Biochemical properties of a Flavobacterium johnsoniae dextranase and its biotechnological potential for Streptococcus mutans biofilm degradation.

Cariogenic biofilms have a matrix rich in exopolysaccharides (EPS), mutans and dextrans, that contribute to caries development. Although several physical and chemical treatments can be employed to remove oral biofilms, those are only partly efficient and use of biofilm-degrading enzymes represents an exciting opportunity to improve the performance of oral hygiene products. In the present study, a member of a glycosyl hydrolase family 66 from Flavobacterium johnsoniae (FjGH66) was heterologously expressed and biochemically characterized. The recombinant FjGH66 showed a hydrolytic activity against an early EPS-containing S. mutans biofilm, and, when associated with a α-(1,3)-glucosyl hydrolase (mutanase) from GH87 family, displayed outstanding performance, removing more than 80% of the plate-adhered biofilm. The mixture containing FjGH66 and Prevotella melaninogenica GH87 α-1,3-mutanase was added to a commercial mouthwash liquid to synergistically remove the biofilm. Dental floss and polyethylene disks coated with biofilm-degrading enzymes also degraded plate-adhered biofilm with a high efficiency. The results presented in this study might be valuable for future development of novel oral hygiene products.

Structure of a bacterial α-1,2-glucosidase defines mechanisms of hydrolysis and substrate specificity in GH65 family hydrolases.

Glycoside hydrolase family 65 (GH65) comprises glycoside hydrolases (GHs) and glycoside phosphorylases (GPs) that act on α-glucosidic linkages in oligosaccharides. All previously reported bacterial GH65 enzymes are GPs, whereas all eukaryotic GH65 enzymes known are GHs. In addition, to date, no crystal structure of a GH65 GH has yet been reported. In this study, we use biochemical experiments and X-ray crystallography to examine the function and structure of a GH65 enzyme from Flavobacterium johnsoniae (FjGH65A) that shows low amino acid sequence homology to reported GH65 enzymes. We found that FjGH65A does not exhibit phosphorolytic activity, but it does hydrolyze kojibiose (α-1,2-glucobiose) and oligosaccharides containing a kojibiosyl moiety without requiring inorganic phosphate. In addition, stereochemical analysis demonstrated that FjGH65A catalyzes this hydrolytic reaction via an anomer-inverting mechanism. The three-dimensional structures of FjGH65A in native form and in complex with glucose were determined at resolutions of 1.54 and 1.40 Å resolutions, respectively. The overall structure of FjGH65A resembled those of other GH65 GPs, and the general acid catalyst Glu472 was conserved. However, the amino acid sequence forming the phosphate-binding site typical of GH65 GPs was not conserved in FjGH65A. Moreover, FjGH65A had the general base catalyst Glu616 instead, which is required to activate a nucleophilic water molecule. These results indicate that FjGH65A is an α-1,2-glucosidase and is the first bacterial GH found in the GH65 family.

Revealing enzyme functional architecture via high-throughput microfluidic enzyme kinetics.

Systematic and extensive investigation of enzymes is needed to understand their extraordinary efficiency and meet current challenges in medicine and engineering. We present HT-MEK (High-Throughput Microfluidic Enzyme Kinetics), a microfluidic platform for high-throughput expression, purification, and characterization of more than 1500 enzyme variants per experiment. For 1036 mutants of the alkaline phosphatase PafA (phosphate-irrepressible alkaline phosphatase of Flavobacterium), we performed more than 670,000 reactions and determined more than 5000 kinetic and physical constants for multiple substrates and inhibitors. We uncovered extensive kinetic partitioning to a misfolded state and isolated catalytic effects, revealing spatially contiguous regions of residues linked to particular aspects of function. Regions included active-site proximal residues but extended to the enzyme surface, providing a map of underlying architecture not possible to derive from existing approaches. HT-MEK has applications that range from understanding molecular mechanisms to medicine, engineering, and design.

Structural insights of the enzymes from the chitin utilization locus of Flavobacterium johnsoniae.

