EFFECT OF HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE ON SYNTHESIS OF PROTEIN, RIBONUCLEIC ACID, AND DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID BY THE PSYCHROPHILIC MARINE BACTERIUM, VIBRIO MARINUS1

Abstract

The temperature and hydrostatic pressure maxima for growth of the marine psychrophilic bacterium, Vibrio marinus MP-4, were 20C and 425 atm. The effects of pressures of 206, 400, 500, and 1,000 atm at 15C on synthesis of net protein, RNA, and DNA by growing cells of V. murinus Ml?-4 were determined.A pressure of 1,000 atm completely inhibited protein and DNA synthesis but allowed RNA synthesis to continue for a short time. At 200 atm, the rates of protein and RNA synthesis decreased for approximately 60 min and then resumed the 1-atm rates, whereas DNA synthesis wa s unaEfectcd.Pressures of 400 and 500 atm immediately lowered the rate of protein synthesis, whereas RNA. synthesis was unaffected by 400 atm. At 500 atm, RNA synthesis continued at the I-atm rate for 30 min and then shifted to a lower rate. Synthesis of DNA, at 400 and 500 atm, continued at the I-atm rate for approximately 60 min after pressurization, then gradually shifted to lower rates. The data suggest that the primary effect of pressures from 400 to 500 atm was to lower the rate of protein synthesis, which in turn may have lowered the rates of RNA and DNA synthesis.

Microbial oil-degradation under mild hydrostatic pressure (10 MPa): which pathways are impacted in piezosensitive hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria?

“…While the study of piezophiles may reveal novel cellular mechanisms supporting life in the deep biosphere, the study of piezotolerant and piezosensitive bacteria may highlight the most sensitive pathways affected by hydrostatic pressure. Albright and Morita 32 found that in the psychrophilic marine bacterium Vibrio marinus the rate of protein and RNA synthesis was affected after being exposed to 20 MPa for 60 min, although 1-atm rates were resumed shortly afterwards. Turley 33 observed reduced uptake of 3 H-thymidine and 3 H-leucine for microbial protein synthesis between 0.1 and 43 MPa, but no effect on cell abundance.…”

Hydrostatic Pressure Effects on Protein Synthesis

“…The predominance of the dissociation process masks the effect of pressure on association. DISCUSSION The relevance of results obtained with a cell-free system to the functioning of an intact living cell has been approached by comparing the effects of pressure on protein synthesis in various kinds of cells (1,3,(5)(6)(7) with the results of this study. The comparison is shown in Fig.…”

“…The effects of high hydrostatic pressures on macromolecular synthetic processes (i.e., protein, DNA, and RNA synthesis) have been studied recently in our laboratory and elsewhere (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) with the general conclusion that rates of synthesis are reduced by pressure in both bacterial and mammalian cells. In all cases, protein synthesis was found to be the most pressure sensitive, followed by DNA, and least sensitive RNA synthesis (3,6,7). In view of these findings, we thought it worthwhile to study the effect of pressure on synthesis in cell-free systems.…”

Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure and Temperature on the Uptake and Respiration of Amino Acids by a Facultatively Psychrophilic Marine Bacterium

“…At 600 atm, under the same conditions, 23 of the 56 species that failed to grow were killed. There are many reasons presented as to why hydrostatic pressure adversely affects bacteria, including the interruption of energy production due to pressure (3), molecular volume changes that affect enzyme reaction rates (2,5,6,9,12,13,15), and loss of the ability to synthesize macromolecules (1,10,11,17). Molecular volume decreases with de-creasing temperature and with increasing pressure.…”