Structure-function analysis of the human sialyltransferase ST3Gal I: role of n-glycosylation and a novel conserved sialylmotif

All eukaryotic sialyltransferases have in common the presence in their catalytic domain of several conserved peptide regions (sialylmotifs L, S, and VS). Functional analysis of sialylmotifs L and S previously demonstrated their involvement in the binding of donor and acceptor substrates. The region comprised between the sialylmotifs S and VS contains a stretch of four highly conserved residues, with the following consensus sequence (H/y)Y(Y/F/W/h)(E/D/q/g). (Capital letters and lowercase letters indicate a strong or low occurrence of the amino acid, respectively.) The functional importance of these residues and of the conserved residues of motif VS (HX(4)E) was assessed using as a template the human ST3Gal I. Mutational analysis showed that residues His(299) and Tyr(300) of the new motif, and His(316) of the VS motif, are essential for activity since their substitution by alanine yielded inactive enzymes. Our results suggest that the invariant Tyr residue (Tyr(300)) plays an important conformational role mainly attributable to the aromatic ring. In contrast, the mutants W301F, E302Q, and E321Q retained significant enzyme activity (25-80% of the wild type). Kinetic analyses and CDP binding assays showed that none of the mutants tested had any significant effect in nucleotide donor binding. Instead the mutant proteins were affected in their binding to the acceptor and/or demonstrated lower catalytic efficiency. Although the human ST3Gal I has four N-glycan attachment sites in its catalytic domain that are potentially glycosylated, none of them was shown to be necessary for enzyme activity. However, N-glycosylation appears to contribute to the proper folding and trafficking of the enzyme.     

Roles of active site tryptophans in substrate binding and catalysis by alpha-1,3 galactosyltransferase

Aromatic amino acids are frequent components of the carbohydrate binding sites of lectins and enzymes. Previous structural studies have shown that in alpha-1,3 galactosyltransferase, the binding site for disaccharide acceptor substrates is encircled by four tryptophans, residues 249, 250, 314, and 356. To investigate their roles in enzyme specificity and catalysis, we expressed and characterized variants of the catalytic domain of alpha-1,3 galactosyltransferase with substitutions for each tryptophan. Substitution of glycine for tryptophan 249, whose indole ring interacts with the nonpolar B face of glucose or GlcNAc, greatly increases the K(m) for the acceptor substrate. In contrast, the substitution of tyrosine for tryptophan 314, which interacts with the beta-galactosyl moiety of the acceptor and UDP-galactose, decreases k(cat) for the galactosyltransferase reaction but does not affect the low UDP-galactose hydrolase activity. Thus, this highly conserved residue stabilizes the transition state for the galactose transfer to disaccharide but not to water. High-resolution crystallographic structures of the Trp(249)Gly mutant and the Trp(314)Tyr mutant indicate that the mutations do not affect the overall structure of the enzyme or its interactions with ligands. Substitutions for tryptophan 250 have only small effects on catalytic activity, but mutation of tryptophan 356 to threonine reduces catalytic activity for both transferase and hydrolase activities and reduces affinity for the acceptor substrate. This residue is adjacent to the flexible C-terminus that becomes ordered on binding UDP to assemble the acceptor binding site and influence catalysis. The results highlight the diverse roles of these tryptophans in enzyme action and the importance of k(cat) changes in modulating glycosyltransferase specificity.     