Chitin is one of the most abundant renewable organic materials found on earth. The chitin utilization locus in Flavobacterium johnsoniae, which encodes necessary proteins for complete enzymatic depolymerization of crystalline chitin, has recently been characterized but no detailed structural information on the enzymes was provided. Here we present protein structures of the F. johnsoniae chitobiase (FjGH20) and chitinase B (FjChiB). FjGH20 is a multi-domain enzyme with a helical domain not before observed in other chitobiases and a domain organization reminiscent of GH84 (ß-N-acetylglucosaminidase) family members. The structure of FjChiB reveals that the protein lacks loops and regions associated with exo-acting activity in other chitinases and instead has a more solvent accessible substrate binding cleft, which is consistent with its endo-chitinase activity. Additionally, small angle X-ray scattering data were collected for the internal 70 kDa region that connects the N- and C-terminal chitinase domains of the unique 158 kDa multi-domain chitinase A (FjChiA). The resulting model of the molecular envelope supports bioinformatic predictions of the region comprising six domains, each with similarities to either Fn3-like or Ig-like domains. Taken together, the results provide insights into chitin utilization by F. johnsoniae and reveal structural diversity in bacterial chitin metabolism.

Characterization of a New Bifunctional and Cold-Adapted Polysaccharide Lyase (PL) Family 7 Alginate Lyase from Flavobacterium sp.

Alginate oligosaccharides produced by enzymatic degradation show versatile physiological functions and biological activities. In this study, a new alginate lyase encoding gene alyS02 from Flavobacterium sp. S02 was recombinantly expressed at a high level in Yarrowia lipolytica, with the highest extracellular activity in the supernatant reaching 36.8 ± 2.1 U/mL. AlyS02 was classified in the polysaccharide lyase (PL) family 7. The optimal reaction temperature and pH of this enzyme were 30 °C and 7.6, respectively, indicating that AlyS02 is a cold-adapted enzyme. Interestingly, AlyS02 contained more than 90% enzyme activity at 25 °C, higher than other cold-adapted enzymes. Moreover, AlyS02 is a bifunctional alginate lyase that degrades both polyG and polyM, producing di- and trisaccharides from alginate. These findings suggest that AlyS02 would be a potent tool for the industrial applications.

Qualitative analysis of enzymatic and chemical depolymerized low molecular weight heparins by UHPLC coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry.

Complete heparin digestion with heparin lyase I and II results in a mixture of hexasaccharides and tetrasaccharides with 3-O-sulfo group-containing glucosamine residues at their reducing ends. Because these tetrasaccharides are derived from antithrombin III-binding sites of heparin, we examined whether this method could be applied to estimate the anticoagulant activity of heparin. Therefore, this paper presents a new low molecular weight heparin sample preparation method-chemical depolymerization. Qualitative analysis of the studied compounds and a comparison of their composition are an important contribution to the structural analysis of low molecular weight heparins, which has not been fully conducted so far. Qualitative on-line liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of these resistant oligosaccharides is also described in this paper.

Screening of an Alkaline CMCase-Producing Strain and the Optimization of its Fermentation Condition.

OBJECTIVE: Alkaline Carboxymethyl Cellulase (CMCase) is an attractive enzyme for the textile, laundry, pulp, and paper industries; however, commercial preparations with sufficient activity at alkaline conditions are scarce. METHODS: High CMCase-producing bacterial isolate, SX9-4, was screened out from soil bacteria, which was identified as Flavobacterium sp. on the basis of 16S rDNA sequencing. RESULTS: The optimum pH and temperature for CMCase reaction were 8.0 and 55°C, respectively. Alkaline CMCase was stable over wide pH (3.0-10.6) and temperature (25-55°C) ranges. Enzyme activity was significantly inhibited by the bivalent cations Mn2+ and Cu2+, and was activated by Fe2+. To improve the alkaline CMCase production of SX9-4, fermentation parameters were selected through onefactor- at-a-time and further carried out by response surface methodologies based on a central composite design. CONCLUSION: High CMCase production (57.18 U/mL) was achieved under the optimal conditions: 10.53 g/L carboxymethylcellulose sodium, 7.74 g/L glucose, 13.71 g/L peptone, and 5.27 g/L ammonium oxalate.

Structural insights into polysaccharide recognition by Flavobacterium johnsoniae dextranase, a member of glycoside hydrolase family 31.

