L-serine binds to arginine-148 of the beta 2 subunit of Escherichia coli tryptophan synthase

Inactivation of the beta 2 subunit and of the alpha 2 beta 2 complex of tryptophan synthase of Escherichia coli by the arginine-specific dicarbonyl reagent phenylglyoxal results from modification of one arginyl residue per beta monomer. The substrate L-serine protects the holo beta 2 subunit and the holo alpha 2 beta 2 complex from both inactivation and arginine modification but has no effect on the inactivation or modification of the apo forms of the enzyme. This result and the finding that phenylglyoxal competes with L-serine in reactions catalyzed by both the holo beta 2 subunit and the holo alpha 2 beta 2 complex indicate that L-serine and phenylglyoxal both bind to the same essential arginyl residue in the holo beta 2 subunit. The apo beta 2 subunit is protected from phenylglyoxal inactivation much more effectively by phosphopyridoxyl-L-serine than by either pyridoxal phosphate or pyridoxine phosphate, both of which lack the L-serine moiety. The phenylglyoxal-modified apo beta 2 subunit binds pyridoxal phosphate and the alpha subunit but cannot bind L-serine or L-tryptophan. We conclude that the alpha-carboxyl group of L-serine and not the phosphate of pyridoxal phosphate binds to the essential arginyl residue in the beta 2 subunit. The specific arginyl residue in the beta 2 subunit which is protected by L-serine from modification by phenyl[2-14C]glyoxal has been identified as arginine-148 by isolating a labeled cyanogen bromide fragment (residues 135-149) and by digesting this fragment with pepsin to yield the labeled dipeptide arginine-methionine (residues 148-149). The primary sequence near arginine-148 contains three other basic residues (lysine-137, arginine-141, and arginine-150) which may facilitate anion binding and increase the reactivity of arginine-148. The conservation of the arginine residues 141, 148, and 150 in the sequences of tryptophan synthase from E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and yeast supports a functional role for these three residues in anion binding. The location and role of the active-site arginyl residues in the beta 2 subunit and in two other enzymes which contain pyridoxal phosphate, aspartate aminotransferase and glycogen phosphorylase, are compared.     

Photoinactivation and photoaffinity labeling of tryptophan synthase alpha 2 beta 2 complex by the product analogue 6-azido-L-tryptophan

The photoaffinity reagent 6-azido-L-tryptophan was synthesized by chemical methods. It binds reversibly in the dark to the alpha 2 beta 2 complex of tryptophan synthase of Escherichia coli and forms a quinonoid intermediate with enzyme-bound pyridoxal phosphate (lambda max = 476 nm). The absorbance of this chromophore has been used for spectrophotometric titrations to determine the binding of 6-azido-L-tryptophan (the half-saturation value [S]0.5 = 6.3 microM). Photolysis of the quinonoid form of the alpha 2 beta 2 complex results in time-dependent inactivation of the beta 2 subunit but not of the alpha subunit. The extent of photoinactivation is directly proportional to the absorbance at 476 nm of the quinonoid intermediate prior to photolysis. The substrate L-serine is a competitive inhibitor of 6-azido-L-tryptophan binding and photoinactivation. The competitive inhibitors L-tryptophan, D-tryptophan, and oxindolyl-L-alanine also protect against photoinactivation. The results demonstrate that 6-azido-L-tryptophan is a quasi-substrate for the alpha 2 beta 2 complex of tryptophan synthase and that photolysis of the enzyme-quasi-substrate quinonoid intermediate results in photoinactivation. The modified alpha 2 beta 2 complex retains its ability to bind pyridoxal phosphate and to cleave indole-3-glycerol phosphate, a reaction catalyzed by the alpha subunit. 6-Azido-L-tryptophan (side-chain 1,2,3-14C3 labeled) was synthesized enzymatically from 6-azidoindole and uniformly labeled L-[14C]serine by the alpha 2 beta 2 complex of tryptophan synthase on a preparative scale and has been isolated. Incorporation of 14C label from 6-azido-L-[14C]tryptophan is stoichiometric with inactivation. Our finding that most of the incorporated 14C label is bound in an unstable linkage suggests that an active site carboxyl residue is the major site of photoaffinity labeling by 6-azido-L-tryptophan.     

