Electron transport and oxidative stress in Zymomonas mobilis respiratory mutants.

The ethanol-producing bacterium Zymomonas mobilis is of great interest from a bioenergetic perspective because, although it has a very high respiratory capacity, the respiratory system does not appear to be primarily required for energy conservation. To investigate the regulation of respiratory genes and function of electron transport branches in Z. mobilis, several mutants of the common wild-type strain Zm6 (ATCC 29191) were constructed and analyzed. Mutant strains with a chloramphenicol-resistance determinant inserted in the genes encoding the cytochrome b subunit of the bc (1) complex (Zm6-cytB), subunit II of the cytochrome bd terminal oxidase (Zm6-cydB), and in the catalase gene (Zm6-kat) were constructed. The cytB and cydB mutants had low respiration capacity when cultivated anaerobically. Zm6-cydB lacked the cytochrome d absorbance at 630 nm, while Zm6-cytB had very low spectral signals of all cytochromes and low catalase activity. However, under aerobic growth conditions, the respiration capacity of the mutant cells was comparable to that of the parent strain. The catalase mutation did not affect aerobic growth, but rendered cells sensitive to hydrogen peroxide. Cytochrome c peroxidase activity could not be detected. An upregulation of several thiol-dependent oxidative stress-protective systems was observed in an aerobically growing ndh mutant deficient in type II NADH dehydrogenase (Zm6-ndh). It is concluded that the electron transport chain in Z. mobilis contains at least two electron pathways to oxygen and that one of its functions might be to prevent endogenous oxidative stress.

NADH dehydrogenase deficiency results in low respiration rate and improved aerobic growth of Zymomonas mobilis.

The respiratory chain of the ethanol-producing bacterium Zymomonas mobilis is able to oxidize both species of nicotinamide cofactors, NADH and NADPH. A mutant strain with a chloramphenicol-resistance determinant inserted in ndh (encoding an NADH : CoQ oxidoreductase of type II) lacked the membrane NADH and NADPH oxidase activities, while its respiratory D-lactate oxidase activity was increased. Cells of the mutant strain showed a very low respiration rate with glucose and no respiration with ethanol. The aerobic growth rate of the mutant was elevated; exponential growth persisted longer, resulting in higher biomass densities. For the parent strain a similar effect of aerobic growth stimulation was achieved previously in the presence of submillimolar cyanide concentrations. It is concluded (i) that the respiratory chain of Z. mobilis contains only one functional NAD(P)H dehydrogenase, product of the ndh gene, and (ii) that inhibition of respiration, whether resulting from a mutation or from inhibitor action, stimulates Z. mobilis aerobic growth due to redirection of the NADH flux from respiration to ethanol synthesis, thus minimizing accumulation of toxic intermediates by contributing to the reduction of acetaldehyde to ethanol.