Glycoside hydrolase family (GH) 31 contains a large variety of enzymes, but the major members are enzymes that act on relatively small oligosaccharides such as α-glucosidase. Here, we determined the crystal structure of Flavobacterium johnsoniae dextranase (FjDex31A), an enzyme from F. johnsoniae that hydrolyzes a polysaccharide, dextran. FjDex31A is composed of four domains: an N-terminal domain, a catalytic domain, a proximal C-terminal domain, and a distal C-terminal domain, as observed in typical GH31 enzymes. However, the architecture of active site residues in FjDex31A, other than subsite -1, is markedly different from that of other GH31 enzymes. The FjDex31A structure in complex with isomaltotriose shows that Gly273 and Tyr524, both of which interact with an α-glucose residue at subsite -2, as well as Trp376 and Leu308-cisGln309, are especially unique to FjDex31A. Site-directed mutagenesis of Gly273 and Tyr524 resulted in a decrease in the hydrolysis of polysaccharides dextran and pullulan, as well as that of the disaccharide isomaltose. These results suggest that, regardless of the length of sugar chains of the substrates, binding of FjDex31A to the substrates at subsite -2 is likely to be important for its activity. DATABASE: Structural data are available in the Protein Data Bank under the accession numbers 6JR6, 6JR7, and 6JR8.

Optimizing miR-29 measurements in biobanked, heparinized samples.

AIMS: MicroRNAs (miRs) and their importance in development, normal physiology, and disease have become increasingly recognized. Our laboratory is interested in miR-29 and its effects on lung development. These studies set out to identify optimal conditions for the measurement of miR-29 in heparinized, biobanked samples and to compare isoform expression patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The efficiency of three distinct heparinases were tested using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR): recombinant F. Heparinum heparinase I; recombinant P. heparinus heparinase II; recombinant P. heparinus heparinase III; and heparinase I (B. efferthii-derived). The effects of freeze/thaws, and the relative expression of different miR-29 isoforms were also assessed using RT-PCR. KEY FINDINGS: Our investigations determined that heparinase 1 (recombinant F. Heparinum) and 2 (recombinant P. heparinus) at 1 or 2 h incubation efficiently neutralized heparin activity and prevented interference with the PCR. Also, a single freeze/thaw did not affect the measurement of miR-29-3p but multiple freeze/thaw cycles decreased the measureable miR levels. Finally, the -3p strand was most abundantly expressed in all three isoforms in both human and mouse plasma. SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings illustrate that specific conditions need to be optimized for the particular miR and the type of sample being tested.

Characterization of the cellulase-secretome produced by the Antarctic bacterium Flavobacterium sp. AUG42.

Flavobacterium sp. AUG42 is a cellulase-producing bacterium isolated from the Antarctic oligochaete Grania sp. (Annelida). In this work, we report that AUG42 produces a glycoside hydrolase cocktail with CMCase, PASCase and cellobiase activities (optimum pHs and temperatures ranging from 5.5 to 6.5 and 40 to 50 °C, respectively). The time-course analyses of the bacterial growth and cellulase production showed that the cocktail has maximal activity at the stationary phase when growing at 16 °C with filter paper as a cellulosic carbon source, among the tested substrates. The analyses of the CAZome and the identification of secreted proteins by shotgun Mass Spectrometry analysis showed that five glycoside hydrolyses are present in the bacterial secretome, which probably cooperate in the degradation of the cellulosic substrates. Two of these glycoside hydrolyses may harbor putative carbohydrate binding modules, both with a cleft-like active site. The cellulolytic cocktail was assayed in saccharification experiments using carboxymethylcellulose as a substrate and results showed the release of glucose (a fermentable sugar) and other reducing-sugars, after 24 h incubation. The ecological relevance of producing cellulases in the Antarctic environment, as well as their potential use in the bio-refinery industry, are discussed.

Structures of Class Id Ribonucleotide Reductase Catalytic Subunits Reveal a Minimal Architecture for Deoxynucleotide Biosynthesis.

Class I ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) share a common mechanism of nucleotide reduction in a catalytic α subunit. All RNRs initiate catalysis with a thiyl radical, generated in class I enzymes by a metallocofactor in a separate ß subunit. Class Id RNRs use a simple mechanism of cofactor activation involving oxidation of a MnII2 cluster by free superoxide to yield a metal-based MnIIIMnIV oxidant. This simple cofactor assembly pathway suggests that class Id RNRs may be representative of the evolutionary precursors to more complex class Ia-c enzymes. X-ray crystal structures of two class Id α proteins from Flavobacterium johnsoniae ( Fj) and Actinobacillus ureae ( Au) reveal that this subunit is distinctly small. The enzyme completely lacks common N-terminal ATP-cone allosteric motifs that regulate overall activity, a process that normally occurs by dATP-induced formation of inhibitory quaternary structures to prevent productive ß subunit association. Class Id RNR activity is insensitive to dATP in the Fj and Au enzymes evaluated here, as expected. However, the class Id α protein from Fj adopts higher-order structures, detected crystallographically and in solution. The Au enzyme does not exhibit these quaternary forms. Our study reveals structural similarity between bacterial class Id and eukaryotic class Ia α subunits in conservation of an internal auxiliary domain. Our findings with the Fj enzyme illustrate that nucleotide-independent higher-order quaternary structures can form in simple RNRs with truncated or missing allosteric motifs.