Relative activities and stabilities of mutant Escherichia coli tryptophan synthase alpha subunits

In vitro mutagenesis of the Escherichia coli trpA gene has yielded 66 mutant tryptophan synthase alpha subunits containing single amino acid substitutions at 49 different residue sites and 29 double and triple amino acid substitutions at 16 additional sites, all within the first 121 residues of the protein. The 66 singly altered mutant alpha subunits encoded from overexpression vectors have been examined for their ability to support growth in trpA mutant host strains and for their enzymatic and stability properties in crude extracts. With the exception of mutant alpha subunits altered at catalytic residue sites Glu-49 and Asp-60, all support growth; this includes those (48 of 66) that have no enzymatic defects and those (18 of 66) that do. The majority of the enzymatically defective mutant alpha subunits have decreased capacities for substrate (indole-3-glycerol phosphate) utilization, typical of the early trpA missense mutants isolated by in vivo selection methods. These defects vary in severity from complete loss of activity for mutant alpha subunits altered at residue positions 49 and 60 to those, altered elsewhere, that are partially (up to 40 to 50%) defective. The complete inactivation of the proteins altered at the two catalytic residue sites suggest that, as found via in vitro site-specific mutagenesis of the Salmonella typhimurium tryptophan synthetase alpha subunit, both residues probably also participate in a push-pull general acid-base catalysis of indole-3-glycerol phosphate breakdown for the E. coli enzyme as well. Other classes of mutant alpha subunits include some novel types that are defective in their functional interaction with the other tryptophan synthetase component, the beta 2 subunit. Also among the mutant alpha subunits, 19 were found altered at one or another of the 34 conserved residue sites in this portion of the alpha polypeptide sequence; surprisingly, 10 of these have wild-type enzymatic activity, and 16 of these can satisfy growth requirements of a trpA mutant host. Heat stability and potential folding-rate alterations are found in both enzymatically active and defective mutant alpha subunits. Tyr-4. Pro-28, Ser-33, Gly-44, Asp-46, Arg-89, Pro-96, and Cys-118 may be important for these properties, especially for folding. Two regions, one near Thr-24 and another near Met-101, have been also tentatively identified as important for increasing stability.     

Photoaffinity labeling of the indole sites on the Escherichia coli tryptophan synthase alpha-subunit

The alpha subunit of the Escherichia coli tryptophan synthase catalyzes the reversible aldolytic reaction: Indole-3-glycerol phosphate in equilibrium indole + glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. The use of 5-azidoindole as a photoaffinity label has made the generation of a number of enzyme-substrate complexes possible, each with a given degree of saturation of the two postulated indole sites. When assayed in the reverse reaction (indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthesis), samples of alpha subunit treated at concentrations of 5-azidoindole less than or equal to 2 mM show a progressive 30-40% activation. A gradual inactivation occurs only in samples irradiated at concentrations in excess of 2 mM 5-azidoindole, and this inactivation is complete at 8-10 mM. A quantitatively similar activation occurs in the forward reaction (indole synthesis), however inactivation in this case is incomplete, with complexes treated at 8-12 mM 5-azidoindole retaining 30-40% relative activity in this reaction. When treated alpha subunits were assayed for their abilities to complement the beta 2-subunit in the reactions indole + L-serine leads to L-tryptophan + H2O and indole-3-glycerol phosphate + L-serine leads to L-tryptophan + glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, quantitatively lesser amounts of activation followed by total inactivation are observed over a similar range of 5-azidoindole concentrations.     

