Regulation of dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction activity in Shewanella putrefaciens

Under anaerobic conditions, Shewanella putrefaciens is capable of respiratory-chain-linked, high-rate dissimilatory iron reduction via both a constitutive and inducible Fe(III)-reducing system. In the presence of low levels of dissolved oxygen, however, iron reduction by this microorganism is extremely slow. Fe(II)-trapping experiments in which Fe(III) and O₂ were presented simultaneously to batch cultures of S. putrefaciens indicated that autoxidation of Fe(II) was not responsible for the absence of Fe(III) reduction. Inhibition of cytochrome oxidase with CN^- resulted in a high rate of Fe(III) reduction in the presence of dissolved O₂, which suggested that respiratory control mechanisms did not involve inhibition of Fe(III) reductase activity or Fe(III) transport by molecular oxygen. Decreasing the intracellular ATP concentrations by using an uncoupler, 2,4-dinitrophenol, did not increase Fe(III) reduction, indicating that the reduction rate was not controlled by the energy status of the cell. Control of electron transport at branch points could account for the observed pattern of respiration in the presence of the competing electron acceptors Fe(III) and O₂.