Purification, properties, and N-terminal amino acid sequence of homogeneous Escherichia coli 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate CoA ligase, a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme

Starting with 100 g (wet weight) of a mutant of Escherichia coli K-12 forced to grow on L-threonine as sole carbon source, we developed a 6-step procedure that provides 30-40 mg of homogeneous 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate CoA ligase (also called aminoacetone synthetase or synthase). This ligase, which catalyzes the cleavage/condensation reaction between 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate (the presumed product of the L-threonine dehydrogenase-catalyzed reaction) and glycine + acetyl-CoA, has an apparent molecular weight approximately equal to 85,000 and consists of two identical (or nearly identical) subunits with Mr = 42,000. Computer analysis of amino acid composition data, which gives the best fit nearest integer ratio for each residue, indicates a total of 387 amino acids/subunit with a calculated Mr = 42,093. Stepwise Edman degradation provided the N-terminal sequence of the first 21 amino acids. It is a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme since (a) several carbonyl reagents caused greater than 90% loss of activity, (b) dialysis against buffer containing hydroxylamine resulted in 89% loss of activity coincident with an 86% decrease in absorptivity at 428 nm, (c) incubation of the apoenzyme with 20 microM pyridoxal phosphate showed a parallel recovery (greater than 90%) of activity and 428-nm absorptivity, and (d) reduction of the holoenzyme with NaBH4 resulted in complete inactivation, disappearance of a new absorption maximum at 333 nm. Strict specificity for glycine is shown but acetyl-CoA (100%), n-propionyl-CoA (127%), or n-butyryl-CoA (16%) is utilized in the condensation reaction. Apparent Km values for acetyl-CoA, n-propionyl-CoA, and glycine are 59 microM, 80 microM, and 12 mM, respectively; the pH optimum = 7.5. Added divalent metal ions or sulfhydryl compounds inhibited catalysis of the condensation reaction.     

Interaction between L-threonine dehydrogenase and aminoacetone synthetase and mechanism of aminoacetone production

A mixture of threonine dehydrogenase and aminoacetone synthetase will catalyze the conversion of L-threonine to glycine. The overall reaction likely involves the conversion of L-threonine, NAD+, and CoA to glycine, NADH, and acetyl-CoA. Physical separation of L-threonine dehydrogenase from aminoacetone synthetase results in the formation of aminoacetone and CO2 from their substrates. A physical interaction between threonine dehydrogenase and aminoacetone synthetase has been demonstrated by gel permeation chromatography and fluorescence polarization. Polarization of fluorescence measurements of threonine dehydrogenase and aminoacetone synthetase labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate indicated the formation of a soluble active complex, with an apparent dissociation constant (Kd) of 5-10 nM and an apparent stoichiometry of 2 aminoacetone synthetase dimers/1 threonine dehydrogenase tetramer. Chemical experiments have identified aminoacetone as the enzymatic product of L-threonine dehydrogenase acting on L-threonine. These experiments involved trapping pyrrole derivatives, [3H]NaBH4 reduction, and coupling with plasma amine oxidase. Kinetic experiments also showed NADH, CO2, and aminoacetone to inhibit threonine dehydrogenase in a manner consistent with an ordered Bi-Ter kinetic mechanism. NAD+ is the lead substrate followed by threonine, and the products are released in the order: CO2, aminoacetone, and NADH.     

