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Nitric and Nitrous Oxides: Biological and Environmental Significance

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2021) | Viewed by 14186

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Conrado Moreno-Vivián

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Guest Editor

Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Edificio Severo Ochoa, 1ª Planta, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Interests: denitrification; nitrate reductase; nitrous oxide emissions; nitrous oxide reductase; Paracoccus; quantitative proteomics

Prof. Dr. María Dolores Roldán

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Prof. Dr. David J. Richardson

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School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
Interests: denitrification; nitrate reductase; nitrous oxide emissions; nitrous oxide reductase; Paracoccus; quantitative proteomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) are nitrogen cycle intermediates that play very important roles in nature, with environmental and biological relevance. NO is small size, membrane-diffusible and highly reactive molecule that participates in cell signaling and nitrosative stress, affecting multiple biological processes, from bacteria to humans. At biochemical level, NO reacts with the superoxide anion radical to produce peroxynitrites, and it may also react with thiol groups causing S-nitrosylation of proteins. In eukaryotes, NO is a signaling molecule that exerts a vast number of functions at the level of cells, tissues and organs. Thus, in mammals NO participates in vasodilatation, hypoxia signaling, energy metabolism and bacterial pathogenesis, among other processes, and in higher plants it is involved in many functions related with plant growth and stress defense mechanisms. Prokaryotes also generate nitrogen oxides with a great impact in agriculture, environment, and biotechnology. In general, NO is produced from arginine by nitric oxide synthases or from nitrite by nitrite reductases that participate in denitrification, a process that significantly contributes to the production of NO and N₂O gasses, which may accumulate in the atmosphere, particularly the potent greenhouse gas N₂O.

Prof. Dr. Conrado Moreno-Vivián
Prof. Dr. María Dolores Roldán
Prof. Dr. David J. Richardson
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Nitric oxide
Nitrous oxide
Denitrification
Cell signaling and regulation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2083 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Nitrite Are Highly Dependent on Nitrate Reductase in the Microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

by Carmen M. Bellido-Pedraza, Victoria Calatrava, Angel Llamas, Emilio Fernandez, Emanuel Sanz-Luque and Aurora Galvan

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(16), 9412; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23169412 - 20 Aug 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2660

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a powerful greenhouse gas and an ozone-depleting compound whose synthesis and release have traditionally been ascribed to bacteria and fungi. Although plants and microalgae have been proposed as N₂O producers in recent decades, the proteins involved in this process have been only recently unveiled. In the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, flavodiiron proteins (FLVs) and cytochrome P450 (CYP55) are two nitric oxide (NO) reductases responsible for N₂O synthesis in the chloroplast and mitochondria, respectively. However, the molecular mechanisms feeding these NO reductases are unknown. In this work, we use cavity ring-down spectroscopy to monitor N₂O and CO₂ in cultures of nitrite reductase mutants, which cannot grow on nitrate or nitrite and exhibit enhanced N₂O emissions. We show that these mutants constitute a very useful tool to study the rates and kinetics of N₂O release under different conditions and the metabolism of this greenhouse gas. Our results indicate that N₂O production, which was higher in the light than in the dark, requires nitrate reductase as the major provider of NO as substrate. Finally, we show that the presence of nitrate reductase impacts CO₂ emissions in both light and dark conditions, and we discuss the role of NO in the balance between CO₂ fixation and release. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitric and Nitrous Oxides: Biological and Environmental Significance)

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27 pages, 2152 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The NtrYX Two-Component System of Paracoccus denitrificans Is Required for the Maintenance of Cellular Iron Homeostasis and for a Complete Denitrification under Iron-Limited Conditions

by Alfonso Olaya-Abril, Víctor M. Luque-Almagro, Jesús Hidalgo-Carrillo, Eduardo Chicano-Gálvez, Francisco J. Urbano, Conrado Moreno-Vivián, David J. Richardson and María Dolores Roldán

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(16), 9172; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23169172 - 15 Aug 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2750

