Regulation of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase and hydrogenase in Rhodospirillum rubrum: effects of CO and oxygen on synthesis and activity

Exposure of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum to carbon monoxide led to increased carbon monoxide dehydrogenase and hydrogenase activities due to de novo protein synthesis of both enzymes. Two-dimensional gels of [35S]methionine-pulse-labeled cells showed that induction of CO dehydrogenase synthesis was rapidly initiated (less than 5 min upon exposure to CO) and was inhibited by oxygen. Both CO dehydrogenase and the CO-induced hydrogenase were inactivated by oxygen in vivo and in vitro. In contrast to CO dehydrogenase, the CO-induced hydrogenase was 95% inactivated by heating at 70 degrees C for 5 min. Unlike other hydrogenases, this CO-induced hydrogenase was inhibited only 60% by a 100% CO gas phase.