Arg169 is essential for catalytic activity of 3-hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase from Klebsiella pneumoniae M5a1

3-Hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase from Klebsiella pneumoniae M5a1 is an enzyme that utilizes 3-hydroxybenzoate (3-HBA) as substrate yielding gentisate. Site-directed mutagenesis was carried out to define which residues may be involved in catalytic reaction. Substitution of arginine to glutamate at position 169 of the enzyme resulted in the complete loss of catalytic activity. This indicated Arg169 may play an important role in 3-HBA 6-hydroxylase catalysis.     

Purification and characterization of 4-hydroxybenzoate 3-hydroxylase from aKlebsiella pneumoniae mutant strain

Unlike the parent wild-type strain, theKlebsiella pneumoniae mutant strain MAO4 has a 4-HBA⁺ phenotype. The capacity of this mutant to take up and metabolize 4-hydroxybenzoate (4-HBA) relies on the expression of a permease and an NADPH-linked monooxygenase (4-HBA-3-hydroxylase). Both enzymes are normally expressed at basal levels, and only the presence of 4-HBA in the media enhances their activities. Strikingly, when theAcinetobacter calcoaceticus pobA gene encoding 4-hydroxybenzoate-3-hydroxylase was expressed in hydroxybenzoateK. pneumoniae wild-type, the bacteria were unable to grow on 4-HBA, suggesting that the main difference between the wild-type and the mutant strain is the capability of the latter to take up 4-HBA. 4-HBA-3-hydroxylase was purified to homogeneity by affinity, gel-filtration, and anion-exchange chromatography. The native enzyme, which appeared to be a dimer of identical subunits, had an apparent molecular mass of 80 kDa and a pI of 4.6. Steady-state kinetics were analyzed; the initial velocity patterns were consistent with a concerted substitution mechanism. The purified enzyme had 362 amino acid residues, and a tyrosine seemed to be involved in substrate activation.     

Interaction of 3-hydroxybenzoate with 3-hydroxybenzoate-6-hydroxylase.

The gradual quenching of the emission fluorescence of 3-HBA in the visible region upon titration with 3-HBA-6-hydroxylase and distinct changes in the near-UV circular dichroic spectrum of the enzyme in the presence of substrate suggest the formation of a stable enzyme-substrate complex. The binding of aromatic substrate 3-hydroxybenzoate to 3-hydroxybenzoate-6-hydroxylase occurs without gross changes in the backbone structure of the enzyme. The binding strength of the ES complex is partially reduced upon chemical modification of arginine, histidine, or tryptophan residues of enzyme, probably implicating their concerted action in the binding of substrate to enzyme. Partial inactivation of enzyme and diminished stability of the ES complex in response to treatment with 1 M urea could be ascribed to localized effects of the denaturant.     

Purification and characterization of the 3-hydroxybenzoate-6-hydroxylase from Klebsiella pneumoniae

Abstract We isolated 3-hydroxybenzoate-6-hydroxylase (E.C. 1.14.13.), an inducible enzyme that catalyzed the para -hydroxylation of 3-hydroxybenzoate (3-HBA) to 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate, from Klebsiella pneumoniae . Although the enzyme was found to be mainly induced by its substrate, a coordinated induction of 3-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase and gentisate dioxygenase was also observed in the presence of the product of the reaction. The purified enzyme was a monomer with a molecular mass of 42 000. It contained FAD as a prosthetic group, utilized NADH or NADPH with similar efficiencies and its activity was inhibited by Cu²⁺, Fe²⁺ and Hg²⁺. Other properties, such as induction mechanism and kinetic parameters were also studied. Moreover, for the first time the amino acid composition of a 3-hydroxybenzoate-6-hydroxylase was determined.     

Interaction of 3-hydroxybenzoate-6-hydroxylase with cibacron blue

Cibacron blue is a potent inhibitor of 3-HBA-6-hydroxylase at a concentration < 1 microM. Kinetic analyses revealed that at a concentration below 0.5 microM the dye behaves as an uncompetitive inhibitor with respect to 3-HBA and competes with NADH for the same site on the enzyme. The alteration of the near-UV CD spectrum and quenching of the emission fluorescence of the enzyme by cibacron blue indicates a significant alteration in the environment of aromatic amino acid residues due to a stacking interaction and subtle conformatiodnal changes in the enzyme. The concentration-dependent quenching of the intrinsic fluorescence of the enzyme by cibacron blue was employed to determine the binding parameters such as association constant (Ka) and stoichiometry (r) for the enzyme-dye complex.     