Utilization of l-threonine by a species of Arthrobacter. A novel catabolic role for `aminoacetone synthase''

1. A species of Arthrobacter (designated Arthrobacter 9759) was isolated from soil by its ability to grow aerobically on l-threonine as sole source of carbon atoms, nitrogen atoms and energy; the organism also grew well on other sources of carbon atoms including glycine, but no growth was obtainable on aminoacetone or dl-1-aminopropan-2-ol. 2. During growth on threonine, (14)C from l-[U-(14)C]threonine was rapidly incorporated into glycine and citrate, and thereafter into serine, alanine, aspartate and glutamate. 3. With extracts of threonine-grown cells supplied with l-[U-(14)C]threonine, evidence was obtained of the NAD and CoA-dependent catabolism of l-threonine to produce acetyl-CoA plus glycine. Short-term incorporation studies in which [2-(14)C]acetate and [2-(14)C]glycine were supplied (a) to cultures growing on threonine, and (b) to extracts of threonine-grown cells, showed that the acetyl-CoA was metabolized via the tricarboxylic acid cycle and glyoxylate cycle whereas the glycine was converted into pyruvate via the folate-dependent ;serine pathway'. 4. The threonine-grown organism contained ;biosynthetic' threonine dehydratase and a potent NAD-linked l-threonine dehydrogenase but possessed no l-threonine aldolase activity. 5. Evidence was obtained that the acetyl-CoA and glycine produced from l-threonine had their immediate origin in the alpha-amino-beta-oxobutyrate formed by the threonine dehydrogenase; the CoA-dependent cleavage of this compound was catalysed by an alpha-amino-beta-oxobutyrate CoA-ligase, which was identified with ;aminoacetone synthase'. A continuous spectrophotometric assay of this enzyme was developed, and it was found to be inducibly synthesized only during growth on threonine and not during growth on acetate plus glycine. 6. By using a reconstituted mixture of separately purified l-threonine dehydrogenase and alpha-amino-beta-oxobutyrate CoA-ligase (i.e. ;aminoacetone synthase'), l-[U-(14)C]threonine was broken down to [(14)C]glycine plus [(14)C]acetyl-CoA (trapped as [(14)C]citrate). 7. There was no evidence of aminoacetone metabolism by Arthrobacter 9759 even though a small amount of this amino ketone appeared in the culture medium during growth on threonine.     

The first thermophilic alpha-oxoamine synthase family enzyme that has activities of 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate CoA ligase and 7-keto-8-aminopelargonic acid synthase: cloning and overexpression of the gene from an extreme thermophile, Thermus thermophilus, and characterization of its gene product

The first thermophilic alpha-oxoamine synthase family enzyme was identified. The gene (ORF TTHA1582), which is annotated to code putative alpha-oxoamine synthase family enzymes, 7-keto-8-aminopelargonic acid (KAPA) synthase (BioF, 8-amino-7-oxononanoate synthase, EC 2.3.1.47) and 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate CoA ligase (KBL, EC 2.3.1.29), in a genomic database, was cloned from an extreme thermophile, Thermus thermophilus, and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant TTHA1582 protein was purified and characterized. It exhibited activity of BioF, which catalyzes the condensation of pimeloyl-CoA and L-alanine to produce a biotin intermediate KAPA, CoASH, and CO(2) with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate as a cofactor. The protein is a dimer with a subunit of 43 kDa that shows an amino acid sequence identity of 35% with E. coli BioF. The optimum temperature and pH were about 70 degrees C and about 6.0. The enzyme showed high thermostability at temperatures of up to 70 degrees C for 1 h, and a half-life of 1 h at 80 degrees C. Thus the TTHA1582 protein was found to have the highest optimum temperature and thermostablility of the alpha-oxoamine synthase family enzymes so far reported. Substrate specificity experiments revealed that it was also able to catalyze the KBL reaction, which used acetyl-CoA and glycine as substrates, and that enzyme activity was seen with the following combinations of substrates: acetyl-CoA and glycine, L-alanine, or L-serine; pimeloyl-CoA and L-alanine, glycine, or L-serine; palmitoyl-CoA and L-alanine. This suggests that the recombinant TTHA1582 protein has broad substrate specificity, unlike the reported mesophilic enzymes of the alpha-oxoamine synthase family.     

