Structure of hemocyanin II from the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. Sequences of the overlapping peptides, ordering the CNBr fragments, and the complete amino acid sequence

The amino acid sequence of the largest fragment, CNBr Ia (203 residues) has been reported (Yokota, E., and Riggs, A. F. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 4739-4749). The amino acid sequences of the second largest fragment, CNBr Ib (142 residues), and of the 12 smaller fragments are reported in accompanying papers (Moore, M. D., Behrens, P. Q., and Riggs, A. F. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 10511-10519; Behrens, P. Q., Nakashima, H., and Riggs, A. F. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 10520-10525). The complete amino acid sequence of hemocyanin component II has been established by isolation and analysis of 13 methionine-containing peptides from either a tryptic digest or a Staphylococcus aureus strain V8 protease digest of whole carboxamidomethylated hemocyanin II. Hemocyanin II is composed of 628 residues and has a molecular weight with two copper atoms of 72,946.     

The structure of hemocyanin II from the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. The amino acid sequence of the second largest cyanogen bromide fragment

Fourteen fragments have been isolated from hemocyanin component II of Limulus polyphemus by cleavage with CNBr. The amino acid sequence of the largest fragment, CNBr Ia has been reported (Yokota, E., and Riggs, A. F. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 4739-4749). The amino acid sequence of the 12 smaller fragments is reported in an accompanying paper (Moore, M. D., Behrens, P. Q., and Riggs, A. F. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 10511-10519). We have determined the amino acid sequence of the second largest fragment, CNBr Ib. The fragment contains 142 residues and has a molecular weight of 16,095.     

Analysis of sequence homologies in plant and bacterial pyruvate phosphate dikinase, enzyme I of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate: sugar phosphotransferase system and other PEP-utilizing enzymes. Identification of potential catalytic and regulatory motifs

In this paper we report the amino acid sequence of pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK) from Bacteroides symbiosus as determined from the nucleotide sequence of the PPDK gene. Comparison of the B. symbiosus PPDK amino acid sequence with that of the maize PPDK [Matsuoka, M., Ozeki, Y., Yamamoto, N., Hirano, H., Kamo-Murakami, Y., & Tanaka, Y. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 11080] revealed long stretches of homologous sequence (greater than 70% identity), which contributed to an overall sequence identity of 53%. The circular dichrosim spectra, hydropathy profiles, and calculated secondary structural elements of the two dikinases suggest that they may have very similar tertiary structures as well. A comparison made between the amino acid sequence of the maize and B. symbiosus dikinase with other known protein sequences revealed homology, concentrated in three stretches of sequences, to a mechanistically related enzyme, enzyme I of the Escherichia coli PEP: sugar phosphotransferase system [Saffen, D. W., Presper, K. A., Doering, T. L., Roseman, S. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 16241]. It is proposed that (i) these three stretches of sequence constitute the site for PEP binding and catalysis and a possible site for the regulation of enzymatic activity and (ii) the conserved sequences exist in a third mechanistically related enzyme, PEP synthase.     

Streptococcal phosphoenolpyruvate-sugar phosphotransferase system: amino acid sequence and site of ATP-dependent phosphorylation of HPr

The amino acid sequence of histidine-containing protein (HPr) from Streptococcus faecalis has been determined by direct Edman degradation of intact HPr and by amino acid sequence analysis of tryptic peptides, V8 proteolytic peptides, thermolytic peptides, and cyanogen bromide cleavage products. HPr from S. faecalis was found to contain 89 amino acid residues, corresponding to a molecular weight of 9438. The amino acid sequence of HPr from S. faecalis shows extended homology to the primary structure of HPr proteins from other bacteria. Besides the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation of a histidyl residue in HPr, catalyzed by enzyme I of the bacterial phosphotransferase system, HPr was also found to be phosphorylated at a seryl residue in an ATP-dependent protein kinase catalyzed reaction [Deutscher, J., & Saier, M. H., Jr. (1983) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 6790-6794]. The site of ATP-dependent phosphorylation in HPr of S. faecalis has now been determined. [32P]P-Ser-HPr was digested with three different proteases, and in each case, a single labeled peptide was isolated. Following digestion with subtilisin, we obtained a peptide with the sequence -(P)Ser-Ile-Met-. Using chymotrypsin, we isolated a peptide with the sequence -Ser-Val-Asn-Leu-Lys-(P)Ser-Ile-Met-Gly-Val-Met-. The longest labeled peptide was obtained with V8 staphylococcal protease. According to amino acid analysis, this peptide contained 36 out of the 89 amino acid residues of HPr. The following sequence of 12 amino acid residues of the V8 peptide was determined: -Tyr-Lys-Gly-Lys-Ser-Val-Asn-Leu-Lys-(P)Ser-Ile-Met-.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

