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Trimethylamine N-oxide metabolism by abundant marine heterotrophic bacteria

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Lidbury, Ian, Murrell, J. C. (J. Colin) and Chen, Yin (2014) Trimethylamine N-oxide metabolism by abundant marine heterotrophic bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Volume 111 (Number 7). pp. 2710-2715. doi:10.1073/pnas.1317834111

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1317834111

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Abstract

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is a common osmolyte and has been detected at nanomolar concentrations in oceanic surface waters. TMAO can serve as an important nutrient for ecologically important particularly the SAR11 clade and marine Roseobacter clade (MRC). However, the enzymes responsible for TMAO catabolism and the membrane into microbial cells have yet to be identified. We show here that the enzyme, TMAO demethylase (Tdm), catalyses the first step in TMAO degradation. This enzyme represents a large group of proteins with an uncharacterized domain (DUF1989). The function of TMAO demethylase in a representative from the SAR11 clade (strain HIMB59) and in a representative of the MRC (Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3) was confirmed by heterologous expression of tdm (the gene encoding Tdm) in Escherichia coli. In Ruegeria pomeroyi, mutagenesis experiments confirmed that tdm is essential for growth on TMAO. We also identified a unique ABC transporter (TmoXWV) found in a variety of marine bacteria and experimentally confirmed its specificity for TMAO through marker exchange mutagenesis and lacZ reporter assays of the promoter for genes encoding this transporter. Both Tdm and TmoXWV are particularly abundant in natural seawater assemblages and actively expressed, as indicated by a number of recent metatranscriptomic and metaproteomic studies. These data suggest that TMAO represents a significant yet overlooked nutrient for marine bacteria.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: Q Science > QR Microbiology
Divisions: Faculty of Science > Life Sciences (2010- )
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Marine bacteria -- Physiology, Microbial metabolism, Amines
Journal or Publication Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
ISSN: 0027-8424
Official Date: 18 February 2014
Dates:
DateEvent
18 February 2014Published
Volume: Volume 111
Number: Number 7
Page Range: pp. 2710-2715
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1317834111
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Funder: Natural Environment Research Council (Great Britain) (NERC)
Grant number: NE/H016236/1 (NERC)

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