Affinity chromatography of Bacillus subtilis glutamine phosphoribosylpyrophosphate amidotransferase.

Purified glutamine phosphoribosylpyrophosphate amidotransferase from Bacillus subtilis bound to affinity adsorbents containing immobilized adenine nucleotides. Although the enzyme probably bound via an allosteric site at which AMP acts most effectively, 50 times more enzyme was bound by N⁶-(aminohexyl)-ATP-agarose than by N⁶-(aminohexyl)-AMP-agarose. The enzyme could be efficiently and specifically eluted from N⁶-(aminohexyl)-ATP-agarose with the substrate phosphoribosylpyrophosphate, which antagonizes AMP inhibition in kinetic experiments. Elution could also be effected by 0.5 m KCl or by chelation of Mg²⁺ ions. The usefulness of these techniques in purification of partially purified amidotransferase was demonstrated.     

Selection of High Ubiquinone 10-Producing Strain of Tobacco Cultured Cells by Cell Cloning Technique

A novel enzyme, which was named N^α-benzyloxycarbonyl amino acid urethane hydrolase, was purified from a cell-free extract of Streptococcus faecalis R ATCC 8043, using N^α-benzyloxycarbonyl glycine as substrate. The enzyme was purified 1300-fold with an activity yield of 8%. The purified enzyme was homogeneous by disc electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the native enzyme is about 220,000 by gel filtration, and a molecular weight of 32,000 was determined for the reduced and denatured enzyme by gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. The isoelectric point was 4.48. The enzyme was inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate. The presence of divalent cations (i.e., Co²⁺ or Zn²⁺) is essential for its activity.     

Characterization of Endo β-1,3-Glucanase IV from Flavobacterium dormitator var. glucanolyticae FA-5

Endo β-1,3-glucanase IV (E.C. 3.2.1.6, endo-1,3(4)-β-d-glucanase) from Flav. dormitator var. glucanolyticae FA-5 was shown to be a glycoprotein by gel filtration and sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. The carbohydrate moiety was composed of 17 hexose units. The enzyme had an apparent molecular weight of 3.3 x 10⁴, determined by gel filtration, sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation. The enzyme showed maximum reactivity at pH 6.0 and 6.5 for living yeast cells and laminaran, respectively. The enzyme predominantly released laminaripen-taose from a variety of linear β-1,3-glucans and showed transglucanosylation activity. The amino acid composition of the enzyme and some of its physicochemical and enzymatic properties are described.     

Isolation and Characterization of Nα-Benzyloxycarbonyl Amino Acid Urethane Hydrolase II from Lactobacillus fermenti 36 ATCC 9338

A novel enzyme, which was named N^α-benzyloxycarbonyl amino acid urethane hydrolase II, was purified from a cell-free extract of Lactobacillus fermenti 36 ATCC 9338. The enzyme catalyzed the stoichiometric hydrolysis of N^α-benzyloxycarbonyl arginine to form benzyl alcohol and arginine. The enzyme was purified 106-fold with an activity yield of 3%. The purified enzyme was homogeneous by disc gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the native enzyme is about 200,000 by gel filtration, and a molecular weight of 27,000 was found for the reduced and denaturated enzyme by gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was 5.0, it was inhibited by disodium ethylenediamine tetraacetate and p-chloromercuribenzoate, and the presence of a divalent cation, i.e. Co²⁺, is essential for its activity.     

