Studies on Vitamin B6 Metabolism in Microorganisms

Escherichia freundii alkaline phosphatase was found in a membrane fraction and was purified by procedures involving spheroplast formation with lysozyme and EDTA, and DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-150 column chromatographies. Then this enzyme along with other phosphatases was investigated on the ability to transfer the phosphoryl group from p-nitrophenyl phosphate to pyridoxine. It was found that the ability of the transphosphorylation varied with these phosphatases. The transphosphorylation to hydroxy compounds such as alcohols, sugars and nucleosides was also compared. Escherichia freundii acid phosphatase showed the highest activity of transphosphorylation among phosphatases tested. The mechanism of transphosphorylation was discussed.

An enzyme, pyridoxamine 5′-phosphate transaminase, was purified from the cell-free extract of Clostridium kainantoi. The purification procedures involved ammonium sulfate fractionation, protamine sulfate treatment and, DEAE-cellulose, hydroxylapatite, DEAE-Sephadex and Sephadex G-200 column chromatographies. The purified enzyme, which had approximately 2700-fold higher specific activity over the original extract, showed a single schlieren pattern in the ultracentrifuge. From the spectral analysis, it seemed that pyridoxamine 5′-phosphate transaminase did not contain pyridoxal 5′-phosphate as a prosthetic group. It was recognized that the transamination was accelerated by the addition of amino acid and was inhibited by diisopropyl phosphofluoride. Glutamic acid formed in the reaction was identified to be a D-isomer. A study on the substrate specificity showed that the enzyme might be possible to be specific for pyridoxamine 5′-phosphate.

The extracellular formation of vitamin B₆ was searched in marine and terrestrial microorganisms. Two bacterial strains were selected and were identified as Vibrio and Flavobacterium, respectively. Marine microorganisms showed the considerable formation of vitamin B₆ and the presence of vitamin B₆ in sea water was also recognized. The cultural and reaction conditions for vitamin B₆ formation by these strains were investigated. Glycerol was commonly the most effective compound on vitamin B₆ formation among the compounds tested. It was suggested that both bacteria did not have the control system on vitamin B₆ biosynthesis by the amount of possible end products.     

Evidence that phenol phosphorylation to phenylphosphate is the first step in anaerobic phenol metabolism in a denitrifying Pseudomonas sp.

Anaerobic phenol degradation has been shown to proceed via carboxylation of phenol to 4-hydroxybenzoate. However, in vitro the carboxylating enzyme was inactive with phenol; only phenylphosphate (phosphoric acid monophenyl ester) was readily carboxylated. We demonstrate in a denitrifying Pseudomonas strain that phenylphosphate is the first detectable product formed from phenol in whole cells and that subsequent phenylphosphate consumption parallels 4-hydroxybenzoate formation. These kinetics are consistent with phosphorylation being the first step in anaerobic phenol degradation. Various cosubstrates failed so far to act as phosphoryl donor for net phosphorylation of phenol in cell extracts. Yet, cells anaerobically grown with phenol contained an enzyme that catalyzed an isotope exchange between [U-¹⁴C]phenol and phenylphosphate. This transphosphorylation activity was anaerobically induced by phenol but was stable under aerobic conditions and required Mn²⁺ and polyethylene glycol. Activity was optimal at pH 5.5 and half-maximal with 0.6 mM Mn²⁺, 0.2 mM phenylphosphate, and 1 mM phenol. It is proposed that the phenol exchange/transphosphorylation reaction is catalyzed as partial reaction by an inducible phenol phosphorylating enzyme. The isotope exchange demands that a phosphorylated enzyme was formed in the course of the reaction, which might be similar to the phosphotransferase system of sugar transport.     

Purification and Characterization of Glucokinase in Escherichia coli B

Glucokinase was purified from Escherichia coli B cells dosed with a hybrid plasmid carrying the gene for glucokinase. The enzyme was purified about 170-fold and was homogeneous on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme was 49,000 in molecular weight and consisted of two subunits having a molecular weight of 24,500. The glucokinase catalyzed phosphorylation of D-glucose, D-mannose, D-glucosamine, and 2-deoxy-D-glucose, consuming ATP as a phosphoryl donor. Besides ATP, other nucleoside triphosphates such as ITP, GTP and UTP were also utilized as phosphoryl donors. The enzyme required free sulfhydryl groups and Mg²⁺ for activity. Other properties of the glucokinase were characterized and compared with those of glucokinases from various sources.     