cDNA cloning of the beta-subunit of the rat gastric H,K-ATPase

A cDNA encoding the beta-subunit of the rat gastric H,K-ATPase has been identified using oligonucleotide probes based on the amino acid sequences of two peptides from the pig H,K-ATPase beta-subunit (Hall, K., Perez, G., Anderson, D., Gutierrez, C., Munson, K., Hersey, S. J., Kaplan, J. H., and Sachs, G. (1990) Biochemistry 29, 701-706). The nucleotide sequence of the 1.3-kilobase cDNA has been determined and the primary structure of the protein deduced. The protein consists of 294 amino acids and has an Mr of 33,625. The amino acid sequence of the H,K-ATPase beta-subunit is similar to those of the beta 1 (29% identity) and beta 2 (37% identity) subunits of the Na,K-ATPase. Based on the hydropathy profile it seems to have the same transmembrane organization as the Na,K-ATPase beta-subunit, with a single membrane-spanning domain near the amino terminus. Seven potential N-linked glycosylation sites are located in the putative extracellular regions of the protein. Northern blot analyses of poly(A)+ RNAs from 13 tissues demonstrate that the H,K-ATPase beta-subunit mRNA is expressed at high level in stomach and is not expressed in any of the other tissues.     

Expression and cloning of complementary DNA for a human enzyme that repairs O6-methylguanine in DNA

A cell line with an increased resistance to alkylating agents and an extremely high level of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase activity was isolated after transfection of methyltransferase-deficient Mer- cells with a cDNA library, prepared from methyltransferase-proficient human Mer+ (Raji) cells. Sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that a protein, with a molecular weight of approximately 25,000, accepted 3H label from DNA that had been treated with [3H]methylnitrosourea. Since the cDNA for methyltransferase was integrated into the chromosomal DNA, it was recovered by using the polymerase chain reaction. When the cDNA placed in an expression vector p500 was introduced into Mer- cells, the cells acquired an increased resistance to alkylating agents and exhibited a high level of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase activity. From the transformants the cDNA could be recovered as a part of the autonomously replicating plasmid. The nucleotide sequence of the cDNA was determined, and an open reading frame comprising 207 amino acid residues was found. The molecular weight of methyltransferase, calculated from the predicted amino acid sequence, was 21,700. The predicted amino acid sequence of the human methyltransferase exhibits an intensive homology with those of the bacterial counterparts, Ada and Ogt proteins of Escherichia coli and Dat protein of Bacillus subtilis, especially around possible methyl acceptor sites.     

Scission of the lactyl ether bond of N-acetylmuramic acid by Escherichia coli "etherase"

The ubiquitous bacterial cell wall sugar N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc) carries a unique D-lactyl ether substituent at the C3 position. Recently, we proposed an etherase capable of cleaving this lactyl ether to be part of the novel bacterial MurNAc dissimilation pathway (Dahl, U., Jaeger, T., Nguyen, B. T., Sattler, J. M., Mayer, C. (2004) J. Bacteriol. 186, 2385-2392). Here, we report the identification of the first known MurNAc etherase. The encoding gene murQ is located at 55 min on the Escherichia coli chromosome adjacent to murP, the MurNAc-specific phosphotransferase system. A murQ deletion mutant could not grow on MurNAc as the sole source of carbon and energy but could be complemented by expressing murQ from a plasmid. The mutant had no obvious phenotype when grown on different carbon sources but accumulated MurNAc 6-phosphate at millimolar concentrations from externally supplied MurNAc. Purified MurQ-His6 fusion protein and extracts of cells expressing murQ both catalyze the cleavage of MurNAc 6-phosphate, with GlcNAc 6-phosphate and D-lactate being the primary products. The 18O label from enriched water is incorporated into the sugar molecule, showing that the C3-O bond is cleaved and reformed by the enzyme. Moreover, an intermediate was detected and identified as an unsaturated sugar molecule. Based on this observation, we suggested a lyase-type mechanism (beta-elimination/hydration) for the cleavage of the lactyl ether bond of MurNAc 6-phosphate. Close homologs of murQ were found on the chromosome of several bacteria, and amino acid sequence similarity with the N-terminal domain of human glucokinase-regulatory protein (GckR or GKRP) was recognized.     

The delta'-subunit of higher plant six-subunit mitochondrial F1-ATPase is homologous to the delta-subunit of animal mitochondrial F1-ATPase.

