Plasma Membrane Ferric Reductase Research Articles

Plasma membrane ferric reductase activity of iron-limited algal cells is inhibited by ferric chelators

Iron-limited cells of the green alga Chlorella kesslerii use a reductive mechanism to acquire Fe(III) from the extracellular environment, in which a plasma membrane ferric reductase reduces Fe(III)-chelates to Fe(II), which is subsequently taken up by the cell. Previous work has demonstrated that synthetic chelators both support ferric reductase activity (when supplied as Fe(III)-chelates) and inhibit ferric reductase. In the present set of experiments we extend these observations to naturally-occurring chelators and their analogues (desferrioxamine B mesylate, schizokinen, two forms of dihydroxybenzoic acid) and also two formulations of the commonly-used herbicide N-(phoshonomethyl)glycine (glyphosate). The ferric forms of the larger siderophores (desferrioxamine B mesylate, schizokinen) and Fe(III)-N-(phoshonomethyl)glycine (as the isopropylamine salt) all supported rapid rates of ferric reductase activity, while the iron-free forms inhibited reductase activity. The smaller siderophores/siderophore precursors, 2,3- and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acids, did not support high rates of reductase in the ferric form but did inhibit reductase activity in the iron-free form. Bioassays indicated that Fe(III)-chelates that supported high rates of ferric reductase activity also supported a large stimulation in the growth of iron-limited cells, and that an excess of iron-free chelator decreased the growth rate. With respect to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, there were differences between the pure compound (free acid form) and the most common commercial formulation (which also contains isopropylamine) in terms of supporting and inhibiting ferric reductase activity and growth. Overall, these results suggest that photosynthetic organisms that use a reductive strategy for iron acquisition both require, and are potentially simultaneously inhibited by, ferric chelators. Furthermore, these results also may provide an explanation for the frequently contradictory results of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine application to crops: we suggest that low concentrations of this molecule likely solubilize Fe(III), making it available for plant growth, but that higher (but sub-lethal) concentrations decrease iron acquisition by inhibiting ferric reductase activity.

Ferric and cupric reductase activities by iron‐limited cells of the green alga Chlorella kessleri: quantification via oxygen electrode

The colorimetric Fe2+ indicators bathophenanthroline disulfonic acid (BPDS) and 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-bis(4-phenylsulfonic acid)-1,2,4-triazine (FZ) are routinely used to assay for plasma membrane ferric reductase activity in iron-limited algal cells and also in roots from iron-limited plants. Ferric reductase assays using these colorimetric indicators must take into account the fact that Fe3+ chelators (e.g. ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) can also in general bind Fe2+ and may therefore compete with the colorimetric Fe2+ indicators, leading to the potential for underestimation of the ferric reduction rate. Conversely, the presence of BPDS or FZ may also facilitate the reduction of Fe3+ chelates, potentially leading to overestimation of ferric reduction rates. Last, both BPDS and FZ have non-negligible affinities for Fe3+ in addition to their well-known affinities for Fe2+; this leads to potential difficulties in ascertaining whether free and/or chelated Fe3+ are potential substrates for the ferric reductase. Similar issues arise when assaying for cupric reductase activity using the colorimetric Cu+ indicator bathocuproinedisulfonic acid (BCDS). In this paper, we describe an oxygen-electrode-based assay (conducted in darkness) for both ferric and cupric reductase activities that does not use colorimetric indicators. Using this assay system, we show that the plasma membrane metal reductase activity of iron-limited cells of the green alga Chlorella kessleri reduced complexed Fe3+ (i.e. Fe3+ chelates) but did not reduce free (non-chelated) Fe3+, and also reduced free Cu2+ to Cu+, but did not reduce Cu2+ that was part of Cu2+ chelates. We suggest that the potential for reduction of free Fe3+ cannot be adequately assayed using colorimetric assays. As well, the BPDS-based assay system consistently yielded similar estimates of ferric reductase activity compared with the O2-electrode-based assays at relatively low Fe3+ concentration, but higher estimates at higher Fe3+ concentrations with chelators other than desferrioxamine mesylate. With respect to cupric reductase activity, the O2 electrode consistently provided much higher estimates; we suggest that this was as a result of Cu2+ chelation by BCDS leading to a large underestimation of the true cupric reduction rate. These results suggest that an O2-electrode-based metal reductase assay system has some specific advantages compared with the traditional colorimetric assay system, including especially the ability to discriminate between the reduction of free metal ions and chelated metal ions.