Metabolism of 3-hydroxybenzoate and gentisate by strain <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhodococcus opacus</Emphasis> 1CP

The ability of strain Rhodococcus opacus 1CP to utilize 3-hydroxybenzoate (3-HBA) and gentisate in concentrations up to 600 and 700 mg/L, respectively, as sole carbon and energy sources in liquid mineral media was demonstrated. Using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin-layer chromatography, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate (gentisate) was identified as the key intermediate of 3-hydroxybenzoate transformation. In the cell-free extracts of the strain grown on 3-HBA or gentisate, the activities of 3-hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase, gentisate 1,2-dioxygenase, and maleylpyruvate isomerase were detected. During growth on 3-HBA, low activity of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase was detected. Based on the data obtained, the pathway of 3-HBA metabolism by strain R. opacus 1CP was proposed.     

Interaction of 3-hydroxybenzoate-6-hydroxylase with cibacron blue

Cibacron blue is a potent inhibitor of 3-HBA-6-hydroxylase at a concentration < 1 μM. Kinetic analyses revealed that at a concentration below 0.5 μM the dye behaves as an uncompetitive inhibitor with respect to 3-HBA and competes with NADH for the same site on the enzyme. The alteration of the near-UV CD spectrum and quenching of the emission fluorescence of the enzyme by cibacron blue indicates a significant alteration in the environment of aromatic amino acid residues due to a stacking interaction and subtle conformatiodnal changes in the enzyme. The concentration-dependent quenching of the intrinsic fluorescence of the enzyme by cibacron blue was employed to determine the binding parameters such as association constant (K_a) and stoichiometry (r) for the enzyme-dye complex.     

Chemical modification of 3-HBA-6-hydroxylase by phenylglyoxal: kinetic and physicochemical studies on the modified enzyme.

The inactivation of 3-HBA-6-hydroxylase isolated from Micrococcus species by phenylglyoxal and protection offered by 3-HBA against inactivation indicate the presence of arginine residue at or near the substrate binding site. The loss of enzyme activity was time and concentration dependent and displayed pseudo-first order kinetics. A 'n' value of 0.9 was obtained thus suggesting the modification of a single arginine residue per active site which led to the loss of enzyme activity. The enzyme activity could be restored by extensive dialysis at neutral pH. Quenching of the intrinsic fluorescence and reduction in the ellipticity value at 280 nm in the near-UV CD spectrum of the enzyme was noticed after its treatment with phenylglyoxal. These observations probably imply distinct perturbations in the environment of adjacent aromatic amino acid residues such as tryptophan as a consequence of arginine modification.     

Biosynthesis of p-hydroxybenzoic acid in elicitor-treated carrot cell cultures

Carrot (Daucus carota L.) cells respond to treatment with fungal elicitors by synthesizing wallbound p-hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HBA). The biosynthetic pathway to p-HBA is still hypothetical. Tracer experiments with l-phenylalanine indicate the involvement of the general phenylpropanoid pathway. 3,4 (Methylenedioxy) innamic acid, an inhibitor of hydrocycinnamate CoA ligase, inhibits the accumulation of anthocyanins in carrot, while it does not interfere with p-HBA synthesis. Thus p-HBA biosynthesis does not appear to involve CoA thioesters. In the present report the sequence of enzymic reactions leading to p-HBA was investigated in vitro using protein preparations from cells treated with a fungal elicitor from Pythium aphanidermatum (Edson) Fitzp. The side-chain degradation from p-coumaric acid to p-HBA is not analogous to the -oxidation of fatty acids and involves p-hydroxybenzaldehyde as an intermediate. The final step from p-hydroxybenzaldehyde to p-HBA is catalyzed by an NAD-dependent p-hydroxybenzaldehyde dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.-). This reaction was characterized with regard to cofactor requirements, pH and temperature optima. The in-vitro formation of p-HBA from p-coumaric acid and the activity of the hydroxybenzaldehyde dehydrogenase are moderately elicitor-induced but to a much lesser extent than phenylalanine ammonialyase, which is the starting enzyme of the general phenylpropanoid pathway.Abbreviations HPLC high-performance liquid chromatography - MDCA 3,4-(methylenedioxy)-cinnamic acid - p-HBA p-hydroxybenzoic acid This work was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and a sholarship of the Land Baden-Württemberg (J.-P. S.).     

