Effects of plant age and extraction conditions on the properties of homoserine dehydrogenase isolated from maize seedlings

Homoserine dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.3) was extracted from shoots of etiolated seedlings of Zea mays L. which had been grown for periods ranging from three to thirteen days. Both the amount of enzyme extracted and its regulatory properties, as measured by the sensitivity of the enzyme to inhibition by the feedback modulator, l-threonine, were found to be a function of seedling age and extraction conditions. Equivalent amounts of enzyme with similar properties could be isolated from young seedlings under a variety of conditions. Extraction media containing comparatively low concentrations of the buffer component and a high concentration of dithioerythritol were found to be required for optimum extraction of the enzyme from shoots of seedlings grown longer than four days and from leaves of light-grown plants. In the absence of dithioerythritol, diminished regulatory control was observed to be a direct function of seedling age. Evidence of rapid desensitization of the enzyme during extraction was obtained from experiments in which dithioerythritol was added to extracts prepared in the absence of a thiol compound. Therefore, previous observations of growth-dependent desensitization in a number of plants could be due to incomplete extraction or to changes in cellular factors which inactivate and/or alter the enzyme. Whether the enzyme itself becomes increasingly susceptible to alteration during seedling growth remains to be established.     

Changes in Enzyme Regulation during Growth of Maize: I. Progressive Desensitization of Homoserine Dehydrogenase during Seedling Growth

The sensitivity of homoserine dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.3) to inhibition by the feed-back modifier, l-threonine, was examined in preparations derived from etiolated shoots, roots, and lightgrown tissues of Zea mays L. var. earliking. A progressive decrease in enzyme sensitivity was observed during seedling growth. Enzyme derived from internode tissue retained a greater sensitivity to the effector than enzyme derived from apical portions of etiolated shoots, whereas enzyme from root tips was characteristically more sensitive than that prepared from mature cells of the root. Enzyme desensitization occurred rapidly during culture of excised shoots and the activities of both homoserine dehydrogenase and aspartokinase (EC 2.7.2.4) declined during shoot culture under a variety of conditions. The initial enzyme levels and the characteristic sensitivity of homoserine dehydrogenase were preserved during culture at 5 to 7 C, but desensitization was not prevented by inclusion of cycloheximide in the culture medium.Results of control experiments provide evidence that desensitization occurs in vivo. No alteration of the enzyme properties was detected during extraction or concentration of sensitive or insensitive enzyme or during coextraction of enzyme from mixed populations of different age shoots; nor was a differential distribution of inhibitors or activators indicated during assay of mixed preparations. The change in enzyme sensitivity was apparent under a variety of assay conditions and was not accompanied by changes in the apparent affinity of the enzyme for the substrate, homoserine. It is suggested that systematic changes in the regulatory characteristics of certain enzymes could be an important level of metabolic regulation during cellular differentiation.Three forms of maize homoserine dehydrogenaase were detected after acrylamide gel electrophoresis of samples derived from 72-hr shoots. Similar analysis of samples from older shoots revealed a broad asymmetric band of enzyme activity, suggesting that changes in the relative distribution of specific forms of the enzyme could be related to the growth-dependent changes in the sensitivity of maize homoserine dehydrogenase.     

Quantitative estimates of the distribution of homoserine dehydrogenase isozymes in maize tissues

The low molecular weight threonine-resistant (class I) and the higher molecular weight threonine-sensitive (class II/III) isozymes of homoserine dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.3) isolated from Zea mays L. were shown to differ in stability during incubations in the presence of urea. Class II/III was inactivated by urea in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, with complete inactivation occurring within 24 hours at 5 degrees C in 4.0 m urea. Under identical conditions, neither the activity nor the properties of class I were affected. Therefore, it was possible to estimate the amounts and properties of both maize isozymes in crude mixtures by measurements of enzyme activity before and after treatment with urea.The relative amounts of the two isozymes proved to be tissue-specific. When shoots of etiolated seedlings were extracted under optimum conditions, the resultant preparations contained about 16% class I and 84% class II/III. This distribution of isozymes, as well as the regulatory properties of class II/III, were constant during growth of the seedlings between 4 and 13 days. Enzyme preparations isolated from shoots of light-grown plants contained higher proportions of class I. The two isozymes were not uniformly distributed within leaves, as the basal meristematic region contained high levels of II/III and small amounts of I. During leaf maturation, the amount of II/III declined while the level of I remained constant or increased slightly. As a result, nearly half of the enzyme extracted from leaf tips was class I. The synthesis of specific members of the aspartate family of amino acids might be expected to differ when the ratio of threonine-sensitive to threonine-resistant homoserine dehydrogenase is altered. However, additional information on the subcellular localization and the catalytic characteristics of the two enzymes is required for evaluation of this possibility.     

