A D-serine dehydratase acting also on L-serine from Klebsiella pneumoniae.

D-Serine dehydratase [EC 4.2.1.14] was purified from a strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae 140-fold from crude extract with a yield of 5%. This enzyme catalyzed formation of pyruvate and ammonia not only from D-serine but also from L-serine, and also catalyzed the formation of alpha-ketobutyrate and ammonia from D-threonine. Km values for D-serine, L-serine, and D-threonine were 2.8 mM, 20 mM, and 3.6 mM, respectively. Km for pyridoxal 5'-phosphate was 2.5 micron. The molecular weight was estimated to be 46,000 by Sephadex G-150 gel filtration and 40,000 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This enzyme was inducible by D-serine. Induction by casamino acids appeared to depend on the presence of D-serine.     

Preventing biofilm formation: promoting cell separation with terpenes

Both carveol and carvone were effective in dispersing Rhodococcus erythropolis cells that were being stimulated to aggregate by the presence of organic solvents. The two terpenes influenced the fatty acid composition of the cell membrane, decreasing the percentage of fatty acids with more than 16 carbon atoms, and thus cell hydrophobicity, and also the degree of saturation of the fatty acids. In the presence of 250 micromol of terpene, the volume of biofilm was reduced by one third in comparison with biofilms in the absence of terpenes. The percentage of aggregated cells was also found to depend on carvone concentration during the bioconversion of carveol to carvone, in a membrane reactor. The extent of cell aggregation decreased from 90% to 10% when carvone concentration reached ca. 48 mM in the organic phase.     

Oxidation and oxygenation of L-amino acids catalyzed by a L-phenylalanine oxidase (deaminating and decarboxylating) from Pseudomonas sp. P-501

A number of L-amino acids and derivatives were tested as substrates for the purified Pseudomonas L-phenylalanine oxidase. The reaction products of these amino acids were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography and the kinetic properties of the reactions were partially characterized. In addition to L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, DL-o-tyrosine, DL-m-tyrosine, p-fluoro-DL-phenylalanine and beta-2-thienyl-DL-alanine served as substrates for both oxidation and oxygenation catalyzed by the enzyme. On the other hand, L-methionine and L-norleucine were enzymically converted to the corresponding alpha-keto acids with the consumption of oxygen and with the formation of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide in stoichiometric amounts. Kinetic studies showed that the Km values for oxidation and oxygenation of L-phenylalanine by the enzyme were 2.04 mM and 1.96 mM for oxygen, and 13.3 microM and 11.1 microM for L-phenylalanine, respectively. omega-Phenyl fatty acids such as phenylacetic acid, 3-phenylpropionic acid and 4-phenylbutyric acid were competitive inhibitors of the enzyme towards L-phenylalanine. Both oxidation and oxygenation of L-phenylalanine by the enzyme were also inhibited by phenylacetic acid competitively.     

The mercuric and organomercurial detoxifying enzymes from a plasmid-bearing strain of Escherichia coli.

Two separate enzymes, which determine resistance to inorganic mercury and organomercurials, have been purified from the plasmid-bearing Escherichia coli strain J53-1(R831). The mercuric reductase that reduces Hg2+ to volatile Hg0 was purified about 240-fold from the 160,000 X g supernatant of French press disrupted cells. This enzyme contains bound FAD, requires NADPH as an electron donor, and requires the presence of a sulfhydryl compound for activity. The reductase has a Km of 13 micron HgCl2, a pH optimum of 7.5 in 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer, an isoelectric point of 5.3, a Stokes radius of 50 A, and a molecular weight of about 180,000. The subunit molecular weight, determined by gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, is about 63,000 +/- 2,000. These results suggest that the native enzyme is composed of three identical subunits. The organomercurial hydrolase, which breaks the mercury-carbon bond in compounds such as methylmercuric chloride, phenylmercuric acetate, and ethylmercuric chloride, was purified about 38-fold over the starting material. This enzyme has a Km of 0.56 micron for ethylmercuric chloride, a Km of 7.7 micron for methylmercuric chloride, and two Km values of 0.24 micron and over 200 micron for phenylmercuric acetate. The hydrolase has an isoelectric point of 5.5, requires the presence of EDTA and a sulfhydryl compound for activity, has a Stokes radius of 24 A, and has a molecular weight of about 43,000 +/- 4,000.     