Formation of glycine and aminoacetone from l-threonine by rat liver mitochondria

Threonine is a precursor of glycine in the rat, but the metabolic pathway involved is unclear. To elucidate this pathway, the biosynthesis of glycine, and of aminoacetone, from l-threonine were studied in rat liver mitochondrial preparations of differing integrities. In the absence of added cofactors, intact mitochondria formed glycine and aminoacetone in approximately equal amounts from 20 mM l-threonine, but exogenous NAD⁺ decreased and CoA increased the ratio of glycine to aminoacetone formed. In intact and freeze-thawed mitochondria, the ratio of glycine to aminoacetone formed was markedly sensitive to the concentration of l-threonine, glycine being the major product at low l-threonine concentrations. Disruption of mitochondrial integrity by sonication (1 min) decreased the ratio of glycine to aminoacetone formed, and in 20 000 × g supernatant fractions from sonicated (3 min) mitochondria, aminoacetone was the major product. The main non-nitogenous tow-carbon compound detected when intact mitochondria catabolized l-threonine to glycine was acetate, which was probably derived from deacylation of acetyl-CoA. These results suggest that glycine formation from l-threonine in rat liver mitochondria occured primarily by the coupled activities of threonine dehydrogenase and 2-amino-3-oxobutyrate CoA-ligase, the extent of coupling between the enzymes being dependent upon a close physical relationship and upon the flux through the dehydrogenase reaction. In vivo glycine synthesis would predominate, and aminoacetone would be a minor product.     

2-Amino-3-ketobutyrate CoA ligase of Escherichia coli: stoichiometry of pyridoxal phosphate binding and location of the pyridoxyllysine peptide in the primary structure of the enzyme

Pure 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate CoA ligase from Escherichia coli, which catalyzes the cleavage/condensation reaction between 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate (the presumed product of the L-threonine dehydrogenase-catalyzed reaction) and glycine + acetyl-CoA, is a dimeric enzyme (Mr = 84,000) that requires pyridoxal 5'-phosphate as coenzyme for catalytic activity. Reduction of the hololigase with tritiated NaBH4 yields an inactive, radioactive enzyme adduct; acid hydrolysis of this adduct allowed for the isolation and identification of epsilon-N-pyridoxyllysine. Quantitative determinations established that 2 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate are bound per mol of dimeric enzyme. After the inactive, tritiated enzyme adduct was digested with trypsin, a single radioactive peptide containing 23 amino acids was isolated and found to have the following primary structure: Val-Asp-Ile-Ile-Thr-Gly-Thr-Leu-Gly-Lys*-Ala-Leu-Gly-Gly-Ala-Ser-Gly-Gly -Tyr-Thr-Ala-Ala-Arg (where * = the lysine residue in azomethine linkage with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate). This peptide corresponds to residues 235-257 in the intact protein; 10 residues around the lysine residue have a high level of homology with a segment of the primary structure of 5-aminolevulinate synthase from chicken liver.     

Formation of glycine and aminoacetone from L-threonine by rat liver mitochondria

Threonine is a precursor of glycine in the rat, but the metabolic pathway involved is unclear. To elucidate this pathway, the biosynthesis of glycine, and of aminoacetone, from L-threonine were studied in rat liver mitochondrial preparations of differing integrities. In the absence of added cofactors, intact mitochondria formed glycine and aminoacetone in approximately equal amounts from 20 mM L-threonine, but exogenous NAD+ decreased and CoA increased the ratio of glycine to aminoacetone formed. In intact and freeze-thawed mitochondria, the ratio of glycine to aminoacetone formed was markedly sensitive to the concentration of L-threonine, glycine being the major product at low L-threonine concentrations. Disruption of mitochondrial integrity by sonication (1 min) decreased the ratio of glycine to aminoacetone formed, and in 20000 X g supernatant fractions from sonicated (3 min) mitochondria, aminoacetone was the major product. The main non-nitogenous two-carbon compound detected when intact mitochondria catabolized L-threonine to glycine was acetate, which was probably derived from deacylation of acetyl-CoA. These results suggest that glycine formation from L-threonine in rat liver mitochondria occurred primarily by the coupled activities of threonine dehydrogenase and 2-amino-3-oxobutyrate CoA-ligase, the extent of coupling between the enzymes being dependent upon a close physical relationship and upon the flux through the dehydrogenase reaction. In vivo glycine synthesis would predominate, and aminoacetone would be a minor product.     

