Mutations affecting the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase complex of Escherichia coli

A strain carrying a point mutation affecting the NADH dehydrogenase complex of Escherichia coli has been isolated and its properties examined. The gene carrying the mutation (designated ndh) was located on the E. coli chromosome at about minute 23 and was shown to be cotransducible with the pyrC gene. Strain carrying the ndh- allele were found to be unable to grow on mannitol and to grow very poorly on glucose unless the medium was supplemented with succinate, acetate or casamino acids. The following properties of strains carrying the ndh- allele were established which suggest that the mutation affects the NADH dehydrogenase complex but apparently not the primary dehydrogenase. Membrane preparations possess normal to elevated levels of D-lactate oxidase and succinate oxidase activities but NADH oxidase is absent. NADH is unable to reduce ubiquinone in the aerobic steady state and reduces cytochrome b very slowly when the membranes become anaerobic. NADH dehydrogenase, measured as NADH-dichlorophenolindophenol reductase is reduced but not absent. NADH oxidase is stimulated by menadione although not by Q-3 or MK-1 and in the presence of menadione, cytochrome b is reduced normally by NADH. Further mutants affected in NADH oxidase were isolated using a screening procedure based on the growth characteristics of the original ndh- strain. The mutantions carried by these strains were all cotransducible with the pyrC gene and the biochemical properties of the additional mutants were similar to those of the original mutant. The properties of the group of ndh- mutants established so far suggest that they are affected in the transfer of reducing equivalents from the NADH dehydrogenase complex to ubiquinone.