Replacement of an interdomain residue Val39 of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase affects the catalytic competence without altering the substrate specificity of the enzyme

Three mutant Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferases in which Val39 was changed to Ala, Leu, and Phe by site-directed mutagenesis were prepared and characterized. Among the three mutant and the wild-type enzymes, the Leu39 enzyme had the lowest Km values for dicarboxylic substrates. The Km values of the Ala39 enzyme for dicarboxylates were essentially the same as those of the wild-type (Val39) enzyme. These two mutant enzymes showed essentially the same kcat values for dicarboxylic substrates as did the wild-type enzyme. On the other hand, incorporation of a bulky side-chain at position 39 (Phe39 enzyme) decreased both the affinity (1/Km) and catalytic ability (kcat) toward dicarboxylic substrates. These results show that the position 39 residue is involved in the modulation of both the binding of dicarboxylic substrates to enzyme and the catalytic ability of the enzyme. Although the replacement of Val39 with other residues altered both the kcat and Km values toward various substrates including dicarboxylic and aromatic amino acids and the corresponding oxo acids, it did not alter the ratio of the kcat/Km value of the enzyme toward a dicarboxylic substrate to that for an aromatic substrate. The affinity for aromatic substrates was not affected by changing the residue at position 39. These data indicate that, although the side chain bulkiness of the residue at position 39 correlates well with the activity toward aromatic substrates in the sequence alignment of several aminotransferases [Seville, M., Vincent M.G., & Hahn, K. (1988) Biochemistry 27, 8344-8349], the residue does not seem to be involved in the recognition of aromatic substrates.     

Alteration of the substrate range of haloalkane dehalogenase by site-directed mutagenesis

We attempted to expand the range of chlorinated solvents degraded by Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 to include trichloroethylene by the rational modification of the enzyme haloalkane dehalogenase. The amino acids Phe164, Asp170, Phe172 and Trp175 were individually replaced with alanine by site-directed mutagenesis. All substitutions produced enzymes with lower than wild type activity with 1,2-dichloroethane. The Phe164Ala and Asp170Ala mutants were 3 and 2 times more active than was the wild type enzyme in dechlorinating 1,6-dichlorohexane. The Asp170Ala mutant resembled the wild type enzyme in its relative activity against longer chain substrates. No mutant was active with trichloroethylene.     

Crystal structure of family GH-8 chitosanase with subclass II specificity from Bacillus sp. K17

Crystal structures of chitosanase from Bacillus sp. K17 (ChoK) have been determined at 1.5 A resolution in the active form and at 2.0 A resolution in the inactive form. This enzyme belongs to the family GH-8, out of 93 glycoside hydrolase families, and exhibits the substrate specificity of subclass II chitosanase. The catalytic site is constructed on the scaffold of a double-alpha(6)/alpha(6)-barrel, which is formed by six repeating helix-loop-helix motifs. This structure is quite different from those of the GH-46 chitosanases and of GH-5. Structural comparison with CelA (a cellulase belonging to the same family GH-8) suggests that the proton donor Glu122 is conserved, but the proton acceptor is the inserted Glu309 residue, and that the corresponding Asp278 residue in CelA is inactivated in ChoK. The four acidic residues, Asp179, Glu309, Asp183 and Glu107, can be involved in substrate recognition through interactions with the amino groups of the glucosamine residues bound in the -3, -2, -1 and +1 sites, respectively. The hydrophobic Trp235, Trp166, Phe413 and Tyr318 residues are highly conserved for binding of the hexose rings at the -3, -2, +1 and +2 sites, respectively. These structural features indicate that enzymes in GH-8 can be further divided into three subfamilies. Different types of chitosanases are discussed in terms of convergent evolution from different structural ancestors.     

Halide-stabilizing residues of haloalkane dehalogenases studied by quantum mechanic calculations and site-directed mutagenesis

