Response of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to increased NADH and ATP demand

Adenosine phosphate and NAD cofactors play a vital role in the operation of cell metabolism, and their levels and ratios are carefully regulated in tight ranges. Perturbations of the consumption of these metabolites might have a great impact on cell metabolism and physiology. Here, we investigated the impact of increased ATP hydrolysis and NADH oxidation rates on the metabolism of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 by titration of 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) and overproduction of a water-forming NADH oxidase, respectively. Both perturbations resulted in a reduction of the biomass yield and, as a consequence of the uncoupling of catabolic and anabolic activities, in an amplification of the net NADH regeneration rate. However, a stimulation of the specific carbon uptake rate was observed only when P. putida was challenged with very high 2,4-dinitrophenol concentrations and was comparatively unaffected by recombinant NADH oxidase activity. This behavior contrasts with the comparably sensitive performance described, for example, for Escherichia coli or Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The apparent robustness of P. putida metabolism indicates that it possesses a certain buffering capacity and a high flexibility to adapt to and counteract different stresses without showing a distinct phenotype. These findings are important, e.g., for the development of whole-cell redox biocatalytic processes that impose equivalent burdens on the cell metabolism: stoichiometric consumption of (reduced) redox cofactors and increased energy expenditures, due to the toxicity of the biocatalytic compounds.