Mitochondrial F1-ATPases purified from several dicotyledonous plants contain six different subunits of alpha, beta, gamma, delta, delta' and epsilon. Previous N-terminal amino acid sequence analyses indicated that the gamma-, delta-, and epsilon-subunits of the sweet potato mitochondrial F1 correspond to the gamma-subunit, the oligomycin sensitivity-conferring protein and the epsilon-subunit of animal mitochondrial F1F0 complex (Kimura, T., Nakamura, K., Kajiura, H., Hattori, H., Nelson, N., and Asahi, T. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 3183-3186). However, the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the delta'-subunit did not show any obvious homologies with known protein sequences. A cDNA clone for the delta'-subunit of the sweet potato mitochondrial F1 was identified by oligonucleotide-hybridization selection of a cDNA library. The 1.0-kilobase-long cDNA contained a 600-base pair open reading frame coding for a precursor for the delta'-subunit. The precursor for the delta'-subunit contained N-terminal presequence of 21-amino acid residues. The mature delta'-subunit is composed of 179 amino acids and its sequence showed similarities of about 31-36% amino acid positional identity with the delta-subunit of animal and fungal mitochondrial F1 and about 18-25% with the epsilon-subunit of bacterial F1 and chloroplast CF1. The sweet potato delta'-subunit contains N-terminal sequence of about 45-amino acid residues that is absent in other related subunits. It is concluded that the six-subunit plant mitochondrial F1 contains the subunit that is homologous to the oligomycin sensitivity-conferring protein as one of the component in addition to five subunits that are homologous to subunits of animal mitochondrial F1.     

Isolation, nucleotide sequence, and expression of a cDNA encoding pig citrate synthase

Citrate synthase is a key enzyme of the Krebs tricarboxylic acid cycle and catalyzes the stereospecific synthesis of citrate from acetyl coenzyme A and oxalacetate. The amino acid sequence and three-dimensional structure of pig citrate synthase dimers are known, and regions of the enzyme involved in substrate binding and catalysis have been identified. A cloned complementary DNA sequence encoding pig citrate synthase has been isolated from a pig kidney lambda gt11 cDNA library after screening with a synthetic oligonucleotide probe. The complete nucleotide sequence of the 1.5-kilobase cDNA was determined. The coding region consists of 1395 base pairs and confirms the amino acid sequence of purified pig citrate synthase. The derived amino acid sequence of pig citrate synthase predicts the presence of a 27 amino acid N-terminal leader peptide whose sequence is consistent with the sequences of other mitochondrial signal peptides. A conserved amino acid sequence in the mitochondrial leader peptides of pig citrate synthase and yeast mitochondrial citrate synthase was identified. To express the pig citrate synthase cDNA in Escherichia coli, we employed the inducible T7 RNA polymerase/promoter double plasmid expression vectors pGP1-2 and pT7-7 [Tabor, S., & Richardson, C. C. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82, 1074-1078]. The pig citrate synthase cDNA was modified to delete the N-terminal leader sequence; then by use of a synthetic oligonucleotide linker, the modified cDNA was cloned into pT7-7 immediately following the initiator Met. A glutamate-requiring (citrate synthase deficient), recA- E. coli mutant, DEK15, was transformed with pGP1-2 and then pT7-7PCS. pT7-7PCS complemented the E. coli gltA mutation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The primary structure of Salmonella typhimurium HPr, a phosphocarrier protein of the phosphoenolpyruvate:glycose phosphotransferase system. A correction

The protein HPr is a low-molecular-weight phosphocarrier protein of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate:glycose phosphotransferase system. We have recently reported the complete primary amino acid sequence of HPr isolated from Salmonella typhimurium (Weigel, N., Powers, D.A., and Roseman, S. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 14499-14509). This sequence is incorrect at certain residues; the correct primary structure of the protein is presented in this report. The corrected structure generally agrees with the primary sequence predicted for HPr from Escherichia coli (based on the nucleotide sequence of the corresponding ptsH gene). The one apparent ambiguity is at the carboxyl terminus.     

