Chemotaxis of Leptospirillum ferrooxidans and other acidophilic chemolithotrophs: comparison with the Escherichia coli chemosensory system

Ni2+, Fe2+ and Cu2+ were attractants and aspartate was an apparent repellent for Leptospirillum ferrooxidans, a behaviour opposite to that for Escherichia coli. Membranes from L. ferrooxidans contained proteins with a molecular mass in the range of 80 kDa which were methylated in vitro. Methylation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:FEMS microbiology letters 1992-09, Vol.96 (1), p.37-42
Main Authors: Acuña, J., Rojas, J., Amaro, A.M., Toledo, H., Jerez, C.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteriology
Biological and medical sciences
Chemosensory system
Escherichia coli
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Leptospirillum ferrooxidans
Microbiology
Motility, taxis
Protein methylation
Thiobacillus ferrooxidans
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Summary:Ni2+, Fe2+ and Cu2+ were attractants and aspartate was an apparent repellent for Leptospirillum ferrooxidans, a behaviour opposite to that for Escherichia coli. Membranes from L. ferrooxidans contained proteins with a molecular mass in the range of 80 kDa which were methylated in vitro. Methylation was stimulated in the presence of a membrane‐free extract from E. coli, showing the response pattern expected for L. ferrooxidans, increased methylation by Ni2+, and demethylation by aspartate. This suggests the existence of sensory transducers having a common methylation domain with the E. coli methyl‐accepting chemotaxis proteins. Total chromosomal DNA digests from L. ferrooxidans, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and T. thiooxidans hybridized with probes containing different domains of the tar gene from E. coli, implying the presence of tar type genes in the acidophilic bacteria studied.
ISSN:0378-1097
1574-6968
DOI:10.1111/j.1574-6968.1992.tb05390.x