Characterization of beta-glucosidases with high specificity for the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin in Sorghum bicolor (L.) moench seedlings

Two beta-glucosidases exhibiting high specificity for the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin have been purified to near homogeneity from seedlings of Sorghum bicolor. Dhurrinase 1 was isolated from shoots of seedlings grown in the dark. Dhurrinase 2 was isolated from the green shoots of young seedlings grown in the light. The two enzymes were similar in following characteristics: their optimum activity is around pH 6.2; the enzymes are stable above pH 7; they are effectively inhibited by the beta-glycosidase inhibitors nojirimycin delta-gluconolactone and 1-amino-beta-D-glucoside. On the other hand, they clearly differed in other properties, e.g., molecular weights, isoelectric points, and substrate specificity. Moreover, dithiothreitol has no effect on dhurrinase 1, but is necessary for the activity of dhurrinase 2. Preliminary investigations indicate that the two enzymes are located in different parts of the sorghum seedlings: dhurrinase 1 is found in the coleoptiles and hypocotyls; dhurrinase 2 occurs in the leaves. Dhurrin (p-hydroxy-(S)-mandelonitrile-beta-D-glucoside) and its structural analog without the hydroxyl group, sambunigrin, were the only substrates hydrolyzed at high rate, the Km values with both enzymes being 0.15 and 0.3 mM, respectively. All other cyanogenic glucosides tested, as well as synthetic substrates such as 4-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucoside, were in general poor substrates, especially for dhurrinase 1, the enzyme isolated from coleoptile and hypocotyl tissue. Dhurrinase 1 appears to exist within the seedlings as a tetramer (Mr - 2-2.4 X 10(5)) which dissociates without loss of activity into a dimeric form (Mr = 1-1.1 X 10(5)) upon extraction and purification. There is only one monomeric subunit with Mr = 5.7 X 10(4). Isolectric focusing and chromatofocusing of purified dhurrinase 1 showed the presence of at least three isomeric forms, but their relationship to each other is not known at the present time. Dhurrinase 2 appears to be a tetrameric protein with Mr = 2.5-3 X 10(5); it also has only one monomeric subunit of Mr = 6.1 X 10(4). In contrast to many other beta-glucosidases, the dhurrinases are not glycoproteins.     

Permease-specific mutations in Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli that release the glycerol, maltose, melibiose, and lactose transport systems from regulation by the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system.

Several carbohydrate permease systems in Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli are sensitive to regulation by the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system. Mutant Salmonella strains were isolated in which individual transport systems had been rendered insensitive to regulation by sugar substrates of the phosphotransferase system. In one such strain, glycerol uptake was insensitive to regulation; in another, the maltose transport system was resistant to inhibition; and in a third, the regulatory mutation specifically rendered the melibiose permease insensitive to regulation. An analogous mutation in E. coli abolished inhibition of the transport of beta-galactosides via the lactose permease system. The mutations were mapped near the genes which code for the affected transport proteins. The regulatory mutations rendered utilization of the particular carbohydrates resistant to inhibition and synthesis of the corresponding catabolic enzymes partially insensitive to repressive control by sugar substrates of the phosphotransferase system. Studies of repression of beta-galactosidase synthesis in E. coli were conducted with both lactose and isopropyl beta-thiogalactoside as exogenous sources of inducer. Employing high concentrations of isopropyl beta-thiogalactoside, repression of beta-galactosidase synthesis was not altered by the lactose-specific transport regulation-resistant mutation. By contrast, the more severe repression observed with lactose as the exogenous source of inducer was partially abolished by this regulatory mutation. The results support the conclusions that several transport systems, including the lactose permease system, are subject to allosteric regulation and that inhibition of inducer uptake is a primary cause of the repression of catabolic enzyme synthesis.     

Mitochondrial hexokinase activity in a murine hybridoma

Mitochondrially bound hexokinases are often found in cells exhibiting high rates of glycolysis. These enzymes have kinetic and regulatory properties that differ from cytosolic hexokinases. In this work, we present preliminary findings for a mitochondrially bound hexokinase in a murine hybridoma that is relatively insensitive to glucose-6-phosphate inhibition when compared to the cytosolic hexokinase. Additional regulatory data on the effects of glucose-1,6-diphosphate and adenosine diphosphate on both the mitochondrial and cytosolic forms of this enzyme are also presented.     