Synthesis of pyruvate carboxylase from its apoenzyme and (+)-biotin in Bacillus stearothermophilus. Mechanism and control of the reaction

1. Acetyl-CoA acts as a positive allosteric effector in the formation of active pyruvate carboxylase from its apoenzyme, ATP and (+)-biotin which is catalysed by holoenzyme synthetase; this effect is counteracted by l-aspartate. 2. The Hill coefficients (apparent n values) were approximately 2 for acetyl-CoA and 4 for l-aspartate; the n value for each effector remained constant when the concentration of the other effector was varied. 3. Active pyruvate carboxylase was formed also when the apoenzyme was incubated with holoenzyme synthetase and synthetic biotinyl-5'-AMP; acetyl-CoA and l-aspartate affected this process as they did the overall reaction from (+)-biotin and ATP. 4. When hydroxylamine replaced the apoenzyme, holoenzyme synthetase catalysed the formation of biotinylhydroxamate from (+)-biotin and ATP. This reaction was not affected by the allosteric effectors. 5. The apoenzyme was protected against thermal denaturation by acetyl-CoA and, to a lesser degree, by l-aspartate. The holoenzyme synthetase was not markedly protected by these effectors. 6. It is concluded that the allosteric effectors act on the apoenzyme and not the synthetase.     

Properties of crystalline L-ornithine: alpha-ketoglutarate delta-aminotransferase from Bacillus sphaericus.

The distribution of bacterial L-ornithine: alpha-ketoglutarate delta-aminotransferase (L-ornithine:2-oxo-acid aminotransferase [EC 2.6.1.13]) was investigated, and Bacillus sphaericus (IFO 3525) was found to have the highest activity of the enzyme, which was inducibly formed by addition of L-ornithine or L-arginine to the medium. L-Ornithine:alpha-ketoglutarate delta-aminotransferase, purified to homogeneity and crystallized from B. sphaericus, had a molecular weight of about 80,000 and consisted of two subunits identical in molecular weight (41,000) and in amino-terminal residue (threonine). The enzyme exhibited absorption maxima at 278,343, and 425 nm and contained 1 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate per mol of enzyme. The formyl group of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate was bound through an aldimine linkage to the epsilon-amino group of a lysine residue of the protein. The enzyme-bound pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, absorbing at 425 nm, was released by incubation with phenylhydrazine to yield the catalytically inactive form. The inactive enzyme, which was reactivated by addition of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, still had a 343-nm peak and contained 1 mol of a vitamin B6 compound. The holoenzyme showed positive circular dichroic bands at 340 and 425 nm, whereas the inactive form had no band at 425 nm. The enzyme was highly specific for L-ornithine and alpha-ketoglutarate and catalyzed delta-transamination between them to produce L-glutamate and L-glutamate-gamma-semialdehyde, which as spontaneously converted to delta 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate. The enzyme activity was significantly affected by nonsubstrate amino acids, amines, and carbonyl reagents.     

