Absence of pantothenic acid in gramicidin S synthetase 2 obtained from some mutants of Bacillus brevis

The pantothenic acid content of gramicidin S synthetase 2(GS 2) was estimated microbiologically with enzymes obtained from the wild strain and gramicidin S-lacking mutant strains of Bacillus brevis. Four mutant enzymes from BI-4, C-3, E-1, and E-2 lacked pantothenic acid. Other mutant enzymes from BII-3, BI-3, BI-9, and BI-2 contained the same amount of pantothenic acid as the wild-type enzyme. Pantothenic acid-lacking GS 2 belonged to group V of mutant enzymes, which could activate all amino acids related to gramicidin S; their complementary enzyme, gramicidin S synthetase 1(GS 1), lacked racemizing activity. To ascertain whether 4'-phosphopantetheine is involved in the formation of D-phenylalanyl-L-prolyl diketopiperazine (DKP) and gramicidin S, combinations were tested of intact GS 1 from the wild strain with various mutant GS 2 either containing or lacking pantothenic acid. Only the combinations of wild-type GS 1 with mutant GS 2 containing pantothenic acid could synthesize DKP. Combinations with pantothenic acid-lacking GS 2 also failed to elongate peptide chains. Pantothenic acid-lacking GS 2 could bind the four amino acids which constitute gramicidin S as acyladenylates and thioesters, but the binding abilities were lower than those of the wild-type enzyme and other mutant enzymes containing the pantothenic group.     

On the enzyme system obtained from some mutants of Bacillus brevis deficient in gramicidin S formation

Twenty mutants of Bacillus brevis which were deficient in gramicidin S formation were isolated by N-methyl-N′-nitrosoguanidine treatment. In addition to three groups which have been previously classified, further two groups were established according to their characteristics of amino acid activating enzymes concerned with gramicidin S formation. The fourth group mutants had a phenylalanine activating enzyme, but they had an enzyme complex from which one specific enzyme among proline, valine and leucine activating enzymes was deleted. Some of them also the ability to form d-phenylalanyl-l-prolyl diketpiperazine (DKP) even though they had phenylalanine and proline activating enzymes. The fifth group mutants contained both a phenylalanine activating enzyme and a complex of prodine, valine, ornithine and leucine activating enzymes like as a wild strain, but did not synthesize gramicidin S, and also one of them could not form even DKP.Combination of enzymes from DKP (+) mutants of the fourth or fifth groups with the first group mutant which had an intact proline, valine, ornithine and leucine activating enzyme complex showed gramicidin S formation, but the combination of enzymes from DKP (−) mutants except a proline activating enzyme minus mutant with the first group mutant could not synthesize gramicidin S.     

Altered prephenate dehydratase in phenylalanine-excreting mutants of Brevibacterium flavum.

The regulatory properties of three key enzymes in the phenylalanine biosynthetic pathway, 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthetase (DAHP synthetase) [EC 4.1.2.15], chorismate mutase [EC 5.4.99.5], and prephenate dehydratase [prephenate hydro-lyase (decarboxylating), EC 4.2.1.51] were compared in three phenylalanine-excreting mutants and the wild strain of Brevibacterium flavum. Regulation of DAHP synthetase by phenylalanine and tyrosine in these mutants did not change at all, but the specific activities of the mutant cell extracts increased 1.3- to 2.8-fold, as reported previously (1). Chorismate mutase activities in both the wild and the mutant strains were cumulatively inhibited by phenylalanine and tyrosine and recovered with tryptophan, while the specific activities of the mutants increased 1.3- to 2.8-fold, like those of DAHP synthetase. On the other hand, the specific activities of prephenate dehydratase in the mutant and wild strains were similar, when tyrosine was present. While prephenate dehydratase of the wild strain was inhibited by phenylalanine, tryptophan, and several phenylalanine analogues, the mutant enzymes were not inhibited at all but were activated by these effectors. Tyrosine activated the mutant enzymes much more strongly than the wild-type enzyme: in mutant 221-43, 1 mM tyrosine caused 28-fold activation. Km and the activation constant for tyrosine were slightly altered to a half and 6-fold compared with the wild-type enzyme, respectively, while the activation constants for phenylalanine and tryptophan were 500-fold higher than the respective inhibition constants of the wild-type enzyme. The molecular weight of the mutant enzyme was estimated to be 1.2 x 10(5), a half of that of the wild-type enzyme. The molecular weight of the mutant enzyme was estimated to be 1.2 X 10(5) a half of that of the wild type enzyme, while in the presence of tyrosine, phenylalanine, or tryptophan, it increased to that of the wild-type enzyme. Immediately after the mutant enzyme had been activated by tyrosine and then the tyrosine removed, it still showed about 10-fold higher specific activity than before the activation by tyrosine. However, on standing in ice the activity gradually fell to the initial level before the activation by tyrosine. Ammonium sulfate promoted the decrease of the activity. On the basis of these results, regulatory mechanisms for phenylalanine biosynthesis in vivo as well as mechanisms for the phenylalanine overproduction in the mutants are discussed.     