Identification of a Novel Elastin-Degrading Enzyme from the Fish Pathogen Flavobacterium psychrophilum.

Hydrolytic extracellular enzymes degrading host tissues potentially play a role in bacterial pathogenesis. Flavobacterium psychrophilum is an important bacterial pathogen of salmonid fish reared in freshwater throughout the world. Diversity among isolates has been described at the phenotypic, serological, and genomic levels, but the links between these various traits remain poorly understood. Using a genome-wide association study, we identified a gene encoding a novel elastinolytic enzyme in F. psychrophilum To formally demonstrate enzymatic activity, this gene (FP0506 from strain JIP 02/86) was expressed in the elastinolysis-deficient strain OSU THCO2-90, resulting in proficient elastin-degrading cells. The encoded protein is predicted to be a cell-surface-exposed lipoprotein with no homology to previously reported elastases. FP0506 might belong to the zincin tribe and gluzincin clan of metalloproteases, and this new elastase-encoding gene seems to be present only in some members of the family FlavobacteriaceaeIMPORTANCE Elastin is an important proteinaceous component of vertebrate connective tissues (e.g., blood vessels, lung, and skin), to which it confers elasticity. Elastases have been identified in a number of pathogenic bacteria. They are thought to be required for tissue penetration and dissemination, acting as "spreading factors." Flavobacterium psychrophilum is a devastating bacterial pathogen of salmonid fish (salmon and trout) that is responsible for severe economic losses worldwide. This pathogen displays strong proteolytic activities. Using a variety of techniques, including genome comparisons, we identified a gene encoding a novel elastase in F. psychrophilum The encoded protein is predicted to be a cell-surface-exposed lipoprotein with no homology to previously reported elastases. In addition, this elastase likely belongs to a new family of proteases that seems to be present only in some members of this important group of bacteria.

Development of an in Vitro Autocatalytic Self-Replication System for Biosensing Application.

Molecular self-replication is a fundamental function of all living organisms with the capability of templating and catalyzing its own synthesis, and it plays important roles in prebiotic chemical evolution and effective synthetic machineries. However, the construction of the self-replication system in vitro remains a great challenge and its application for biosensing is rare. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the construction of an in vitro enzymatic nucleic acid self-replication system and its application for amplified sensing of human 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (hOGG1) based on autocatalytic self-replication-driven cascaded recycling amplification. In this strategy, hOGG1 excises 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG) to unfold the hairpin substrate, activating the autonomous biocatalytic process with molecular beacons (MBs) as both the fuels for producing nucleic acid templates and the generators for signal output, leading to the continuous replication of biocatalytic nucleic acid templates and the repeated cleavage of MBs for an enhanced fluorescence signal. This strategy exhibits an extremely low detection limit of 4.3 × 10-7 U/µL and a large dynamic range of 5 orders of magnitude from 1 × 10-6 to 0.05 U/µL. Importantly, it can be applied for the detection of enzyme kinetic parameters, the screening of hOGG1 inhibitors, and the quantification of hOGG1 activity in even 1 single lung cancer cell, providing a new approach for biomedical research and clinical diagnosis.

Structural Studies based on two Lysine Dioxygenases with Distinct Regioselectivity Brings Insights Into Enzyme Specificity within the Clavaminate Synthase-Like Family.

Iron(II)/α-ketoacid-dependent oxygenases (αKAOs) are enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of unactivated C-H bonds, mainly through hydroxylation. Among these, those that are active towards amino-acids and their derivatives are grouped in the Clavaminate Synthase Like (CSL) family. CSL enzymes exhibit high regio- and stereoselectivities with strict substrate specificity. This study reports the structural elucidation of two new regiodivergent members, KDO1 and KDO5, active towards lysine, and the structural and computational analysis of the whole family through modelling and classification of active sites. The structures of KDO1 and KDO5 in complex with their ligands show that one exact position in the active site controls the regioselectivity of the reaction. Our results suggest that the substrate specificity and high stereoselectivity typical of this family is linked to a lid that closes up in order to form a sub-pocket around the side chain of the substrate. This dynamic lid is found throughout the family with varying sequence and length and is associated with a conserved stable dimeric interface. Results from this study could be a starting-point for exploring the functional diversity of the CSL family and direct in vitro screening in the search for new enzymatic activities.