D-Cysteine desulfhydrase of Escherichia coli. Purification and characterization

D-Cysteine-specific desulfhydrase is found in some intestinal bacteria. Escherichia coli W3110 delta trpED102/F' delta trpED102 was found to have the highest enzyme activity. The enzyme was purified from E. coli W3110 delta trpED102/F' delta trpED102 in six steps. After the last step the enzyme appeared to be homogeneous by the criteria of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, analytical ultracentrifugation and double diffusion in agarose. The enzyme has a molecular mass of about 67 000 Da and consists of two subunits identical in molecular mass. The enzyme exhibits absorption maxima at 278 nm and 418 nm, which are independent of pH (6.5-10.5), and contains 2 mol pyridoxal phosphate/mol enzyme. The holoenzyme is resolved to the apoenzyme by incubation with phenylhydrazine, and reconstituted on the addition of pyridoxal phosphate. D-Cysteine desulfhydrase also catalyzes the beta-replacement reaction of the chlorine of 3-chloro-D-alanine with thioglycolic acid to yield S-carboxymethyl-D-cysteine. Its catalytic and immunological properties are compared with those of 3-chloro-D-alanine dehydrochlorinase.     

Metabolism of 2-oxoaldehydes in yeasts. Possible role of glycolytic bypath as a detoxification system in L-threonine catabolism by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

L-Threonine catabolism by Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied to determine the role of glycolytic bypath as a detoxyfication system of 2-oxoaldehyde (methylglyoxal) formed from L-threonine catabolism. During the growth on L-threonine as a sole source of nitrogen, a large amount of aminoacetone was accumulated in the culture. The enzymatic analyses indicated that L-threonine was converted into either acetaldehyde and glycine by threonine aldolase or 2-aminoacetoacetate by NAD-dependent threonine dehydrogenase. Glycine formed was condensed with acetyl-CoA by aminoacetone synthase to form 2-aminoacetoacetate, a labile compound spontaneously decarboxylated into aminoacetone. The enzyme activities of the glycolytic bypath of the cells grown on L-threonine were considerably higher than those of the cells grown on ammonium sulfate as a nitrogen source. The result indicated the possible role of glycolytic bypath as a detoxification system of methylglyoxal formed from L-threonine catabolism.     

D-amino acid aminotransferase of Bacillus sphaericus. Enzymologic and spectrometric properties.

D-Amino acid aminotransferase, purified to homogeneity and crystallized from Bacillus sphaericus, has a molecular weight of about 60,000 and consists of two subunits identical in molecular weight (30,000). The enzyme exhibits absorption maxima at 280, 330, and 415 nm, which are independent of the pH (5.5 to 10.0), and contains 2 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate per mol of enzyme. One of the pyridoxal-5'-P, absorbing at 415 nm, is bound in an aldimine linkage to the epsilon-amino group of a lysine residue of the protein, and is released by incubation with phenylhydrazine to yield the catalytically inactive form. The inactive form, which is reactivated by addition of pyridoxal 5'phosphate, still has a 330 nm peak and contains 1 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. Therefore, this form is regarded as a semiapoenzyme. The holoenzyme shows negative circular dichroic bands at 330 and 415 nm. D-Amino acid aminotransferase catalyzes alpha transamination of various D-amino acids and alpha-keto acids. D-Alanine, D-alpha-aminobutyrate and D-glutamate, and alpha-ketoglutarate, pyruvate, and alpha-ketobutyrate are the preferred amino donors and acceptors, respectively. The enzyme activity is significantly affected by both the carbonyl and sulfhydryl reagents. The Michaelis constants are as follows: D-alanine (1.3 and 4.2 mM with alpha-ketobutyrate and alpha-ketoglutarate, respictively), alpha-ketobutyrate (14 mM withD-alanine), alpha-ketoglutarate (3.4 mM with D-alanine), pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (2.3 muM) and pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate (25 muM).     