Studies on gramicidin S synthetase. Purification of the heavy enzyme obtained from some mutants of Bacillus brevis.

The heavy enzyme of gramicidin S synthetase was purified to an almost homogeneous state by a combination of ammonium sulfate fractionation, ornithine-Sepharose 4B chromatography, DEAE-cellulose chromatography, and Ultrogel AcA 22 chromatography. The enzyme was proved to be essentially homogeneous by ultracentrifugation and polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis. The heavy enzymes of gramicidin S synthetase from various groups of mutant strains lacking the ability to form gramicidin S were also purified to a similar extent. The sedimentation rates of the purified enzymes from a wild strain and the mutant strains (BI-3, BII-3, BI-9) were studied by analytical centrifugation and sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The enzymes from the wild strain and these mutant strains were all found to have an S20,W value of 12.2 at a protein concentration of 2.5 mg per ml. These results strongly suggest that the failure of specific amino acid activation in the heavy enzyme of these gramicidin-lacking mutants might be due to some modification at the active center of the corresponding amino acid-activating enzyme rather than to a complete absence of the amino acid-activating enzyme protein in the heavy enzyme.     

Isolation and characterization of an analogue-resistant aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase mutant in Aspergillus nidulans.

Six mutants resistant to p-fluorophenylalanine (FPA) were selected on a medium containing aspartate as the sole source of nitrogen using a phenylalanine-requiring (phenA)auxotroph of A. nidulans as the wild type. The mutants, on the basis of genetic characterization, were found to be alleilic and located on the left arm of the linkage group III, approximately 13 map unit left to meth H locus, henceforth assigned to the symbol fpaV. At a fixed concentration of phenylalanine (23 micrograms/ml), the LD50 value of FPA for all the six mutants was found to be about three times more than that for the wild type strain. Affinity chromatographic purification of the enzyme phenylalanyl-tRNA (Phe-tRNA) synthetase from the mutant as well as the wild type strains, revealed that the wild type enzyme had about 1.4-fold higher affinity for phenylalanine as compared to that for FPA, both in the affinity column and in the catalytic reaction. However, the mutant enzyme showed almost a similar affinity for both in columns but a greatly reduced affinity for FPA in the catalytic reaction.     

D-泛解酸内酯水解酶的定向进化

易错PCR结合DNA改组方法向D-泛解酸内酯水解酶基因中引入突变,并构建突变体库。利用酶的催化特点和产物特性建立了基于平板初筛和高效液相复筛的两步法D-泛解酸内酯水解酶活性筛选系统。用该筛选系统以酶活力和pH稳定性为指标对突变体库进行筛选,最终获得一株酶活力高且在低pH条件下稳定性好的突变体Mut E-861。该突变体的酶活力是野生型酶的5.5倍。对突变体和野生型酶在pH 6.0和pH 5.0条件下的残余酶活进行对比,在这两种pH条件下,突变体酶的酶活残留分别为75%和50%,而野生型酶只能保持原来的40%和20%。通过软件对突变体Mut E-861酶基因和野生型酶基因进行分析对比,发现突变体Mut E-861酶基因发生了三处点突变,其中突变使两处氨基酸取代,另一处为沉默突变,未引起氨基酸的变化。     

Acetylcholinesterase. Two types of modifications confer resistance to insecticide.