Biochemical characterization of an ulvan lyase from the marine flavobacterium Formosa agariphila KMM 3901T.

Carbohydrates are the product of carbon dioxide fixation by algae in the ocean. Their polysaccharides are depolymerized by marine bacteria, with a vast array of carbohydrate-active enzymes. These enzymes are important tools to establish biotechnological processes based on algal biomass. Green tides, which cover coastal areas with huge amounts of algae from the genus Ulva, represent a globally rising problem, but also an opportunity because their biomass could be used in biorefinery processes. One major component of their cell walls is the anionic polysaccharide ulvan for which the enzymatic depolymerization remains largely unknown. Ulvan lyases catalyze the initial depolymerization step of this polysaccharide, but only a few of these enzymes have been described. Here, we report the cloning, overexpression, purification, and detailed biochemical characterization of the endolytic ulvan lyase from Formosa agariphila KMM 3901T which is a member of the polysaccharide lyase family PL28. The identified biochemical parameters of the ulvan lyase reflect adaptation to the temperate ocean where the bacterium was isolated from a macroalgal surface. The NaCl concentration has a high influence on the turnover number of the enzyme and the affinity to ulvan. Divalent cations were shown to be essential for enzyme activity with Ca2+ likely being the native cofactor of the ulvan lyase. This study contributes to the understanding of ulvan lyases, which will be useful for future biorefinery applications of the abundant marine polysaccharide ulvan.

Influence of native catfish mucus on Flavobacterium columnare growth and proteolytic activity.

Flavobacterium columnare causes columnaris disease of farmed and wild freshwater fish. Skin mucus is an important factor in early stages of columnaris pathogenesis, albeit little studied. Our objectives were to (a) characterize the terminal glycosylation pattern (TGP) of catfish mucus, (b) determine the growth of F. columnare in formulated water (FW)-containing channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) or hybrid catfish (Ictalurus punctatus X Ictalurus furcatus) mucus and (c) examine extracellular protease activity of two F. columnare isolates differing in virulence. The TGP of catfish mucus by lectin binding was as follows: alpha-D-mannose/alpha-D-glucose >N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosamine >N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosamine/N-acetylneuraminic acid >N-acetyl-D-galactosamine >alpha-D-galactose/N-acetyl-alpha-D-galactosamine >beta-D-galactose = alpha-L-fucose. Virulence studies demonstrated isolate AL-02-36 was highly virulent in channel catfish fry (0.1 g) with cumulative mortality of 90%-100% versus 60% for isolate ALG-00-530 at equivalent doses (~3 × 106  CFU/ml); a similar result was observed in larger (0.7 g) catfish. In multiple experiments, F. columnare replicated (2-3 logs) and survived (28 days) in formulated water-containing catfish mucus. Highly virulent isolate AL-02-36 possessed at least 2.5- to fivefold higher protease activity following growth in mucus than the less virulent ALG-00-530. Flavobacterium columnare utilized catfish mucus as a nutrient source and mucus presence modulated extracellular protease production.

Applicability of endochitinase of Flavobacterium johnsoniae with transglycosylation activity in generating long-chain chitooligosaccharides.

Chitin and its derivatives are used for a variety of applications. Flavobacterium johnsoniae UW101 is an aerobic Gram-negative bacterium. Genome analysis of F. johnsoniae UW101 revealed the presence of 10 glycoside hydrolases (GHs) that may degrade or modify chitin. The gene encoding chitinase B (FjchiB), which encodes a single catalytic GH18 domain has been cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. FjChiB was optimally active in 50 mM sodium citrate buffer (pH 6.0) at 40 °C. FjChiB was salt-tolerant and catalytically versatile, with substrate specificity towards 75% DDA (degree of de-acetylation) chitosan, followed by colloidal chitin. Chitotetraose (DP4) was the shortest of the oligomeric substrates used by FjChiB. The Km and Vmax values of FjChiB for colloidal chitin were 49.38 mg/ml and 11.2 nanokat mg-1, respectively. The overall catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) of FjChiB was 1.40 × 103 mg-1 ml s-1. FjChiB exhibited transglycosylation (TG) with chitopentaose (DP5) and chitohexaose (DP6) substrates. The TG by FjChiB was fine-tuned by introducing a tryptophan (G106W) and asparagine (D148N) in the highly conserved catalytic groove and catalytic center, respectively. Hydrolytic products profile and homology modelling indicated that FjChiB is an endochitinase that holds promise for the conversion of chitin into useful products through both TG and/or hydrolysis.

