Decreasing peptide deformylase activity is a beneficial strategy for increasing formaldehyde resistance via global reprogramming in Methylobacterium extorquens

Transcriptomic analysis of the defevo strain indicates there are pleiotropic effects of this mutation and a differential response to formaldehyde stress. We investigate possible mechanisms for the defevo mutant’s increased resistance to formaldehyde, including mitigation of formaldehyde-induced protein stress and altered membrane physiology. We find that the defevo allele selectively alleviates exogenous, but not endogenous, formaldehyde stress and identify a tradeoff in heat shock resistance.

This study reports the first observation of lowered PDF activity benefiting a cellular physiological phenotype. Our work indicates that altered protein metabolism can mitigate the toxic effects of formaldehyde and furthers our understanding of the strategies that can protect cells from formaldehyde-induced damage.