Quantitative and qualitative changes in acetylcholinesterase confer resistance to insecticides. We have constructed several Drosophila melanogaster strains producing various amounts of enzyme by P-mediated transformation. Toxicological analysis of these strains demonstrates that resistance to organophosphorus insecticides is correlated with the amount of acetylcholinesterase in the central nervous system. Resistance may also be qualitatively determined. Comparison of the Drosophila acetylcholinesterase gene between a resistant strain caught in the wild and a wild type susceptible strain only revealed one nucleotide transition resulting in the replacement of a phenylalanine by a tyrosine. Flies mutant for acetylcholinesterase and rescued with a minigene mutagenized for this same transition produced an altered enzyme which renders flies resistant to pesticides.     

Distinct nuclear genes for yeast mitochondrial and cytoplasmic methionyl-tRNA synthetases.

Total methionine-tRNA synthetases from wild type $\text{Saccharomyces}\text{cerevisiae}$ can be fractionated on hydroxylapatite into two peaks: Peak I is the mitochondrial, peak II the cytoplasmic isoenzyme. The specificity towards various tRNAs and the antigenic determinants are not identical. A mutant strain, known for its altered cytoplasmic enzyme, contains a mitochondrial species with the same properties as the wild type mitochondrial enzyme, as well as a cytoplasmic isoenzyme with a K_M for methionine about 300 times higher than the corresponding wild type enzyme. Another strain, obtained by back-crossing the mutant with a wild type strain, retains the enzyme pattern found in the mutant. The results are in favor of two distinct nuclear genes for yeast mitochondrial and cytoplasmic methionyl-tRNA synthetases.     

Characterization of temperature-sensitive and lipopolysaccharide overproducing transposon mutants of Pseudomonas putida CA-3 affected in PHA accumulation

A library of 20 000 transposon (Tn5) mutants of the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas putida CA-3 was generated and screened for adverse affects in polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) accumulation. Two mutants of interest were characterized phenotypically. CA-3-126, a mutant disrupted in a stress-related protein Clp protease subunit ClpA, demonstrated greater decreases in PHA accumulation compared with the wild type at reduced and elevated temperatures under PHA-accumulating growth conditions. CA-3-M, which is affected in the aminotransferase class I enzyme, accumulated reduced levels of PHA relative to the wild type and had lower growth yields on all carbon sources tested. Mutant CA-3-M produced up to 10-fold higher levels of lipopolysaccharide relative to the wild type and exhibited 1.2-fold lower aminotransferase activity with phenylalanine as a substrate compared with the wild-type strain. The composition of the lipopolysaccharide produced by the mutant differed from that produced by the wild-type strain. Growth and PHA accumulation by CA-3-M was the same as the wild type when the nitrogen concentration in the medium was increased to 265 mg N L⁻¹.     

Properties of a serine hydroxymethyltransferase in which an active site histidine has been changed to an asparagine by site-directed mutagenesis

Histidine 228 at the active site of Escherichia coli serine hydroxymethyltransferase was replaced with an asparagine. The mutant enzyme was expressed in a strain of E. coli that lacks wild type enzyme. Absorption spectra, circular dichroism spectra, and differential scanning calorimetry thermograms suggest that the amino acid change at the active site causes no detectable change in the tertiary structure of the enzyme. Kinetic studies demonstrated that kcat for the mutant enzyme is about 25% of the value for the wild type enzyme with either L-serine or allothreonine as substrate. Km or Kd values for amino acid substrates and reduced folate compounds were 2-10-fold larger with the mutant enzyme. The rate of interconversion of several enzyme-glycine complexes showed that the conversion of the external aldimine to the quinoid complex is not the rate-determining step for either the mutant or wild type enzyme in the presence of tetrahydrofolate. The binding of L-serine to the wild type enzyme gives a more thermally stable enzyme and increases its affinity for tetrahydrofolate. These effects are not found when L-serine binds to the mutant enzyme. The studies demonstrate that histidine 228 is not a catalytically essential residue and suggest that it is involved in interacting with either the amino acid substrate or the enzyme-bound pyridoxal phosphate.     

