Metabolic reconstruction of sulfur assimilation in the extremophile Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans based on genome analysis

BACKGROUND: Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is a gamma-proteobacterium that lives at pH2 and obtains energy by the oxidation of sulfur and iron. It is used in the biomining industry for the recovery of metals and is one of the causative agents of acid mine drainage. Effective tools for the study of its genetics and physiology are not in widespread use and, despite considerable effort, an understanding of its unusual physiology remains at a rudimentary level. Nearly complete genome sequences of A. ferrooxidans are available from two public sources and we have exploited this information to reconstruct aspects of its sulfur metabolism. RESULTS: Two candidate mechanisms for sulfate uptake from the environment were detected but both belong to large paralogous families of membrane transporters and their identification remains tentative. Prospective genes, pathways and regulatory mechanisms were identified that are likely to be involved in the assimilation of sulfate into cysteine and in the formation of Fe-S centers. Genes and regulatory networks were also uncovered that may link sulfur assimilation with nitrogen fixation, hydrogen utilization and sulfur reduction. Potential pathways were identified for sulfation of extracellular metabolites that may possibly be involved in cellular attachment to pyrite, sulfur and other solid substrates. CONCLUSIONS: A bioinformatic analysis of the genome sequence of A. ferrooxidans has revealed candidate genes, metabolic process and control mechanisms potentially involved in aspects of sulfur metabolism. Metabolic modeling provides an important preliminary step in understanding the unusual physiology of this extremophile especially given the severe difficulties involved in its genetic manipulation and biochemical analysis

The Regulation of Sulfur Metabolism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) has evolved into a highly successful human pathogen. It deftly subverts the bactericidal mechanisms of alveolar macrophages, ultimately inducing granuloma formation and establishing long-term residence in the host. These hallmarks of Mtb infection are facilitated by the metabolic adaptation of the pathogen to its surrounding environment and the biosynthesis of molecules that mediate its interactions with host immune cells. The sulfate assimilation pathway of Mtb produces a number of sulfur-containing metabolites with important contributions to pathogenesis and survival. This pathway is regulated by diverse environmental cues and regulatory proteins that mediate sulfur transactions in the cell. Here, we discuss the transcriptional and biochemical mechanisms of sulfur metabolism regulation in Mtb and potential small molecule regulators of the sulfate assimilation pathway that are collectively poised to aid this intracellular pathogen in its expert manipulation of the host. From this global analysis, we have identified a subset of sulfur-metabolizing enzymes that are sensitive to multiple regulatory cues and may be strong candidates for therapeutic intervention

Transmethylation inhibitors decrease chemotactic sensitivity and delay cell aggregation in Dictyostelium discoideum

In Dictyostelium discoideum, extracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) induces chemotaxis and cell aggregation. Suspensions of cAMP-sensitive cells respond to a cAMP pulse with a rapid, transient increase of protein carboxyl methylation. The transmethylation inhibitors cycloleucine, L-homocysteine thiolactone, and coformycin decrease chemotactic sensitivity and delay cell aggregation when administered in concentrations which do not influence cAMP binding to cell surface receptors or the activity of total phosphodiesterase. The ability of the drugs to inhibit chemotaxis could be correlated with their capacity to convert the initial transient positive response of carboxyl methylation to cAMP into a negative one. This suggests that both protein O-methyltransferase and protein methylesterase are activated after stimulation of aggregative cells with cAMP, the net effect being a transient, positive response of methylation. In the presence of a sufficiently large dose of inhibitor, methyltransferase is inhibited, whereas methylesterase activity is much less affected, so that a transient negative response of methylation to cAMP is observed. The slow, positive response of carboxyl methylation to cAMP which occurs ca. 2.5 to 5 min after stimulus administration is not affected by inhibitors of transmethylation. These results suggest that methylation reactions are involved in the chemotactic response of D. discoideum cells to cAMP