Escherichia coli tryptophan synthase: synthesis of catalytically competent alpha subunit in a cell-free system containing preacylated tRNAs

A cell-free protein biosynthesizing system prepared from Escherichia coli CF300 was found to synthesize E. coli tryptophan synthase alpha subunit in a time-dependent manner when programmed with pBN69 plasmid DNA. This plasmid contains the trp promoter from Serratia marcescens adjacent to the coding region of E. coli tryptophan synthase alpha protein [Nichols, B.P., & Yanofsky, C. (1983) Methods Enzymol. 101, 155-164]. The synthesized tryptophan synthase alpha subunit was found to be indistinguishable from authentic alpha subunit protein when analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and to have the same specific activity for catalyzing the conversion of indole----L-tryptophan by tryptophan synthase beta 2 subunit, as well as the conversion of indole + glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to indole-3-glycerol phosphate. In the absence of exogenously added phenylalanine, admixture of E. coli phenylalanyl-tRNAPhe to the protein biosynthesizing system stimulated the production of functional alpha protein; the analogous result was obtained when valine was replaced by E. coli valyl-tRNAVal. The ability of a misacylated tRNA to participate in alpha protein synthesis in this system was established by the use of E. coli phenylalanyl-tRNAVal in the absence of added valine. Protein biosynthesis proceeded normally and gave a product having the approximate molecular weight of tryptophan synthase alpha subunit; as expected, this polypeptide lacked catalytic activity.     

Beta-elimination of indole from L-tryptophan catalyzed by bacterial tryptophan synthase: a comparison between reactions catalyzed by tryptophanase and tryptophan synthase

Although tryptophan synthase catalyzes a number of pyridoxal phosphate dependent beta-elimination and beta-replacement reactions that are also catalyzed by tryptophanase, a principal and puzzling difference between the two enzymes lies in the apparent inability of tryptophan synthase to catalyze beta-elimination of indole from L-tryptophan. We now demonstrate for the first time that the beta 2 subunit and the alpha 2 beta 2 complex of tryptophan synthase from Escherichia coli and from Salmonella typhimurium do catalyze a slow beta-elimination reaction with L-tryptophan to produce indole, pyruvate, and ammonia. The rate of the reaction is about 10-fold higher in the presence of the alpha subunit. The rate of indole production is increased about 4-fold when the aminoacrylate produced is converted to S-(hydroxyethyl)-L-cysteine by a coupled beta-replacement reaction with beta-mercaptoethanol. The rate of L-tryptophan cleavage is also increased when the indole produced is removed by extraction with toluene or by condensation with D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to form indole-3-glycerol phosphate in a reaction catalyzed by the alpha subunit of tryptophan synthase. The amount of L-tryptophan cleavage is greatest in the presence of both beta-mercaptoethanol and D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, which cause the removal of both products of cleavage. The cleavage reaction is not due to contaminating tryptophanase since the activity is not inhibited by (3R)-2,3-dihydro-L-tryptophan, a specific inhibitor of tryptophanase, but is inhibited by (3S)-2,3-dihydro-L-tryptophan, a specific inhibitor of tryptophan synthase. The cleavage reaction is also inhibited by D-tryptophan, the product of a slow racemization reaction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Arginine and cysteine residues in the ligand binding site of alpha 2-adrenergic receptors

alpha 2-Adrenergic receptors were identified in calf brain, human platelet and human uterus membranes by [3H]-rauwolscine binding. The reagents phenylglyoxal (selective for guanidino groups), p- hydroxy mercuribenzoate and N-ethylmaleimide (selective for sulfhydryl groups) caused a time- and dose- dependent decrease in the number of receptor sites. alpha 2-Adrenergic agonists and antagonists mediated efficient protection of the receptors against these reagents. These data suggest that essential arginine and cysteine residues are present at or near the alpha 2-adrenergic binding site.     