Neurospora tryptophan synthase. Characterization of the pyridoxal phosphate binding site

Tryptophan synthase, which catalyzes the final step of tryptophan biosynthesis, is a multifunctional protein that requires pyridoxal phosphate for two of its three distinct enzyme activities. Tryptophan synthase from Neurospora crassa, a homodimer of two 75-kDa subunits, was shown to bind 1 mol of pyridoxal phosphate/mol of subunit with a calculated dissociation constant for pyridoxal phosphate of 1.1 microM. The spectral properties of the holoenzyme, apoenzyme, and reconstituted holoenzyme were characterized and compared to those previously established for the heterotetrameric (alpha 2 beta 2) enzyme from Escherichia coli. The Schiff base formed between pyridoxal phosphate and the enzyme was readily reduced by sodium borohydride, but not sodium cyanoborohydride. The active site residue that binds pyridoxal phosphate, labeled by reduction of the Schiff base with tritium-labeled sodium borohydride, was determined to be lysine by high performance liquid chromatography analysis of the protein hydrolysate. A 5400-dalton peptide containing the reduced pyridoxal phosphate moiety was generated by cyanogen bromide treatment, purified and sequenced. The sequence is 85% homologous with the corresponding sequence obtained for yeast tryptophan synthase (Zalkin, H., and Yanofsky, C. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 1491-1500); the lysine derivatized by pyridoxal phosphate is located at the same relative position as that in the yeast and E. coli enzymes.     

The tryptophanase from Proteus rettgeri, improved purification and properties of crystalline holotryptophanase.

The inducible tryptophanase (L-tryptophan indole-lyase (deaminating) EC 4.1.99.1) was crystallized in holoenzyme from the cell extract of Proteus rettgeri. The purification procedure included ammonium sulfate fractionation, heat treatment at 60 degrees C, DEAE-Sephadex and hydroxylapatite column chromatographies. Crystallization was performed by the addition of ammonium sulfate to the purified enzyme solution containing 20% (v/v) glycerol, 0.1 mM pyridoxal phosphate and 10 mM mercaptoethanol. The crystallized enzyme was yellow and showed absorption maxima at 340 and 420 nm. The crystalline holotryptophanase preparation was homogeneous by the criteria of ultracentrifugation and disc gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight of the enzyme was calculated as approx. 222 000. The amount of pyridoxal phosphate bound to the enzyme was determined to be 4 mol per mol of the enzyme. The enzyme is composed of four subunits of identical molecular size (mol. wt 55 000) and irreversibly dissociates into these subunits in the presence of a high concentration of sodium dodecylsulfate or guanidine hydrochloride. The NH2-terminal amino acid of the enzyme was identified as alanine.     

Control of 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase activity in Rhodopseudomonas spheroides. Binding of pyridoxal phosphate to 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase.

1. Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is a cofactor essential for the enzymic activity of aminolaevulinate synthetase from Rhodopseudomonas spheroides. It also aids activation of the low-activity enzyme by trisulphides such as cystine trisulphide, whereas inactivation of enzyme is facilitated by its absence. 2. The fluorescence spectrum of purified high-activity enzyme is that expected for a pyridoxal phosphate--Schiff base, but the firmly bound cofactor does not appear to be at the active centre. In dilute solutions of enzyme this grouping is inaccessible to nucleophiles such as glycine, hydroxylamine, borohydride and cyanide, at pH 7.4. 3. An active-centre Schiff base is formed between enzyne and added pyridoxal phosphate, which is accessible to nucleophiles. Concentrated solutions of this enzyme--Schiff base on treatment with glycine yield apo- and semi-apoenzyme, which can re-bind pyridoxal phosphate. 4. Two types of binding of pyridoxal phosphate are distinguishable in dilute solution of enzyme, but these become indistinguishable when concentrated solutions are treated with cofactor. A change occurs in the susceptibility towards borohydride of the fluorescence of the "structural" pyridoxal phosphate. 5. One or two molecules of cofactor are bound per subunit of mol. wt. 50 000 in semiapo- or holo-enzyme. The fluorescence of pyridoxamine phosphate covalently bound to enzyme also indicates one to two nmol of reducible Schiff base per 7000 units of activity in purified and partially purified samples of enzyme. 6. Cyanide does not convert high-activity into low-activity enzyme, but with the enzyme-pyridoxal phosphate complex it forms a yellow fluorescent derivative that is enzymically active.     