Alkaline active cyanide dihydratase of Flavobacterium indicum MTCC 6936: Growth optimization, purification, characterization and in silico analysis.

The present work explores a rare cyanide dihydratase of Flavobacterium indicum MTCC 6936 for its potential of cyanide degradation. The enzyme is purified to 12 fold with a yield of 76%. SDS and native-PAGE analysis revealed that enzyme was monomer of 40 kDa size. The enzyme works well in mesophilic range at wide array of pH. The thermostability profile of cyanide dihydratase revealed that the enzyme is quite stable at 30 °C and 35 °C with half-life of 6 h 30 min and 5 h respectively. Km and Vmax for cyanide dihydratase of F. indicum was measured to be 4.76 mM and 45 U mg-1 with kcat calculated to be 27.3 s-1 and specificity constant (kcat/Km) to be around 5.67 mM-1 s-1. MALDI-TOF analysis of purified protein revealed that the amino acid sequence has 50% and 43% sequence identity with putative amino acid sequence of F. indicum and earlier reported cyanide dihydratase of Bacillus pumilus respectively. Homology modeling studies of cyanide dihydratase of F. indicum predicted the catalytic triad of the enzyme indicating Cys at 164, Glu at 46 and Lys at 130th position. The purified enzyme has potential applications in bioremediation and analytical sector.

Quinolone-resistant phenotype of Flavobacterium columnare isolates harbouring point mutations both in gyrA and parC but not in gyrB or parE.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine mutations associated with a quinolone-resistant (QR) phenotype of Flavobacterium columnare isolates. METHODS: The susceptibility of 53 F. columnare isolates to 11 antimicrobials, including 2 quinolones, was investigated by the disk diffusion method. Oxolinic acid (OXO) was subsequently chosen for minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay. Sequence analysis of four genes within the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) of OXO-resistant F. columnare compared with susceptible isolates was subsequently performed. RESULTS: The disk diffusion assay revealed that the majority of isolates were susceptible to all tested antimicrobials. However, 14 and 8 isolates were resistant to the quinolone antibiotics OXO and nalidixic acid, respectively. No multidrug resistance was observed. The MIC assay revealed five additional isolates that were resistant to OXO (≥4µg/mL), making a total of 19 OXO-resistant isolates observed in this study. DNA sequencing identified missense mutations both in parC and gyrA but not in gyrB or parE in QR F. columnare isolates. Mutation in parC resulted in the change His87→Tyr. For gyrA, 15 isolates of Thai origin exhibited a change at residue Ser83 to either Phe, Tyr or Ala, whereas 3 Vietnamese isolates contained two mutation sites (Ser83→Phe and Asp87→Tyr). CONCLUSION: This study is the first to reveal that QR phenotype F. columnare isolates harboured missense mutations both in parC and gyrA but not in gyrB or parE of the QRDRs.

Structure of the alternative complex III in a supercomplex with cytochrome oxidase.

Alternative complex III (ACIII) is a key component of the respiratory and/or photosynthetic electron transport chains of many bacteria1-3. Like complex III (also known as the bc1 complex), ACIII catalyses the oxidation of membrane-bound quinol and the reduction of cytochrome c or an equivalent electron carrier. However, the two complexes have no structural similarity4-7. Although ACIII has eluded structural characterization, several of its subunits are known to be homologous to members of the complex iron-sulfur molybdoenzyme (CISM) superfamily 8 , including the proton pump polysulfide reductase9,10. We isolated the ACIII from Flavobacterium johnsoniae with native lipids using styrene maleic acid copolymer11-14, both as an independent enzyme and as a functional 1:1 supercomplex with an aa3-type cytochrome c oxidase (cyt aa3). We determined the structure of ACIII to 3.4 Å resolution by cryo-electron microscopy and constructed an atomic model for its six subunits. The structure, which contains a [3Fe-4S] cluster, a [4Fe-4S] cluster and six haem c units, shows that ACIII uses known elements from other electron transport complexes arranged in a previously unknown manner. Modelling of the cyt aa3 component of the supercomplex revealed that it is structurally modified to facilitate association with ACIII, illustrating the importance of the supercomplex in this electron transport chain. The structure also resolves two of the subunits of ACIII that are anchored to the lipid bilayer with N-terminal triacylated cysteine residues, an important post-translational modification found in numerous prokaryotic membrane proteins that has not previously been observed structurally in a lipid bilayer.