Structures of wild-type and P28L/Y173F tryptophan synthase alpha-subunits from Escherichia coli

The alpha-subunit of tryptophan synthase (alphaTS) catalyzes the cleavage of indole-3-glycerol phosphate to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and indole, which is used to yield the amino acid tryptophan in tryptophan biosynthesis. Here, we report the first crystal structures of wild-type and double-mutant P28L/Y173F alpha-subunit of tryptophan synthase from Escherichia coli at 2.8 and 1.8A resolution, respectively. The structure of wild-type alphaTS from E. coli was similar to that of the alpha(2)beta(2) complex structure from Salmonella typhimurium. As compared with both structures, the conformational changes are mostly in the interface of alpha- and beta-subunits, and the substrate binding region. Two sulfate ions and two glycerol molecules per asymmetric unit bind with the residues in the active sites of the wild-type structure. Contrarily, double-mutant P28L/Y173F structure is highly closed at the window for the substrate binding by the conformational changes. The P28L substitution induces the exposure of hydrophobic amino acids and decreases the secondary structure that causes the aggregation. The Y173F suppresses to transfer a signal from the alpha-subunit core to the alpha-subunit surface involved in interactions with the beta-subunit and increases structural stability.     

Arginine modification by phenylglyoxal and (p-hydroxyphenyl)glyoxal: reaction rates and intermediates

Reaction rates and pathways of two commonly used arginine-modifying reagents, phenylglyoxal (PGO) and (p-hydroxyphenyl)glyoxal (HPGO), were investigated by spectrophotometry. The initial rate at pH 9.0 of PGO with arginyl compounds was found to be 15 to 20 times greater than that of HPGO in the absence of borate but only 1.6 times greater in the presence of borate. Time-resolved spectra of HPGO reactions with arginines revealed, in contrast to the relatively simple spectra of PGO, at least two spectrophotometrically identifiable intermediates, one non-absorbing at 336 nm and the other absorbing at 458 nm. The 458 nm absorbing intermediate species was no longer detectable in the presence of borate.     

Reactivity and specificity of alpha-dicarbonyl compounds towards essential aminoacyl residues of D-beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase from the inner mitochondrial membrane

The effects of a alpha-dicarbonyl chromophoric reagent: 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenylglyoxal on the D-beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase have been compared to those of phenylglyoxal, a specific arginyl reagent in proteins. Both reagents inactivate irreversibly the enzyme. Kinetic experiments show that only one molecule of these reagents per molecule of enzyme is sufficient to inactivate the enzyme. The second order inactivation rate constant is more than 500 times higher with the chromophoric reagent than with phenylglyoxal. A pseudosubstrate (methylmalonate) in presence of coenzyme (NAD) strongly protects enzyme against inactivation by both reagents. Coenzyme alone has no effect on inactivation by phenylglyoxal while it protects whether inhibitor is the chromophoric reagent or N-ethylmaleimide: a thiol specific reagent. These results indicate: 1. That one arginyl residue is essential for D-beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase activity (experiments with phenylglyoxal). 2. That the presence of a nitro group on position 3 and a hydroxyl-group on position 4 strongly increase the reactivity of the alpha-dicarbonyl groups, but the specificity of the chemical reaction with arginyl residues seems to be lost for the benefit of cysteyl residues.     

Irreversible inactivation of red cell chloride exchange with phenylglyoxal, and arginine-specific reagent

Chloride exchange in resealed human erythrocyte ghosts can be irreversibly inhibited with phenylglyoxal, a reagent specific for the modification of arginyl residues in proteins. Phenylglyoxal inhibits anion transport in two distinct ways. At 0 degrees C, inhibition is instantaneous and fully reversible, whereas at higher temperature in an alkaline extracellular medium, covalent binding of phenylglyoxal leads to an irreversible inhibition of the transport membranes system. Indiscriminate modification of membrane arginyl residues was prevented by reacting the with phenylglyoxal in an alkaline extracellular medium while maintaining intracellular pH near neutrality. The rate of modification of anion transport depends on phenylglyoxal concentration, pH, temperature, and the presence of anions and reversible inhibitors of the anion transport system in fashions that are fully compatible with the conclusion that phenylglyoxal modifies arginyl residues that are essential for anion binding and translocation. Phenylglyoxal reacts rapidly with the deprotonated form of the reactive groups. It is proposed that the effects of anions and of negatively charged transport inhibitors on the rate of irreversible binding of phenylglyoxal are related to the effects of the anions on a positive interfacial potential. This potential determines the local pH, and thereby the concentration of deprotonated groups, in an exofacial region of the anion transport protein.     