Yeast flavohemoglobin protects against nitrosative stress and controls ferric reductase activity

The role of Saccharomyces cerevisiae flavohemoglobin (Yhb1) is controversial and far from understood. This study compares the effects of nitrosative and oxidative challenge on the yeast mutant lacking the YHB1 gene. Growth of the mutant was impaired by nitrosoglutathione and peroxynitrite, whereas increased sensitivity to reactive oxygen species was not observed. Increased levels of intracellular NO• after incubation with NO• donors were found in the mutants cells as compared to the wild-type cells. Deletion of the YHB1 gene was found to augment the reduction of Fe3+ by yeast cells which suggests that flavohemoglobin participates in regulation of the activity of plasma membrane ferric reductase(s).

Reduction of 2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide inner salt (XTT) is dependent on CaFRE10 ferric reductase for Candida albicans grown in unbuffered media

The reduction of 2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide inner salt (XTT) and other tetrazolium salts is widely used as an assay for bacterial, fungal and mammalian cell viability, but the genes encoding the reductase activities have not been defined. Here, it was shown that XTT and plasma membrane ferric reductase activities were 10-40-fold greater in Candida albicans than in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. XTT reductase activity was induced fivefold in C. albicans grown in low-iron conditions compared with iron-replete conditions, and for cells grown in unbuffered (pH 4.0-4.4) medium, XTT reductase activity was largely dependent on CaFRE10. XTT reductase activity of C. albicans grown in medium buffered to pH 6.8 was independent of CaFRE10 but, nonetheless, was upregulated in cells deprived of iron. Reduction of 2-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-3,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT), a membrane-permeable tetrazolium salt, occurred at an intracellular location and was independent of CaFRE10. However, MTT activity was induced by iron deprivation in C. albicans but not in S. cerevisiae. C. albicans possessed multiple iron- and pH-regulated reductase activities capable of reducing tetrazolium salts, but, when grown in unbuffered medium, CaFRE10 was required for XTT reductase activity.

Nhp6 facilitates Aft1 binding and Ssn6 recruitment, both essential for FRE2 transcriptional activation.

We found Nhp6a/b yeast HMG-box chromatin-associated architectural factors and Ssn6 (Cyc8) corepressor to be crucial transcriptional coactivators of FRE2 gene. FRE2 encoding a plasma membrane ferric reductase is induced by the iron-responsive, DNA-binding, transcriptional activator Aft1. We have shown that Nhp6 interacts directly with the Aft1 N-half, including the DNA-binding region, to facilitate Aft1 binding at FRE2 UAS. Ssn6 also interacts directly with the Aft1 N-half and is recruited on FRE2 promoter only in the presence of both Aft1 and Nhp6. This Nhp6/Ssn6 role in Aft1-mediated transcription is FRE2 promoter context specific, and both regulators are required for activation-dependent chromatin remodeling. Our results provide the first in vivo biochemical evidence for nonsequence-specific HMG-box protein-facilitated recruitment of a yeast gene-specific transactivator to its DNA target site and for Nhp6-mediated Ssn6 promoter recruitment. Ssn6 has an explicitly coactivating role on FRE2 promoter only upon induction. Therefore, transcriptional activation in response to iron availability involves multiple protein interactions between the Aft1 iron-responsive DNA-binding factor and global regulators such as Nhp6 and Ssn6.