Haloalkane dehalogenases catalyze cleavage of the carbon-halogen bond in halogenated aliphatic compounds, resulting in the formation of an alcohol, a halide, and a proton as the reaction products. Three structural features of haloalkane dehalogenases are essential for their catalytic performance: (i) a catalytic triad, (ii) an oxyanion hole, and (iii) the halide-stabilizing residues. Halide-stabilizing residues are not structurally conserved among different haloalkane dehalogenases. The level of stabilization of the transition state structure of S(N)2 reaction and halide ion provided by each of the active site residues in the enzymes DhlA, LinB, and DhaA was quantified by quantum mechanic calculations. The residues that significantly stabilize the halide ion were assigned as the primary (essential) or the secondary (less important) halide-stabilizing residues. Site-directed mutagenesis was conducted with LinB enzyme to confirm location of its primary halide-stabilizing residues. Asn38Asp, Asn38Glu, Asn38Phe, Asn38Gln, Trp109Leu, Phe151Leu, Phe151Trp, Phe151Tyr, and Phe169Leu mutants of LinB were constructed, purified, and kinetically characterized. The following active site residues were classified as the primary halide-stabilizing residues: Trp125 and Trp175 of DhlA; Asn38 and Trp109 of LinB; and Asn41 and Trp107 of DhaA. All these residues make a hydrogen bond with the halide ion released from the substrate molecule, and their substitution results in enzymes with significantly modified catalytic properties. The following active site residues were classified as the secondary halide-stabilizing residues: Phe172, Pro223, and Val226 of DhlA; Trp207, Pro208, and Ile211 of LinB; and Phe205, Pro206, and Ile209 of DhaA. The differences in the halide stabilizing residues of three haloalkane dehalogenases are discussed in the light of molecular adaptation of these enzymes to their substrates.     

Structure of a complex of Thermoactinomyces vulgaris R-47 alpha-amylase 2 with maltohexaose demonstrates the important role of aromatic residues at the reducing end of the substrate binding cleft

Thermoactinomyces vulgaris R-47 alpha-amylase 2 (TVAII) can efficiently hydrolyze both starch and cyclomaltooligosaccharides (cyclodextrins). The crystal structure of an inactive mutant TVAII in a complex with maltohexaose was determined at a resolution of 2.1A. TVAII adopts a dimeric structure to form two catalytic sites, where substrates are found to bind. At the catalytic site, there are many hydrogen bonds between the enzyme and substrate at the non-reducing end from the hydrolyzing site, but few hydrogen bonds at the reducing end, where two aromatic residues, Trp356 and Tyr45, make effective interactions with a substrate. Trp356 drastically changes its side-chain conformation to achieve a strong stacking interaction with the substrate, and Tyr45 from another molecule forms a water-mediated hydrogen bond with the substrate. Kinetic analysis of the wild-type and mutant enzymes in which Trp356 and/or Tyr45 were replaced with Ala suggested that Trp356 and Tyr45 are essential to the catalytic reaction of the enzyme, and that the formation of a dimeric structure is indispensable for TVAII to hydrolyze both starch and cyclodextrins.     

Kinetic analysis of phenylalanine dehydrogenase mutants designed for aliphatic amino acid dehydrogenase activity with guidance from homology-based modelling.

Through comparison with the high-resolution structure of Clostridium symbiosum glutamate dehydrogenase, the different substrate specificities of the homologous enzymes phenylalanine dehydrogenase and leucine dehydrogenase were attributed to two residues, glycine 124 and leucine 307, in Bacillus sphaericus phenylalanine dehydrogenase, which are replaced with alanine and valine in leucine dehydrogenases. As predicted, making these substitutions in phenylalanine dehydrogenase decreased the specific activity towards aromatic substrates and enhanced the activity towards some aliphatic amino acids in standard assays with fixed concentrations of both substrates. This study did not, however, distinguish effects on affinity from those on maximum catalytic rate. A fuller kinetic characterization of the single- and double-mutant enzymes now reveals that the extent of the shift in specificity was underestimated in the earlier study. The maximum catalytic rates for aromatic substrates are reduced for all the mutants, but, in addition, the apparent Km values are higher for the single-mutant G124A and double-mutant G124A/L307V compared with the wild-type enzyme. Conversely, specificity constants (kcat/Km) for the nonpolar aliphatic amino acids and the corresponding 2-oxoacids for the mutants are all markedly higher than for the wild type, with up to a 40-fold increase for l-norvaline and a 100-fold increase for its 2-oxoacid in the double mutant. In some cases a favourable change in Km was found to outweigh a smaller negative change in kcat. These results emphasize the risk of misjudging the outcome of protein engineering experiments through too superficial an analysis. Overall, however, the success of the predictions from molecular modelling indicates the usefulness of this strategy for engineering new specificities, even in advance of more detailed 3D structural information.     