Abstract

Denitrification consists of the sequential reduction of nitrate to nitrite, nitric oxide, nitrous oxide, and dinitrogen. Nitrous oxide escapes to the atmosphere, depending on copper availability and other environmental factors. Iron is also a key element because many proteins involved in denitrification contain iron-sulfur or heme centers. The NtrYX two-component regulatory system mediates the responses in a variety of metabolic processes, including denitrification. A quantitative proteomic analysis of a Paracoccus denitrificans NtrY mutant grown under denitrifying conditions revealed the induction of different TonB-dependent siderophore transporters and proteins related to iron homeostasis. This mutant showed lower intracellular iron content than the wild-type strain, and a reduced growth under denitrifying conditions in iron-limited media. Under iron-rich conditions, it releases higher concentrations of siderophores and displayes lower nitrous oxide reductase (NosZ) activity than the wild-type, thus leading to nitrous oxide emission. Bioinformatic and qRT-PCR analyses revealed that NtrYX is a global transcriptional regulatory system that responds to iron starvation and, in turn, controls expression of the iron-responsive regulators fur, rirA, and iscR, the denitrification regulators fnrP and narR, the nitric oxide-responsive regulator nnrS, and a wide set of genes, including the cd₁-nitrite reductase NirS, nitrate/nitrite transporters and energy electron transport proteins. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitric and Nitrous Oxides: Biological and Environmental Significance)

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21 pages, 1744 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Copper on Expression of Functional Genes and Proteins Associated with Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens Denitrification

by Pedro J. Pacheco, Juan J. Cabrera, Andrea Jiménez-Leiva, Eulogio J. Bedmar, Socorro Mesa, Germán Tortosa and María J. Delgado

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(6), 3386; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23063386 - 21 Mar 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3489

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Denitrification is one of the largest sources of N₂O in soils. The soybean endosymbiont Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens is a model for rhizobial denitrification studies since, in addition to fixing N₂, it has the ability to grow anaerobically under free-living conditions by reducing nitrate from the medium through the complete denitrification pathway. This bacterium contains a periplasmic nitrate reductase (Nap), a copper (Cu)-containing nitrite reductase (NirK), a c-type nitric oxide reductase (cNor), and a Cu-dependent nitrous oxide reductase (Nos) encoded by the napEDABC, nirK, norCBQD and nosRZDFYLX genes, respectively. In this work, an integrated study of the role of Cu in B. diazoefficiens denitrification has been performed. A notable reduction in nirK, nor, and nos gene expression observed under Cu limitation was correlated with a significant decrease in NirK, NorC and NosZ protein levels and activities. Meanwhile, nap expression was not affected by Cu, but a remarkable depletion in Nap activity was found, presumably due to an inhibitory effect of nitrite accumulated under Cu-limiting conditions. Interestingly, a post-transcriptional regulation by increasing Nap and NirK activities, as well as NorC and NosZ protein levels, was observed in response to high Cu. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, the role of Cu in transcriptional and post-transcriptional control of B. diazoefficiens denitrification. Thus, this study will contribute by proposing useful strategies for reducing N₂O emissions from agricultural soils. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitric and Nitrous Oxides: Biological and Environmental Significance)

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Review

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30 pages, 1337 KiB

Open AccessReview

Nitrosative Stress and Human Disease: Therapeutic Potential of Denitrosylation

by Somy Yoon, Gwang Hyeon Eom and Gaeun Kang

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(18), 9794; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22189794 - 10 Sep 2021

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 4143

Abstract

Proteins dynamically contribute towards maintaining cellular homeostasis. Posttranslational modification regulates the function of target proteins through their immediate activation, sudden inhibition, or permanent degradation. Among numerous protein modifications, protein nitrosation and its functional relevance have emerged. Nitrosation generally initiates nitric oxide (NO) production in association with NO synthase. NO is conjugated to free thiol in the cysteine side chain (S-nitrosylation) and is propagated via the transnitrosylation mechanism. S-nitrosylation is a signaling pathway frequently involved in physiologic regulation. NO forms peroxynitrite in excessive oxidation conditions and induces tyrosine nitration, which is quite stable and is considered irreversible. Two main reducing systems are attributed to denitrosylation: glutathione and thioredoxin (TRX). Glutathione captures NO from S-nitrosylated protein and forms S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). The intracellular reducing system catalyzes GSNO into GSH again. TRX can remove NO-like glutathione and break down the disulfide bridge. Although NO is usually beneficial in the basal context, cumulative stress from chronic inflammation or oxidative insult produces a large amount of NO, which induces atypical protein nitrosation. Herein, we (1) provide a brief introduction to the nitrosation and denitrosylation processes, (2) discuss nitrosation-associated human diseases, and (3) discuss a possible denitrosylation strategy and its therapeutic applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitric and Nitrous Oxides: Biological and Environmental Significance)

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