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PMID: 16995896 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Differentiation between electron transport sensing and proton motive force sensing by the Aer and Tsr receptors for aerotaxis.

Molecular microbiology ·Vol. 62 ·No. 3 ·2006-11-00 ·Pages 823-37

Edwards JC, Johnson MS, Taylor BL

Abstract

Aerotaxis (oxygen-seeking) behaviour in Escherichia coli is a response to changes in the electron transport system and not oxygen per se. Because changes in proton motive force (PMF) are coupled to respiratory electron transport, it is difficult to differentiate between PMF, electron transport or redox, all primary candidates for the signal sensed by the aerotaxis receptors, Aer and Tsr. We constructed electron transport mutants that produced different respiratory H+/e- stoichiometries. These strains expressed binary combinations of one NADH dehydrogenase and one quinol oxidase. We then introduced either an aer or tsr mutation into each mutant to create two sets of electron transport mutants. In vivo H+/e- ratios for strains grown in glycerol medium ranged from 1.46+/-0.18-3.04+/-0.47, but rates of respiration and growth were similar. The PMF jump in response to oxygen was proportional to the H+/e- ratio in each set of mutants (r2=0.986-0.996). The length of Tsr-mediated aerotaxis responses increased with the PMF jump (r2=0.988), but Aer-mediated responses did not correlate with either PMF changes (r2=0.297) or the rate of electron transport (r2=0.066). Aer-mediated responses were linked to NADH dehydrogenase I, although there was no absolute requirement. The data indicate that Tsr responds to changes in PMF, but strong Aer responses to oxygen are associated with redox changes in NADH dehydrogenase I.

MeSH Terms
Bacterial Proteins/genetics,metabolism Carrier Proteins/genetics,metabolism Chemotaxis/physiology Electron Transport Electron Transport Complex IV/genetics,metabolism Escherichia coli/physiology Escherichia coli Proteins/genetics,metabolism Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins Membrane Proteins/genetics,metabolism Molecular Biology/methods Mutation NADH Dehydrogenase/genetics,metabolism Oxidoreductases/genetics,metabolism Oxygen/metabolism Protons Quorum Sensing
Chemicals
Aer protein, E coli Bacterial Proteins Carrier Proteins Escherichia coli Proteins Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins Membrane Proteins Protons Tsr protein, Bacteria Oxidoreductases duroquinol oxidase NADH Dehydrogenase Electron Transport Complex IV Oxygen
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Edwards Jessica C
Division of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA.
Johnson Mark S
Taylor Barry L
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Article Info
Journal
Molecular microbiology
Abbr.
Mol Microbiol
ISSN
0950-382X
DOI
10.1111/j.1365-2958.2006.05411.x
Published
2006-11-00
Epub
2006-00-21
Pages
823-37
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
8712028
PMCID
PMC1858650
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM029481 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM29481 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM029481-17 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM029481-19 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM029481-18 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2006.05411.x PMC Full Text View journal details
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