Purification and Properties of 7β-(4-Carboxybutanamido)-cephalosporanic Acid Acylase Produced by Mutants Derived from Pseudomonas

7β-(4-Carboxybutanamido)cephalosporanic acid acylase (penicillin amidohydrolase, EC 3.5.1.11) was crystallized from cell-free extracts of a mutant derived from Pseudomonas SY-77-1. Purification of the enzyme was performed by a procedure involving ammonium sulfate fractionation and column chromatographies on DEAE-Sephadex, TEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-200. The crystalline enzyme was homogeneous on polyacrylamide gel disc electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the acylase was estimated to be 1.3 × 10⁵ by gel filtration. The enzyme was fully active at pH above 6.5 and was highly stable at a pH range of 6.0 to 8.0 and below 38°C. The Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) and V_max for 7β-(4-carboxybutanamido)cephalosporanic acid were 0.16mM and 4.91 μmol/min/mg-protein, respectively. It was also indicated that this enzyme-protein occupied 2.3% of the dry-cell weight.     

Isolation of Hydroxyanthrones from the Roots of Rumex acetosa Linn

Microorganisms capable of producing high amounts of α-acetolactate decarboxylase (ALDC; EC 4.1.1.5) were screened for with stock type cultures. Brevibacterium acetylicum had the most potent enzyme activity among the strains tested. The productivity of ALDC by B. acetylicum was elevated by adding Zn²⁺ to the medium. ALDC was purified from the cell-free extract of B. acetylicum by a procedure involving ammonium sulfate fractionation, Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, and DEAE-cellulose and FPLC-MonoQ column chromatographies. The purified enzyme was homogeneous by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the native enzyme was 62,000 by TSK-gel filtration and the subunit molecular weight was 31,000 by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme activity was inhibited by metal chelators such as diethyldithiocarbamate, 8-oxyquinoline, and o-phenanthroline. Analysis by atomic absorption spectrophotometry showed that zinc atoms were involved in the purified enzyme preparation.     

High Concentration—Ethanol Fermentation of Raw Ground Corn

1-Pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase was purified and crystallized from Bacillus sphaericus. The crystalline preparation gave a single band on polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the enzyme was determined to be about 100,000 by gel filtration. The enzyme consists of two subunits which are identical in molecular weight (50,000), as judged on SDS slab gel electrophoresis. The enzyme shows an optimum pH of 6.5 to 7.0. Its activity was 8.1 times higher with NADP⁺ than with NAD ⁺, and the enzyme was stabilized by NADP⁺. The apparent Km values for l-l-pyrroline-5-carboxylate, NADP⁺ and NAD⁺ are 4.2 × 10^–5m (with NADP⁺), 9.5 × 10~⁶m and 2.5 × IO^-3 m, respectively. The enzyme reaction is irreversible. A simple method for the determination of l-ornithine involving ornithine ¿-aminotransferase and 1- pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase from B. sphaericus was developed. A linear relationship was found between the absorbance at 340 nm and the amount of l-ornithine (50 ~ 400 nmol), and between the fluorescence and the amount of l-ornithine (0.2 ~ 10 nmol).     

Purification and molecular and kinetic properties of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from Amaranthus viridis L. leaves

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.31) was purified 43-fold from Amaranthus viridis leaves by using a combination of ammonium-sulphate fractionation, chromatography on O-(diethylaminoethyl)-cellulose and hydroxylapatite, and filtration through Sepharose 6B. The purified enzyme had a specific activity of 17.1 mol·(mg protein)^-1·min^-1 and migrated as a single band of relative molecular weight 100000 on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A homotetrameric structure was determined for the native enzyme. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from Zea mays L. and A. viridis showed partial identity in Ouchterlony two-dimensional diffusion. Isoelectric focusing showed a band at pI 6.2. K_m values for phosphoenolpyruvate and bicarbonate were 0.29 and 0.17 mM, respectively, at pH 8.0. The activation constant (K_a) for Mg²⁺ was 0.87 mM at the same pH. The carboxylase was activated by glucose-6-phosphate and inhibited by several organic acids of three to five carbon atoms. The kinetic and structural properties of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from A. viridis leaves are similar to those of the enzyme from Zea mays leaves.Abbreviations MW molecular weight - PEP (Case) phosphoenolpyruvate (carboxylase) - SDS-PAGE sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis     

