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Published June 2020 | Published
Journal Article Open

The potential for redox-active metabolites (RAMs) to enhance or unlock anaerobic survival metabolisms in aerobes

Abstract

Classifying microorganisms as "obligate" aerobes has colloquially implied death without air, leading to the erroneous assumption that, without oxygen, they are unable to survive. However, over the past few decades, more than a few obligate aerobes have been found to possess anaerobic energy conservation strategies that sustain metabolic activity in the absence of growth or at very low growth rates. Similarly, studies emphasizing the aerobic prowess of certain facultative aerobes have sometimes led to underrecognition of their anaerobic capabilities. Yet an inescapable consequence of the affinity both obligate and facultative aerobes have for oxygen is that the metabolism of these organisms may drive this substrate to scarcity, making anoxic survival an essential skill. To illustrate this, we highlight the importance of anaerobic survival strategies for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptomyces coelicolor, representative facultative and obligate aerobes, respectively. Included among these strategies, we describe a role for redox-active secondary metabolites (RAMs), such as phenazines made by P. aeruginosa, in enhancing substrate-level phosphorylation. Importantly, RAMs are made by diverse bacteria, often during stationary phase in the absence of oxygen, and can sustain anoxic survival. We present a hypothesis for how RAMs may enhance or even unlock energy conservation pathways that facilitate the anaerobic survival of both RAM producers and nonproducers.

Additional Information

© 2020 American Society for Microbiology. Accepted manuscript posted online 18 February 2020; Published 11 May 2020. We thank Megan Bergkessel, Elena Perry, Lev Tsypin, David Basta, and Chelsey VanDrisse for constructive feedback on the manuscript. J.A.C. is supported by an NIH Training Grant to Caltech's BBE Division as well as by grants to D.K.N. from the NIH (1R01AI127850-01A1) and ARO (W911NF-17-1-0024).

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Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
December 22, 2023