Pseudomonas putida KT2440 response to nickel or cobalt induced stress by quantitative proteomics

Nickel and cobalt are obligate nutrients for the gammaproteobacteria but when present at high concentrations they display toxic effects. These two metals are present in the environment, their origin being either from natural sources or from industrial use. In this study, the effect of inhibitory concentrations of Ni or Co was assessed on the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440 using a proteomic approach. The identification of more than 400 spots resulted in the quantification of 160 proteins that underwent significant variations in cells exposed to Co and Ni. This analysis allowed us to depict the cellular response of P. putida cells toward metallic stress. More precisely, the parallel comparison of the two proteomes showed distinct responses of P. putida to Ni or Co toxicity. The most striking effect of Co was revealed by the accumulation of several proteins involved in the defense against oxidative damage, which include proteins involved in the detoxification of the reactive oxygen species, superoxides and peroxides. The up-regulation of the genes encoding these enzymes was confirmed using qRT-PCR. Interestingly, in the Ni-treated samples, sodB, encoding superoxide dismutase, was up-regulated, indicating the apparition of superoxide radicals due to the presence of Ni. However, the most striking effect of Ni was the accumulation of several proteins involved in the synthesis of amino acids. The measurement of the amount of amino acids in Ni-treated cells revealed a strong accumulation of glutamate.