Emodin O-methyltransferase from Aspergillus terreus

Emodin O-methyltransferase, an enzyme catalyzing methylation of the 8-hydroxy group of emodin, was identified in the mould Aspergillus terreus IMI 16043, a (+)-geodin producing strain. The enzyme catalyzed the formation of questin from emodin and S-adenosyl-l-methionine. By chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, Phenyl Sepharose, Q-Sepharose, Hydroxyapatite, and CM-cellulose, emodin O-methyltransferase was purified to apparent homogeneity. The purified protein had a molecular weight of 322 kDa as estimated by gel filtration and 53.6 kDa as estimated by gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions, suggesting that the active enzyme was a homohexamer. The enzyme showed pI 4.4 and optimum pH 7–8. Magnesium ion or manganese ion was not an absolute requirement, nor increased the enzyme activity. The enzyme had strict substrate specificity and very low Km values for both emodin (3.4×10^-7 M) and S-adenosyl-l-methionine (4.1×10^-6 M).Abbreviations EOMT emodin O-methyltransferase from A. terreus - SAM S-adenosyl-l-methionine - PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis     

Purification,some properties and quaternary structure of thed-ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylase ofAlcaligenes eutrophus

d-Ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylase has been purified from autotrophically grown cells of the facultative chemolithotrophic hydrogen bacteriumAlcaligenes eutrophus. The enzyme was homogeneous by the criteria of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 505000 determined by gel filtration and sucrose density gradient centrifugation, and a sedimentation coefficient of 18.2 S was obtained. It was demonstrated by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis that the enzyme consists of two types of subunits of molecular weight 52000 and 13000.Electron microscopy on the intact and the partially dissociated enzyme lead to the construction of a model for the quaternary structure of the enzyme which is composed of 8 large and 8 small subunits. The most probable symmetry of the enzyme molecule is 4:2:2.Michaelis constant (K _m ) values for ribulose 1,5-diphosphate, Mg^2-, and CO₂ were 0.59 mM, 0.33 mM, and 0.066 mM measured under air. Oxygen was a competitive inhibitor with respect to CO₂ suggesting that the enzyme also exhibits an oxygenase activity. The oxygenolytic cleavage of ribulose 1,5-diphosphate was shown and a 1:1 stoichiometry between oxygen consumption and 3-phosphoglycerate formation observed.Abbreviations DTE dithioerythritol - EDTA ethylenediamine tetraacetate - RuDP d-ribulose 1,5-diphosphate     

Effects of Exogenous Proline and Glycinebetaine on the Salt Tolerance of Rice Cultivars

Glutathione reductase was purified from iron-grown Thiobacillus ferrooxidas AP19-3 to an electrophoretically homogeneous state. The enzyme had an apparent molecular weight of 100,000 and was composed of two identical subunits of molecular weight (M_rs, 52,000) as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A purified enzyme reduced one mole of the oxidized form of glutathione (GSSG) with one mole of NADPH to produce two moles of the reduced form of glutathione (GSH) and one mole of NADP⁺. The glutathione reductase was most active at pH 6.5 and 40°C, and had an isoelectric point at 5.1. The Michaelis constants of glutathione reductase for GSSG, NADPH, and NADH were 300, 26, and 125 μM, respectively.     

PURIFICATION OF RAT BRAIN CHOLINE ACETYLTRANSFERASE AND AN ESTIMATION OF ITS HALF-LIFE

—Acetyl-CoA:choline-O-acetyltransferase (ChAc, EC 2.3.1.6) was purified from rat cerebral cortex and its half-life determined. The molecular weight of the enzyme under non-denaturing conditions was estimated by gel filtration to be in the range of 60,000–65,000. On SDS acrylamide gels, the purified enzyme migrated as a single band with a molecular weight estimated as 62,000. The turnover rate of ChAc in the mature rat was determined by the double label method, employing l -[1-¹⁴C]leucine and l -[4,5-³H]leucine. Its half-life under steady-state conditions was estimated to be 5.2 days. As a control, tubulin was isolated from the same preparation and its half-life measured. Under these conditions tubulin exhibited a half-life of 3.8 days.     

Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Endo-β-galactofuranosidase from Bacillus sp.

A soil bacterium capable of growing on a polysaccharide containing β(1→6)galactofuranoside residues derived from the acidic polysaccharide of Fusarium sp. as a carbon source has been isolated. From various bacteriological characteristics, the organism was identified as a Bacillus sp. The bacterium produced β- galactofuranosidase inductively in the culture media. The most effective inducer for the β-galactofuranosidase production was a polysaccharide containing β(1→5) or β(1→6)-linked galactofuranoside residues, but gum arabic, gum guar, gum ghati, arabinogalactam, araban, and pectic acid did not induce the enzyme. The enzyme had three different molecular weight forms. The low molecular-weight form was purified by a combination of Toyopearl HW-55 and DEAE-Toyopearl 650S column chromatographies, and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be 67,000 by SDS–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme was most active at pH 6 and 37°C, and was stable between pH 4 to 8 at 5°C. The action of the enzyme was inhibited by the addition of Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Hg²⁺, Zn²⁺, iodoacetic acid, and EDT A. The purified enzyme cleaved β(1→5) and β(1→6)-linked galactofuranosyl chains. Based upon the mode of liberation of galactofuranosyl residues from pyridylamino β(1→6)-linked galactofuranoside oligomers, the enzyme can be classified as an endo-β-galactofuranosidase that randomly hydrolyzes the linkage.     

Purification of a flavoprotein having NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and transhydrogenase activities from Nitrobacter winogradskyi and its molecular and enzymatic properties

A flavoenzyme which showed NADPH-cytochrome c reductase (NADPH-cytochrome c oxidoreductase EC 1.6.2.4) and transhydrogenase (NADPH-NAD⁺ oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.1.1) activities was purified to an electrophoretically homogeneous state from Nitrobacter winogradskyi. The reductase was a flavoprotein which contained one FAD per molecule but no FMN. The oxidized form of the enzyme showed absorption maxima at 272, 375 and 459 nm with a shoulder at 490 nm, its molecular weight was estimated to be 36,000 by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and the enzyme seemed to exist as a dimer in aqueous solution. The enzyme catalyzed reduction of cytochrome c, DCIP and benzylviologen by NADPH, oxidation of NADPH with menadione and duroquinone, and showed transhydrogenase activity. NADH was less effective than NADPH as the electron donor in the reactions catalyzed by the enzyme. The NADPH-reduction catalyzed by the enzyme of N. winogradskyi cytochrome c-550 and horse cytochrome c was stimulated by spinach ferredoxin. The enzyme reduced NADP⁺ with reduced spinach ferredoxin and benzylviologen radical.Abbreviations DCIP dichlorophenolindophenol - Tris trishydroxy-methylaminomethane - Mops 3-(N-morpholino) propanesulfonic acid - SDS sodium dodecylsufate     

Synthesis of 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-1-oxo-pyrido[l ,2-a]benzimidazole

In Euglena gracilis arginine deiminase was located in the mitochondrial matrix. The highly purified enzyme required Co²⁺ for the enzyme reaction with the Km value of 0.23 mM, and its optimum pH was 9.7 to 10.3. The molecular weight of the native enzyme protein was 87,000 by gel filtration, and SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the enzyme consisted of two identical subunits with a molecular weight of 48,000. Euglena arginine deiminase was inhibited by sulfhydryl inhibitors, indicating that a sulfhydryl group is involved in the active center of the enzyme. It exhibited negative cooperativity in binding with arginine. l-α-amino-β-guanidino-propionate, d-arginine, and l-homoarginine strongly inhibited the enzyme while β-guanidinopro-pionate, γ-guanidinobutyrate, and guanidinosuccinate did not. Considerable inhibition was also observed with citrulline and ornithine. We discuss the effects of the unique properties of the Euglena arginine deiminase on the regulation of arginine metabolism in this protozoon.     