Functional rescue of a bacterial dapA auxotroph with a plant cDNA library selects for mutant clones encoding a feedback-insensitive dihydrodipicolinate synthase

Dihydrodipicolinate synthase (DHDPS; EC4.2.1.52) catalyses the first reaction of lysine biosynthesis in plants and bacteria. Plant DHDPS enzymes are strongly inhibited by lysine (I0.5 approximately 10 microM), whereas the bacterial enzymes are less (50-fold) or insensitive to lysine inhibition. We found that plant dhdps sequences expressing lysine-sensitive DHDPS enzymes are unable to complement a bacterial auxotroph, although a functional plant DHDPS enzyme is formed. As a consequence of this, plant dhdps cDNA clones which have been isolated through functional complementation using the DHDPS-deficient Escherichia coli strain encode mutated DHDPS enzymes impaired in lysine inhibition. The experiments outlined in this article emphasize that heterologous complementation can select for mutant clones when altered protein properties are requisite for functional rescue. In addition, the mutants rescued by heterologous complementation revealed a new critical amino acid substitution which renders lysine insensitivity to the plant DHDPS enzyme. An interpretation is given for the impaired inhibition mechanism of the mutant DHDPS enzyme by integrating the identified amino acid substitution in the DHDPS protein structure.     

Differential Regulation of Maize Homoserine Dehydrogenase under Physiological Conditions

Homoserine dehydrogenase is associated with the multibranched pathway of amino acid biosynthesis originating with aspartic acid. Like most of the related pathway enzymes, this enzyme is localized in chloroplasts. The activity and regulatory properties of the threonine-sensitive isozyme of homoserine dehydrogenase isolated from Zea mays var earliking were examined under variable conditions that could exist within chloroplasts. Catalytic activity is not significantly altered within the range of pHs that occur within these organelles, but inhibition of the enzyme by the pathway product, l-threonine, is markedly diminished at the alkaline pHs characteristic of illuminated chloroplasts. Inhibition by threonine is also subject to modulation by physiological levels of NADPH. Under conditions considered to represent the environment within unilluminated chloroplasts, the enzyme is severely inhibited by micromolar concentrations of threonine, but significant enzyme activity is retained under conditions that are likely to occur during illumination, even in the presence of millimolar levels of threonine. These results indicate that homoserine dehydrogenase may be subject to environmentally mediated regulation in vivo. Other observations support this concept and suggest that the intrinsic catalytic and regulatory properties of key enzymes could facilitate a direct link between light-dependent carbon and nitrogen assimilation and amino acid biosynthesis in chloroplasts of higher plants.     

Purification and characterization of aldehyde dehydrogenase from human brain

Aldehyde dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.3) has been purified from human brain; this constitutes the first purification to homogeneity from the brain of any mammalian species. Of the three isozymes purified two are mitochondrial in origin (Peak I and Peak II) and one is cytoplasmic (Peak III). By comparison of properties, the cytoplasmic Peak III enzyme could be identified as the same as the liver cytoplasmic E1 isozyme (N.J. Greenfield and R. Pietruszko (1977) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 483, 35-45). The Peak I and Peak II enzymes resemble the liver mitochondrial E2 isozyme, but both have properties that differ from those of the liver enzyme. The Peak I enzyme is extremely sensitive to disulfiram while the Peak II enzyme is totally insensitive; liver mitochondrial E2 isozyme is partially sensitive to disulfiram. The specific activity is 0.3 mumol/mg/min for the Peak I and 3.0 mumol/mg/min for the Peak II enzyme; the specific activity of the liver mitochondrial E2 isozyme is 1.6 mumol/min/mg under the same conditions. The Peak I enzyme is also inhibited by acetaldehyde at low concentrations, while the Peak II enzyme and the liver mitochondrial E2 isozyme are not inhibited under the same conditions. The precise relationship of brain Peak I and II enzymes to the liver E2 isozyme is not clear but it cannot be excluded at the present time that the two brain mitochondrial enzymes are brain specific.     