Purification, characterization and revised amino acid sequence of a second thioredoxin from Corynebacterium nephridii

A second thioredoxin, distinct from the one reported by Meng and Hogenkamp in 1981 (J. Biol. Chem. 256, 9174-9182), has been purified to homogeneity from an Escherichia coli strain containing a plasmid encoding a Corynebacterium nephridii thioredoxin. Thioredoxin genes from C. nephridii were cloned into the plasmid pUC13 and transformants were identified by complementation of a thioredoxin negative (trxA-) E. coli strain. The abilities of the transformants to support the growth of several phages suggested that more than one thioredoxin had been expressed [Lim et al. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 12114-12119]. In this paper we present the purification and characterization of one of these thioredoxins. The new thioredoxin from C. nephridii, designated thioredoxin C-2, is a heat-stable protein containing three cysteine residues/molecule. It serves as a substrate for C. nephridii thioredoxin reductase and E. coli and Lactobacillus leichmannii ribonucleotide reductases. Thioredoxin C-2 catalyzes the reduction of insulin disulfides by dithiothreitol or by NADPH and thioredoxin reductase and is a hydrogen donor for the methionine sulfoxide reductase of E. coli. Spinach malate dehydrogenase (NADP+) and phosphoribulokinase are activated by this thioredoxin while glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (NADP+) is not. Like the thioredoxin first isolated from C. nephridii, this new thioredoxin is not a reducing substrate for the C. nephridii ribonucleotide reductase. The complete primary sequence of this second thioredoxin has been determined. The amino acid sequence shows a high degree of similarity with other thioredoxins. Surprisingly, in contrast to the other sequences, this new thioredoxin contains the tetrapeptide -Cys-Ala-Pro-Cys- at the active site. With the exception of the T4 thioredoxin, this is the first example of a thioredoxin that does not have the sequence -Cys-Gly-Pro-Cys-. Our results suggest that, like plant cells, bacterial cells may utilize more than one thioredoxin.     

cDNA cloning of Gb, the substrate for botulinum ADP-ribosyltransferase from bovine adrenal gland and its identification as a rho gene product

A 1.5 kilobase cDNA coding for the complete amino acid sequence of Gb, the substrate for ADP-ribosyltransferase in C1 and D botulinum toxins from bovine adrenal gland, has been isolated from a cDNA library of bovine adrenal gland. This cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 21,770 Da consisting of 193 amino acid residues, and the deduced amino acid sequence contains all the partial amino acid sequences reported previously (Narumiya, S., Sekine, A., and Fujiwara, M. (1988) J. Biol. Chem., 263, 17255-17257). Sequence comparison revealed that Gb is identical with the product of human rho clone 12 (rho A). The present results also confirmed our suggestion that the ADP-ribosylation occurs at Asn41 in the putative effector domain of the rho gene product.     

Characterization of an N-acetylmuramic acid/N-acetylglucosamine kinase of Clostridium acetobutylicum

We report here the cloning and characterization of a cytoplasmic kinase of Clostridium acetobutylicum, named MurK (for murein sugar kinase). The enzyme has a unique specificity for both amino sugars of the bacterial cell wall, N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc) and N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), which are phosphorylated at the 6-hydroxyl group. Kinetic analyses revealed Km values of 190 and 127 μM for MurNAc and GlcNAc, respectively, and a kcat value (65.0 s(-1)) that was 1.5-fold higher for the latter substrate. Neither the non-N-acetylated forms of the cell wall sugars, i.e., glucosamine and/or muramic acid, nor epimeric hexoses or 1,6-anhydro-MurNAc were substrates for the enzyme. MurK displays low overall amino acid sequence identity (24%) with human GlcNAc kinase and is the first characterized bacterial representative of the BcrAD/BadFG-like ATPase family. We propose a role of MurK in the recovery of muropeptides during cell wall rescue in C. acetobutylicum. The kinase was applied for high-sensitive detection of the amino sugars in cell wall preparations by radioactive phosphorylation.     

Amino acid and sequence analysis of the cytochrome and flavoprotein subunits of p-cresol methylhydroxylase

The flavocytochrome p-cresol methylhydroxylase from Pseudomonas putida has been reported to have a Mr of 114,000 and to consist of two subunits, a flavoprotein and a cytochrome c, each with a Mr of 58,000. Recent X-ray crystallographic data from our laboratories [Shamala, N., Lim, L. W., Mathews, F. S., McIntire, W., Singer, T. P., & Hopper, D. J. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 4626-4630], however, indicate an alpha 2 beta 2 structure and a much lower molecular mass (approximately 8000) for the cytochrome subunit. In this paper we report data confirming the conclusions of X-ray crystallographic analysis. From quantitative amino acid analysis, the molecular mass of the flavoprotein monomer is shown to be 48,600 +/- 2200 and that of the cytochrome 8780 +/- 250. These values have been confirmed by gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions. Gel chromatography under nondenaturing conditions shows that the isolated flavoprotein exists as a dimer, whereas the isolated cytochrome is a monomer. The complete amino acid sequence of the cytochrome c subunit is presented and is shown to have regions of homology to other bacterial c-type cytochromes. The partial N-terminal amino acid sequence (56 amino acids) of the flavoprotein subunit is also reported. The implications of the now established tetrameric structure of the flavocytochrome on data in the literature regarding the redox and association properties of the subunits are examined.     