Thermodynamics of glutathione binding to the tyrosine 7 to phenylalanine mutant of glutathione S-transferase from Schistosoma japonicum

The binding of glutathione (GSH) to the tyrosine 7 to phenylalanine mutant of Schistosoma japonicum glutathione S-transferase (SjGST-Y7F) has been studied by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). At pH 6.5 and 25 °C this mutant shows a higher affinity for glutathione than wild type enzyme despite an almost complete loss of activity in the presence of 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) as second substrate. The enthalpy change upon binding of GSH is more negative for the mutant than for the wild type GST (SjGST). Changes in accessible solvent areas (ASA) have been calculated based on enthalpy and heat capacity changes. ASA values indicated the burial of apolar surfaces of protein and ligand upon binding. A more negative ΔC_p value has been obtained for the mutant enzyme, suggesting a more hydrophobic interaction, as may be expected from the change of a tyrosine residue to phenylalanine.     

Gastric H/K-ATPase liberates two moles of Pi from one mole of phosphoenzyme formed from a high-affinity ATP binding site and one mole of enzyme-bound ATP at the low-affinity site during cross-talk between catalytic subunits

The maximum amount of acid-stable phosphoenzyme (E32P)/mol of alpha chain of pig gastric H/K-ATPase from [gamma-32P]ATP (K(1/2) = 0.5 microM) was found to be approximately 0.5, which was half of that formed from 32P(i) (K(1/2) = 0.22 mM). The maximum 32P binding for the enzyme during turnover in the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP or [alpha-32P]ATP was due to 0.5 mol of E32P + 0.5 mol of an acid-labile enzyme-bound [gamma-32P]ATP (EATP) or 0.5 mol of an acid-labile enzyme-bound [alpha-32P]ATP, respectively. The K(1/2) for EATP formation in both cases was 0.12 approximately 0.14 mM. The turnover number of the enzyme (i.e., the H+-ATPase activity/(EP + EATP)) was very close to the apparent rate constants for EP breakdown and P(i) liberation, both of which decreased with increasing concentrations of ATP. The ratio of the amount of P(i) liberated to that of EP that disappeared increased from 1 to approximately 2 with increasing concentrations of ATP (i.e., equal amounts of EP and EATP exist, both of which release phosphate in the presence of high concentrations of ATP). This represents the first direct evidence, for the case of a P-type ATPase, in which 2 mol of P(i) liberation occurs simultaneously from 1 mol of EP for half of the enzyme molecules and 1 mol of EATP for the other half during ATP hydrolysis. Each catalytic alpha chain is involved in cross-talk, thus maintaining half-site phosphorylation and half-site ATP binding which are induced by high- and low-affinity ATP binding, respectively, in the presence of Mg2+.     

Biosynthesis of riboflavin: 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase of Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

A cDNA sequence from Schizosaccharomyces pombe with similarity to 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase was expressed in a recombinant Escherichia coli strain. The recombinant protein is a homopentamer of 17-kDa subunits with an apparent molecular mass of 87 kDa as determined by sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation (it sediments at an apparent velocity of 5.0 S at 20 degrees C). The protein has been crystallized in space group C2221. The crystals diffract to a resolution of 2.4 A. The enzyme catalyses the formation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine from 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione and 3,4-dihydroxy- 2-butanone 4-phosphate. Steady-state kinetic analysis afforded a vmax value of 13 000 nmol.mg-1.h-1 and Km values of 5 and 67 microm for 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione and 3,4-dihydroxy-2-butanone 4-phosphate, respectively. The enzyme binds riboflavin with a Kd of 1.2 microm. The fluorescence quantum yield of enzyme-bound riboflavin is < 2% as compared with that of free riboflavin. The protein/riboflavin complex displays an optical transition centered around 530 nm as shown by absorbance and CD spectrometry which may indicate a charge transfer complex. Replacement of tryptophan 27 by tyrosine or phenylalanine had only minor effects on the kinetic properties, but complexes of the mutant proteins did not show the anomalous long wavelength absorbance of the wild-type protein. The replacement of tryptophan 27 by aliphatic amino acids substantially reduced the affinity of the enzyme for riboflavin and for the substrate, 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione.     

