SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Methylococcus capsulatus”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1971

Physiological studies of methane and methanol-oxidizing bacteria: oxidation of C-1 compounds by Methylococcus capsulatus.

Methylococcus capsulatus grows only on methane or methanol as its sole source of carbon and energy. Some amino acids serve as nitrogen sources and are converted to keto acids which accumulate in the culture medium. Cell suspensions oxidize methane, methanol, formaldehyde, and formate to carbon dioxide. Other primary alcohols are oxidized only to the corresponding aldehydes. Oxidation of formate by cell suspensions is more sensitive to inhibition by cyanide than is the oxidation of other one carbon compounds. This is due to the cyanide sensitivity of a soluble nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-specific formate dehydrogenase. Oxidation of formaldehyde and methanol is catalyzed by a nonspecific primary alcohol dehydrogenase which is activated by ammonium ions and is independent of pyridine nucleotides. Some comparisons are made with a strain of Pseudomonas methanica.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1992

Functional expression in Escherichia coli of proteins B and C from soluble methane monooxygenase of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).

Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) uses a soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) to catalyse the oxidation of methane to methanol. sMMO is comprised of three components; A, B and C. Protein C (the reductase) transfers electrons from NADH to protein A (the hydroxylase) which contains the active site, and protein B regulates this electron flow. The five genes encoding the sMMO proteins and their subunits are clustered and have been cloned in Escherichia coli. A DNA fragment containing mmoB, the gene encoding protein B, was subcloned into pT7-5, a plasmid of the T7 RNA polymerase promoter expression system. Upon induction, E. coli expressed protein B which was fully functional after purification. The gene encoding protein C, mmoC, was amplified with unique restriction sites at each end using the polymerase chain reaction and then subcloned into pT7-7 (a plasmid similar to pT7-5 but containing its own ribosome-binding site and ATG start codon). Protein C expressed in E. coli was also found to be functional. This is the first report of the functional expression of methanotroph methane monooxygenase genes in a heterologous host and represents a significant step forward in our analysis of the assembly and catalysis of sMMO.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1984

Purification and characterization of component A of the methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).

Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) possesses a multi-component methane monooxygenase which catalyzes in vivo the conversion of methane to methanol. Component A of this enzyme system, believed to be the oxygenase component, has been purified to near homogeneity (95%). The native protein has a molecular weight of approximately 210,000 and is comprised of three subunits of Mr = 54,000, 42,000, and 17,000, which appear to be present in stoichiometric amounts suggesting an alpha 2, beta 2, gamma 2 arrangement in the native protein. Purified preparations of the protein are virtually colorless and examination of the uv/visible absorption spectrum revealed a peak around 280-290 nm and thereafter a steady decrease in absorbance to longer wavelengths. The ESR spectrum of the oxidized protein gave a signal at g = 4.3, presumably due to rhombic iron, and a radical signal at g = 2.01. Upon reduction with dithionite, a signal at g = 1.934 appeared. Chemical analyses of our purified preparations revealed the presence of iron (2.3 mol/mol) and zinc (0.2-0.5 mol/mol): molybdenum, copper, nickel, heme, and acid-labile sulfur were all virtually absent. On ultra thin layer isoelectric focusing, purified component A was judged to have a pI between 5.0 and 5.1. Extracts prepared from a variety of other methanotrophs failed to show any cross-reaction to antibody raised against M. capsulatus component A.

Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy↗

PubMed1992

The effects of growth temperature on the methyl sterol and phospholipid fatty acid composition of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).

Growth of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) at temperatures ranging from 30 to 50 degrees C resulted in changes to the whole cell lipid constituents. As temperature was lowered, the overall proportion of hexadecenoic acid (C16:1) increased, and the relative proportions of the delta 9, delta 10 and delta 11 C16:1 double bond positional isomers changed. Methyl sterol content also increased as the growth temperature was lowered. The highest amounts of methyl sterol were found in 30 degrees C cells and the lowest in 50 degrees C cells (sterol-phospholipid ratios of 0.077 and 0.013, respectively). The data are consistent with a membrane modulating role for the sterol produced by this prokaryotic organism.

Cell Membrane↗

PubMed1970

Synthesis of cell constituents by methane-grown Methylococcus capsulatus and Methanomonas methanooxidans.