Bio-sequestration of carbon dioxide using carbonic anhydrase enzyme purified from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrobacter freundii</Emphasis>

The increase in the atmospheric concentrations of one of the vital green house gasses, carbon dioxide, due to anthropogenic interventions has led to several undesirable consequences such as global warming and related changes. In the global effort to combat the predicted disaster, several CO₂ capture and storage technologies are being deliberated. One of the most promising biological carbon dioxide sequestration technologies is the enzyme catalyzed carbon dioxide sequestration into bicarbonates which was endeavored in this study with a purified C. freundii SW3 β-carbonic anhydrase (CA). An extensive screening process for biological sequestration using CA has been defined. Six bacteria with high CA activity were screened out of 102 colonies based on plate assay and presence of CA in these bacteria was further emphasized by activity staining and Western blot. The identity of selected bacteria was confirmed by 16S rDNA analysis. CA was purified to homogeneity from C. freundii SW3 by subsequent gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography which resulted in a 24 kDa polypeptide and this is in accordance with the Western blot results. The effect of host on metal ions, cations and anions which influence activity of the enzyme in sequestration studies suggests that mercury and HCO₃ ⁻ ion almost completely inhibit the enzyme whereas sulfate ion and zinc enhances carbonic anhydrase activity. Calcium carbonate deposition was observed in calcium chloride solution saturated with carbon dioxide catalyzed by purified enzyme and whereas a sharp decrease in calcium carbonate formation has been noted in purified enzyme samples inhibited by EDTA and acetazolamide.     

Structure of a New Opine,Mikimopine, in Hairy Root Induced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes

A enzyme that catalyzed the specific formation of ascorbic acid-2-phosphate (AsA2P) from ascorbic acid (AsA) and adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP), was purified 3,200-fold to homogeneity from a cell extract of Pseudomonas azotocolligans. The purified enzyme appeared as a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and consisted of a single polypeptide with a molecular weight of about 30,000. Of phosphoryl donors tested, p-nitrophenylphosphate (p-NPP) and pyrophosphate (PPi) were as effective as ATP. Optimal pHs for the phosphorylating activity were around 4.0 and 5.5 when PPi and ATP were used as phosphoryl donors, respectively. The Km for AsA was 147 mm. The enzyme activity was inhibited by Cu²⁺, but not by sulfhydryl reagents.

The enzyme simultaneously had phosphatase activity at weakly acidic or neutral pH and the Km for p-NPP in the phosphatase activity was 0.38 mm. The enzyme was tentatively named “ascorbic acid phosphorylating enzyme.”     

Transport and metabolism of trehalose in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium

The metabolism of trehalose in wild type cells of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium has been investigated. Intact cells of Escherichia coli (grown on trehalose) accumulated [¹⁴C]-trehalose as [¹⁴C]-trehalose 6-phosphate. Toluene-treated cells catalyzed the synthesis of the [¹⁴C]-sugar phosphate from [¹⁴C]-trehalose and phosphoenolpyruvate; ATP did not serve as phosphoryl donor. Trehalose 6-phosphate could subsequently be hydrolyzed by trehalose 6-phosphate hydrolase, an enzyme which catalyzes the hydrolysis of the disaccharide phosphate into glucose and glucose 6-phosphate. Both Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium induced this enzyme when they grew on trehalose.These findings suggest that trehalose is transported in these bacteria by an inducible phosphoenolpyruvate:trehalose phosphotransferase system.The presence of a constitutive trehalase was also detected.Abbreviations HEPES N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N-2-ethanosulfonic acid - PEP phosphoenolpyruvate - PTS phosphoenolpyruvate: glycose phosphotransferase system - O.D. optical density     

Mannitol-specific enzyme II of the bacterial phosphotransferase system. I. Properties of the purified permease

The integral membrane protein responsible for the transport and phosphorylation of D-mannitol in Escherichia coli, the mannitol-specific Enzyme II of the phosphotransferase system (Mr = 60,000), has been purified to apparent homogeneity using a modification of a previously published procedure (Jacobson, G. R., Lee, C. A., and Saier, M. H., Jr. (1979) J. Biol. Chem. 254, 249-252). The purified enzyme was dependent on Lubrol PX and phospholipid for maximal activity. It catalyzed both the phosphoenolpyruvate- and the mannitol 1-phosphate-dependent phosphorylation of D-mannitol with high specificity for the accepting sugar and the phosphoryl donor. Both mannitol and mannitol 1-phosphate gave strong substrate inhibition at neutral pH in the transphosphorylation reaction catalyzed by the purified mannitol Enzyme II, while no substrate inhibition by mannitol was observed for the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent reaction. The purified enzyme did not catalyze hydrolysis of mannitol 1-phosphate, a product of both reactions. Antibody directed against the mannitol Enzyme II inhibited the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent activity to a greater extent than the transphosphorylation activity. Limited proteolysis with trypsin rapidly inactivated both purified and membrane-bound mannitol Enzyme II, and the purified protein was concomitantly cleaved into fragments with apparent molecular weights of about 29,000. These results show that although the mannitol Enzyme II is an integral membrane protein, a considerable portion of its polypeptide chain must also extend into a hydrophilic environment, presumably the cytoplasm.     

