Studies on two nickel-containing enzymes from Methanosarcina thermophila TM-1

• Main Author: Jablonski, Peter Edward
• Other Authors: Anaerobic Microbiology
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: Virginia Tech 2014
• Subjects: LD5655.V856 1992.J335; Metalloenzymes; Methanobacteriaceae > Physiology; Methanosarcina thermophila > Physiology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/38835; http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07282008-134014/

The cell extract protein content of acetate- and methanol-grown Methanosarcina thermophila was examined by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to determine the extent of regulation by the growth substrate. More than 100 mutually-exclusive spots were present in acetate- and methanol-grown cells suggesting a high degree of regulation. Spots corresponding to acetate kinase, phosphotransacetylase, and the five subunits of the nickel-containing carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH) complex were identified in acetate-grown cells. The nickel-containing methyl coenzyme M methylreductase from acetate-grown M. thermophila was purified 16-fold from a cell extract to apparent homogeneity. The enzyme had a native molecular weight of between 132,000 and 141,000 and contained three subunits with a configuration of a1B1y1-. The as-isolated enzyme was inactive, but could be reductively reactivated by either titanium (III) citrate or reduced ferredoxin. Reactivation with ferredoxin was a simplification over previously reported reactivation systems. ATP stimulated, but was not required for reactivation. The CO dehydrogenase enzyme complex from M. thermophila was purified and separated into its respective components: the CO-oxidizing nickel/iron-sulfur (Ni/Fe-S) component and the cobalt-containing corrinoid/iron sulfur (Co/Fe-S) component. EPR spectroscopy and spectroelectrochemical titration of the Fe-S centers of the Ni/Fe-S component indicated the presence of two low-potential [4Fe-4S]2+/1+ centers and third high-potential center whose Fe-S configuration is unknown. When reduced with CO, the NilFe-S component exhibited a previously unobserved Ni-Fe-C EPR signal. The Co/Fe-S component contained one [4Fe-4S]2+/1+ cluster, and the as-isolated corrinoid in the component was in the base-off conformation suggesting that modulation of the electron density of the cobalt ion may result in a modified reactivity of the active site of the corrin. The CODH enzyme complex and isolated Co/Fe-S component reductively dechlorinated trichloroethylene to cis-dichloroethylene, trans-dichloroethylene, 1,1-dichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, and ethylene. Factor III also catalyzed the dechlorination of trichloroethylene when in the presence of titanium (III) citrate. Reconstitution of the Co/Fe-S component with the CO-reduced NilFe-S component also allowed dechlorination demonstrating an electron transfer from the reduced Ni/Fe-S component to the Co/Fe-S component. === Ph. D.