Molecular basis for acceptor substrate specificity of the human beta1,3-glucuronosyltransferases GlcAT-I and GlcAT-P involved in glycosaminoglycan and HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope biosynthesis, respectively

The human beta1,3-glucuronosyltransferases galactose-beta1,3-glucuronosyltransferase I (GlcAT-I) and galactose-beta1,3-glucuronosyltransferase P (GlcAT-P) are key enzymes involved in proteoglycan and HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope synthesis, respectively. Analysis of their acceptor specificity revealed that GlcAT-I was selective toward Galbeta1,3Gal (referred to as Gal2-Gal1), whereas GlcAT-P presented a broader profile. To understand the molecular basis of acceptor substrate recognition, we constructed mutants and chimeric enzymes based on multiple sequence alignment and structural information. The drastic effect of mutations of Glu227, Arg247, Asp252, and Glu281 on GlcAT-I activity indicated a key role for the hydrogen bond network formed by these four conserved residues in dictating Gal2 binding. Investigation of GlcAT-I determinants governing Gal1 recognition showed that Trp243 could not be replaced by its counterpart Phe in GlcAT-P. This result combined with molecular modeling provided evidence for the importance of stacking interactions with Trp at position 243 in the selectivity of GlcAT-I toward Galbeta1,3Gal. Mutation of Gln318 predicted to be hydrogen-bonded to 6-hydroxyl of Gal1 had little effect on GlcAT-I activity, reinforcing the role of Trp243 in Gal1 binding. Substitution of Phe245 in GlcAT-P by Ala selectively abolished Galbeta1,3Gal activity, also highlighting the importance of an aromatic residue at this position in defining the specificity of GlcAT-P. Finally, substituting Phe245, Val320, or Asn321 in GlcAT-P predicted to interact with N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), by their counterpart in GlcAT-I, moderately affected the activity toward the reference substrate of GlcAT-P, N-acetyllactosamine, indicating that its active site tolerates amino acid substitutions, an observation that parallels its promiscuous substrate profile. Taken together, the data clearly define key residues governing the specificity of beta1,3-glucuronosyltransferases.     

Alteration of substrate specificity of cholesterol oxidase from Streptomyces sp. by site-directed mutagenesis

Despite the structural similarities between cholesterol oxidase from Streptomyces and that from Brevibacterium, both enzymes exhibit different characteristics, such as catalytic activity, optimum pH and temperature. In attempts to define the molecular basis of differences in catalytic activity or stability, substitutions at six amino acid residues were introduced into cholesterol oxidase using site-directed mutagenesis of its gene. The amino acid substitutions chosen were based on structural comparisons of cholesterol oxidases from Streptomyces and BREVIBACTERIUM: Seven mutant enzymes were constructed with the following amino acid substitutions: L117P, L119A, L119F, V145Q, Q286R, P357N and S379T. All the mutant enzymes exhibited activity with the exception of that with the L117P mutation. The resulting V145Q mutant enzyme has low activities for all substrates examined and the S379T mutant enzyme showed markedly altered substrate specificity compared with the wild-type enzyme. To evaluate the role of V145 and S379 residues in the reaction, mutants with two additional substitutions in V145 and four in S379 were constructed. The mutant enzymes created by the replacement of V145 by Asp and Glu had much lower catalytic efficiency for cholesterol and pregnenolone as substrates than the wild-type enzyme. From previous studies and this study, the V145 residue seems to be important for the stability and substrate binding of the cholesterol oxidase. In contrast, the catalytic efficiencies (k(cat)/K(m)) of the S379T mutant enzyme for cholesterol and pregnenolone were 1.8- and 6.0-fold higher, respectively, than those of the wild-type enzyme. The enhanced catalytic efficiency of the S379T mutant enzyme for pregnenolone was due to a slightly high k(cat) value and a low K(m) value. These findings will provide several ideas for the design of more powerful enzymes that can be applied to clinical determination of serum cholesterol levels and as sterol probes.     