OXYGEN CONSUMPTION ASSOCIATED WITH FERRIC REDUCTASE ACTIVITY AND IRON UPTAKE BY IRON‐LIMITED CELLS OF CHLORELLA KESSLERI (CHLOROPHYCEAE)

Plasma membrane ferric reductase activity was enhanced 5‐fold under iron limitation in the unicellular green alga Chlorella kessleri Fott et Nováková. Furthermore, ferric reductase activity in iron‐limited cells was approximately 50% higher in the light than in the dark. In contrast, iron uptake rates of iron‐limited cells were unaffected by light versus dark treatments. Rates of iron uptake were much lower than rates of ferric reduction, averaging approximately 2% of the dark ferric reduction rate. Ferric reduction was associated with an increased rate of O2 consumption in both light and dark, the increase in the light being approximately 1.5 times as large as in the dark. The increased rate of O2 consumption could be decreased by half by the addition of catalase, indicating that H2O2 is the product of the O2 consumption and that the increased O2 consumption is nonrespiratory. The stimulation of O2 consumption was almost completely abolished by the addition of bathophenanthroline disulfonate, a strong chelator of Fe2+. Anaerobic conditions or the presence of exogenous superoxide dismutase affected neither ferric reduction nor iron uptake. We suggest that the O2 consumption associated with ferric reductase activity resulted from superoxide formation from the aerobic oxidation of Fe2+, which is the product of ferric reductase activity. At saturating concentrations of Fe3+ chelates, ferric reductase activity is much greater than the iron uptake rate, leading to rapid oxidation of Fe2+ and superoxide generation. Therefore, O2 consumption is not an integral part of the iron assimilation process.

Induction of Ferric Reductase Activity and of Iron Uptake Capacity in Chlorococcum littorale Cells under Extremely High-CO2 and Iron-Deficient Conditions

The marine green alga, Chlorococcum littorale, accumulated iron in its cells and showed high activity of plasma membrane ferric reductase under high-CO2 and iron-deficient conditions. These activities disappeared upon exposure to ordinary air and by adding excess FeSO4. The iron uptake had high affinity for the Fe(II) form (Km of 0.13 fiM). Carbonylcyanide /n-chlorophenylhydrazone and yV.yV-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide significantly suppressed the iron uptake, suggesting that the Fe(II) uptake was driven by ATPase. These results indicate that high CO2 and iron deficiency cooperatively induce the Fe(II) uptake and cellsurface ferric reductase activity.

Induction of the Root Cell Plasma Membrane Ferric Reductase (An Exclusive Role for Fe and Cu).

Induction of ferric reductase activity in dicots and nongrass monocots is a well-recognized response to Fe deficiency. Recent evidence has shown that Cu deficiency also induces plasma membrane Fe reduction. In this study we investigated whether other nutrient deficiencies could also induce ferric reductase activity in roots of pea (Pisum sativum L. cv Sparkle) seedlings. Of the nutrient deficiencies tested (K, Mg, Ca, Mn, Zn, Fe, and Cu), only Cu and Fe deficiencies elicited a response. Cu deficiency induced an activity intermediate between Fe-deficient and control plant activities. To ascertain whether the same reductase is induced by Fe and Cu deficiency, concentration- and pH-dependent kinetics of root ferric reduction were compared in plants grown under control, -Fe, and -Cu conditions. Additionally, rhizosphere acidification, another process induced by Fe deficiency, was quantified in pea seedlings grown under the three regimes. Control, Fe-deficient, and Cu-deficient plants exhibited no major differences in pH optima or Km for the kinetics of ferric reduction. However, the Vmax for ferric reduction was dramatically influenced by plant nutrient status, increasing 16- to 38-fold under Fe deficiency and 1.5- to 4-fold under Cu deficiency, compared with that of control plants. These results are consistent with a model in which varying amounts of the same enzyme are deployed on the plasma membrane in response to plant Fe or Cu status. Rhizosphere acidification rates in the Cu-deficient plants were similarly intermediate between those of the control and Fe-deficient plants. These results suggest that Cu deficiency induces the same responses induced by Fe deficiency in peas.