A MOFRL family glycerate kinase from the thermophilic crenarchaeon, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sulfolobus tokodaii</Emphasis>, with unique enzymatic properties

A glycerate kinase gene (ST2037) from the hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus tokodaii was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified homodimeric protein (45 kDa) specifically catalyzed the formation of 2-phosphoglycerate with d-glycerate as substrate. The thermostable enzyme displayed maximum activity (over 20 min) at 90°C and pH 4.5. The maximal activity was in the presence of Co²⁺. The MOFRL family glycerate kinase used AMP as phosphate donor with maximal activity towards GTP. These characteristics of the enzyme suggested its potential in the catalytic production of 2-phosphoglycerate.     

Expression, purification and characterization of flavin reductase from Citrobacter freundii A1

Flavin reductase plays an important biological role in catalyzing the reduction of flavin by NAD(P)H oxidation. The gene that codes for flavin reductase from Citrobacter freundii A1 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)pLysS. In this study, we aimed to characterize the purified recombinant flavin reductase of C. freundii A1. The recombinant enzyme was purified to homogeneity and the biochemical profiles, including the effect of pH, temperature, metal ions and anions on flavin reductase activity and stability, were determined. This enzyme exhibited optimum activity at 45 °C in a 10-min reaction at pH 7.5 and was stable at temperatures up to 30 °C. At 0.1 mM concentration of metal ions, flavin reductase activity was stimulated by divalent cations including Mn²⁺, Sr²⁺, Ni²⁺, Sn²⁺, Ba²⁺, Co²⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺ and Pb²⁺. Ag⁺ was noticeably the strongest inhibitor of recombinant flavin reductase of C. freundii A1. This enzyme should not be defined as a standard flavoprotein. This is the first attempt to characterize flavin reductase of C. freundii origin.     

Purification and Characterization of an Acid Phosphatase from Mycoplasma fermentans

An acid phosphatase associated with the cell membranes of Mycoplasma fermentans was released from the membranes with Triton X-100, then purified by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel and CM-Sepharose, followed by affinity chromatography on Con A-Sepharose. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme revealed a single band with a molecular mass of 31.2 kilodaltons. The enzyme activity toward p-nitrophenyl phosphate was enhanced remarkably by Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Mg²⁺, but the activity was not inhibited by EDTA. The enzyme dephosphorylated O-phospho-l -tyrosine as well as p-nitrophenyl phosphate, but not O-phospho-l -threonine, O-phospho-l -serine, glucose-1-phosphate, phosphoryl choline and adenosine triphosphate. The level of the O-phospho-l -tyrosine phosphatase activity was the highest in Mycoplasma faucium and the second highest in Mycoplasma fermentans of all tested human mycoplasmas.     

Characterization of fructose-1,6-diphosphate-insensitive catabolic glycerol kinase ofPseudomonas aeruginosa

Glycerol kinase is induced in cells ofPseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO when grown in the presence of glycerol or glycerol-3-phosphate. The enzyme was isolated from the soluble cytoplasmic fraction of cell extracts and purified 500-fold by ammonium sulfate precipitation and chromatography on columns of Sephadex G-25, DEAE-Sephadex, hydroxyapatite, and Sephadex G-200. A molecular weight of 120,000 was estimated by gel filtration of the catalytically active enzyme. In polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the purified product contained one major band of Coomassie Blue staining material. The enzyme exhibited an apparent Km of 40 M for glycerol and 23 M for ATP. Of the nucleotide triphosphates tested, only ATP served as a phosphoryl group donor. Mg⁺⁺ or Mn⁺⁺ was required for activity, although a threefold greater concentration of Mn⁺⁺ was required when Mn⁺⁺ substituted for Mg⁺⁺. In contrast to most other catabolic glycerol kinases in bacteria, the enzyme was not inhibited by fructose-1,6-diphosphate nor by other tested metabolites.     

Studies on Transglycosidation to Vitamin B6 by Microorganisms

Some properties of pyridoxine glucoside-synthesizing enzyme were studied using the partially and highly purified enzyme preparations from Micrococcus sp. No. 431.

