Open AccessChemotaxis of Leptospirillum ferrooxidans and other acidophilic chemolithotrophs: comparison with the Escherichia coli chemosensory system
Author(s) -
Acuña J.,
Rojas J.,
Amaro A.M.,
Toledo H.,
Jerez C.A.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1992.tb05390.x
Subject(s) - escherichia coli , bacteria , chemotaxis , methylation , biochemistry , biology , thiobacillus , tar (computing) , chemistry , bacterial outer membrane , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics , receptor , computer science , programming language
Ni 2+ , Fe 2+ and Cu 2+ 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 Ni 2+ , 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.