Purification and characterization of bile acid-CoA:amino acid N-acyltransferase from rat liver

An in vitro study of bile acid-CoA:amino acid N-acyltransferase activity of rat liver was undertaken in order to determine whether separate amino acid-specific enzymes catalyzed the formation of glycine and taurine conjugates of bile acids as postulated by others. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of 200-fold purified enzyme localized the glycine- and taurine-dependent activities to a single band. Both activities were optimal at pH 7.8 and showed similar loss of activity at pH 6.0, pH 9.0, in the presence of 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid), and at temperatures exceeding 50 degrees. With the purified fraction, Km for glycine was 31 mM and Km for taurine was 0.8 mM. Km for several bile acid-CoA substrates was approximately 20 micron and independent of the amino acid acceptor. Only amino acids with terminal alpha- or beta-amino groups were active as acyl acceptors. Acyl donors were limited to bile acid-CoA derivatives. The data support the conclusion that the rat has a single bile acid-CoA:amino acid N-acyltransferase. The substrate kinetics are consistent with previous observations that taurine conjugates predominate in rat bile at normal hepatocellular concentrations of glycine and taurine.     

Purification and characterization of a novel enzyme, arylalkyl acylamidase, from Pseudomonas putida Sc2.

A novel enzyme, arylalkyl acylamidase, which shows a strict specificity for N-acetyl arylalkylamines, but not acetanilide derivatives, was purified from the culture broth of Pseudomonas putida Sc2. The purified enzyme appeared to be homogeneous, as judged by native and SDS/PAGE. The enzyme has a molecular mass of approximately 150 kDa and consists of four identical subunits. The purified enzyme catalyzed the hydrolysis of N-acetyl-2-phenylethylamine to 2-phenylethylamine and acetic acid at the rate of 6.25 mumol.min-1.mg-1 at 30 degrees C. It also catalyzed the hydrolysis of various N-acetyl arylalkylamines containing a benzene or indole ring, and acetic acid arylalkyl esters. The enzyme did not hydrolyze acetanilide, N-acetyl aliphatic amines, N-acetyl amino acids, N-acetyl amino sugars or acylthiocholine. The apparent Km for N-acetylbenzylamine, N-acetyl-2-phenylethylamine and N-acetyl-3-phenylpropylamine are 41 mM, 0.31 mM and 1.6 mM, respectively. The purified enzyme was sensitive to thiol reagents such as Ag2SO4, HgCl2 and p-chloromercuribenzoic acid, and its activity was enhanced by divalent metal ions such as Zn2+, Mg2+ and Mn2+.     

Properties of the thioesterase component obtained by limited trypsinization of the fatty acid synthetase multienzyme complex.

The fatty acid synthetase from lactating rat mammary gland is shown to consist of two polyfunctional polypeptides of similar molecular weight (about 220,000); a 4'-phosphopantetheine residue is covalently bound to one, or both subunits. Limited trypsinization of the fatty acid synthetase releases on enzymatically active thioesterase component which has been purified and its properties studied. The thioesterase sediments in the ultracentrifuge as a single component of molecular weight 32,000; its sedimentation coefficient is 2.9 x 10-(13) s its diffusion coefficient 5.0 x 10-(7) cm2 s-(1). The thioesterase also elutes from a column of Sephadex G-75 as a single, symmetrical peak of constant specific activity. However, electrophoresis of the denatured thioesterase in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate reveals that the enzyme has been partially nicked during isolation. The kinetic data of the enzyme reaction were studied using palmityl-CoA as a model substrate. Solvent pH was found to affect both Vmax and Km (Km = 0.5 micron at pH 6.6, 2.5 micron at pH 8.0) wereas solvent ionic strength affected Vmax but no Km. The thioesterases from the fatty acid synthetases of rat liver and lactating mammary gland have identical physical properties, identical amino acid compositions, and are immunologically indistinguishable. Both thioesterases hydrolyze long chain, in preference to short chain, thioesters of CoA, an observation consistent with their role in regulation of the chain-terminating step in fatty acid synthesis by the parent multienzyme complexes.     