Purification and properties of the NADP-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase from Dictyostelium discoideum

Summary NADP-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase from Dictyostelium discoideum was purified 9300 fold with a yield of 4.6%. The enzyme is a hexamer of apparent molecular weight 294 kDa on Sephacryl S400 and a subunit molecular weight of 52 kDa as determined by SDS gel electrophoresis. The apparent K_mS for -ketoglutarate, NADPH and NH _inf4 ^sup+ are 1.2 mM, 9.7 µM and 2.2 mM respectively, and the purified enzyme has a broad pH optimum with a peak at pH 7.75. GTP has a slight stimulatory effect (22% at 83 µM) as does ADP (11% at 1 mM), and AMP is slightly inhibitory (9% at 1 mM) whereas adenosine, ATP and cAMP have little or no effect. Neither the Zn²⁺ chelating compound 1,10-phenanthroline nor EDTA have any effect on the enzyme while p-hydroxymercuribenzoic acid inhibits enzyme activity (50% at 80 µM) yet N-ethylmaleimide does not.In addition, the NADP-GDH activity varies little during the various stages of morphogenesis.Abbreviations EDTA Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid - Tris Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane - Bis-tris bis(2-hydroxyethyl)imino-tris(hydroxymethyl)methane - TRITON X-100 iso-octylphenoxypoly-ethoxyethanol - pHMB p-Hydroxymercuribenzoic acid     

Purification of an endopeptidase involved with storage-protein degradation in Phaseolus vulgaris L. cotyledons

Phaseolin, the major seed storage protein of Phaseolus vulgaris L., is degraded in the cotyledons in the first 7–10 d following seed germination. We assayed cotyledon extracts for protease activity by using [³H]phaseolin as a substrate and then fractionated the digestion mixtures by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in order to identify the cleavage products. The cotyledons of 4-d-old seedlings contain an endopeptidase which cleaves the polypeptides of [³H]phaseolin (apparent molecular weights=51 000, 48 000, 46 000 and 43 000) into three discrete clusters of proteolytic fragments (M _rs=27 000, 25 000 and 23 000). Endopeptidase activity is not detected in the cotyledons until the protein content of these organs starts to decline, shortly after the first day of seedling growth. Endopeptidase activity increases to a maximum level in the cotyledons of 5-d-old seedlings and then declines to a minimum value by day 10. The enzyme was purified 335-fold by ammonium-sulfate precipitation, organomercurial-agarose chromatography, gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. The endopeptidase constitutes 0.3% of the protein content in the cotyledons of 4-d-old seedlings. It is a cysteine protease with a single polypeptide chain (M _r=30 000). Optimum hydrolysis of [³H]phaseolin occurs at pH 5. The enzyme is irreversibly inactivated at pH values above 7 and at temperatures above 45° C. The endopeptidase attacks only a limited number of peptide bonds in [³H]phaseolin, without causing any appreciable change in the native molecular weight of the storage protein. The endopeptidase is also able to hydrolyze the bean-seed lectin, phytohemagglutinin. Thus, this enzyme may play a general role in degrading cotyledon proteins of P. vulgaris following seed germination.Abbreviations Da dalton - DTT dithiothreitol - M _r apparent molecular weight - PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - PHA phytohemagglutinin - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate     

Purification and Properties of Pyranose Oxidase from Coriolus versicolor

Coriolus versicolor KY2912 grown on a medium containing glucose, sucrose or glycerol produced pyranose oxidase. Pyranose oxidase (glucose-2-oxidase) was purified by HPA-75 chromatography, Sepharose 4B and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, and hydroxyapatite chromatography. The purified enzyme preparation showed a single protein band on acrylamide gel electrophoresis. The highest activity was obtained when D-glucose was employed as substrate and molecular oxygen as electron acceptor. The enzyme was most active at pH 6.2 and 50°C, stable in the pH region between 5.0 and 7.4, and the activity was completely lost above 70°C. The activity was inhibited by Ag⁺ , Cu²⁺ and PCMB. The enzyme contained FAD covalently bound to the polypeptide chain. The enzyme consisted of identical subunits with a molecular weight of 68,000, and showed a total molecular weight of 220,000.     