Potentiation of bleomycin cytotoxicity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Lesions introduced into cellular DNAs prelabeled with [2-14C]thymidine or [6-3H]thymidine, as well as cell killing, were inhibited by the presence of EDTA during 20-min reactions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells with the low-molecular-weight bleomycin family of anticancer antibiotics. In contrast, the level of killing by low concentrations of bleomycin was higher among cells which had grown for three generations in defined synthetic complete medium supplemented with ferrous sulfate than among cells grown without iron supplementation. In S. cerevisiae, the uptake of iron is facilitated by a plasma membrane ferric reductase activity and a high-affinity (Km = 5 x 10(-6) M) ferrous uptake system. Lethal effects of 1.3 x 10(-6) M bleomycin increased approximately 50% with 10(-5) M Fe(II), nearly twofold with 10(-4) M Fe(II), and 2.8 times with 10(-3) M Fe(II). Thus, iron preloading is a new experimental approach to increasing and studying the effects of the glycopeptides on cellular DNAs and other cellular targets. This approach could also be used for studying and better understanding DNA repair genes and could serve as a model for studies of redox active chemicals in biological systems.

Ferric iron reduction and iron assimilation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have used the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism to study the role of ferric iron reduction in eucaryotic iron uptake. S. cerevisiae is able to utilize ferric chelates as an iron source by reducing the ferric iron to the ferrous form, which is subsequently internalized by the cells. A gene ( FRE1) was identified which encodes a protein required for both ferric iron reduction and efficient ferric iron assimilation, thus linking these two activities. The predicted FRE1 protein appears to be a membrane protein and shows homology to the β-subunit of the human respiratory burst oxidase. These data suggest that FRE1 is a structural component of the ferric reductase. Subcellular fractionation studies showed that the ferric reductase activity of isolated plasma membranes did not reflect the activity of the intact cells, implying that cellular integrity was necessary for function of the major S. cerevisiae ferric reductase. An NADPH-dependent plasma membrane ferric reductase was partially purified from plasma membranes. Preliminary evidence suggests that the cell surface ferric reductase may, in addition to mediating cellular iron uptake, help modulate the intracellular redox potential of the yeast cell.

Genetic evidence that ferric reductase is required for iron uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The requirement for a reduction step in cellular iron uptake has been postulated, and the existence of plasma membrane ferric reductase activity has been described in both procaryotic and eucaryotic cells. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, there is an externally directed reductase activity that is regulated by the concentration of iron in the growth medium; maximal activity is induced by iron starvation. We report here the isolation of a mutant of S. cerevisiae lacking the reductase activity. This mutant is deficient in the uptake of ferric iron and is extremely sensitive to iron deprivation. Genetic analysis of the mutant demonstrates that the reductase and ferric uptake deficiencies are due to a single mutation that we designate fre1-1. Both phenotypes cosegregate in meiosis, corevert with a frequency of 10(-7), and are complemented by a 3.5-kilobase fragment of genomic DNA from wild-type S. cerevisiae. This fragment contains FRE1, the wild-type allele of the mutant gene. The level of the gene transcript is regulated by iron in the same was as the reductase activity. The ferrous ion product of the reductase must traverse the plasma membrane. A high-affinity (Km = 5 microM) ferrous uptake system is present in both wild-type and mutant cells. Thus, iron uptake in S. cerevisiae is mediated by two plasma membrane components, a reductase and a ferrous transport system.

Genetic Evidence that Ferric Reductase Is Required for Iron Uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The requirement for a reduction step in cellular iron uptake has been postulated, and the existence of plasma membrane ferric reductase activity has been described in both procaryotic and eucaryotic cells. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, there is an externally directed reductase activity that is regulated by the concentration of iron in the growth medium; maximal activity is induced by iron starvation. We report here the isolation of a mutant of S. cerevisiae lacking the reductase activity. This mutant is deficient in the uptake of ferric iron and is extremely sensitive to iron deprivation. Genetic analysis of the mutant demonstrates that the reductase and ferric uptake deficiencies are due to a single mutation that we designate fre1-1. Both phenotypes cosegregate in meiosis, corevert with a frequency of 10(-7), and are complemented by a 3.5-kilobase fragment of genomic DNA from wild-type S. cerevisiae. This fragment contains FRE1, the wild-type allele of the mutant gene. The level of the gene transcript is regulated by iron in the same was as the reductase activity. The ferrous ion product of the reductase must traverse the plasma membrane. A high-affinity (Km = 5 microM) ferrous uptake system is present in both wild-type and mutant cells. Thus, iron uptake in S. cerevisiae is mediated by two plasma membrane components, a reductase and a ferrous transport system.