A synthesis of acylphosphonic acids and of 1-aminoalkylphosphonic acids: the action of pyruvate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase on acetylphosphonic acid.

Acylphosphonic acids, R-CO-PO(OH)2, have been synthesized by the steps [formula: see text] of which the last is new and provides a mild method for de-esterifying acylphosphonic acids. Their reductive amination gives a simple way of making 1-aminoalkylphosphonic acids. Acetylphosphonic acid inhibited NAD+ reduction by pyruvate with the pyruvate dehydrogenases from Escherichia coli and Bacillus stearothermophilus. The inhibition was competitive with pyruvate, with Ki of 6 microM for the E. coli enzyme (pyruvate Km 0.5 mM) and one of 0.4 mM of the B. stearothermophilus enzyme (pyruvate Km 0.1 mM). Acetylphosphonate and its monomethyl ester are substates for pig heart lactate dehydrogenase, with Km values of 15 mM and 10 mM respectively (pyruvate Km 0.05 mM) and specificity constants one thousandth that for pyruvate.     

Lipid composition of the extracellular matrix of Botrytis cinerea germlings

Six simple lipid classes (mono-, di- and tri-acylglycerols, free fatty acids, free fatty alcohols and wax esters) were identified by TLC in the extracellular matrix of Botrytis cinerea germlings and the molecular components of each class were characterized using GC-MS. The relative amounts of fatty acids and fatty alcohols within each lipid class were determined by GC-FID. Over all the lipid classes, the most abundant saturated fatty acids were palmitic (ca. 30%) and stearic acid (ca. 22%). Palmitoleic and oleic acids made up ca. 21% and 24% (respectively) of the free fatty acids, while erucic (ca. 4.1%) and linoleic (ca. 3.6%) acids were the most abundant unsaturated fatty acids in the acylglycerides. The acylglycerides also contained almost 35% long chain fatty acids (C20:0 to C28:0). Six fatty acids were identified which had odd-numbered carbon chain lengths (C15:0, C17:0, C19:0, C21:0, C23:0 and C25:0). Of these, pentacosanoic acid made up almost 14% of the fatty acids in the acylglycerides. Three methyl-branched chain fatty acids, namely isopalmitic, isoheptadecanoic and anteisopalmitic, were identified in the ECM, all in small amounts. Of the fatty alcohols identified, only palmityl and stearyl alcohols were found in the free form (ca. 57% and 43%, respectively) but arachidyl alcohol (ca. 47%) and 1-octacosanol (ca. 30%) were the most abundant fatty alcohols found in the wax ester fraction.     

Esterification reactions catalyzed by lipases in microemulsions: the role of enzyme localization in relation to its selectivity

The activity of lipases from Rhizopus delemar, Rhizopus arrhizus, and Penicillium simplicissimum entrapped in microemulsions formulated by bis-(2-ethylhexyl)sulfo-succinate sodium salt (AOT) in isooctane has been studied in esterification reactions of various aliphatic alcohols with fatty acids. The effect of the nature of the fatty acids (chain length) and of the alcohols (primary, secondary, or tertiary; chain length; cyclic structures) on the lipase activities was investigated in relation to the reverse micellar structure. The lipases tested showed a selectivity regarding the structure of the substrates used when hosted in the AOT/isooctane microemulsion systems. Penicillium simplicissimum lipase showed higher reaction rates in the esterification of long chain alcohols as well as secondary alcohols. Primary alcohols had a low reaction rate and tertiary a very slow rate of esterification. Long chain fatty acids were better catalyzed as compared to the shorter ones. Rhizopus delemar and R. arrhizus lipases showed a preference for the esterification of short chain primary alcohols, while the secondary alcohols had a low rate of esterification and the tertiary ones could not be converted. The reaction of medium chain length fatty acids was also better catalyzed than in the case of the long ones. The observed lipase selectivity appeared to be related to the localization of the enzyme molecule within the micellar microstructure due to the hydrophobic/hydrophilic character of the protein. The reverse micellar structural characteristics, as well as the localization of the enzyme, were examined by fluorescence quenching measurements and spectroscopical studies. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Purification of a glutathione S-transferase and a glutathione conjugate-specific dehydrogenase involved in isoprene metabolism in Rhodococcus sp. strain AD45

