Identification and characterization of 2-keto-3-deoxy-l-rhamnonate dehydrogenase belonging to the MDR superfamily from the thermoacidophilic bacterium Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans: implications to l-rhamnose metabolism in archaea

We identified the non-phosphorylated l -rhamnose metabolic pathway (Rha_NMP) genes that are homologous to those in the thermoacidophilic archaeon Thermoplasma acidophilum in the genome of the thermoacidophilic bacterium Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans . However, unlike previously known 2-keto-3-deoxy- l -rhamnonate ( l -KDR) dehydrogenase (KDRDH) which belongs to the short chain dehydrogenase/reductase superfamily, the putative KDRDHs in S. thermosulfidooxidans (Sulth_3557) and T. acidophilum (Ta0749) belong to the medium chain dehydrogenase/reductase (MDR) superfamily. We demonstrated that Sulth_3559 and Sulth_3557 proteins from S. thermosulfidooxidans function as l -rhamnose dehydrogenase and KDRDH, respectively. Sulth_3557 protein is an NAD + -specific KDRDH with optimal temperature and pH of 50 °C and 9.5, respectively. The K m and V max values for l -KDR were 2.0 mM and 12.8 U/mg, respectively. Sulth_3557 also showed weak 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase activity. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Sulth_3557 and its homologs form a new subfamily in the MDR superfamily. The results shown in this study imply that thermoacidophilic archaea metabolize l -rhamnose to pyruvate and l -lactate by using the MDR-family KDRDH similarly to that of the thermoacidophilic bacterium S. thermosulfidooxidans .