Kinetics of the inactivation of Escherichia coli glutamate apodecarboxylase by phenylglyoxal.

The possible interaction of the phosphate moiety of pyridoxal phosphate with a guanidinium group in glutamate apodecarboxylase was investigated. The holoenzyme is not inactivated significantly by incubation with butanedione, glyoxal, methylglyoxal, or phenylglyoxal. However, the apoenzyme is inactivated by these arginine reagents in time-dependent processes. Phenylgloxal inactivates the apoenzyme most rapidly. The inactivation follows pseudo-first-order kinetics at high phenylglyoxal to apoenzyme ratios. The rate of inactivation is proportional to phenylglyoxal concentration, increases with increasing pH, and is also dependent on the type of buffer present. The rate of inactivation of the apoenzyme by phenylglyoxal is fastest in bicarbonate — carbonate buffer and increases with increasing bicarbonate — carbonate concentration. Phosphate, which inhibits the binding of pyridoxal phosphate to the apoenzyme, protects the apodecarboxylase against inactivation by phenylglyoxal. When the apodecarboxylase is inactivated with [¹⁴C]phenylglyoxal, approximately 1.6 mol of [¹⁴C]phenylglyoxal is incorporated per mol subunit. The phenylglyoxal is thought to modify an arginyl residue at or near the pyridoxal phosphate binding site of glutamate apodecarboxylase.     

Enzymatic properties of mutant Escherichia coli tryptophan synthase alpha-subunits

Thirty-nine mutant tryptophan synthase alpha subunits have been purified and analyzed (in the presence of the beta 2-subunit) for their enzymatic (kcat, Km) behavior in the reactions catalyzed by the alpha 2.beta 2 complex, the fully constituted form of this enzyme. The mutant alpha subunits, obtained by in vitro random, saturation mutagenesis of the encoding trpA gene, contain single amino acid substitutions at sites within the first 121 residues of the alpha polypeptide. Four categories of altered residues have been tentatively assigned roles in the catalytic functions of this enzyme: 1) catalytic residues (Glu49 and Asp60); 2) residues involved in substrate binding or orientation (Phe22, Thr63, Gln65, Tyr102, and Leu105); 3) residues involved in alpha.beta subunit interactions (Gly51, Pro53, Asp56, Asp60, Pro62, Ala67, Phe72, Thr77, Pro78, Tyr102, Asn104, Leu105, and Asn108); and 4) residues with no apparent catalytic roles. Catalytic residue alterations result in no detectable activity in the alpha-subunit specific reactions. Substrate binding/orientation roles are detected enzymatically primarily as rate defects; alterations only at Tyr102 result in apparent Km effects. alpha.beta interaction roles are detected as rate defects in all tryptophan synthase reactions plus Km increases for the alpha-subunit substrate, indole-3-glycerol phosphate, only when L-serine is present at the beta 2-subunit active site. A substitution at only one site, Asn104, appears to be unique in its potential effect on intersubunit channeling of indole, the product of the alpha-subunit specific reaction, to the beta 2-subunit active site.     

Modification of arginine residues in pyruvate kinase (author's transl)

Pyruvate kinase from pig heart is inactivated by the specific arginyl reagent phenylglyoxal. The loss of activity is caused by the reaction of a single molecule of phenylglyoxal per subunit of enzyme. During inactivation 3 - 6 arginyl residues are modified dependent on the concentration of phenylglyoxal used for modification. The solubility of the protein is reduced by the modification. ATP or phosphoenolpyruvate protect against inactivation. A single arginine is less subject to chemical modification in their presence. Therefore we assume that an arginine is essential at the substrate binding site. The activating ion K does not affectinactivation, where as Mg2 diminishes inactivation. Pyruvate kinase from rabbit muscle is modified by phenylglyoxal in a similar manner.     