1. A study was made of the incorporation of carbon from [(14)C]methanol by cultures of Methylococcus capsulatus and Methanomonas methanooxidans growing on methane. 2. The distribution of radioactivity within the non-volatile constituents of the ethanol-soluble fractions of the cells, after incubation with labelled substrate for periods of up to 3min, was analysed by chromatography and radioautography. 3. Over 80% of the radioactivity fixed by Methylococcus capsulatus at 30 degrees C at the earliest times of sampling appeared in phosphorylated compounds, of which glucose phosphate constituted 60%. 4. Most of the radioactivity fixed by Methanomonas methanooxidans at 30 degrees C at the earliest times of sampling appeared in serine, malate, aspartate and an unknown compound(s) tentatively suggested to be folate derivative(s). At 16 degrees C, [(14)C]methanol was fixed predominantly into serine and the unknown compound(s). 5. Extracts of Methylococcus capsulatus contain an enzyme system that catalyses the condensation of formaldehyde and ribose 5-phosphate to give a mixture consisting mainly of fructose phosphate and allulose phosphate. No similar activity was detected in extracts of Methanomonas methanooxidans. A convenient method was developed for assay of this enzyme system. 6. The enzyme system catalysing the condensation of formaldehyde with ribose 5-phosphate is particle-bound in both Methylococcus capsulatus and Pseudomonas methanica and is unstable in the absence of Mg(2+). 7. Extracts of Methanomonas methanooxidans contain high activities of d-glycerate-NAD oxidoreductase, whereas extracts of Methylococcus capsulatus and Pseudomonas methanica contain negligible activities of this enzyme. 8. These results indicate that during growth of Methylococcus capsulatus on methane, as with Pseudomonas methanica, cell constituents are made by the ribose phosphate cycle of formaldehyde fixation. This contrasts with Methanomonas methanooxidans, whose assimilation pathway resembles in some features that of Pseudomonas AM1 growing on methanol.

Aspartic Acid↗

PubMed2005

Insights into the obligate methanotroph Methylococcus capsulatus.

Completion of the genome sequence of Methylococcus capsulatus Bath is an important event in molecular microbiology, and an achievement for which the authors deserve congratulation. M. capsulatus, along with other methanotrophs, has been the subject of intense biochemical and molecular study because of its role in the global carbon cycle: the conversion of biogenic methane to carbon dioxide. The methane monooxygenase enzymes that are central to this process also have high biotechnological potential. Analysis of the genome sequence will potentially accelerate elucidation of the regulation of methane-dependent metabolism in obligate methanotrophs, and help explain the cause of obligate methanotrophy, the phenomenon making most methanotrophs unable to grow on any substrates other than methane and a very small number of other one-carbon compounds.

Genome, Archaeal↗

PubMed2003

Domain engineering of the reductase component of soluble methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).

Soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) is a three-component enzyme system that catalyzes the conversion of methane to methanol. A reductase (MMOR), which contains [2Fe-2S] and FAD cofactors, facilitates electron transfer from NADH to the hydroxylase diiron active sites where dioxygen activation and substrate hydroxylation take place. By separately expressing the ferredoxin (MMORFd, MMOR residues 1-98) and FAD/NADH (MMOR-FAD, MMOR residues 99-348) domains of the reductase, nearly all biochemical properties of full-length MMOR are retained, except for interdomain electron transfer rates. To investigate the extent to which rapid electron transfer between domains might be restored and further to explore the modularity of MMOR, MMOR-Fd and MMOR-FAD were connected in a non-native fashion. Four different linker sequences were employed to create MMOR reversed-domain (MMOR-RD) constructs, MMOR(99-342)-linker-MMOR(2-98), with a domain connectivity observed in other homologous oxidoreductases. The optical, redox, and electron transfer properties of the four MMOR-RD proteins were characterized and compared with those of wild-type MMOR. The linker sequence plays a key role in controlling solvent accessibility to the FAD cofactor, as evidenced by perturbed flavin optical spectra, decreased FADox/FADsq redox potentials, and increased steady-state oxidase activities in three of the constructs. Stopped-flow optical spectroscopy revealed slow interdomain electron transfer (k < 0.04 s(-1) at 4 degrees C, compared with 90 s(-1) for wild-type MMOR) for all three MMOR-RD proteins with 7-residue linkers. A long (14-residue), flexible linker afforded much faster electron transfer between the FAD and [2Fe-2S] cofactors (k = 0.9 s(-1) at 4 degrees C).

Catalysis↗

PubMed2002

Expression and characterization of ferredoxin and flavin adenine dinucleotide binding domains of the reductase component of soluble methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).

Soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) catalyzes the selective oxidation of methane to methanol, the first step in the primary catabolic pathway of methanotrophic bacteria. A reductase (MMOR) mediates electron transfer from NADH through its FAD and [2Fe-2S] cofactors to the dinuclear non-heme iron sites housed in a hydroxylase (MMOH). The structurally distinct [2Fe-2S], FAD, and NADH binding domains of MMOR facilitated division of the protein into its functional ferredoxin (MMOR-Fd) and FAD/NADH (MMOR-FAD) component domains. The 10.9 kDa MMOR-Fd (MMOR residues 1-98) and 27.6 kDa MMOR-FAD (MMOR residues 99-348) were expressed and purified from recombinant Escherichia coli systems. The Fd and FAD domains have absorbance spectral features identical to those of the [2Fe-2S] and flavin components, respectively, of MMOR. Redox potentials, determined by reductive titrations that included indicator dyes, for the [2Fe-2S] and FAD cofactors in the domains are as follows: -205.2 +/- 1.3 mV for [2Fe-2S](ox/red), -172.4 +/- 2.0 mV for FAD(ox/sq), and -266.4 +/- 3.5 mV for FAD(sq/hq). Kinetic and spectral properties of intermediates observed in the reaction of oxidized MMOR-FAD (FAD(ox)) with NADH at 4 degrees C were established with stopped-flow UV-visible spectroscopy. Analysis of the influence of pH on MMOR-FAD optical spectra, redox potentials, and NADH reaction kinetics afforded pK(a) values for the semiquinone (FAD(sq)) and hydroquinone (FAD(hq)) MMOR-FAD species and two protonatable groups near the flavin cofactor. Electron transfer from MMOR-FAD(hq) to oxidized MMOR-Fd is extremely slow (k = 1500 M(-1) s(-1) at 25 degrees C, compared to 90 s(-1) at 4 degrees C for internal electron transfer between cofactors in MMOR), indicating that cofactor proximity is essential for efficient interdomain electron transfer.

Binding Sites↗

PubMed2006

Optimization of solubilization and purification procedures for the hydroxylase component of membrane-bound methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus strain M.

The hydroxylase component of membrane-bound (particulate) methane monooxygenase (pMMO) from Methylococcus capsulatus strain M was isolated and purified to homogeneity. The pMMO molecule comprises three subunits of molecular masses 47, 26, and 23 kD and contains three copper atoms and one iron atom. In solution the protein exists as a stable oligomer of 660 kD with possible subunit composition (alpha beta gamma)6. Mass spectroscopy shows high homology of the purified protein with methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus strain Bath. Pilot screening of crystallization conditions has been carried out.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed2005

Effect of methanobactin on the activity and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of the membrane-associated methane monooxygenase in Methylococcus capsulatus Bath.

Improvements in the purification of methanobactin (mb) from either Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b(T) or Methylococcus capsulatus Bath resulted in preparations that stimulated methane-oxidation activity in both whole-cell and cell-free fractions of Methylococcus capsulatus Bath expressing the membrane-associated methane monooxygenase (pMMO). By using washed membrane factions with pMMO activities in the 290 nmol propylene oxidized min(-1) (mg protein)(-1) range, activities approaching 400 nmol propylene oxidized min(-1) (mg protein)(-1) were commonly observed following addition of copper-containing mb (Cu-mb), which represented 50-75 % of the total whole-cell activity. The stimulation of methane-oxidation activity by Cu-mb was similar to or greater than that observed with equimolar concentrations of Cu(II), without the inhibitory effects observed with high copper concentrations. Stimulation of pMMO activity was not observed with copper-free mb, nor was it observed when the copper-to-mb ratio was <0.5 Cu atoms per mb. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of mb differed depending on the copper-to-mb ratio. At copper-to-mb ratios of <0.4 Cu(II) per mb, Cu(II) addition to mb showed an initial coordination by both sulfur and nitrogen, followed by reduction to Cu(I) in <2 min. At Cu(II)-to-mb ratios between 0.4 and 0.9 Cu(II) per mb, the intensity of the Cu(II) signal in EPR spectra was more representative of the Cu(II) added and indicated more nitrogen coordination. The EPR spectral properties of mb and pMMO were also examined in the washed membrane fraction following the addition of Cu(II), mb and Cu-mb in the presence or absence of reductants (NADH or duroquinol) and substrates (CH4 and/or O2). The results indicated that Cu-mb increased electron flow to the pMMO, increased the free radical formed following the addition of O2 and decreased the residual free radical following the addition of O2 plus CH4. The increase in pMMO activity and EPR spectral changes to the pMMO following Cu-mb addition represent the first positive evidence of interactions between the pMMO and Cu-mb.