Use of monoclonal antibodies for the purification and characterization of the threonine-sensitive isozyme of maize homoserine dehydrogenase

Monoclonal antibodies, highly specific for the threonine-sensitive isozyme of maize homoserine dehydrogenase, have been prepared and utilized to purify the enzyme to homogeneity. The results of one- and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions indicate that the enzyme is composed of subunits of identical molecular weight. Apparent microheterogeneity of the subunits was observed during isoelectric focusing, but peptide maps generated by partial cleavage with three different chemical reagents did not reveal any differences among the proteins separated by isoelectric focusing. It is concluded that the subunits of the active dimeric and tetrameric configurations of the maize enzyme are identical or very similar. Evidence is presented which indicates that the enzyme purified by immunoaffinity chromatography retains all of the properties of freshly isolated enzyme, including the ability to undergo several ligand-induced slow transitions among four unique states and complex kinetic responses to physiological substrates. Two monoclonal antibodies are shown to interact differently with the purified enzyme. One, MC-11, reacts with all enzyme molecules, while the other, MC-3, is able to resolve two antigenically distinct subpopulations. These populations are present in approximately equal amounts in etiolated shoots and leaves of light-grown seedlings. However, the results of kinetic and hysteretic studies indicate that they are functionally indistinguishable. The antibodies appear to recognize a structural difference between the enzyme populations which does not result in detectable alterations in their catalytic or regulatory properties.     

Effect of water deficit on carbohydrate status and enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in seedlings of wheat cultivars

The effect of water deficit on carbohydrate status and enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism (alpha and beta amylases, sucrose phosphate synthase, sucrose synthase, acid and alkaline invertases) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was investigated in the seedlings of drought-sensitive (PBW 343) and drought-tolerant (C 306) cultivars. The water deficit was induced by adding 6% mannitol (water potential -0.815 Mpa) in the growth medium. The water deficit reduced starch content in the shoots of tolerant seedlings as compared to the sensitive ones, but increased sucrose content in the shoots and roots of tolerant seedlings, indicating their protective role during stress conditions. It also decreased the alpha-amylase activity in the endosperm of seedlings of both the cultivars, but increased alpha and beta amylase activities in the shoots of tolerant ones. Sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) activity showed a significant increase at 6 days of seedling growth (DSG) in the shoots of stressed seedlings of tolerant cultivar. However, SPS activity in the roots of stressed seedlings of sensitive cultivar was very low at 4 DSG and appeared significantly only at day 6. Sucrose synthase (SS) activity was lower in the shoots and roots of stressed seedlings of tolerant cultivar than sensitive ones at early stage of seedling growth. Higher acid invertase activity in the shoots of seedlings of tolerant cultivar appeared to be a unique characteristic of this cultivar for stress tolerance. Alkaline invertase activity, although affected under water deficit conditions, but was too low as compared to acid invertase activity to cause any significant affect on sucrose hydrolysis. In conclusion, higher sucrose content with high SPS and low acid invertase and SS activities in the roots under water deficit conditions could be responsible for drought tolerance of C 306.     

Regulatory properties of potato-Arabidopsis hybrid ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase

In higher plants, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADPGlc-PPase) is a heterotetrameric enzyme comprised of two small and two large subunits. Potato-Arabidopsis hybrid ADPGlc-PPases were generated and their regulatory properties analyzed. We show that ADPGlc-PPase subunits from two different species can interact, producing active enzymes with new regulatory properties. Depending on the subunit combinations, hybrid heterotetramers showed responses to allosteric effectors [3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA) and Pi] in the micromolar or millimolar range. While hybrid potato small subunit (PSS) and the Arabidopsis large subunit APL1 showed an extremely sensitive response to 3-PGA and Pi, hybrid PSS/Arabidopsis APL2 was very insensitive to them. Intermediate responses were determined for other subunit combinations.     

Alteration in the characters of CDP-choline synthetase and phospholipid-choline exchange enzyme upon choline starvation in Chinese hamster ovary cells

