De Novo Cobalamin Biosynthesis, Transport, and Assimilation and Cobalamin-Mediated Regulation of Methionine Biosynthesis in Mycobacterium smegmatis

Cobalamin is an essential cofactor in all domains of life, yet its biosynthesis is restricted to some bacteria and archaea. Mycobacterium smegmatis , an environmental saprophyte frequently used as surrogate for the obligate human pathogen M. tuberculosis , carries approximately 30 genes predicted to be involved in de novo cobalamin biosynthesis. M. smegmatis also encodes multiple cobalamin-dependent enzymes, including MetH, a methionine synthase that catalyzes the final reaction in methionine biosynthesis. In addition to metH , M. smegmatis possesses a cobalamin-independent methionine synthase, metE , suggesting that enzyme use-MetH versus MetE-is regulated by cobalamin availability. Consistent with this notion, we previously described a cobalamin-sensing riboswitch controlling metE expression in M. tuberculosis Here, we apply a targeted mass spectrometry-based approach to confirm de novo cobalamin biosynthesis in M. smegmatis during aerobic growth in vitro We also demonstrate that M. smegmatis can transport and assimilate exogenous cyanocobalamin (CNCbl; also known as vitamin B 12 ) and its precursor, dicyanocobinamide ([CN] 2 Cbi). However, the uptake of CNCbl and (CN) 2 Cbi in this organism is restricted and seems dependent on the conditional essentiality of the cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase. Using gene and protein expression analyses combined with single-cell growth kinetics and live-cell time-lapse microscopy, we show that transcription and translation of metE are strongly attenuated by endogenous cobalamin. These results support the inference that metH essentiality in M. smegmatis results from riboswitch-mediated repression of MetE expression. Moreover, differences observed in cobalamin-dependent metabolism between M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis provide some insight into the selective pressures which might have shaped mycobacterial metabolism for pathogenicity. IMPORTANCE Alterations in cobalamin-dependent metabolism have marked the evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis into a human pathogen. However, the role(s) of cobalamin in mycobacterial physiology remains poorly understood. Using the nonpathogenic saprophyte M. smegmatis , we investigated the production of cobalamin, transport and assimilation of cobalamin precursors, and the role of cobalamin in regulating methionine biosynthesis. We confirm constitutive de novo cobalamin biosynthesis in M. smegmatis , in contrast with M. tuberculosis , which appears to lack de novo cobalamin biosynthetic capacity. We also show that uptake of cyanocobalamin (vitamin B 12 ) and its precursors is restricted in M. smegmatis , apparently depending on the cofactor requirements of the cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase. These observations establish M. smegmatis as an informative foil to elucidate key metabolic adaptations enabling mycobacterial pathogenicity.