Cell Membrane↗

PubMed1976

Some properties of a soluble methane mono-oxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus strain Bath.

Soluble extracts of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath), obtained by centrifugation of crude extracts at 160000g for 1h, catalyse the NAD(P)H- and O2-dependent disappearance of bromomethane, and also the formation of methanol from methane. Soluble methane mono-oxygenase is not inhibited by chelating agents or by most electron-transport inhibitors, and is a multicomponent enzyme.

Electron Transport↗

PubMed1978

Purification and properties of an NAD(P)+-linked formaldehyde dehydrogenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).

Crude soluble extracts of Methylococcus capsulatus strain Bath, grown on methane, were found to contain NAD(P)+-linked formaldehyde dehydrogenase activity. Activity in the extract was lost on dialysis against phosphate buffer, but could be restored by supplementing with inactive, heat-treated extract (70 degrees C for 12 min). The non-dialysable, heat-sensitive component was isolated and purified, and has a molecular weight of about 115000. Sodium dodecyl sulphate gel electrophoresis of the protein suggested there were two equal subunits with molecular weights of 57000. The heat-stable fraction, which was necessary for activity of the heat-sensitive protein, was trypsin-sensitive and presumed to be a low molecular weight protein or peptide. A number of thiol compounds and other common cofactors could not replace the component present in the heat-treated soluble extract. The purified formaldehyde dehydrogenase oxidized three other aldehydes with the following Km values: 0.68 mM (formaldehyde); 0.075 mM (glyoxal); 7.0 mM (glycolaldehyde); and 2.0 mM (DL-glyceraldehyde). NAD+ or NADP+ was required for activity, with Km values of 0.063 and 0.155 mM respectively, and could not be replaced by any of the artificial electron acceptors tested. The enzyme was heat-stable at 45 degrees C for at least 10 min and had temperature and pH optima of 45 degrees C and pH 7.2 respectively. A number of metal-binding agents and substrate analogues were not inhibitory. Thiol reagents gave varying degrees of inhibition, the most potent being p-hydroxymercuribenzoate which at 1 mM gave 100% inhibition. The importance of possessing an NAD(P)+-linked formaldehyde dehydrogenase, with respect to M. capsulatus, is discussed.

Aldehyde Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed1986

Methyl sterol and cyclopropane fatty acid composition of Methylococcus capsulatus grown at low oxygen tensions.

Methylococcus capsulatus contained extensive intracytoplasmic membranes when grown in fed-batch cultures over a wide range of oxygen tensions (0.1 to 10.6%, vol/vol) and at a constant methane level. Although the biomass decreased as oxygen levels were lowered, consistently high amounts of phospholipid and methyl sterol were synthesized. The greatest amounts of sterol and phospholipid were found in cells grown between 0.5 and 1.1% oxygen (7.2 and 203 mumol/g [dry weight], respectively). While sterol was still synthesized in significant amounts in cells grown at 0.1% oxygen, the major sterol product was the dimethyl form. Analysis by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry showed that the phospholipid esterified fatty acids were predominantly 16:0 and 16:1 and that the hexadecenoates consisted of cis delta 9, delta 10, and delta 11 isomers. At low oxygen tensions, the presence of large amounts (25%) of cyclopropane fatty acids (cy 17:0) with the methylene groups at the delta 9, delta 10, and delta 11 positions was detected. Although the delta 9 monoenoic isomer was predominant, growth at low oxygen levels enhanced the synthesis of the delta 10 isomers of 16:1 and cy 17:0. As the oxygen level was increased, the amount of cyclopropanes decreased, such that only a trace of cy 17:0 could be detected in cells grown at 10.6% oxygen. Although M. capsulatus grew at very low oxygen tensions, this growth was accompanied by changes in the membrane lipids.

Cyclopropanes↗

PubMed2001

Detection and localization of two hydrogenases in Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) and their potential role in methane metabolism.

Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) was shown to contain two distinct hydrogenases, a soluble hydrogenase and a membrane-bound hydrogenase. This is the first report of a membrane-bound hydrogenase in methanotrophs. Both enzymes were expressed apparently constitutively under normal growth conditions. The soluble hydrogenase was capable of reducing NAD(+) with molecular hydrogen. The activities of both soluble and particulate methane monooxygenases could be driven by molecular hydrogen. This confirmed that molecular hydrogen could be used as a source of reducing power for methane oxidation. Hydrogen-driven methane monooxygenase activities tolerated elevated temperatures and moderate oxygen concentrations. The significance of these findings for biotechnological applications of methanotrophs is discussed.