Purification and physicochemical properties of fatty acid synthetase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase from lactating rabbit mammary gland.

Fatty acid synthetase was purified 13-fold from lactating rabbit mammary glands by a procedure which involved chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, ammonium sulphate precipitation and gel filtration on Sepharose 4B. The preparation was completed within two days and over 100 mg of enzyme was isolated from 100--150 g of mammary tissue, which represented a yield of over 40%. The preparation was homogeneous by the criteria of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugal analysis. The sedimentation constant, S20,w was 13.3 S, the absorption coefficient, A280nm1%, measured refractometrically was 10.0 +/- 0.1, and the amino acid composition was determined. The subunit molecular weight determined by gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate was 252,000 +/- 6,000, and the molecular weight of the native enzyme measured by sedimentation equilibrium was 515,000. These experiments indicate that at the concentrations which exist in mammary tissue (2--4 mg/ml) fatty acid synthetase is a dimer. The purified enzyme did however show a tendency to dissociate to a monomeric 9-9S species on storage for several days or following exposure to a low ionic strength buffer at pH 8.3. There was only a small quantity of alkali labile phosphate (0.2 molecules per subunit) bound covalently to the purified enzyme. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase was purified 300-fold in a 50% yield within 24 h by ammonium sulphate and polyethylene glycol precipitations [Hardie, D.G. and Cohen, P. (1978) FEBS Lett. 91, 1--7]. The preparation was in a state approaching homogeneity as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, gel filtration on Sepharose 4B and ultracentrifugal analysis. The sedimentation constant, S20,w, was 50.5 S, the absorption index, A280nm1%, was 14.5 +/- 0.7, and the amino acid composition was determined. The subunit molecular weight of acetyl-CoA carboxylase determined by gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate was identical to that of fatty acid synthetase (252,000) as shown by electrophoresis of a mixture of the two proteins. The preparations also contained two minor components of molecular weight 235,000 and 225,000, which appear to be derived from the major species of mol. wt 252,000. A large emount of phosphate (3.2 molecules per subunit) was found to be bound covalently to the purified enzyme. The properties of fatty acid synthetase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase are compared to those obtained by other workers.     

Inactivation of yeast fatty acid synthetase by modifying the beta-ketoacyl reductase active lysine residue with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate

Treatment of yeast fatty acid synthetase with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate inhibited the enzyme. Assays of the partial activities of the pyridoxal phosphate-treated synthetase showed that only the beta-ketoacyl reductase was significantly inhibited. NADPH prevented inactivation of the enzyme by pyridoxal phosphate, indicating that pyridoxal modifies a residue near or in the beta-ketoacyl reductase site. The pyridoxal-treated synthetase shows a fluorescence spectrum with a maximum of 426 nm after uv irradiation at 325 nm. Binding of the pyridoxal phosphate to the synthetase is reversible as shown by the disappearance of the fluorescence band after dialysis of pyridoxal-treated enzyme. Reduction with NaBH4 of the pyridoxal-treated enzyme eliminates this fluorescence maximum and causes the appearance of a new band at 393 nm. These observations suggest that pyridoxal phosphate interacts with the synthetase by forming a Schiff base with lysine residue at the beta-ketoacyl reductase site. Amino acid analyses of the HCl hydrolysates of the borohydride-reduced, pyridoxal-treated synthetase showed the presence of 6 mol of N6-pyridoxal derivative of lysine per mole of fatty acid synthetase, indicating the presence of six sites of beta-ketoacyl reductase in the native enzyme. Autoradiography of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels of the pyridoxal phosphate enzyme reduced with NaB3H4 indicates that the alpha subunit contains the beta-ketoacyl reductase domain. These findings are consistent with the proposed structure of the alpha 6 beta 6 complex required for palmitoyl-CoA synthesis.     