A glutathione S-transferase (GST) with activity toward 1, 2-epoxy-2-methyl-3-butene (isoprene monoxide) and cis-1, 2-dichloroepoxyethane was purified from the isoprene-utilizing bacterium Rhodococcus sp. strain AD45. The homodimeric enzyme (two subunits of 27 kDa each) catalyzed the glutathione (GSH)-dependent ring opening of various epoxides. At 5 mM GSH, the enzyme followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics for isoprene monoxide and cis-1, 2-dichloroepoxyethane, with Vmax values of 66 and 2.4 micromol min-1 mg of protein-1 and Km values of 0.3 and 0.1 mM for isoprene monoxide and cis-1,2-dichloroepoxyethane, respectively. Activities increased linearly with the GSH concentration up to 25 mM. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that the product of GSH conjugation to isoprene monoxide was 1-hydroxy-2-glutathionyl-2-methyl-3-butene (HGMB). Thus, nucleophilic attack of GSH occurred on the tertiary carbon atom of the epoxide ring. HGMB was further converted by an NAD+-dependent dehydrogenase, and this enzyme was also purified from isoprene-grown cells. The homodimeric enzyme (two subunits of 25 kDa each) showed a high activity for HGMB, whereas simple primary and secondary alcohols were not oxidized. The enzyme catalyzed the sequential oxidation of the alcohol function to the corresponding aldehyde and carboxylic acid and followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with respect to NAD+ and HGMB. The results suggest that the initial steps in isoprene metabolism are a monooxygenase-catalyzed conversion to isoprene monoxide, a GST-catalyzed conjugation to HGMB, and a dehydrogenase-catalyzed two-step oxidation to 2-glutathionyl-2-methyl-3-butenoic acid.     

Phosphoglycerate mutase. Kinetics and effects of salts on the mutase and bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase activities of the enzyme from chicken breast muscle.

The steady state kinetics and effects of salts on chicken breast phosphoglycerate mutase have been examined. The enzyme can catalyze three phosphoryl transfer reactions: mutase, bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase, and bisphosphoglycerate synthase. The mutase rate was measured in the favorable direction (Keq = glycerate-3-P/glycerate-2-P approximately equal to 12) using [2T]glycerate-2-P as substrate. The bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase activity was studied in the presence of the activator, glycolate-2-P. The latter is an analog of the glycerate-P's and appears to act as an abortive mutase substrate. The kinetic pattern obtained with both activities is that of a ping-pong mechanism with inhibition by the second substrate occurring at a lower concentration than the Km value for that substrate. The kinetic parameters for the mutase determined in 50 mM N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl-2-amino]ethanesulfonate (TES)/sodium buffer containing 0.1 M KCl, pH 7.5, 25 degrees C are: Km glycerate-2,3-P2, 0.069 micron; Km glycerate-2-P, 14 micron; Km glycerate-3-P approximately 200 micron; Ki glycerate-2-P, 4 micron. The kinetic parameters for the phosphatase reaction in 50 mM triethanolamine/Cl- buffer, pH 7.5, 25 degrees C are: Km glycerate-2,3-P2, 0.065 micron:Km glycolate-2P, 479 micron; Ki glycolate-2-P, 135 micron. The enzyme is sensitive to changes in the ionic environment. Increasing salt concentrations activate the phosphatase in the presence of glycolate-2-P by decreasing the apparent Km of glycerate-2,3-P2. The effects are due to the anionic component and Cl- greater than acetate greater than TES. The same salts are competitive inhibitors with respect to glycolate-2-P. With high levels of KCl that produce a 30-fold decrease in the apparent maximal velocity due to competition with glycolate-2-P, the Km of glycerate-2,3-P2 remains low. These observations lead us to postulate that each monophosphoglycerate substrate has a separate site on the enzyme and that glycerate-2,3-P2 can bind to either site. The binding of anions to one site of the nonphosphorylated enzyme allows an increase in the on and off rates of glycerate-2,3-P2 at the alternate site. Salts inhibit the mutase reaction. The Km of glycerate-2,3-P2 is increased as is that of glycerate-2-P. The effect on the Km of glycerate-2,3-P2 is attributed to an increase in the off rate/on rate ratio for glycerate-2,3-P2. The bisphosphoglycerate synthase reaction is shown to require added glycerate-3-P. The equilibrium between enzyme and glycerate-1,3-P2 is favorable (Kdiss less than or equal 7 X 10(-8) M) and suggests that in the absence of a separate synthase this reaction may have functional significance.     

