Roles of alanine dehydrogenase and induction of its gene in Mycobacterium smegmatis under respirationinhibitory conditions

Abstract

Here we demonstrated that the inhibition of electron flux through the respiratory electron transport chain (ETC) by either the disruption of the gene for the major terminal oxidase (aa3 cytochrome c oxidase) or treatment with KCN resulted in the induction of ald encoding alanine dehydrogenase in Mycobacterium smegmatis. A decrease in functionality of the ETC shifts the redox state of the NADH/NAD+ pool toward a more reduced state, which in turn leads to an increase in cellular levels of alanine by Ald catalyzing the conversion of pyruvate to alanine with the concomitant oxidation of NADH to NAD+. The induction of ald expression under respirationinhibitory conditions in M. smegmatis is mediated by the alanine-responsive AldR transcriptional regulator. The growth defect of M. smegmatis by respiration inhibition was exacerbated by inactivation of the ald gene, suggesting that Ald is beneficial to M. smegmatis in its adaptation and survival under respiration-inhibitory conditions by maintaining NADH/NAD+ homeostasis. The low susceptibility of M. smegmatis to bcc1 complex inhibitors appears to be, at least in part, attributable to the high expression level of the bd quinol oxidase in M. smegmatis when the bcc1-aa3 branch of the ETC is inactivated.