The beta subunit of tryptophan synthase. Clarification of the roles of histidine 86, lysine 87, arginine 148, cysteine 170, and cysteine 230

Our studies, which are aimed at understanding the catalytic mechanism of the beta subunit of tryptophan synthase from Salmonella typhimurium, use site-directed mutagenesis to clarify the functional roles of several putative active site residues. Although previous chemical modification studies have suggested that histidine 86, arginine 148, and cysteine 230 are essential residues in the beta subunit, our present findings that beta subunits with single amino acid replacements at these positions have partial activity show that these 3 residues are not essential for catalysis or substrate binding. These conclusions are consistent with the recently determined three-dimensional structure of the tryptophan synthase alpha 2 beta 2 complex. Amino acid substitution of lysine 87, which forms a Schiff base with pyridoxal phosphate in the wild type beta subunit, yields an inactive form of the beta subunit which binds alpha subunit, pyridoxal phosphate, and L-serine. We also report a rapid and efficient method for purifying wild type and mutant forms of the alpha 2 beta 2 complex from S. typhimurium from an improved enzyme source. The enzyme, which is produced by a multicopy plasmid encoding the trpA and trpB genes of S. typhimurium expressed in Escherichia coli, is crystallized from crude extracts by the addition of 6% poly(ethylene glycol) 8000 and 5 mM spermine. This new method is also used in the accompanying paper to purify nine alpha 2 beta 2 complexes containing mutant forms of the alpha subunit.     

Structure-function investigations of the membrane (Na+ + Mg2+)-ATPase from Acholeplasma laidlawii B: studies of reactive amino acid residues using group-specific reagents

The purified, lipid-reconstituted (Na+ + Mg2+)-ATPase from Acholeplasma laidlawii B was treated with a variety of reagents which specifically modify various amino acid residues on the enzyme. In all cases reaction of this enzyme with any of the reagents tested results in at least a partial inactivation of its activity. The modification of one reactive lysine by dinitrofluorobenzene, of one reactive arginine by phenylglyoxal, or of two tyrosine residues by 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole or fluorosulfonylbenzoyl adenosine results in a complete inactivation of the enzyme. Partial inactivation of enzymatic activity with N-ethylmaleimide, p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonic acid, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and Woodward's reagent K suggests an indirect involvement of sulfhydryl and carboxylic acid groups in the maintenance of enzymatic activity, although inhibition by these reagents may also be the result of nonspecific effects such as subunit crosslinking. These studies also show that all of the subunits of the ATPase can be labeled by aqueous-phase reagents directed at amino groups and phenolic groups, and provide evidence for a specific affinity labeling of the alpha subunit of the enzyme by a nucleotide analog directed at phenolic and/or sulfhydryl groups.     

Ferrochelatase from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides: substrate specificity and role of sulfhydryl and arginyl residues.

Purified ferrochelatase (protoheme ferrolyase; EC 4.99.1.1) from the bacterium Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides was examined to determine the roles of cationic and sulfhydryl residues in substrate binding. Reaction of the enzyme sulfhydryl residues with N-ethylmaleimide or monobromobimane resulted in a rapid loss of enzyme activity. Ferrous iron, but not porphyrin substrate, had a protective effect against inactivation by these two reagents. Quantitation with 3H-labeled N-ethylmaleimide revealed that inactivation required one to two sulfhydryl groups to be modified. Modification of arginyl residues with either 2,3-butanedione or camphorquinone 10-sulfonate resulted in a loss of ferrochelatase activity. A kinetic analysis of the modified enzyme showed that the Km for ferrous iron was not altered but that the Km for the porphyrin substrate was increased. These data suggested that arginyl residues may be involved in porphyrin binding, possibly via charge pair interactions between the arginyl residue and the anionic porphyrin propionate side chain. Modification of lysyl residues had no effect on enzyme activity. We also examined the ability of bacterial ferrochelatase to use various 2,4-disubstituted porphyrins as substrates. We found that 2,4-bis-acetal- and 2,4-disulfonate deuteroporphyrins were effective substrates for the purified bacterial enzyme and that N-methylprotoporphyrin was an effective inhibitor of the enzyme. Our data for the ferrochelatase of R. sphaeroides are compared with previously published data for the eucaryotic enzyme.     

