Enzymatic and Energetic Properties of an Aerobic Respiratory Chain­Linked NADH Oxidase System in Marine Bacterium Vibrio natriegens

Membranes prepared from Vibrio natriegens oxidized both NADH and deamino-NADH as substrates. The maximum activity of the membrane-bound NADH oxidase was obtained at about pH 8.5 in the presence of 0.2 M NaCl, whereas that of the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase was obtained at about pH 7.5 in the presence of 0.2 M NaCl. Electron transfer from NADH or deamino-NADH to ubiquinone-l or oxygen generated a considerable membrane potential (${\Delta}{\psi}$), which occurred even in the presence of $20{\mu}M$ carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). However, the ${\Delta}{\psi}$ was completely collapsed by the combined addition of $10{\mu}M$ CCCP and $20{\mu}M$ monensin. On the other hand, the activity of the NADH oxidase and the ${\Delta}{\psi}$ generated by the NADH oxidase system were inhibited by about $90\%$ with $10{\mu}M$ HQNO, whereas the activity of the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase and the ${\Delta}{\psi}$ generated at the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase segment were inhibited by about $60\%$. Interestingly, the activity of the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase and the ${\Delta}{\psi}$ generated at the NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase segment were resistant to the respiratory chain inhibitors such as rotenone, capsaicin, and $AgNO_3$, and the activity of the NADH oxidase and the ${\Delta}{\psi}$ generated by the NADH oxidase system were very sensitive only to $AgNO_3$. It was concluded, therefore, that V. natriegens cells possess a $AgNO_3$-resistant respiratory $Na^+$ pump that is different from the $AgNO_3$-sensitive respiratory $Na^+$ pump of a marine bacterium, Vibrio alginolyticus.