Alternation of the Dissimilation Pathway for Glycerol and Amplification of Glycerol Dehydrogenase in Mutant Strains of Cellulomonas sp. NT3060

Mutant strain ME544, which is able to grow on glycerol slowly, was derived from glycerol-negative mutant strain G011, which is a derivative strain of Cellulomonas sp. NT3060 and is defective in both the enzyme activities of glycerol kinase and glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. The mutant strain still lacked both the enzyme activities involved in the dissimilation of glycerol and had the same level of glycerol dehydrogenase activity as the parent strain. Dihydroxyacetone kinase activity in mutant strain ME544 was inducibly formed, reaching 4-fold the level in mutant strain G011 in glycerol medium. Thus, the mutant strain seemed to dissimilate glycerol by means of glycerol dehydrogenase followed by an increase in dihydroxyacetone kinase. Subsequently, a mutant strain, GP1807, which was resistant to the inhibition of growth on glycerol by 1,2-propanediol, was derived from mutant strain ME544. Glycerol dehydrogenase activity of the mutant strain was amplified about 6-fold compared to that of the wild type strain.     

Role of phenylalanine in the biosynthesis of fluorescent pigment in Pseudomonas putida bacteria]

The contemporary data of the participation of phenylalanine in the biosynthesis of fluorescent pigment pyoverdine PM of Pseudomonas putida strain M are presented. Using aro1phu1 mutant of this strain, it has been shown that one of the precursors of the dihydroxyquinoline moiety of the pyoverdine PM is phenylalanine in the D- or L-form. These results were confirmed in experiments with 14C-phenylalanine incorporation. Pyoverdine PM that was synthesized by aro1phu1 mutant from exogenous phenylalanine is identical with the pigment from wild type cells.     

Germination initiation and outgrowth of spores ofBacillus brevis strain Nagano and its gramicidin S-negative mutant

Bacillus brevis strain Nagano and its gramicidin S-negative mutant, BI-7, were compared with respect to germination of their spores produced in several media. Germination initiation occurred in the presence of nutrient broth orL-alanine but not with inosine, glucose, glycerol or fructose; the process was activated by heat. Parental and mutant spores behaved similarly in these experiments. During outgrowth, parental spores remained in this phase of germination much longer than did mutant spores, but only when the parental spores had been harvested from a sporulation medium where significant gramicidin S synthesis had occurred. When parental spores were extracted or treated with an enzyme that hydrolyzes gramicidin S, rapid outgrowth occurred. Adding exogenous gramicidin S or the extract from parental spores to mutant spores lengthened the outgrowth in a dose-dependent manner. The uptake of labeledL-alanine by parental spores was delayed compared to mutant spores in the presence or absence of chloramphenicol. These data suggest a mechanism of action for gramicidin S whereby it interferes in membrane function, such as transport or energy metabolism, in outgrowing spores.Abbreviations GS Gramicidin S - CFU colony-forming units     

Regulation of cellulases and xylanases from a derepressed mutant of Cellulomonas flavigena growing on sugar-cane bagasse in continuous culture

When the wild type Cellulomonas flavigena was grown on glycerol, xylose or cellobiose, it produced basal levels of carboxymethyl-cellulase (CMCase), filter-paperase (FPase) and xylanase activities. By comparison, a catabolic derepressed mutant strain of the same organism produced markedly higher levels of these enzymes when grown on the same carbon sources. Sugar-cane bagasse induced both the wild type and the mutant strain to produce three- to eight-time higher levels of FPase and xylanase than was observed with xylose or cellobiose. Continuous culture was used to determine the minimal cellobiose or glucose concentrations that repress the enzyme synthesis in both strains. 2.5 g l(-1) glucose repressed FPase and xylanases from wild type, while 1.6 times more glucose was needed to repress the same activities in the PN-120 strain. In the same way, twofold more cellobiose was needed to reduce by 75% the CMCase and xylanase activities in the mutant compared to the wild type. The FPase in the presence of 4 g l(-1) cellobiose did not change in the same strain. Therefore, its derepressed and feedback resistant characters of PN-120 mutant are evident. On the other hand, isoelectrofocused crude extracts of mutant and wild strains induced by sugar-cane bagasse, did not show differences in protein patterns, however, the Schiffs staining was more intense in the PN-120 than in the wild strain. These results point out that the mutational treatment did not apparently change the extracellular proteins from mutant PN-120 and this could affect their regulation sites, since derepressed and feed-back resistant enzymes may be produced.     