Esterification of chiral secondary alcohols with fatty acid in organic solvents by polyethylene glycol-modified lipase

Lipase from Pseudomonas fragi 22.39B was modified with polyethylene glycol. The modified lipase (PEG-lipase) was soluble and active in organic solvents such as benzene and 1,1,1-trichloroethane. PEG-lipase catalyzed esterification of chiral secondary alcohols with fatty acids in benzene and exhibited preference for R isomers over S isomers. Km and Vmax values for each isomer of various alcohols were obtained by kinetic study of the esterification in benzene. PEG-lipase-catalyzed esterification leads to optical resolution of a racemic alcohol.     

Sepharose-stearate as substrate for rat liver long-chain fatty acyl-CoA synthetase

Stearic acid coupled covalently to Sepharose 6B serves as substrate for thioesterification catalyzed by rat liver long-chain fatty acyl-CoA synthetase (ATP-forming) (EC 6.2.1.3). Availability as substrate is dependent upon the conservation of the free omega-terminal in addition to that of the free carboxyl function. The enzymatic overall formation of matrix-acyl-CoA in the presence of ATP and CoA as cosubstrates conforms to the stoichiometry reported for thioesterification of the free long-chain fatty acyl substrate. The preformed matrix-acyl-CoA serves as substrate for the backward synthetase reaction in the presence of AMP and PPi. The apparent Km values for ATP and CoA in the presence of the acyl matrix are similar to the respective Km values observed in the presence of the free acid substrate. The apparent Km for the acyl matrix is 10-fold higher (0.5 mM) than the apparent Km value for the free acid. The feasibility of enzymatic thioesterification of bound long-chain fatty acids implies that the exact nature of the bulky chain situated between the carboxy and omega-terminal plays a secondary role in defining the fatty acyl substrate specificity for long-chain fatty acyl-CoA synthetase. Also, dissociation of bound long-chain fatty acids does not constitute an obligatory preliminary step to fatty acid thioesterification.     

Purification and properties of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase from Proteus mirabilis.

gamma-Glutamyltranspeptidase was purified ca. 15,200-fold from cell-free extracts of Proteus mirabilis to electrophoretic homogeneity and then crystallized. The enzyme has an estimated molecular weight of 80,000 and consists of two different subunits with molecular weights of ca. 47,000 and 28,000. The purified enzyme catalyzed hydrolysis and transpeptidation of various gamma-glutamyl compounds, including the oxidized and reduced forms of glutathione, gamma-glutamyl compounds of L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, L-histidine, L-alpha-aminobutyrate, L-leucine, and p-nitroaniline. Glycylglycine, L-phenylalanine, L-methionine, L-histidine, L-tryptophan, and L-isoleucine were good acceptors of the gamma-glutamyl moiety in the transpeptidation reaction. Km values for gamma-glutamyl compounds were on the order of 10(-4) to 10(-5) M, and those for acceptor peptides and amino acids were on the order of 10(-2) to 10(-3) M. The enzyme was inhibited by L-serine plus borate and 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine, which are inhibitors of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidases isolated from mammals. Various amino acids alone were found to inhibit the transpeptidation competitively with a gamma-glutamyl donor. Kinetic analysis suggested that the reaction sequence of substrate binding and product release proceeds according to a ping pong bi bi mechanism.     

