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A high constitutive catalase activity confers resistance to methyl viologen-promoted oxidative stress in a mutant of the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

A spontaneous methyl viologen (MV)-resistant mutant of the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 was isolated and the major enzymatic antioxidants involved in combating MV-induced oxidative stress were evaluated. The mutant displayed a high constitutive catalase activity as a consequence of which, the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species in the mutant was lower than the wild type (N. punctiforme) in the presence of MV. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity that consisted of a SodA (manganese-SOD) and a SodB (iron-SOD) was not suppressed in the mutant following MV treatment. The mutant was, however, characterised by a lower peroxidase activity compared with its wild type, and its improved tolerance to externally added H2O2 could only be attributed to enhanced catalase activity. Furthermore, MV-induced toxic effects on the wild type such as (1) loss of photosynthetic performance assessed as maximal quantum yield of photosystem II, (2) nitrogenase inactivation, and (3) filament fragmentation and cell lysis were not observed in the mutant. These findings highlight the importance of catalase in preventing MV-promoted oxidative damage and cell death in the cyanobacterium N. punctiforme. Such oxidative stress resistant mutants of cyanobacteria are likely to be a better source of biofertilisers, as they can grow and fix nitrogen in an unhindered manner in agricultural fields that are often contaminated with the herbicide MV, also commonly known as paraquat.

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Acknowledgements

MLD acknowledges the financial support from Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India in the form of Senior Research Fellowship (Inspire programme). KS and PL acknowledge the financial support by the Swedish Energy Agency and KA Wallenberg Foundation. JB is grateful to DST for providing financial support and Department of Biotechnology for overseas research associateship and State Biotech hub research facility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Mizoram University, PB No. 190, Aizawl, 796004, Mizoram, India

    Lakshmipyari Devi Moirangthem, Sudeshna Bhattacharya & Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya

  2. Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 523, 751 20, Uppsala, Sweden

    Karin Stensjö & Peter Lindblad

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  1. Lakshmipyari Devi Moirangthem
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  2. Sudeshna Bhattacharya
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  3. Karin Stensjö
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  5. Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya
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Correspondence to Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya.

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Moirangthem, L.D., Bhattacharya, S., Stensjö, K. et al. A high constitutive catalase activity confers resistance to methyl viologen-promoted oxidative stress in a mutant of the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98, 3809–3818 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-5443-3

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