A RuBisCO-mediated carbon metabolic pathway in methanogenic archaea

Takunari Kono, Sandhya Mehrotra, Chikako Endo, Natsuko Kizu, Mami Matusda, Hiroyuki Kimura, Eiichi Mizohata, Tsuyoshi Inoue, Tomohisa Hasunuma, Akiho Yokota, Hiroyoshi Matsumura () and Hiroki Ashida ()
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Takunari Kono: Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology
Sandhya Mehrotra: Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Chikako Endo: Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology
Natsuko Kizu: Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University
Mami Matusda: Kobe University
Hiroyuki Kimura: Faculty of Science, Shizuoka University
Eiichi Mizohata: Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University
Tsuyoshi Inoue: Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University
Tomohisa Hasunuma: Kobe University
Akiho Yokota: Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology
Hiroyoshi Matsumura: College of Life Sciences, Ritsumeikan University
Hiroki Ashida: Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Two enzymes are considered to be unique to the photosynthetic Calvin–Benson cycle: ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO), responsible for CO2 fixation, and phosphoribulokinase (PRK). Some archaea possess bona fide RuBisCOs, despite not being photosynthetic organisms, but are thought to lack PRK. Here we demonstrate the existence in methanogenic archaea of a carbon metabolic pathway involving RuBisCO and PRK, which we term ‘reductive hexulose-phosphate’ (RHP) pathway. These archaea possess both RuBisCO and a catalytically active PRK whose crystal structure resembles that of photosynthetic bacterial PRK. Capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometric analysis of metabolites reveals that the RHP pathway, which differs from the Calvin–Benson cycle only in a few steps, is active in vivo. Our work highlights evolutionary and functional links between RuBisCO-mediated carbon metabolic pathways in methanogenic archaea and photosynthetic organisms. Whether the RHP pathway allows for autotrophy (that is, growth exclusively with CO2 as carbon source) remains unknown.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14007

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