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Selenium cannot substitute for sulfur in cell density‐independent bioluminescence in Vibrio fischeri
Author(s) -
Tabei Yosuke,
Era Mariko,
Ogawa Akane,
Ninomiya Junko,
Kawano Tomonori,
Morita Hiroshi
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of basic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.58
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1521-4028
pISSN - 0233-111X
DOI - 10.1002/jobm.201100578
Subject(s) - selenium , sulfur , luminescence , bioluminescence , vibrio , cystine , chemistry , biochemistry , enzyme , biology , organic chemistry , cysteine , bacteria , materials science , optoelectronics , genetics
It has been proposed that selenium, an element chemically similar to sulfur, can participate in some of the same biological pathways as sulfur, although only a few studies have been confirmed this. In this study, we investigated the relationship between selenium and sulfur‐dependent luminescence in Vibrio fischeri . The luminescence of V. fischeri was induced by the addition of sulfur‐containing compounds such as Na 2 SO 4 and L ‐cystine, and their luminescence was suppressed, in a dose‐dependent manner, by the addition of the selenium‐containing compounds Na 2 SeO 4 and L ‐selenocystine. Since the viability of V. fischeri was not affected by the addition of low concentration of selenium‐containing compounds, the decrease in luminescence intensity cannot be explained by cell death. Kinetic analysis performed using Lineweaver‐Burk plots demonstrate that Na 2 SeO 4 and L ‐selenocystine act as competitive suppressors in inorganic sulfur (Na 2 SO 4 )‐dependent luminescence. In contrast, these selenium‐containing compounds act as uncompetitive suppressors in organic sulfur ( L ‐cystine)‐dependent luminescence.