Vanadium-binding protein excreted by vanadate-reducing bacteria.

A vanadium-binding protein was isolated from the culture medium of the vanadium-reducing bacterium Pseudomonas isachenkovii by utilizing vanadate as the terminal electron acceptor upon anaerobic respiration. The protein was associated with vanadium at a molar ratio of approximately 1:20. It was purified to homogeneity and separated into three components by treatment with 1 M HCl followed by gel filtration: a protein, a vanadium-binding ligand, and inorganic vanadium. Electron paramagnetic resonance analysis showed that vanadium was associated with the protein in the 4+ oxidation state. The distribution of vanadium within the cell was studied by electron microscopy and x-ray microanalysis of P. isachenkovii cells. The results suggest that vanadium, accumulated in special swells on the surface of the cell membranes, is reduced and excreted to the medium.