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. 1990 Dec;56(12):3766–3771. doi: 10.1128/aem.56.12.3766-3771.1990

Occurrence of Nitrate Reductase and Molybdopterin in Xanthomonas maltophilia

Lisa M Woodard 1, Anthony R Bielkie 1, John F Eisses 1, Paul A Ketchum 1,*
PMCID: PMC185065  PMID: 16348378

Abstract

Fifteen of 23 ATCC strains and 2 of 9 clinical isolates of Xanthomonas maltophilia, all of which grew aerobically on ammonia, but not nitrate, as a sole nitrogen source, reduced nitrate to nitrite. X. maltophilia failed to grow anaerobically on complex medium with or without nitrate, so it is considered an obligate aerobe. Nitrate-reducing strains contained reduced methyl viologen nitrate reductase (MVH-NR) with specific activities ranging from 49.2 to 192 U mg of protein−1. Strain ATCC 17666 doubled its cell mass after 3 h of growth on nitrate broth under low aeration, possessed maximal MVH-NR activity, and converted the added nitrate to nitrite, which accumulated. Dissolved oxygen above 15% saturation greatly suppressed nitrite formation. All strains, except ATCC 14535, possessed between 0.25 and 5.05 pmol of molybdopterin mg of protein−1 as measured by the Neurospora crassa nit-1 assay. The molybdopterin activity in the soluble fraction sedimented as a single symmetrical peak with an s20,w of 5.1. Studies identified MVH-NR in selected strains as a membrane-bound protein. The deoxycholate-solubilized MVH-NR sedimented as a single peak in sucrose density gradients with an s20,w of 8.8. The MVH-NR of X. maltophilia has the physical characteristics of a respiratory nitrate reductase and may enable cells to use nitrate as an electron sink under semiaerobic conditions.

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Selected References

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