Arg292----Val] or [Arg292----Leu] mutation enhances the reactivity of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase with aromatic amino acids

Arg292 of E. coli aspartate aminotransferase was substituted with valine or leucine by site-directed mutagenesis. In comparison with the wild-type enzyme, either of the mutant enzymes showed a decrease by over 5 orders of magnitude of kcat/km values for aspartate and glutamate. This supports the contention that Arg292 is important for determining the specificity of this enzyme for dicarboxylic substrates. In contrast, mutant enzymes displayed a 5- to 10-fold increase in kcat/Km values for aromatic amino acids as substrates. Thus, introduction of an uncharged, hydrophobic side chain into position 292 leads to a striking alteration in substrate specificity of this enzyme, thereby improving catalytic efficiency toward aromatic amino acids.     

Sterol methyltransferase: functional analysis of highly conserved residues by site-directed mutagenesis

Sterol methyltransferase (SMT), the enzyme from Saccharomyces cerevisiae that catalyzes the conversion of sterol acceptor in the presence of AdoMet to C-24 methylated sterol and AdoHcy, was analyzed for amino acid residues that contribute to C-methylation activity. Site-directed mutagenesis of nine aspartate or glutamate residues and four histidine residues to leucine (amino acids highly conserved in 16 different species) and expression of the resulting mutant proteins in Escherichia coli revealed that residues at H90, Asp125, Asp152, Glu195, and Asp276 are essential for catalytic activity. Each of the catalytically impaired mutants bound sterol, AdoMet, and 25-azalanosterol, a high energy intermediate analogue inhibitor of C-methylation activity. Changes in equilibrium binding and kinetic properties of the mutant enzymes indicated that residues required for catalytic activity are also involved in inhibitor binding. Analysis of the pH dependence of log kcat/Km for the wild-type SMT indicated a pH optimum for activity between 6 and 9. These results and data showing that only the mutant H90L binds sterol, AdoMet, and inhibitor to similar levels as the wild-type enzyme suggest that H90 may act as an acceptor in the coupled methylation-deprotonation reaction. Circular dichroism spectra and chromatographic information of the wild-type and mutant enzymes confirmed retention of the overall conformation of the enzyme during the various experiments. Taken together, our studies suggest that the SMT active center is composed of a set of acidic amino acids at positions 125, 152, 195, and 276, which contribute to initial binding of sterol and AdoMet and that the H90 residue functions subsequently in the reaction progress to promote product formation.     

Identification of glutamate residues important for catalytic activity of Bacillus stearothermophilus leucine aminopeptidase II

Each of four conserved glutamate residues of Bacillus stearothermophilus leucine aminopeptidase II (BsLAPII) was replaced with aspartate, lysine, and leucine respectively by site-directed mutagenesis. The over-expressed wild-type and mutant enzymes were purified to homogeneity by nickel-chelate chromatography and the molecular mass of the subunit was determined to be 44.5 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The specific activity for the Glu-316 and Glu-340 mutants was completely abolished, while Glu-249 mutants showed comparable activity to that of the wild-type BsLAPII. Compared with the wild-type enzyme, the E250D and E250L mutant enzymes retained less than 18% of the enzyme activity and exhibited a dramatic decrease in the value of k _cat/K _m. These observations indicate that Glu-250, Glu-316, and Glu-340 residues are critical for the catalytic activity of BsLAPII.     