When CHO-K1 cells are cultivated under choline-deficient conditions, the specific activity of CDP-choline synthetase increases and conversely phospholipid-choline exchange enzyme activity decreases, whereas the other three known enzyme activities related to synthesis of phosphatidylcholine remain unchanged. The changes of the former two enzyme activities take place immediately after removal of choline from the medium. The altered activities readily revert to the control levels upon resupplementation of choline to the starved cell culture. The changes upon choline starvation are sensitive to cycloheximide, while the restoration processes are insensitive to the drug. The activity of CDP-choline synthetase in unstarved control cells is found in both the soluble and membrane fractions. The Km value of the enzyme in the soluble fraction for choline phosphate differs from that in the membrane fraction. Asolectin alters the Km value of the former to a value close to that of the latter and raises its Vmax value, whereas it hardly affects the Km and Vmax values of the latter. In choline-starved cells, the activity is exclusively found in the membrane fraction. The change in the subcellular distribution of the activity upon choline starvation is sensitive to cycloheximide. The altered subcellular distribution reverts to the initial status upon resupplementation of choline even in the presence of cycloheximide. The activity of the phospholipid-choline exchange enzyme is exclusively found in the membrane fraction for both starved and control cells. The properties of the enzyme are altered upon choline starvation with respect to the Vmax value for choline and the Km and Vmax values for Ca2+. These altered kinetic parameters are changed by egg yolk phosphatidylcholine so as to be indistinguishable from those in unstarved control cells. We discuss the mechanism of the alterations in the characters of both enzymes in response to choline starvation.     

Changes in Enzyme Regulation during Growth of Maize: II. Relationships among Multiple Molecular Forms of Homoserine Dehydrogenase

The relative contribution of each of several forms of homoserine dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.3) to the total enzyme population in etiolated shoots and in roots of Zea mays L. var. earliking was examined by the use of gel filtration chromatography and disc gel electrophoresis. In enzyme preparations derived from shoots of seedlings grown for 72, 120, or 168 hours, two molecular forms, II and III, which have the same apparent molecular weight but differ in net charge, contributed 75 to 80% of the total enzyme activity. A lower molecular weight species, form I, contributed 20 to 25% of the activity from 72-hour shoots, but was found to decrease concomitantly with a proportional increase in activity contributed by aggregated enzyme form(s) during shoot development. Form I contributed a comparatively larger fraction of the total enzyme activity in preparations of roots of 72-hour seedlings.     

Structure-function relationship in allosteric aspartate carbamoyltransferase from Escherichia coli. II. Involvement of the C-terminal region of the regulatory chain in homotropic and heterotropic interactions

The modified aspartate transcarbamylase (ATCase) encoded by the transducing phage described by Cunin et al. has been purified to homogeneity. In this altered form of enzyme (pAR5-ATCase) the last eight amino acids of the C-terminal end of the regulatory chains are replaced by a sequence of six amino acids coded for by the lambda DNA. This modification has very informative consequences on the allosteric properties of ATCase. pAR5-ATCase lacks the homotropic co-operative interactions between the catalytic sites for aspartate binding and is "frozen" in the R state. In addition, this altered form of enzyme is insensitive to the physiological feedback inhibitor CTP, in spite of the fact that this nucleotide binds normally to the regulatory sites. Conversely, pAR5-ATCase is fully sensitive to the activator ATP. However, this activation is limited to the extent of the previously described "primary effect" as expected from an ATCase form "frozen" in the R state. These results emphasize the importance of the three-dimensional structure of the C-terminal region of the regulatory chains for both homotropic and heterotropic interactions. In addition, they indicate that the primary effects of CTP and ATP involve different features of the regulatory chain-catalytic chain interaction area.     

Characterization of ligand-induced states of maize homoserine dehydrogenase

The threonine-sensitive homoserine dehydrogenase (L-homoserine: NAD(P)+ oxido-reductase), isolated from seedlings of Zea mays L., is characterized by variable kinetic and regulatory properties. Previous analysis of this enzyme suggested that it is capable of ligand-mediated interconversions among four kinetically distinct states (S. Krishnaswamy and J. K. Bryan (1983) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 222, 449-463). These forms of the enzyme have been identified and found to differ in oligomeric configuration and conformation. In the presence of KCl and threonine a rapid equilibrium among three species of the enzyme (B, T, and K) is established. Each of these species can undergo a unique slow transition to a steady-state form under assay conditions. Results obtained from gel-filtration chromatography and sucrose density centrifugation indicate that the B and steady-state forms are tetramers and the T and K states are dimers. Evidence is presented to indicate that the rapid conversion from one dimeric species to the other can only occur via formation of the tetrameric B state. Chromatography under reacting-enzyme conditions provides direct support for the slow formation of a common steady-state species from any one of the other forms of the enzyme. The rate of transition is influenced by threonine, homoserine, NAD+, and, for transitions involving association reactions, by enzyme concentration. Small, reproducible differences in the apparent size of the T and K forms, and the B and steady-state species, are attributed to changes in conformation. This conclusion is supported by differential susceptibility of the enzymic states to proteolytic inactivation, by different rates of inactivation by dithio-bis-nitrobenzoate, and by alterations in their thermal stability. In addition, the B, T, and K states of the enzyme exhibit unique intrinsic fluorescence spectra. Spectral changes are shown to closely parallel changes in kinetic and hysteretic properties of the enzyme. The results of diverse methods of analysis are internally consistent, and provide considerable support for the conclusion that this pleiotropic regulatory enzyme can exist in any of several physically distinct states.     

