Role of the precorrin 6-X reductase gene in cobamide biosynthesis in Methanococcus maripaludis

Abstract

In Methanococcus maripaludis strain JJ, deletion of the homolog to cbiJ, which encodes the corrin biosynthetic enzyme precorrin 6-X reductase, yielded an auxotroph that required either cobamide or acetate for good growth. This phenotype closely resembled that of JJ117, a mutant in which tandem repeats were introduced into the region immediately downstream of the homolog of cbiJ. Mutant JJ117 also produced low quantities of cobamides, about 15 nmol g^–1 protein or 1–2% of the amount found in wild-type cells. These results confirm the role of the cbiJ homolog in cobamide biosynthesis in the Archaea and suggest the presence of low amounts of a bypass activity in these organisms.

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