The primary structure of omega-amino acid:pyruvate aminotransferase.

The complete amino acid sequence of bacterial omega-amino acid:pyruvate aminotransferase (omega-APT) was determined from its primary structure. The enzyme protein was fragmented by CNBr cleavage, trypsin, and Staphylococcus aureus V8 digestions. The peptides were purified and sequenced by Edman degradation. omega-ATP is composed of four identical subunits of 449 amino acids each. The calculated molecular weight of the enzyme subunit is 48,738 and that of the enzyme tetramer is 194,952. No disulfide bonds or bound sugar molecules were found in the enzyme structure, although 6 cysteine residues were determined per enzyme subunit. Sequence homologies were found between an omega-aminotransferase, i.e. mammalian and yeast ornithine delta-aminotransferases, fungal gamma-aminobutyrate aminotransferase and 7,8-diaminoperalgonate aminotransferase, and 2,2-dialkylglycine decarboxylase. The enzyme structure is not homologous to those of aspartate aminotransferases (AspATs) including the enzymes of Escherichia coli and Sufolobus salfactaricus, though significant homology in the three-dimensional structures around the cofactor binding site has been found between omega-APT and AspATs (Watanabe, N., Sakabe, K., Sakabe, N., Higashi, T., Sasaki, K., Aibara, S., Morita, Y., Yonaha, K., Toyama, S., and Fukutani, H. (1989) J. Biochem. 105, 1-3).     

Histidine decarboxylase of Lactobacillus 30a. Sequences of the overlapping peptides, the complete alpha chain, and prohistidine decarboxylase

The complete amino acid sequence of the alpha chain of histidine decarboxylase of Lactobacillus 30a has been established by isolation and analysis of the eight methionine-containing tryptic peptides of this chain. These peptides provide the overlaps required to order all nine peptides derived by complete cyanogen bromide cleavage of the alpha chain (Huynh, Q.K., Vaaler, G.L., Recsei, P.A., and Snell, E.E. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 2826-2832). Ordering of six of the latter peptides was confirmed by isolation and analysis of four peptides derived by incomplete cyanogen bromide cleavage. The alpha chain is composed of 226 residues and has a molecular weight of 24,892 calculated from the sequence. These results and the previously determined sequence of the beta chain (Vaaler, G.L., Recsei, P.A., Fox, J.L., and Snell, E.E. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 12770-12774) establish the complete amino acid sequence of the enzyme and of the pi chain of prohistidine decarboxylase. The latter is composed of 307 amino acids and has a calculated molecular weight of 33,731. Four segments of the pi chain sequence are repeated. The bond between Ser-81 and Ser-82 that is cleaved during proenzyme activation is in an uncharged portion of the sequence that is rich in serine and threonine residues and is predicted to be part of a beta sheet structure.     

Amino acid sequence of the calcium-binding light chain of myosin from the lower eukaryote, Physarum polycephalum

We have established a new method for preparing Physarum myosin whose actin-activated ATPase activity is inhibited by micromolar levels of Ca2+. This Ca2+-inhibition is mediated by the Ca2+ binding to the myosin rather than by the Ca2+-dependent modification of the phosphorylated state of the myosin (Kohama, K., and Kendrick-Jones, J. (1986) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 99, 1433-1446). Ca2+-binding light chain (CaLC) has been suggested to be primary importance in this Ca2+ inhibition (Kohama, K., Takano-Ohmuro, H., Tanaka, T., Yamaguchi, T., and Kohama, T. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 8022-8027). The amino acid sequence of CaLC was determined; it was composed of 147 amino acid residues and the N terminus was acetylated. The molecular weight was calculated to be 16,131. The homology of CaLC in the amino acid sequence with 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) light chain and alkali light chain of skeletal muscle myosin were rather low, i.e., 25% and 30%, respectively. Interestingly, however, the CaLC sequence was 40% homologous with brain calmodulin. This amino acid sequence was confirmed by sequencing the cloned phage DNA accommodating cDNA coding CaLC. Northern and Southern blot analysis indicated that 0.8-kilobase pair mRNA was transcribed from a single CaLC gene. This is the first report on the amino acid sequence of myosin light chain of lower eukaryotes and nucleotide sequence of its mRNA.