Characterization and kinetic analysis of enzyme–substrate recognition by three recombinant lactococcal tripeptidases

Tripeptidases from Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis (L9PepTR), L. lactis subsp. cremoris (L6PepTR), and L. lactis subsp. hordniae (hTPepTR) were cloned, overexpressed, purified, and characterized. Although these enzymes contained three to seven naturally occurring amino acid differences, both metal-binding and catalytic sites were highly conserved. The k_cat values of hTPepTR were approximately 1.5- to 2-fold higher than those of L9PepTR, while, for L6PepTR, they were approximately 0.8- to 1.4-times the L9PepTR values. The K_m of tripeptidase from subsp. lactis (L9PepTR) was considerably larger when glycine was the amino acid located at both the N- and C-terminus of the peptide substrate. In addition, the K_m values of L9PepTR increased in the following order for YGG, LGG, FGG, SGG, and α-aminoisobutyrylglycylglycine, while the k_cat/K_m decreased in the same order. These results suggest that the dipole moment and steric hindrance of the N-terminal amino acid side chain may be the most important factors controlling substrate specificity.