The dye-linked alcohol dehydrogenase of Rhodopseudomonas acidophila. Comparison with dye-linked methanol dehydrogenases.

1. A dye-linked alcohol dehydrogenase was purified 20-fold from extracts of Rhodopseudomonas acidophila 10050 grown anaerobically in the light on methanol/HCO3-. 2. The enzyme resembled many previously reported methanol dehydrogenases from other methylotrophic organisms in coupling to phenazine methosulphate, requiring ammonia as an activator, possessing a pH optimum of 9 and a mol.wt. of approx. 116000. In many other respects the enzyme showed singular properties. 3. The stability of the enzyme under various conditions of temperature and pH was studied. 4. Primary aliphatic amines containing up to nine carbon atoms (the longest tested) were better activators than ammonia. 5. A wide range of primary alcohols and aldehydes served as substrates, with apparent Km values ranging from 57 mM for methanol to 6 micron for ethanol. 6. O2 was an inhibitor competitive with respect to the alcohol substrate. In the presence of O2, apparent Km values of 145 mM were recorded for methanol. 6. Cyanide and alphaalpha'-bipyridine were inhibitors competitive with respect to the amine activator. 7. The properties of the enzyme from Rhodopseudomonas acidophila are compared with those of similar enzymes from other organisms, and implications of the salient differences are discussed.     

Purification to homogeneity and characterization of major fatty acid ethyl ester synthase from human myocardium

Non-oxidative metabolism of ethanol via fatty acid ethyl ester synthase is present in those extrahepatic organs most commonly damaged by alcohol abuse. DEAE-cellulose chromatography of human myocardial cytosol at pH 8.0 separated synthase I, minor and major activities, eluting at conductivities of 5, 7 and 11 mS, respectively. The major synthase was purified 8900-fold to homogeneity by sequential gel permeation, hydrophobic interaction, and anti-human albumin affinity-chromatographies with an overall yield of 25%. SDS-PAGE showed a single polypeptide with a molecular mass of 26 kDa and gel permeation chromatography under nondenaturing conditions indicated a molecular mass of 54 kDa for the active enzyme. The purified enzyme catalyzed ethyl ester synthesis at the highest rates with unsaturated octadecanoic fatty acid substrates (Vmax = 100 and 65 nmol/mg/h for oleate and linoleate, respectively). Km values for oleate, linoleate, arachidonate, palmitate and stearate were 0.22 mM, 0.20 mM, 0.13 mM, 0.18 mM and 0.12 mM, respectively. Thus, human heart fatty acid ethyl ester synthase (major form) is a soluble dimeric enzyme comprised or two identical, or nearly identical, subunits (Mr = 26000).     

Channeling of 3-hydroxy-4-trans-decenoyl coenzyme A on the bifunctional beta-oxidation enzyme from rat liver peroxisomes and on the large subunit of the fatty acid oxidation complex from Escherichia coli