Purification and characterization of a cytoplasmic enzyme component of the Na+-activated malonate decarboxylase system of Malonomonas rubra: acetyl-S-acyl carrier protein: malonate acyl carrier protein-SH transferase

Malonate decarboxylation by crude extracts of Malonomonas rubra was specifically activated by Na⁺ and less efficiently by Li⁺ ions. The extracts contained an enzyme catalyzing CoA transfer from malonyl-CoA to acetate, yielding acetyl-CoA and malonate. After about a 26-fold purification of the malonyl-CoA:acetate CoA transferase, an almost pure enzyme was obtained, indicating that about 4% of the cellular protein consisted of the CoA transferase. This abundance of the transferase is in accord with its proposed role as an enzyme component of the malonate decarboxylase system, the key enzyme of energy metabolism in this organism. The apparent molecular weight of the polypeptide was 67,000 as revealed from SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A similar molecular weight was estimated for the native transferase by gel chromatography, indicating that the enzyme exists as a monomer. Kinetic analyses of the CoA transferase yielded the following: pH-optimum at pH 5.5, an apparent K_m for malonyl-CoA of 1.9mM, for acetate of 54mM, for acetyl-CoA of 6.9mM, and for malonate of 0.5mM. Malonate or citrate inhibited the enzyme with an apparent K_i of 0.4mM and 3.0mM, respectively. The isolated CoA transferase increased the activity of malonate decarboxylase of a crude enzyme system, in which part of the endogenous CoA transferase was inactivated by borohydride, about three-fold. These results indicate that the CoA transferase functions physiologically as a component of the malonate decarboxylase system, in which it catalyzes the transfer of acyl carrier protein from acetyl acyl carrier protein and malonate to yield malonyl acyl carrier protein and acetate. Malonate is thus activated on the enzyme by exchange for the catalytically important enzymebound acetyl thioester residues noted previously. This type of substrate activation resembles the catalytic mechanism of citrate lyase and citramalate lyase.Abbreviations DTNB 5,5 Dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoate) - MES 2-(N-Morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid - TAPS N-[Tris(hydroxymethyl)-methyl]-3-aminopropanesulfonic acid - SDS-PAGE sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis     

Purification and Properties of Mycodextranase from Streptomyces sp. J-13-3

An enzyme hydrolyzing nigeran (alternating α-l,3-and α-l,4-linked glucan) was purified from the culture filtrate of Streptomyces sp. J-13-3, which lysed the cell wall of Aspergillus niger, by precipitation with ammonium sulfate and column chromatographies on DEAE-Sephadex A-50, CM-Sephadex C-50, chromatofocusing, and Sephadex G-I00. The final preparation was homogenous in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). The molecular weight of the enzyme was 68,000 by SDS–PAGE and gel filtration. The optimum pH and temperature for the enzyme activity were 6.0 and 50°C, respectively. The enzyme was stable in the pH range from 6.0 to 8.0 and up to 50°C. The enzyme activity was inhibited significantly by Hg⁺, Hg²⁺, and p-chloromercuribenzoic acid. The K_m (mg/ml) for nigeran was 3.33. The enzyme specifically hydrolyzed nigeran into nigerose and nigeran tetrasaccharide by an endo-type of action, indicating it to be a mycodextranase (EC 3.2.1.61) that splits only the α-l,4-glucosidic linkages in nigeran.