Osmoadaptation in bacteria and archaea: common principles and differences

Roeßler, Markus; Müller, Volker

doi:10.1046/j.1462-2920.2001.00252.x

Cited by 264 publications

(239 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…Glycine betaine (GB) is an important osmoprotectant for many species in all domains of life (17,18,20). The widespread use of GB has been explained, in part, by the superior osmoprotection offered by GB as a compatible solute for many organisms (21).…”

Section: Distribution and Biological Roles Of Choline And Gbmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homeostasis and Catabolism of Choline and Glycine Betaine: Lessons from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Wargo

2013

Appl Environ Microbiol

155

121

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Most sequenced bacteria possess mechanisms to import choline and glycine betaine (GB) into the cytoplasm. The primary role of choline in bacteria appears to be as the precursor to GB, and GB is thought to primarily act as a potent osmoprotectant. Choline and GB may play accessory roles in shaping microbial communities, based on their limited availability and ability to enhance survival under stress conditions. Choline and GB enrichment near eukaryotes suggests a role in the chemical relationships between these two kingdoms, and some of these interactions have been experimentally demonstrated. While many bacteria can convert choline to GB for osmoprotection, a variety of soil-and water-dwelling bacteria have catabolic pathways for the multistep conversion of choline, via GB, to glycine and can thereby use choline and GB as sole sources of carbon and nitrogen. In these choline catabolizers, the GB intermediate represents a metabolic decision point to determine whether GB is catabolized or stored as an osmo-and stress protectant. This minireview focuses on this decision point in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which aerobically catabolizes choline and can use GB as an osmoprotectant and a nutrient source. P. aeruginosa is an experimentally tractable and ecologically relevant model to study the regulatory pathways controlling choline and GB homeostasis in choline-catabolizing bacteria. The study of P. aeruginosa associations with eukaryotes and other bacteria also makes this a powerful model to study the impact of choline and GB, and their associated regulatory and catabolic pathways, on host-microbe and microbe-microbe relationships.

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Section: Distribution and Biological Roles Of Choline And Gbmentioning

confidence: 99%

Homeostasis and Catabolism of Choline and Glycine Betaine: Lessons from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Wargo

2013

Appl Environ Microbiol

155

121

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“…Bacteria maintain a cellular osmotic pressure essential for growth and cell division (Csonka, 1989;Martin et al, 1999), and both bacteria and archaea have developed strategies for osmoadaptation under various salinity and ionic conditions (Roessler and Mü ller, 2001). Among these strategies is the use of compatible solutes, such as zwitterionic organic solutes (for example, proline and glycine betaine) or non-ionic compounds in bacteria (Dinnbier et al, 1988;Csonka, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most of the archaea studied have been reported to have a high intracellular concentration of inorganic ions, and under optimal growth conditions K þ is dominating (Martin et al, 1999). Archaea is also reported to contain proteins that are rich in acidic amino acids, resulting in a net negative charge in the cells (Roessler and Mü ller, 2001 and references therein). The various strategies of osmoadaptation have been suggested to maintain equilibrium between macromolecule surfaces and the water phase through regulation of intracellular water density (Martin et al, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mg2+ as an indicator of nutritional status in marine bacteria

et al. 2011

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Cells maintain an osmotic pressure essential for growth and division, using organic compatible solutes and inorganic ions. Mg 2 þ , which is the most abundant divalent cation in living cells, has not been considered an osmotically important solute. Here we show that under carbon limitation or dormancy native marine bacterial communities have a high cellular concentration of Mg 2 þ (370-940 mM) and a low cellular concentration of Na þ (50-170 mM). With input of organic carbon, the average cellular concentration of Mg 2 þ decreased 6-12-fold, whereas that of Na þ increased ca 3-4-fold. The concentration of chlorine, which was in the range of 330-1200 mM, and was the only inorganic counterion of quantitative significance, balanced and followed changes in the concentration of Mg 2 þ þ Na þ . In an osmotically stable environment, like seawater, any major shift in bacterial osmolyte composition should be related to shifts in growth conditions, and replacing organic compatible solutes with inorganic solutes is presumably a favorable strategy when growing in carbon-limited condition. A high concentration of Mg 2 þ in cells may also serve to protect and stabilize macromolecules during periods of non-growth and dormancy. Our results suggest that Mg 2 þ has a major role as osmolyte in marine bacteria, and that the [Mg 2 þ ]/[Na þ ] ratio is related to its physiological condition and nutritional status. Bacterial degradation is a main sink for dissolved organic carbon in the ocean, and understanding the mechanisms limiting bacterial activity is therefore essential for understanding the oceanic C-cycle. The [Mg 2 þ ]/[Na þ ]-ratio in cells may provide a physiological proxy for the transitions between C-limited and mineral nutrient-limited bacterial growth in the ocean's surface layer.

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“…To prevent loss of water, some anaerobic bacteria and some archaea (the halobacteria) accumulate salt (KCl) in the cytosol to counterbalance the external salt concentration (11,22). The majority of prokaryotes accumulate compatible solutes in response to increasing external salt concentrations (14,28,31). Compatible solutes are defined as small, neutral, highly soluble organic molecules that do not interfere with cellular metabolism, and they are accumulated by either salt-induced de novo synthesis or salt-induced uptake from the medium (2).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compatible solutes are defined as small, neutral, highly soluble organic molecules that do not interfere with cellular metabolism, and they are accumulated by either salt-induced de novo synthesis or salt-induced uptake from the medium (2). The physiological response of living cells to increasing external salt concentrations and the nature of compatible solutes as well as their biosynthesis and uptake mechanisms have been studied in great detail (14,25,28,31).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%