Different molecular forms of D-ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides.

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (Rbu-P2) carboxylase isolated from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides 2.4.1.Ga was separated into two different forms by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. Both forms, designated Peak I and Peak II have been purified to homogeneity by the criterion of polyacrylamide disc-gel electrophoresis. The Peak I carboxylase has a molecular weight of 550,000, while the Peak II carboxylase is a smaller protein having a molecular weight of approximately 360,000. Sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis revealed a large subunit for both enzymes which migrates similarly to the large subunit of spinach Rbu-P2 carboxylase. The Peak I enzyme also exhibited a small subunit having a molecular weight of 11,000. No evidence for a smaller polypeptide was found associated with the Peak II enzyme. Antisera prepared against the Peak I enzyme inhibited Peak I enzymatic activity, but had no effect on the activity of the Peak II enzyme. The two enzymes exhibited marked differences in catalytic properties. The Peak I enzyme exhibits optimal activity at pH 8.0 and is inhibited by low concentrations of 6-phosphogluconate, while the Peak II enzyme has a pH optimum of 7.2 and is relatively insensitive to 6-phosphogluconate.     

Serine 948 and threonine 1042 are crucial residues for allosteric regulation of Escherichia coli carbamoylphosphate synthetase and illustrate coupling effects of activation and inhibition pathways

Escherichia coli carbamoylphosphate synthetase (CPSase) is a key enzyme in the pyrimidine nucleotides and arginine biosynthetic pathways. The enzyme harbors a complex regulation, being activated by ornithine and inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP), and inhibited by UMP. CPSase mutants obtained by in vivo mutagenesis and selected on the basis of particular phenotypes have been characterized kinetically. Two residues, serine 948 and threonine 1042, appear crucial for allosteric regulation of CPSase. When threonine 1042 is replaced by an isoleucine residue, the enzyme displays a greatly reduced activation by ornithine. The T1042I mutated enzyme is still sensitive to UMP and IMP, although the effects of both regulators are reduced. When serine 948 is replaced by phenylalanine, the enzyme becomes insensitive to UMP and IMP, but is still activated by ornithine, although to a reduced extent. When correlating these observations to the structural data recently reported, it becomes clear that both mutations, which are located in spatially distinct regions corresponding respectively to the ornithine and the UMP/IMP binding sites, have coupled effects on the enzyme regulation. These results provide an illustration that coupling of regulatory pathways occurs within the allosteric subunit of E. coli CPSase.In addition, other mutants have been characterized, which display altered affinities for the different CPSase substrates and also slightly modified properties towards the allosteric effectors: P165S, P170L, A182V, P360L, S743N, T800F and G824D. Kinetic properties of these modified enzymes are also presented here and correlated to the crystal structure of E. coli CPSase and to the phenotype of the mutants.     

Interspecific Gene Transfer (Implications for Broadening Temperature Characteristics of Plant Metabolic Processes)

We report here an approach to metabolic engineering to alter the temperature characteristics of an enzyme pool based on the concept of thermal kinetics windows (TKWs), a useful indicator of enzyme performance. A chimeric cucumber NADH-hydroxypyruvate reductase (HPR) gene under the control of a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter was constructed and introduced into the genome of tobacco (Tobacum tobacum). The root system of the R1 generation of the resultant transgenic plants expresses only the cucumber enzyme (the native tobacco HPR gene is light regulated and only found in the aerial portions of the plant). Enzyme isolated from the transgenic root tissues exhibits a TKW centered at 32.5[deg]C, characteristic of cucumber. The pool of HPR in the shoots, containing both tobacco and cucumber enzymes, exhibits a broad TKW consistent with an equal mix of the two forms. These data do not simply demonstrate that an introduced gene can be expressed in a transgenic plant but that the kinetics properties of the resultant enzyme are unaltered and when sufficient enzyme is produced the temperature characteristics of the total pool are altered. This suggests that the temperature characteristics of plant biochemical pathways can be broadened to suit changing thermal environments.