Publication

Survey of one-carbon metabolism in Desulfitobacteria

Christof Holliger
2010
Posters

Abstract

Desulfitobacterium is a Gram-positive obligate anaerobic bacterium affiliated to the Firmicutes with a highly versatile carbon and energy metabolism. Increasing interest in this genus came with its involvement in the degradation of chlorinated compounds used as terminal electron acceptor in a process called dehalorespiration. A proteomic study in our laboratory revealed the participation of the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway in tetrachloroethene dehalorespiration when D. hafniense strain TCE1 was cultivated in presence of hydrogen and carbon dioxide, providing first indication for CO2 fixation in Desulfitobacterium. A genomic survey of both Desulfitobacterium available genomes (D. hafniense strain Y51 and strain DCB-2) showed a full set of genes involved in carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide metabolism similarly to the five CODH complexes present in the thermophilic CO-utilizing bacterium Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans (Wu et al., 2006, PloS Genetics 1:e65), including CODH-III complex which has been shown to participate to acetogenesis in Moorella thermoacetica (Pierce et al., 2008, Environ. Microbiol. 10:2550). No clear evidence however has been yet given for acetogenesis or hydrogenogenesis in Desulfitobacterium. A survey of B12 metabolism in Desulfitobacterium revealed the presence of 15 and 23 predicted B12-dependent methyltransferases (MeTr) in the genome of strains Y51 and DCB-2, respectively. A detail study of the genetic environment of the MeTr suggests that most of them are part of O-demethylase complexes. Phenyl methyl ethers have been indeed shown to serve as electron donor for some Desulfitobacterium strains (Kreher et al., 2008, Arch. Microbiol. 190:489). A few other MeTr belong to predicted archaeal-type di- and trimethylamine methyltransferases complexes, one of which being a putative pyrrolysine containing enzyme. The richness and functional redundancy of Desulfitobacteria make them good candidates to further study specific pathways dedicated to one-carbon metabolism.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/77d40fe6-c9a7-4d86-bbd0-df0b2725398f

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Christof Holliger
2010
Posters

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/77d40fe6-c9a7-4d86-bbd0-df0b2725398f

Related concepts (31)

Biological carbon fixation

Biological carbon fixation or сarbon assimilation is the process by which inorganic carbon (particularly in the form of carbon dioxide) is converted to organic compounds by living organisms. The compounds are then used to store energy and as structure for other biomolecules. Carbon is primarily fixed through photosynthesis, but some organisms use a process called chemosynthesis in the absence of sunlight. Organisms that grow by fixing carbon are called autotrophs, which include photoautotrophs (which use sunlight), and lithoautotrophs (which use inorganic oxidation).

Carbohydrate metabolism

Carbohydrate metabolism is the whole of the biochemical processes responsible for the metabolic formation, breakdown, and interconversion of carbohydrates in living organisms. Carbohydrates are central to many essential metabolic pathways. Plants synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water through photosynthesis, allowing them to store energy absorbed from sunlight internally. When animals and fungi consume plants, they use cellular respiration to break down these stored carbohydrates to make energy available to cells.

Metabolism

Metabolism (məˈtæbəlɪzəm, from μεταβολή metabolē, "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the conversion of food to building blocks for proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates; and the elimination of metabolic wastes. These enzyme-catalyzed reactions allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments.

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Survey of one-carbon metabolism in Desulfitobacteria

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