The Respiratory Chain of Alkaliphilic Bacteria

Alkaliphilic bacteria that grow at extremely high pH are confronted by particular bioenergetic problems in carrying out oxidative phosphorylation. This project focused on the properties and adaptations of the respiratory chain. The respiratory chain as a whole, the redox poises of its components and several individual complexes of the respiratory chain of alkaliphilic Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 have been characterized as part of this project and, importantly, this project has helped support the development of genetic tools that make B. pseudofirmus OF4 the most genetically tractable and, hence, most bioenergetically characterized extreme alkaliphile. Evidence has been obtained for a pivotal role of the cca3-type terminal oxidase in oxidative phosphorylation, especially at high pH and motifs that may be relevant to that special role have been identified