovered as a soluble, fully active form with the sOmpA precisely removed. The synthesis of a small 21-kDa peptide accompanying the production of rPDI was also observed. This rPDI-related peptide (rPDIf), which represented a C-terminal fragment of rPDI including the second active site, arose by internal translation initiation within rpdi. Replacement of the presumed internal start codon by CTC completely eliminated the aforementioned phenomenon and resulted in the production of a slightly mutated, enzymatically active enzyme (rPDIm).

Aminopeptidase Activity in Marine Chroococcoid Cyanobacteria

Synechococci are important primary producers in the ocean and can also utilize some components of the dissolved organic matter (DOM). The readily utilizable DOM in seawater is mainly polymeric (e.g., protein, polysaccharide) or phosphorylated and requires hydrolysis prior to uptake. We examined whether synechococci express ectoenzymes to hydrolyze DOM components and considered the possible significance of ectohydrolases for Synechococcus ecology and organic matter cycling in the sea. Five strains of non-nitrogen-fixing synechococci in axenic cultures were tested for enzyme activities with fluorogenic substrates. All strains show ectocellular aminopeptidase activity, but other enzymes were undetectable. The aminopeptidase level was in the range determined for five marine heterotrophic bacterial isolates tested for comparison. Aminopeptidase was not secreted into the medium; the majority (74%; tested in WH 7803) was cell surface bound, and a small fraction was periplasmic. The periplasmic activity was not released by cold osmotic shock of WH 7803. Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and EDTA, inhibitors of serine and metalloproteases, strongly or completely inhibited WH 7803 aminopeptidase. The enzyme seemed constitutive; per-cell activity did not change during incubations in unenriched seawater, bovine serum albumin, or nitrate-replete mineral medium. In natural planktonic assemblages in the Southern California Bight, aminopeptidase activity was correlated with Synechococcus abundance as well as the abundance of other bacteria. Ectocellular aminopeptidase may be common in marine synechococci and play roles in their nitrogen nutrition, particularly in low-nitrate and low-light environments. Since synechococci are much less abundant than heterotrophic bacteria in seawater, the impact of Synechococcus aminopeptidase on proteolysis in the sea is likely to be episodic and restricted to specialized microenvironments.

Penplasmic aminopeptidase and alkaline phosphatase activities in a marine bacterium- implications for substrate processing in the sea

The occurrence of periplasmic aminopeptidase and alkaline phosphatase (APase) was studied in a Gram-negative bacterium (designated S8) isolated from the surface waters off the Southern California coast. We tested the hypothesis that processing of polymeric substrates (e.g. protein) by marine bacteria involves ectohydrolases both on the cell surface and in the periplasmic space but small substrates (e.g. sugar phosphates) are hydrolytically processed only in the periplasm. Optimum conditions for cold osmotic shock were established to maximize protein release (14.3 + 2.2 % of the total cellular protein) without significant release of cytoplasmic protein (using glucose-6phosphate dehydrogenase as cytoplasmic indicator). Only 4.2 f 4.0 % aminopeptidase but 63.4 f 4.8 % APase was shockable. An additional 17 4; APase was released by a second shock. Although not shockable, the majority of aminopeptidase (67 %) was periplasmic [not accessible to bovine serum albumin (BSA)]; 33 % was considered surface bound (accessible to BSA). The cellular distribution of aminopeptidase activity is consistent with the model that cell surface aminopeptidase generate oligomers which diffuse into the periplasm where they are monomerized by the high aminopeptidase activity in an environment where the monomers may interact with substrate binding protein or directly with the permeases. While most APase was periplasmic we were unable to determine whether any APase was also present on the cell surface. In S8 the fluorogenic substrates (leucine AMC and MUF-P) did not measure the cytoplasmic enzymes but did measure periplasmic activities. If these results can be extrapolated to natural marine assemblages, then ectoenzyme measurements using the fluorogenic substrates represent the sum of cell surface and periplasmic (but not cytoplasmic) pools of the enzymes. Since ectohydrolase distribution may be important in substrate processing and bacteria-organic matter coupling, future environmental studies of ectoenzymes should distinguish between the 'surface ectoenzymes' and 'periplasmic ectoenzymes'

Characterization of an osmoregulated periplasmic glycine betaine-binding protein in Azospirillum brasilense sp7

Azospirillum brasilense is able to use glycine betaine as a powerful osmovrotectant; the uptake of this compound is strongly stimulated by salt stress, but significantly reduced by cold osmotic shock. Non-denaturing PAGE in the presence of [ methyl- 14C] glycine betaine and autoradiography demonstrated the presence of one glycine betaine-binding protein (GBBP) in periplasmic shock fluid obtained from high-osmolarity-grown cells. The binding activity was absent in periplasmic fractions from cells grown at low osmolarity. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the osmotically inducible GBBP has an apparent molecular weight of 32 000. The isoelectric point was between 5.9 and 6.6, as determined by isoelectric focusing. This protein bound glycine betaine with high affinity ( K D of 3 μM), but had no affinity for either other betaines (proline betaine, γ-butyrobetaine, pipecolate betaine, trigonelline, homarine) or related compounds (choline, glycine betaine aldehyde, glycine and proline). Optimum binding activity occurred at pH 7.0 to 7.5, and was not altered whether or not the binding assays were done at low or high osmolarity. Immunoprecipitation and Western blotting showed that immunoadsorbed anti-GBBP antibody from E coli cross-reacted with the GBBP produced by A brasilense cells grown at high osmolarity.