Expression of alr gene from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 in Escherichia coli and molecular characterization of the recombinant alanine racemase

We constructed the high-expression system of the alr gene from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 in Escherichia coli BL 21 (DE3) to characterize the enzymological and structural properties of the gene product, Alr. The Alr was expressed in the soluble fractions of the cell extract of the E. coli clone and showed alanine racemase activity. The purified Alr was a dimer with a molecular mass of 78 kDa. The Alr required pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) as a coenzyme and contained 2 mol of PLP per mol of the enzyme. The holoenzyme showed maximum absorption at 420 nm, while the reduced form of the enzyme showed it at 310 nm. The Alr was specific for alanine, and the optimum pH was observed at about nine. The Alr was relatively thermostable, and its half-life time at 60 degrees C was estimated to be 26 min. The K(m) and V(max) values were determined as follows: l-alanine to d-alanine, K(m) (l-alanine) 5.01 mM and V(max) 306 U/mg; d-alanine to l-alanine, K(m) (d-alanine) 5.24 mM and V(max) 345 U/mg. The K(eq) value was calculated to be 1.07 and showed good agreement with the theoretical value for the racemization reaction. The high substrate specificity of the Alr from C. glutamicum ATCC 13032 is expected to be a biocatalyst for d-alanine production from the l-counter part.     

Unusual structural,functional, and stability properties of serine hydroxymethyltransferase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

From the genome analysis of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis two putative genes namely GlyA and GlyA2 have been proposed to encode for the enzyme serine hydroxymethyltransferase. We have cloned, overexpressed, and purified to homogeneity their respective protein products, serine hydroxymethyltransferase, SHM1 and SHM2. The recombinant SHM1 and SHM2 exist as homodimers of molecular mass about 90 kDa under physiological conditions, however, SHM2 has more compact conformation and higher thermal stability than SHM1. The most interesting structural observation was that the SHM1 contains 1 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)/mol of enzyme dimer. This is the first report of such a unique stoichiometry of PLP and enzyme dimer for SHMT. The SHM2 contains 2 mol of PLP/mol of enzyme dimer, which is the usual stoichiometry reported for SHMT. Functionally both the recombinant enzymes showed catalysis of reversible interconversion of serine and glycine and aldol cleavage of a 3-hydroxyamino acid. However, unlike SHMT from other sources both SHM1 and SHM2 do not undergo half-transamination reaction with d-alanine resulting in formation of apoenzyme but l-cysteine removed the prosthetic group, PLP, from both the recombinant enzymes leaving the respective inactive apoenzymes. Comparative structural studies on the two enzymes showed that the SHM1 is resistant to alkaline denaturation up to pH 10.5, whereas the native SHM2 dimer dissociates into monomer at pH 9. Urea- and guanidinium chloride-induced two-step unfolding of SHM1 and SHM2 with the first step being dissociation of dimer into apomonomer at low denaturant concentrations followed by unfolding of the stabilized monomer at higher denaturant concentrations.     

An Alternative Synthesis of (2R,6R)-(–)-2,6,10-Trimethylundecyl Bromide,the Key Intermediate in the Synthesis of Natural α-Tocopherol

Crystalline aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase from Micrococcus percitreus is inactive in the absence of pyridoxal phosphate (PLP). The inactive form of the enzyme shows absorption at 340 nm and contains one mol of PLP per mol of enzyme. Binding of PLP to the inactive form is accompanied by a pronounced increase in absorbance at 415 nm. The amount of PLP that binds to this holoenzyme is 2 mol per mol of enzyme. The inactive half-resolved form, i. e. semiapoenzyme, is obtained again by dialysis of the holoenzyme against phosphate buffer. When the semiapoenzyme is dialyzed against phosphate buffer containing 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-l-alanine, it loses the absorption at 340 nm with the loss of PLP. This apoenzyme regains the activity and absorption at 340 nm and 415 nm on association with PLP.