Effects of replacement of tryptophan-140 by phenylalanine or glycine on the function of Escherichia coli aspartate aminotransferase

Trp140 of E. coli aspartate aminotransferase has been converted to Phe or Gly by site-directed mutagenesis. As compared to the wild-type enzyme, either of the mutant enzymes showed 10- to 100-fold increase in Km's for natural dicarboxylic substrates, but did not show appreciable changes in Km's for aromatic substrates. Teh kcat values for dicarboxylic and aromatic substrates were greatly decreased by [Trp140----Gly] mutation, but were decreased to lesser extents by [Trp140----Phe] mutation. These findings suggested that N(1) of Trp140 may not be essential for catalysis, but may be partly involved in the binding of the distal carboxylate group of the dicarboxylic substrates.     

Structural basis of UDP-galactose binding by alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase (alpha3GT): role of negative charge on aspartic acid 316 in structure and activity

alpha-1,3-Galactosyltransferase (alpha3GT) catalyzes the transfer of galactose from UDP-galactose to form an alpha 1-3 link with beta-linked galactosides; it is part of a family of homologous retaining glycosyltransferases that includes the histo-blood group A and B glycosyltransferases, Forssman glycolipid synthase, iGb3 synthase, and some uncharacterized prokaryotic glycosyltransferases. In mammals, the presence or absence of active forms of these enzymes results in antigenic differences between individuals and species that modulate the interplay between the immune system and pathogens. The catalytic mechanism of alpha3GT is controversial, but the structure of an enzyme complex with the donor substrate could illuminate both this and the basis of donor substrate specificity. We report here the structure of the complex of a low-activity mutant alpha3GT with UDP-galactose (UDP-gal) exhibiting a bent configuration stabilized by interactions of the galactose with multiple residues in the enzyme including those in a highly conserved region (His315 to Ser318). Analysis of the properties of mutants containing substitutions for these residues shows that catalytic activity is strongly affected by His315 and Asp316. The negative charge of Asp316 is crucial for catalytic activity, and structural studies of two mutants show that its interaction with Arg202 is needed for an active site structure that facilitates the binding of UDP-gal in a catalytically competent conformation.     

Kinetic properties of native and mutagenized isoforms of mitochondrial alcohol dehydrogenase III purified from Kluyveromyces lactis

By computer modelling and protein engineering we have investigated changes in two amino acid residues located in the coenzyme pocket of the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis mitochondrial alcohol dehydrogenase III. These two residues, Gly 225 and Ala 274, were hypothesized to be involved in the enzyme discrimination between NAD(H) and NADP(H). Upon changing Gly 225 to Ala we produced an enzyme (mutant G225A) showing very little difference from the wild-type. On the contrary, change at position 274 of Phe instead of Ala (mutant A274F) caused a significant increase of K(m) values for NAD(P) and for NADPH and even a more marked decrease in catalytic activity. The k(cat)/K(m) rates for NADP(H) were also decreased in this mutant. Enzymes with the double changes at 225 and 274 (mutant G225A-A274F) showed, apart the substantial low K(m) value for NADPH and its high catalytic efficiency, kinetic parameters relative to coenzymes which were not additive over the single substitutions. Surprisingly, enzymes with changes at the two positions reduced efficiently acetaldehyde, displaying a K(m) value 10-fold lower and a catalytic efficiency sevenfold higher with respect to parent or singularly mutated enzymes. None of the engineered enzymes would convert formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde or aromatic aldehydes but all enzymes reduced propionaldehyde and butyraldehyde at relative reaction rates approximately half of that exhibited by acetaldehyde. Interestingly only mutant A274F was able to oxidize methanol almost as well as ethanol. In addition, this mutant was capable to convert secondary and cyclic alcohols, at a rate not detected in the other isoforms. These results are in general agreement with the prediction that increasing the size of amino acids in the proximity of the coenzyme pocket would hamper the accommodation of NADP but discord the increased affinity for NADPH as well as for alcoholic or aldehydic substrates with high steric hindrance.     