The enzyme was stable at pH 7.0 and between 0°C and 30°C. The maximal activity was obtained at pH 8.0 and 37°C. Besides sucrose, phenyl-α-d-glucoside and maltose served as glucosyl donor. Of vitamin B₆ compounds tested, only pyridoxine served as glucosyl acceptor. The enzyme activity was inhibited by PCMB and heavy metal ions, and the inhibition was prevented by 2-mercaptoethanol, indicating the enzyme would be a sulfhydryl enzyme. The activity was not affected by chelating agents and not activated by metal ions.     

An 18 kDa Acid Phosphatase from Chicken Heart Possesses Phosphotransferase Activity

A low molecular weight acid phosphatase was purified to homogeneity from chicken heart with a specific activity of 42 U/mg and a recovery of about 1%. Nearly 800 fold purification was achieved. The molecular weight was estimated to be 18 kDa by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Para-nitrophenyl phosphate, phenyl phosphate and flavin mononucleotide were efficiently hydrolysed by the enzyme and found to be good substrates. Fluoride and tartrate had no inhibitory effect while phosphate, vanadate and molybdate strongly inhibited the enzyme. The acid phosphatase was stimulated in the presence of glycerol, ethylene glycol, methanol, ethanol and acetone, which reflected the phosphotransferase activity. When phosphate acceptors such as ethylene glycol concentrations were increased, the ratio of phosphate transfer to hydrolysis was also increased, demonstrating the presence of a transphosphorylation reaction where an acceptor can compete with water in the rate limiting step involving hydrolysis of a covalent phospho enzyme intermediate. Partition experiments carried out with two substrates, para-nitrophenyl phosphate and phenyl phosphate, revealed a constant product ratio of 1.7 for phosphotransfer to ethylene glycol versus hydrolysis, strongly supporting the existence of common covalent phospho enzyme intermediate. A constant ratio of K _cat/K _m, 4.3×10⁴, found at different ethylene glycol concentrations, also supported the idea that the rate limiting step was the hydrolysis of the phospho enzyme intermediate.     

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     

Mannitol-specific enzyme II of the bacterial phosphotransferase system. II. Reconstitution of vectorial transphosphorylation in phospholipid vesicles

Purified mannitol Enzyme II from Escherichia coli was reconstituted in phospholipid vesicles employing the octylglucoside dilution procedure and was shown to catalyze vectorial mannitol 1-phosphate:mannitol transphosphorylation. Reconstitution of the enzyme into liposomes showed a marked dependency upon the octylglucoside concentration with an optimum at 1.2%. The reconstituted transphosphorylation activity exhibited an absolute dependence upon mannitol 1-phosphate as the phosphoryl donor, was sensitive to N-ethylmaleimide, and had a pH optimum near 6. The intravesicular radiolabeled mannitol phosphate could be released from the proteoliposomes by the addition of either 50 microM unlabeled mannitol or 0.5% sodium dodecyl sulfate. The rate of formation of intraliposomal mannitol phosphate, measured as a function of the mannitol Enzyme II concentration, showed a sigmoidal response, suggesting that at high enzyme concentrations the mannitol Enzyme II exists in an aggregated or oligomeric state and that this form is more active than the monomeric or dissociated form of the enzyme in catalyzing the vectorial mannitol transphosphorylation reaction.     

Studies on Transglycosidation to Vitamin B6 by Microorganisms

The enzyme activity to synthesize pyridoxine glucoside was demonstrated in intact cells and cell extracts of genera, Sarcina and Micrococcus. The isolated and identified strain, Micrococcus sp. No. 431 was found to have high activity of this enzyme in its cell extract.

The enzyme activity reached to a maximum after 20 hr of cultivation.

The enzyme which synthesized pyridoxine glucoside via transglucosidation from sucrose to pyridoxine was purified from Micrococcus sp. No. 431 by means of ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sephadex, hydroxylapatite and Sephadex G–100 column chromatographies. The enzyme was purified about 354–fold and confirmed to be homogenous in polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation.     

Bacterial Synthesis of Nucleotides

General properties of bacterial nucleoside phosphotransferase were demonstrated. Nucleoside phosphotransferase activity was observed somewhere in cells, and the activity and the specificity for donor and product in this reaction are described to be due to the basic character of strains. Such aromatic phosphates as p-nitrophenylphosphate, phenylphosphate, benzylphosphate and the nucleotides were apparent to be useful for nucleotide synthesis, and the ability as donor did not always depend upon the energy consideration. The product specificity of this reaction was confirmed to correlate with nucleotide isomer added as donor; that is, the bacteria characterized to phosphorylate at 5′-position of nucleoside catalyzed the interconversion of phosphoryl or phosphate radical between 5′-nuclotides and those characterized to do at 3′(& 2′)-position of nucleoside catalyzed the interconversion of that between 3′(& 2′)-nucleotides. The phosphoryl or phosphate transfer reaction using nucleotide as donor is reversible but that using p-nitrophenylphosphate as donor is irreversible. The factors to get a good yield on the synthesis of 5′-inosinic acid were discussed, then the maximum yield was accounted to 80%.     

