Sulfite:acceptor oxidoreductase/Sulfite oxidising enzyme [molybdenum]. sulfite → sulfate

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	PMID	Title & Author	Abstract	Year
0	19632192	Sulfite oxidation in Sinorhizobium meliloti. Wilson JJ, Kappler U.	Sulfite-oxidizing enzymes (SOEs) are crucial for the metabolism of many cells and are particularly important in bacteria oxidizing inorganic or organic sulfur compounds. However, little is known about SOE diversity and metabolic roles. Sinorhizobium meliloti contains four candidate genes encoding SOEs of three different types, and in this work we have investigated the role of SOEs in S. meliloti and their possible link to the metabolism of the organosulfonate taurine. Low level SOE activity (approximately 1.4 U/mg) was present under all conditions tested while growth on taurine and thiosulfate induced high activities (5.5-8.8 U/mg) although S. meliloti cannot metabolize thiosulfate. Protein purification showed that although expression of two candidate genes matched SOE activity patterns, only a single group 2 SOE, SorT (SMc04049), is responsible for this activity. SorT is a heme-free, periplasmic homodimer (78 kDa) that has low homology to other bacterial SOEs. SorT has an apparent k(cat) of 343 s(-1) and high affinities for both sulfite (K(Mapp_pH8) 15.5 microM) and ferricyanide (K(Mapp_pH8) 3.44 microM), but not cytochrome c, suggesting a need for a high redox potential natural electron acceptor. K(Mapp_sulfite) was nearly invariant with pH which is in contrast to all other well characterized SOEs. SorT is part of an operon (SMc04049-04047) also containing a gene for a cytochrome c and an azurin, and these might be the natural electron acceptors for the enzyme. Phylogenetic analysis of SorT-related SOEs and enzymes of taurine degradation indicate that there is no link between the two processes	2009
1	24892218	Catalytic voltammetry of the molybdoenzyme sulfite dehydrogenase from Sinorhizobium meliloti. Kalimuthu P, Kappler U, Bernhardt PV.	Sulfite dehydrogenase from the soil bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti (SorT) is a periplasmic, homodimeric molybdoenzyme with a molecular mass of 78 kDa. It differs from most other well studied sulfite oxidizing enzymes, as it bears no heme cofactor. SorT does not readily reduce ferrous horse heart cytochrome c which is the preferred electron acceptor for vertebrate sulfite oxidases. In the present study, ferrocene methanol (FM) (in its oxidized ferrocenium form) was utilized as an artificial electron acceptor for the catalytic SorT sulfite oxidation reaction. Cyclic voltammetry of FM was used to generate the active form of the mediator at the electrode surface. The FM-mediated catalytic sulfite oxidation by SorT was investigated by two different voltammetric methods, namely, (i) SorT freely diffusing in solution and (ii) SorT confined to a thin layer at the electrode surface by a semipermeable dialysis membrane. A single set of rate and equilibrium constants was used to simulate the catalytic voltammograms performed under different sweep rates and with various concentrations of sulfite and FM which provides new insights into the kinetics of the SorT catalytic mechanism. Further, we were able to model the role of the dialysis membrane in the kinetics of the overall catalytic system.	2014
2	28986298	The central active site arginine in sulfite oxidizing enzymes alters kinetic properties by controlling electron transfer and redox interactions. Hsiao JC, McGrath AP, Kielmann L, Kalimuthu P, Darain F, Bernhardt PV, Harmer J, Lee M, Meyers K, Maher MJ, Kappler U.	A central conserved arginine, first identified as a clinical mutation leading to sulfite oxidase deficiency, is essential for catalytic competency of sulfite oxidizing molybdoenzymes, but the molecular basis for its effects on turnover and substrate affinity have not been fully elucidated. We have used a bacterial sulfite dehydrogenase, SorT, which lacks an internal heme group, but transfers electrons to an external, electron accepting cytochrome, SorU, to investigate the molecular functions of this arginine residue (Arg78). Assay of the SorT Mo centre catalytic competency in the absence of SorU showed that substitutions in the central arginine (R78Q, R78K and R78M mutations) only moderately altered SorT catalytic properties, except for R78M which caused significant reduction in SorT activity. The substitutions also altered the Mo-centre redox potentials (MoVI/V potential lowered by ca. 60-80mV). However, all Arg78 mutations significantly impaired the ability of SorT to transfer electrons to SorU, where activities were reduced 17 to 46-fold compared to SorTWT, precluding determination of kinetic parameters. This was accompanied by the observation of conformational changes in both the introduced Gln and Lys residues in the crystal structure of the enzymes. Taking into account data collected by others on related SOE mutations we propose that the formation and maintenance of an electron transfer complex between the Mo centre and electron accepting heme groups is the main function of the central arginine, and that the reduced turnover and increases in KMsulfite are caused by the inefficient operation of the oxidative half reaction of the catalytic cycle in enzymes carrying these mutations.	2018
3	23226379	Sinorhizobium meliloti sigma factors RpoE1 and RpoE4 are activated in stationary phase in response to sulfite. Bastiat B, Sauviac L, Picheraux C, Rossignol M, Bruand C.	Rhizobia are soil bacteria able to establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with legume plants. Both in soil and in planta, rhizobia spend non-growing periods resembling the stationary phase of in vitro-cultured bacteria. The primary objective of this work was to better characterize gene regulation in this biologically relevant growth stage in Sinorhizobium meliloti. By a tap-tag/mass spectrometry approach, we identified five sigma factors co-purifying with the RNA polymerase in stationary phase: the general stress response regulator RpoE2, the heat shock sigma factor RpoH2, and three extra-cytoplasmic function sigma factors (RpoE1, RpoE3 and RpoE4) belonging to the poorly characterized ECF26 subgroup. We then showed that RpoE1 and RpoE4 i) are activated upon metabolism of sulfite-generating compounds (thiosulfate and taurine), ii) display overlapping regulatory activities, iii) govern a dedicated sulfite response by controlling expression of the sulfite dehydrogenase SorT, iv) are activated in stationary phase, likely as a result of endogenous sulfite generation during bacterial growth. We showed that SorT is required for optimal growth of S. meliloti in the presence of sulfite, suggesting that the response governed by RpoE1 and RpoE4 may be advantageous for bacteria in stationary phase either by providing a sulfite detoxification function or by contributing to energy production through sulfite respiration. This paper therefore reports the first characterization of ECF26 sigma factors, the first description of sigma factors involved in control of sulphur metabolism, and the first indication that endogenous sulfite may act as a signal for regulation of gene expression upon entry of bacteria in stationary phase.	2012

Wilson, J.J., and Kappler, U. (2009) Sulfite oxidation in Sinorhizobium meliloti. Biochim Biophys Acta 1787: 1516–1525.