Reaction mechanism of gramicidin S synthetase 1, phenylalanine racemase, of Bacillus brevis

We have demonstrated that gramicidin S synthetase 1 (GS 1), phenylalanine racemase [EC 5.1.1.11], of Bacillus brevis catalyzes the exchange between a proton in the medium and alpha-hydrogen of phenylalanine in the course of the racemase reaction by using tritiated water or L-phenyl[2,3-3H]alanine. GS 1 from some gramicidin S non-producing mutants of B. brevis lacking phenylalanine racemase activity did not catalyze the tritium exchange reaction. The proton exchange between phenylalanine bound as thioester on the GS 1-phenylalanine complex and water in the medium was detected, but 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid)-modified complex lacked both the proton exchange and phenylalanine racemase activity. It is suggested that a base group, probably a sulfhydryl group, on the enzyme functions as proton donor and acceptor during the phenylalanine racemase reaction.     

Mutagenesis of the folC gene encoding folylpolyglutamate synthetase-dihydrofolate synthetase in Escherichia coli

The folC gene of Escherichia coli, cloned in a pUC19 vector, was mutagenized by progressive deletions from both the 5' and the 3' ends and by TAB linker insertion. A number of 5'-deleted genes, which had the initiator ATG codon removed, produced a truncated gene product, in reduced amounts, from a secondary initiation site. The most likely position of this site at a GTG codon located 35 codons downstream of the normal start site. This product could complement the folC mutation in E. coli strain SF4 as well as a strain deleted in the folC gene. The specific activity of extracts of the mutant enzyme are 4-16% that of the wild type enzyme for the folylpolyglutamate synthetase activity and 6-19% for the dihydrofolate synthetase activity. The relative amount of protein expressed by the mutant, compared to the wild type, in maxicells was comparable to the relative specific activity, suggesting that the kcat of the mutant enzyme is similar to that of the wild type. Mutants with up to 14 amino acids deleted from the carboxy terminal could still complement the folC deletion mutant. Seven out of ten linker insertions dispersed through the coding region of the gene showed complementation of the folC mutation in strain SF4 but none of these insertion mutants were able to complement the strain containing a deleted folC gene. None of the carboxy terminal or linker insertion mutants had a specific activity greater than 0.5% that of the wild type enzyme. The dihydrofolate synthetase and folylpolyglutamate synthetase activities behaved similarly in all mutants, both retaining a large fraction of the wild type activity in the amino terminal deletions and both being very low in the carboxy terminal deletions and linker insertion mutants. These studies are consistent with a single catalytic site for the two activities catalyzed by this enzyme.     

Gramicidin S synthetase. Temperature dependence and thermodynamic parameters of substrate amino acid activation reactions

In the biosynthesis of the cyclic decapeptide antibiotic gramicidin S, the constituent amino acids are activated by a two-step mechanism involving aminoacyl adenylate and thio ester formation which are both reversible processes. The dissociation constants (KD) for the gramicidin S synthetase-substrate amino acid-thio ester complexes are 100-1000-fold lower compared to the KM data of the preceding aminoacyl adenylate reactions. The affinity for these substrates is appreciably higher at the thio template sites than at the aminoacyl adenylate reaction centers. Therefore, the activation equilibria are quantitatively shifted toward thio ester formation. A set of thermodynamic parameters for the activation processes was determined from the temperature dependence of the KM and KD data. Reaction enthalpies were obtained from a van't Hoff analysis of these constants. delta G degree for the substrate activation reactions of the heavy enzyme of gramicidin S synthetase (GS 2) is predominantly controlled by entropy contributions. In contrast, the overall activation and concomitant racemization of phenylalanine by phenylalanine racemase (GS 1) are exothermic processes which are distinguished by a small negative reaction entropy.