The enzymology of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent sugar transport systems

Summary The phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent sugar transport system (PTS) is present in a large variety of bacteria. It catalyzes transport and phosphorylation of hexoses and hexitols at the expense of phosphoenolpyruvate. Only three of four enzymes are required for this entire sequence. Each component has been isolated and purified to the homogeneity from one bacterial species or another allowing recent investigations intomechanistic aspects of energy coupling, energy conservation, transport and regulation using well-characterized enzymes. In each case the phosphorylation of the enzyme is a key element in that enzymes function.The initial step in the energy conversion process is the E_I catalyzed conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate to pyruvate and P-HPr. E_II is a metal requiring hydrophobic enzyme which is active only as a dimer. Kinetic and gel filtration data confirm that it forms functional ternary complexes with HPr or P-Hpr and phosphoenolpyruvate or pyruvate which influence both the degree of dimerization and the specific activity of the dimer. The dimer appears to carry only one phosphoryl group suggesting that negative cooperativity or a flip-flop mechanism may be involved in the sequence of phosphoryl group transfer.Many of the PTS phosphoenzyme intermediates carry the phosphoryl group as a phospho-histidine. A general mechanism for the transfer of the phosphoryl group to and from the active site histidine residue in each protein has been established with high resolution ¹H NMR data. At physiological pH the active site histidine is deprotonated, whereas the phosphohistidine is protonated. Consequently the histidine, as a strong nucleophile, can abstract the phosphoryl group from the donor while protonation destabilizes the phosphohistidine facilitating passage of the phosphoryl group to the following enzyme intermediate. The change in protonation state accompanies a phosphorylation induced conformational change in the carrier.The ability of the PTS to regulate the activity of other permeases and catabolic enzymes has been attributed to E_III ^Glc. Data obtained with mutants suggest that changes in the phosphorylation state alter the regulatory properties of the enzyme. The nonphosphorylated species blocks various permeases and suppresses adenylate cyclase activity thereby inhibiting the synthesis of catabolic enzyme systems. The phosphorylated species stimulates adenylate cyclase and permits the uptake of inducers leading to the initiation of catabolic enzyme synthesis. Experiments with the isolated E_III ^Glc confirm that a phosphoenzyme intermediate exists.Transport and phosphorylation of the sugar are catalyzed by a membrane-bound E_II via a phosphoenzyme intermediate which can be reached from P-HPr, P-E_III or sugar-P. The phosphorylation state controls the affinity of the enzyme for its substrates. E_II is high affinity for P-HPr or P-E_III and low affinity for sugar. P-E_II is high affinity for sugar and low affinity for P-HPr or P-E_III. The affinity of the enzyme for sugar substrates is controlled by the oxidation state of a dithiol. The reduced, dithiol form is high affinity for sugar substrates. The oxidized, disulfide form, is low affinity. Phosphorylation of the enzyme chould shift the affinity for substrates by altering the oxidation state of the enzyme.     

A Novel Synthesis of (±)-Munduserone via Acetylenic Intermediates

A riboflavin α-glucoside-synthesizing enzyme from the acetone powder of pig liver was purified by a procedure including fractionation with ammonium sulfate, heat treatment, fractionation with acetone, gel filtration on a Sephadex G-150 column, calcium phosphate gel treatment, and isoelectric focusing. A final enzyme preparation was homogeneous on polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis and in the ultracentrifuge. The enzyme had a sedimentation coefficient of 9.90 S and an isoelectric point of pH 3.7. The enzyme had a pH optimum at 6.0 with maltose as substrate. The enzyme catalyzed the hydrolysis of diverse kinds of α-glucosidic substrates, and the transfer of α-glucosyl residue from these substrates to riboflavin. The Km value for maltose was 1.20×10^?3m. The enzyme hydrolyzed phenyl α-maltoside to glucose and phenyl α-glucoside. Amylose was almost completely hydrolyzed to glucose by the enzyme. Maltotriose was obtained as the main transfer product after the treatment of maltose with the enzyme. The enzyme also catalyzed the transfer of α-glucosyl residue from maltose to pyridoxine, esculin, rutin, and adenosine. It was recognized that a single enzyme catalyzed not only the hydrolysis of maltose and α-glucosidic substrates but also the transfer of the α-glucosyl residue of these substrates to suitable acceptors.