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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2003, p. 6047-6055, Vol. 69, No. 10
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.10.6047-6055.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Lysine-2,3-Aminomutase and ß-Lysine Acetyltransferase Genes of Methanogenic Archaea Are Salt Induced and Are Essential for the Biosynthesis of N-Acetyl-ß-Lysine and Growth at High Salinity

K. Pflüger,¹ S. Baumann,¹ G. Gottschalk,² W. Lin,³ H. Santos,⁴ and V. Müller^1*

Section of Microbiology, Department of Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80638 Munich,¹ Göttingen Genomics Laboratory, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany,² Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2605,³ Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal⁴

Received 18 April 2003/ Accepted 9 July 2003

The compatible solute N-acetyl-ß-lysine is unique to methanogenic archaea and is produced under salt stress only. However, the molecular basis for the salt-dependent regulation of N-acetyl-ß-lysine formation is unknown. Genes potentially encoding lysine-2,3-aminomutase (ablA) and ß-lysine acetyltransferase (ablB), which are assumed to catalyze N-acetyl-ß-lysine formation from -lysine, were identified on the chromosomes of the methanogenic archaea Methanosarcina mazei Gö1, Methanosarcina acetivorans, Methanosarcina barkeri, Methanococcus jannaschii, and Methanococcus maripaludis. The order of the two genes was identical in the five organisms, and the deduced proteins were very similar, indicating a high degree of conservation of structure and function. Northern blot analysis revealed that the two genes are organized in an operon (termed the abl operon) in M. mazei Gö1. Expression of the abl operon was strictly salt dependent. The abl operon was deleted in the genetically tractable M. maripaludis. abl mutants of M. maripaludis no longer produced N-acetyl-ß-lysine and were incapable of growth at high salt concentrations, indicating that the abl operon is essential for N-acetyl-ß-lysine synthesis. These experiments revealed the first genes involved in the biosynthesis of compatible solutes in methanogens.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Section Microbiology, Department of Biology I, LMU München, Maria-Ward-Str. 1a, 80638 Munich, Germany. Phone: (49) 89 2180 6126. Fax: (49) 89 2180 6127. E-mail: v.mueller{at}lrz.uni-muenchen.de.

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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2003, p. 6047-6055, Vol. 69, No. 10
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.10.6047-6055.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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