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Global transcriptional analysis of Geobacter sulfurreducens under palladium reducing conditions reveals new key cytochromes involved

  • Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics
  • Published:
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Abstract

Geobacter sulfurreducens is capable of reducing Pd(II) to Pd(0) using acetate as electron donor; however, the biochemical and genetic mechanisms involved in this process have not been described. In this work, we carried out transcriptome profiling analysis to identify the genes involved in Pd(II) reduction in this bacterium. Our results showed that 252 genes were upregulated while 141 were downregulated during Pd(II) reduction. Among the upregulated genes, 12 were related to energy metabolism and electron transport, 50 were classified as involved in protein synthesis, 42 were associated to regulatory functions and transcription, and 47 have no homologs with known function. RT-qPCR data confirmed upregulation of genes encoding PilA, the structural protein for electrically conductive pili, as well as c-type cytochromes GSU1062, GSU2513, GSU2808, GSU2934, GSU3107, OmcH, OmcM, PpcA, and PpcD under Pd(II)-reducing conditions. ΔpilA and ΔpilR mutant strains showed 20% and 40% decrease in the Pd(II)-reducing capacity, respectively, as compared to the wild type strain, indicating the central role of pili in this process. RT-qPCR data collected during Pd(II) reduction also confirmed downregulation of omcB, omcC, omcZ, and omcS genes, which have been shown to be involved in the reduction of Fe(III) and electrodes. The present study contributes to elucidate the mechanisms involved in Pd(II) reduction by G. sulfurreducens.

Graphical Abstract

Key points

• Transcriptome analysis provided evidence on Pd(II) reduction by G. sulfurreducens.

• Results indicate that electrically conductive pili is involved in Pd(II) reduction.

• G. sulfurreducens was not able to grow under Pd(II)-reducing conditions.

• The study contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms in Pd(II) reduction.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Raunel Tinoco, Ramiro Baeza Jimenez, Ricardo Grande, and Veronica Jiménez for their technical support. This study was financially supported by CONACYT (Program Frontiers in Science, Grant 1289, and Program Basic Science, Grant 255476). We thank Enrique Morett for critically reading the manuscript. Finally, we greatly acknowledge the support from the national laboratories USMB, LANBAMA, and LINAN for their contribution in sample analyses.

Funding

This study was funded by CONACYT (Program Frontiers in Science, Grant 1289, and Program Basic Science, Grant 255476).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ingeniería Celular y Biocatálisis, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Alberto Hernández-Eligio, Manuel Huerta-Amparán & Katy Juárez

  2. División de Ciencias Ambientales, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (IPICYT), San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

    Aurora M. Pat-Espadas

  3. Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Leticia Vega-Alvarado

  4. Instituto de Geología, Estación Regional del Noroeste, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

    Aurora M. Pat-Espadas

  5. Laboratory for Research on Advanced Processes for Water Treatment, Engineering Institute, Campus Juriquilla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Blvd. Juriquilla 3001, 76230, Querétaro, Mexico

    Francisco J. Cervantes

  6. CONACYT, Ciudad de México, Mexico

    Alberto Hernández-Eligio & Aurora M. Pat-Espadas

Authors
  1. Alberto Hernández-Eligio
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  2. Aurora M. Pat-Espadas
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  3. Leticia Vega-Alvarado
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  4. Manuel Huerta-Amparán
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  5. Francisco J. Cervantes
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  6. Katy Juárez
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Contributions

FJC, KJ, AHE, and AMPE conceived the study and designed the research. AHE and MHA conducted the experiments. LVA analyzed the data. AHE, AMPE, KJ, and FJC wrote the manuscript with input from all the authors. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Francisco J. Cervantes or Katy Juárez.

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Hernández-Eligio, A., Pat-Espadas, A.M., Vega-Alvarado, L. et al. Global transcriptional analysis of Geobacter sulfurreducens under palladium reducing conditions reveals new key cytochromes involved. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 104, 4059–4069 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-020-10502-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-020-10502-5

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