A Novel Acyl-CoA Beta-Transaminase Characterized from a Metagenome

Alain Perret (1, 2) , Christophe Lechaplais (1, 2) , Sabine Tricot (1, 2) , Nadia Perchat (1, 2) , Carine Vergne (1, 2) , Christine Pellé (2, 1) , Karine Bastard (1, 2) , Annett Kreimeyer (1, 2) , David Vallenet (3, 2, 1) , Anne Zaparucha (1, 2) , Jean Weissenbach (1, 2) , Marcel Salanoubat (1, 2)

1 UMR 8030 - Génomique métabolique
2 GENOSCOPE - Genoscope - Centre national de séquençage [Evry]
3 LABGeM - Analyse Bio-Informatique pour la Génomique et le Métabolisme

Background Bacteria are key components in all ecosystems. However, our knowledge of bacterial metabolism is based solely on the study of cultivated organisms which represent just a tiny fraction of microbial diversity. To access new enzymatic reactions and new or alternative pathways, we investigated bacterial metabolism through analyses of uncultivated bacterial consortia. Methodology/Principal Findings We applied the gene context approach to assembled sequences of the metagenome of the anaerobic digester of a municipal wastewater treatment plant, and identified a new gene which may participate in an alternative pathway of lysine fermentation. Conclusions We characterized a novel, unique aminotransferase that acts exclusively on Coenzyme A (CoA) esters, and proposed a variant route for lysine fermentation. Results suggest that most of the lysine fermenting organisms use this new pathway in the digester. Its presence in organisms representative of two distinct bacterial divisions indicate that it may also be present in other organisms.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]; Génétique; Bactériologie

Alain Perret, Christophe Lechaplais, Sabine Tricot, Nadia Perchat, Carine Vergne, et al.. A Novel Acyl-CoA Beta-Transaminase Characterized from a Metagenome. PLoS ONE, 2011, 6 (8), pp.e22918. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0022918⟩. ⟨hal-04579105⟩