Enhanced bacteriolytic activity of hen egg-white lysozyme due to conversion of Trp62 to other aromatic amino acid residues

Tryptophan at the 62nd position (Trp62) of hen egg-white lysozyme is an amino acid residue whose action is essential for its enzymatic activity. Its indole ring may possibly come into direct contact with sugar residues of the substrate, and thus contribute significantly to substrate binding. For further elucidation of its role in catalytic processes, this amino acid was converted to other aromatic residues, such as Tyr, Phe, and His, by site-directed mutagenesis. All the mutations were found to enhance the bacteriolytic activity but to decrease the hydrolytic activity toward an artificial substrate, glycol chitin. Such a change in substrate preference appears remarkable considering the smaller size of the aromatic residue on the mutant enzyme at the 62nd position.     

Structure and function of HNK-1 sulfotransferase. Identification of donor and acceptor binding sites by site-directed mutagenesis.

HNK-1 glycan, sulfo-->3GlcAbeta1-->3Galbeta1-->4GlcNAc-->R, is uniquely enriched in neural cells and natural killer cells and is thought to play important roles in cell-cell interaction. HNK-1 glycan synthesis is dependent on HNK-1 sulfotransferase (HNK-1ST), and cDNAs encoding human and rat HNK-1ST have been recently cloned. HNK-1ST belongs to the sulfotransferase gene family, which shares two homologous sequences in their catalytic domains. In the present study, we have individually mutated amino acid residues in these conserved sequences and determined how such mutations affect the binding to the donor substrate, adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulfate, and an acceptor. Mutations of Lys(128), Arg(189), Asp(190), Pro(191), and Ser(197) to Ala all abolished the enzymatic activity. When Lys(128) and Asp(190) were conservatively mutated to Arg and Glu, respectively, however, the mutated enzymes still maintained residual activity, and both mutant enzymes still bound to adenosine 3',5'-diphosphate-agarose. K128R and D190E mutant enzymes, on the other hand, exhibited reduced affinity to the acceptor as demonstrated by kinetic studies. These findings, together with those on the crystal structure of estrogen sulfotransferase and heparan sulfate N-deacetylase/sulfotransferase, suggest that Lys(128) may be close to the 3-hydroxyl group of beta-glucuronic acid in a HNK-1 acceptor. In contrast, the effect by mutation at Asp(190) may be due to conformational change because this amino acid and Pro(191) reside in a transition of the secondary structure of the enzyme. These results indicate that conserved amino acid residues in HNK-1ST play roles in maintaining a functional conformation and are directly involved in binding to donor and acceptor substrates.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase from Anacystis nidulans

Using oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis of the gene encoding the small subunit (rbcS) from Anacystis nidulans mutant enzymes have been generated with either Trp-54 of the small subunit replaced by a Phe residue, or with Trp-57 replaced by a Phe residue, whereas both Trp-54 and Trp-57 have been replaced by Phe residues in a double mutant. Trp-54 and Trp-57 are conserved in all amino acid sequences or the small subunit (S) that are known at present. The wild-type and mutant forms of Rubisco have all been purified to homogeneity. The wild-type enzyme, purified from Escherichia coli is indistinguishable from enzyme similarly purified from A. nidulans in subunit composition, subunit molecular mass and kinetic parameters (Vmax CO2 = 2.9 U/mg, Km CO2 = 155 microM). The single Trp mutants are indistinguishable from the wild-type enzyme by criteria (a) and (b). However, whereas, Km CO2 is also unchanged, Vmax CO2 is 2.5-fold smaller than the value for the wild-type enzyme for both mutants, demonstrating for the first time that single amino acid replacements in the non-catalytic small subunit influence the catalytic rate of the enzyme. The specificity factor tau, which measures the partitioning of the active site between the carboxylase and oxygenase reactions, was found to be invariant. Since tau is not affected by these mutations we conclude that S is an activating not a regulating subunit.