Abstract
Catalases are key antioxidant enzymes in aerobic organisms.
Myxococcus xanthus expresses two monofunctional catalases,
small-subunit Cat1 and large-subunit Cat2. The Km of
H2O2 for recombinant Cat1 and Cat2 were 14.0 and 9.0 mM,
respectively, and the catalytic efficiency of Cat2 (kcat/Km =
500 sec-1 mM-1) was 4-fold higher than that of Cat1. The activity
ratio of Cat1 to Cat2 in the exponential growth phase
of M. xanthus was 1 to 3–4. A Cat1-deficient strain was constructed,
whereas a Cat2-deficient strain could not be produced.
In H2O2-supplemented medium, the cat1 mutant exhibited
marked growth retardation and a longer generation
time than the wild-type (wt) strain. After 2 h of incubation
in 0.5 mM H2O2-supplemented medium, the catalase activity
of the wt strain significantly increased (by 64-fold), but that
of the cat1 mutant strain did not. Under starvation-induced
developmental conditions, catalase activity was induced by
approximately 200-fold in both wt and cat1 strains, although
in the mutant the activity increase as well as spore formation
occurred one day later, indicating that the induction of catalase
activity during starvation was due to Cat2. In wt starved
cells, catalase activity was not induced by H2O2. These results
suggest that Cat2 is the primary housekeeping catalase
during M. xanthus growth and starvation-induced development,
whereas Cat1 may have a complementary role, being
responsible for the rapid degradation of H2O2 in proliferating
vegetative cells subjected to oxidative stress.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by

- Global copper response of the soil bacterial predator Myxococcus xanthus and its contribution to antibiotic cross-resistance
Francisco Javier Marcos-Torres, Juana Pérez, David Torrens-González, Miguel Ángel García-Pedrosa, Francisco Javier Contreras-Moreno, Aurelio Moraleda-Muñoz
Microbiological Research.2026; 302: 128357. CrossRef -
The APSES transcription factor Swi6B upregulates
CATALASE 1
transcription to enhance oxidative stress tolerance of
Ganoderma lucidum
Lingshuai Wang, Lingyan Shi, Shuhan Zhang, Jiping Ma, Cheng Zhang, Huhui Chen, Mingwen Zhao, Yvonne Nygård
Applied and Environmental Microbiology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef - Toxic effects of anionic polyacrylamide on the developmental stages of Oryzias melastigma embryos and larvae
Xinya Zhao, Jiangwei Zan, Zhaohui Sun, Xiangping Xue, Hai Ren, Huiru Fu, Fei Si, Xiaomin Jin
Aquatic Toxicology.2025; 284: 107402. CrossRef - Effects of Vibrio harveyi and oligochitosan non-specific immune response of hybrid groupers (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ♀ × Epinephelus lanceolatus ♂) supplementation
Lixin Ma, Zhilong Chen, Hao Zhao, Xiaomin Zheng, Yutao Li, Zhendong Qin, Li Lin, Fei Shi
Aquaculture International.2025;[Epub] CrossRef - Enzymatic characterization of five thioredoxins and a thioredoxin reductase from Myxococcus xanthus
Ryota Tanifuji, Yoshio Kimura
FEMS Microbiology Letters.2024;[Epub] CrossRef - Overexpression of cat2 restores antioxidant properties and production traits in degenerated strains of Volvariella volvacea
Jianing Zhu, Wenpei Wang, Wanhe Sun, Yuanxi Lei, Qiangfei Tan, Gahong Zhao, Jianmin Yun, Fengyun Zhao
Free Radical Biology and Medicine.2024; 215: 94. CrossRef - Alleviation of H2O2 toxicity by extracellular catalases in the phycosphere of Microcystis aeruginosa
Yerim Park, Wonjae Kim, Yeji Cha, Minkyung Kim, Woojun Park
Harmful Algae.2024; 137: 102680. CrossRef - Cis-3-Indoleacrylic Acid: A Nematicidal Compound from Streptomyces youssoufiensis YMF3.862 as V-ATPase Inhibitor on Meloidogyne incognita
Min Chen, Ying Huang, Li Ma, Jian-Jin Liu, Yi Cao, Pei-Ji Zhao, Ming-He Mo
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.2024; 72(44): 24347. CrossRef - Broad-spectrum ROS autonomous scavenging polysaccharide-based vehicle to improve the bioactivity of blueberry anthocyanidins through intestinal synergistic mucoadhesion
Jingwen Xu, Yue Zhang, Xiaolin Yao, Sijuan Wang, Guangwen Luo, Kaiqiang Lv, Yongkang Zhang, Guoliang Li
Food Hydrocolloids.2024; 152: 109899. CrossRef - Polyphosphate Plays a Significant Role in the Maturation of Spores in Myxococcus xanthus
Daiki Harita, Hiroka Matsukawa, Yoshio Kimura
Current Microbiology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef - Discovery of 2-Naphthol from the Leaves of Actephila merrilliana as a Natural Nematicide Candidate
Xi Zhang, Zhan Hu, Shuai Wang, Fengman Yin, Yuyang Wei, Jia Xie, Ranfeng Sun
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.2023; 71(36): 13209. CrossRef