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The Effects of Copper (II) Ions on Enterococcus hirae Cell Growth and the Proton-Translocating FoF1 ATPase Activity

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Abstract

Enterococcus hirae grow well under anaerobic conditions at alkaline pH (pH 8.0) producing acids by glucose fermentation. Bacterial growth was shown to be accompanied by decrease of redox potential from positive values (~+35 mV) to negative ones (~−220 mV). An oxidizer copper (II) ions (Cu2+) affected bacterial growth in a concentration-dependent manner (within the range of 0.05 mM to 1 mM) increasing lag phase duration and decreasing specific growth rate. These effects were observed with the wild-type strain ATCC9790 and the atpD mutant strain MS116 (with absent β subunit of F1 of the FoF1 ATPase) both. Also ATPase activity and proton–potassium ions exchange were assessed with and without N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD), inhibitor of the FoF1 ATPase. In both cases (DCCD ±), even low Cu2+ concentrations had noticeable effect on ATPase activity, but with less visible concentration-dependent manner. Changes in the number of accessible SH-groups were observed with E. hirae ATCC9790 and MS116 membrane vesicles. In both strains Cu2+ markedly decreased the number of SH-groups in the presence of K+ ions. The addition of ATP increased the amount of accessible SH-groups in ATCC9790 and decreased this number in MS116; Cu2+ blocked ATP-installed increase in SH-groups number in ATCC9790. H+–K+-exchange of bacteria was markedly inhibited by Cu2+, but stronger effects were detected together with DCCD. Moreover, discrimination between Cu2+ and other bivalent cation—Ni2+ was shown. It is suggested that Cu2+ ions inhibit E. hirae cell growth by direct affect on the FoF1 ATPase leading to conformational changes in this protein complex and decrease in its activity.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. H. Kobayashi for supplying E. hirae strains and valuable advices as well as Drs. Anna Poladyan and Gayane Kirakosyan for help in some experiments and useful comments. The study was supported by the Grant (#1012-2008) from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia.

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  1. Department of Biophysics of the Biological Faculty, Yerevan State University, 1 A. Manoukian Str, 0025, Yerevan, Armenia

    Zaruhi Vardanyan & Armen Trchounian

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  1. Zaruhi Vardanyan
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Correspondence to Armen Trchounian.

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Vardanyan, Z., Trchounian, A. The Effects of Copper (II) Ions on Enterococcus hirae Cell Growth and the Proton-Translocating FoF1 ATPase Activity. Cell Biochem Biophys 57, 19–26 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-010-9078-z

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