Rates of the NAD+-dependent oxidation of 2-trans,4-trans-decadienoyl-CoA, a metabolite of trans-omega-6-unsaturated fatty acids, catalyzed by the mitochondrial enoyl-CoA hydratase plus 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase and by the corresponding enzymes from peroxisomes, as well as Escherichia coli, were compared. The study of the mitochondrial system revealed that the conventional kinetic theory of coupled enzyme reactions cannot be applied to systems in which the primary reaction has a small equilibrium constant, and/or the concentration of coupling enzyme is higher than 0.01 Km for the intermediate and higher than the steady-state concentration of the intermediate. In contrast to the results obtained with the mitochondrial beta-oxidation system of unlinked enzymes, the steady-state velocities of 2-trans,4-trans-decadienoyl-CoA degradation catalyzed by either the peroxisomal bifunctional enzyme or by the E. coli fatty acid oxidation complex were found to be equal to the activities of enoyl-CoA hydratase even though the concentration of coupling enzyme was equal to that of the primary enzyme, and the quotient of Vmax/Km for the dehydration of 3-hydroxy-4-trans-decenoyl-CoA is much larger than the Vmax/Km for its dehydrogenation. The extraordinarily high efficiencies of these two multifunctional proteins in catalyzing the degradation of 2-trans,4-trans-decadienoyl-CoA is best explained by the direct transfer of the 3-hydroxy-4-trans-decenoyl-CoA intermediate from the active site of enoyl-CoA hydratase to that of 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase. The discovery of an intermediate channeling mechanism on the peroxisomal bifunctional enzyme explains on the molecular level why the peroxisomal beta-oxidation system is well suited for the degradation of trans-fatty acids.     

Mammalian wax biosynthesis. II. Expression cloning of wax synthase cDNAs encoding a member of the acyltransferase enzyme family

Wax monoesters are synthesized by the esterification of fatty alcohols and fatty acids. A mammalian enzyme that catalyzes this reaction has not been isolated. We used expression cloning to identify cDNAs encoding a wax synthase in the mouse preputial gland. The wax synthase gene is located on the X chromosome and encodes a member of the acyltransferase family of enzymes that synthesize neutral lipids. Expression of wax synthase in cultured cells led to the formation of wax monoesters from straight chain saturated, unsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty alcohols and acids. Polyisoprenols also were incorporated into wax monoesters by the enzyme. The wax synthase had little or no ability to synthesize cholesteryl esters, diacylglycerols, or triacylglycerols, whereas other acyltransferases, including the acyl-CoA:monoacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 and 2 enzymes and the acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 and 2 enzymes, exhibited modest wax monoester synthesis activities. Confocal light microscopy indicated that the wax synthase was localized in membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum. Wax synthase mRNA was abundant in tissues rich in sebaceous glands such as the preputial gland and eyelid and was present at lower levels in other tissues. Coexpression of cDNAs specifying fatty acyl-CoA reductase 1 and wax synthase led to the synthesis of wax monoesters. The data suggest that wax monoester synthesis in mammals involves a two step biosynthetic pathway catalyzed by fatty acyl-CoA reductase and wax synthase enzymes.     

Characterization of a fatty acyl-CoA reductase from Marinobacter aquaeolei VT8: a bacterial enzyme catalyzing the reduction of fatty acyl-CoA to fatty alcohol

Fatty alcohols are of interest as a renewable feedstock to replace petroleum compounds used as fuels, in cosmetics, and in pharmaceuticals. One biological approach to the production of fatty alcohols involves the sequential action of two bacterial enzymes: (i) reduction of a fatty acyl-CoA to the corresponding fatty aldehyde catalyzed by a fatty acyl-CoA reductase, followed by (ii) reduction of the fatty aldehyde to the corresponding fatty alcohol catalyzed by a fatty aldehyde reductase. Here, we identify, purify, and characterize a novel bacterial enzyme from Marinobacter aquaeolei VT8 that catalyzes the reduction of fatty acyl-CoA by four electrons to the corresponding fatty alcohol, eliminating the need for a separate fatty aldehyde reductase. The enzyme is shown to reduce fatty acyl-CoAs ranging from C8:0 to C20:4 to the corresponding fatty alcohols, with the highest rate found for palmitoyl-CoA (C16:0). The dependence of the rate of reduction of palmitoyl-CoA on substrate concentration was cooperative, with an apparent K(m) ~ 4 μM, V(max) ~ 200 nmol NADP(+) min(-1) (mg protein)(-1), and n ~ 3. The enzyme also reduced a range of fatty aldehydes with decanal having the highest activity. The substrate cis-11-hexadecenal was reduced in a cooperative manner with an apparent K(m) of ~50 μM, V(max) of ~8 μmol NADP(+) min(-1) (mg protein)(-1), and n ~ 2.