Hydrogen↗

PubMed2002

Positively charged amino acids are essential for electron transfer and protein-protein interactions in the soluble methane monooxygenase complex from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).

The soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) complex from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) catalyses oxygen- and NAD(P)H-dependent oxygenation of methane, propene, and other substrates. Whole-complex sMMO oxygenase activity requires all three sMMO components: the hydroxylase, the reductase, and protein B. Also, in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, the hydroxylase alone catalyzes substrate oxygenation via the peroxide shunt reaction. We investigated the effect of amine cross-linking on hydroxylase activity to probe the role of a gross conformational change that occurs in the hydroxylase upon binding of the other protein components. The cross-linker inhibited hydroxylase activity in the whole complex, but this effect was due to covalent modification of primary amine groups rather than cross-linking. Covalent modification of arginine side-chains on the hydroxylase had a similar effect, but, most remarkably, neither form of modification affected the activity of the hydroxylase via the peroxide shunt reaction. It was shown that covalent modification of positively charged groups on the hydroxylase, which occurred at multiple sites, interfered with its physical and functional interactions with protein B and with the passage of electrons from the reductase. These results indicate that protein B and the reductase of the sMMO complex interact via positively charged groups on the surface of the hydroxylase to induce a conformational change that is necessary for delivery of electrons into the active site of the hydroxylase. Modification of positively charged groups on protein B had no effect on its function, consistent with the hypothesis that positively charged groups on the hydroxylase interact with negative charges on protein B. Thus, we have discovered a means of specifically inactivating the interactions between the sMMO complex while preserving the catalytic activity of the hydroxylase active site which provides a new method of studying intercomponent interactions within sMMO.

Amines↗

PubMed1997

Copper-dependent reciprocal transcriptional regulation of methane monooxygenase genes in Methylococcus capsulatus and Methylosinus trichosporium.

The methanotrophic bacteria Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) and Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b convert methane to methanol using the enzyme, methane monooxygenase (MMO). These bacteria are able to express two distinct MMOs: a cytoplasmic or soluble form (sMMO) and a membrane-bound or particulate form (pMMO). Differential expression of sMMO and pMMO is regulated by the amount of copper ions available to the cells; sMMO is expressed at low copper-biomass ratios, whereas pMMO is expressed at high copper-biomass ratios. In both methanotrophs, transcription of the sMMO gene cluster is negatively regulated by copper ions. Data suggest that transcription of the M. trichosporium OB3b sMMO gene cluster is directed from a sigma54-like and a sigma70-like promoter. The pMMO (pmo) genes of M. capsulatus (Bath) are transcribed into a polycistronic mRNA of 3.3 kb. The synthesis of this mRNA was activated by copper ions. Activation of pmo transcription by copper ions was concomitant with repression of sMMO gene transcription in both methanotrophs. This suggests that a common regulatory pathway may be involved in the transcriptional switch between sMMO and pMMO gene expression.

Copper↗

PubMed2005

Fourier transform infrared characterization of the azido complex of methane monooxygenase hydroxylase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath).

The azido complex formed in oxidized methane monooxygenase from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) was investigated with resonance Raman and FTIR techniques. These experiments show the presence of a nuas(NNN) at approximately 2077 cm-1 which splits to two components at 2059 and 2073 cm-1 with 15N14N2. The vibrational data are assigned to an azido complex bound terminally to one iron(III) at the diiron center. When the azido complex is illuminated at 15 K, a new nuas(NNN) is observed at 2136 cm-1 which is assigned to a photodissociated HN3 within the substrate pocket. We propose a model where an aqua ligand engages a hydrogen bond interaction with the 1N atom of the azido group and acts as at a proton donor during the photolysis process.

Azides↗

PubMed1979

Membrane modulation in a methylotrophic bacterium Methylococcus capsulatus (Texas) as a function of growth substrate.

Methylococcus capsulatus (Texas), when grown on methane, undergoes with age a progressive degeneration of internal membrane structure with a simultaneous accumulation of intracellular inclusions. When M. capsulatus is grown on methanol, virtually no internal membranes are present but, instead, cells contain many intracellular droplets morphologically similar to inclusions in old methane-grown cells. Membranes are regenerated by the cells when a methanol-grown culture is transferred back to methane. The oxidative ability of methane- and methanol-grown cells was compared.

Intracellular Membranes↗