The alpha subunit of tryptophan synthase. Evidence that aspartic acid 60 is a catalytic residue and that the double alteration of residues 175 and 211 in a second-site revertant restores the proper geometry of the substrate binding site

Our studies, which are aimed at understanding the catalytic mechanism of the alpha subunit of tryptophan synthase from Salmonella typhimurium, use site-directed mutagenesis to explore the functional roles of aspartic acid 60, tyrosine 175, and glycine 211. These residues are located close to the substrate binding site of the alpha subunit in the three-dimensional structure of the tryptophan synthase alpha 2 beta 2 complex. Our finding that replacement of aspartic acid 60 by asparagine, alanine, or tyrosine results in complete loss of activity in the reaction catalyzed by the alpha subunit supports a catalytic role for aspartic acid 60. Since the mutant form with glutamic acid at position 60 has partial activity, glutamic acid 60 may serve as an alternative catalytic base. The mutant form in which tyrosine 175 is replaced by phenylalanine has substantial activity; thus the phenolic hydroxyl of tyrosine 175 is not essential for catalysis or substrate binding. Yanofsky and colleagues have identified many missense mutant forms of the alpha subunit of tryptophan synthase from Escherichia coli. Two of these inactive mutant forms had either tyrosine 175 replaced by cysteine or glycine 211 replaced by glutamic acid. Surprisingly, a second-site revertant which contained both of these amino acid changes was partially active. These results indicated that the second mutation must compensate in some way for the first. We now extend the studies of the effects of specific amino acid replacements at positions 175 and 211 by two techniques: 1) characterization of several mutant forms of the alpha subunit from S. typhimurium prepared by site-directed mutagenesis and 2) computer graphics modeling of the substrate binding site of the alpha subunit using the x-ray coordinates of the wild type alpha 2 beta 2 complex from S. typhimurium. We conclude that the restoration of alpha subunit activity in the doubly altered second-site revertant results from restoration of the proper geometry of the substrate binding site.     

Implication of arginyl residues in mRNA binding to ribosomes

Modification of Escherichia coli robosomes with phenylglyoxal and butanedione, protein reagents specific for arginyl residues, inactivates polypeptide polymerization, assayed as poly(U)-dependent polyphenylalanine synthesis, and the binding of poly(U). Inactivation is produced by modification of the 30-S subunit. Both the RNA and the protein moieties of 30-S subunits are modified by phenylglyoxal, and modification of either of them is accompanied by inactivation of polypeptide synthesis. Modification of only the split proteins released from 30-S subunits by prolonged dialysis against a low-ionic-strength buffer, which contain mainly protein S1, produces inhibition of poly(U) binding and inactivation of polypeptide synthesis. Amino acid analysis of the modified split proteins showed a significant modifications of arginyl residues. These results indicate that the arginyl residues of a few 30-S proteins might be important in the interaction between mRNA and the 30-S subunit, which agrees with the general role assigned to the arginyl residues of proteins as the positively charged recognition site for anionic ligands.     

Location of the reactive sulfhydryl residues in the primary sequence of the β2 subunit of tryptophan synthase of Escherichiacoli

Two of the 5 sulfhydryl residues of the β₂ subunit of tryptophan synthase have previously been shown to react with N-ethylmaleimide and to have active site roles. We now show that the single sulfhydryl which reacts with N-ethylmaleimide in the presence of pyridoxal phosphate is cysteine-170. The essential sulfhydryl which reacts with N-ethylmaleimide or with 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic acid after removal of pyridoxal phosphate is cysteine-230. The affinity reagent, bromoacetylpyridoxamine phosphate, reacts variably with cysteine-62 or with cysteine-230.