Biodegradation of mixture containing monohydroxybenzoate isomers by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acinetobacter calcoaceticus</Emphasis>

A bacterial strain capable of utilizing a mixture containing 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (2-HBA), 3-hydroxybenzoic acid (3-HBA) and 4-hydroxybenzoic (4-HBA) acid was isolated through enrichment from a soil sample. Based on 16SrDNA sequencing, the microorganism was identified as Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. The sequence of biodegradation of the three isomers when provided as a mixture (0.025%, w/v each) was elucidated. The dihydroxylated metabolites formed from the degradation of 2-HBA, 3-HBA and 4-HBA were identified as catechol, gentisate and protocatechuate, respectively, using the cell-free supernatant and cell-free crude extracts. Monooxygenases and dioxygenases that were induced in the cells of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus in response to growth on mixture containing 2-HBA, 3-HBA and 4-HBA could be detected in cell-free extracts. These data revealed the pathways operating in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus for the sequential metabolism of monohydroxybenzoate isomers when presented as a mixture.     

Reactivity of 3-HBA-6-hydroxylase with diethylpyrocarbonate and N-bromosuccinimide: effect of chemical modifications on kinetic and spectral properties of the enzyme

The rapid inactivation of 3-HBA-6-hydroxylase by 100 microM diethylpyrocarbonate or 40 microM N-bromosuccinimide and protection offered by the substrate, 3-hydroxybenzoate, against these chemical modifications implicate the involvement of histidine and tryptophan in the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Inactivation of the enzyme by diethylpyrocarbonate followed pseudo-first-order kinetics, and an "n" value of 1.3 was obtained. Inactivation of the enzyme by N-bromosuccinimide was instantaneous and failed to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. Distinct and incremental changes in the UV absorption, emission fluorescence, and near UV-CD spectra of the enzyme upon its titration with increasing concentrations of diethylpyrocarbonate or N-bromosuccinimide may be ascribed to modification and/or changes in the microenvironment of aromatic amino acid residue(s) such as tryptophan in the enzyme.     

Expression of the human steroid 21-hydroxylase gene and its mutant variant C169R in insect cells and functional analysis of expression products

Steroid 21-hydroxylase is a key enzyme of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid biosynthesis in the adrenal gland that belongs to the family of microsomal cytochrome P450. The steroid 21-hydroxylase deficiency is the most frequent cause of the congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The human steroid 21-hydroxylase (CYP21 A) and its mutant variant (C 169R) found previously in patient with the classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia were synthesized for the first time in the insect cell lines Sf9 and Hi5 infected by recombinant baculoviruses. Under optimal conditions the level of CYP21A2 production in insect cells achieves 28% of the total microsomal protein. C169R mutation does not effect the synthesis of CYP21 A2 in insect cells and does not prevent the incorporation of the enzyme into the membranes of endoplasmic reticulum. Functional analysis of the mutant enzyme in vitro suggested the virtually complete lack of catalytic activity towards two substrates - progesterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone.     

Protocatechuate overproduction by Corynebacterium glutamicum via simultaneous engineering of native and heterologous biosynthetic pathways

Protocatechuic acid (3, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, PCA) is a natural bioactive phenolic acid potentially valuable as a pharmaceutical raw material owing to its diverse pharmacological activities. Corynebacterium glutamicum forms PCA as a key intermediate in a native pathway to assimilate shikimate/quinate through direct conversion of the shikimate pathway intermediate 3-dehydroshikimate (DHS), which is catalyzed by qsuB-encoded DHS dehydratase (the DHS pathway). PCA can also be formed via an alternate pathway extending from chorismate by introducing heterologous chorismate pyruvate lyase that converts chorismate into 4-hydroxybenzoate (4-HBA), which is then converted into PCA catalyzed by endogenous 4-HBA 3-hydroxylase (the 4-HBA pathway). In this study, we generated three plasmid-free C. glutamicum strains overproducing PCA based on the markerless chromosomal recombination by engineering each or both of the above mentioned two PCA-biosynthetic pathways combined with engineering of the host metabolism to enhance the shikimate pathway flux and to block PCA consumption. Aerobic growth-arrested cell reactions were performed using the resulting engineered strains, which revealed that strains dependent on either the DHS or 4-HBA pathway as the sole PCA-biosynthetic route produced 43.8 and 26.2 g/L of PCA from glucose with a yield of 35.3% and 10.0% (mol/mol), respectively, indicating that PCA production through the DHS pathway is significantly efficient compared to that produced through the 4-HBA pathway. Remarkably, a strain simultaneously using both DHS and 4-HBA pathways achieved the highest reported PCA productivity of 82.7 g/L with a yield of 32.8% (mol/mol) from glucose in growth-arrested cell reaction. These results indicated that simultaneous engineering of both DHS and 4-HBA pathways is an efficient method for PCA production. The generated PCA-overproducing strain is plasmid-free and does not require supplementation of aromatic amino acids and vitamins due to the intact shikimate pathway, thereby representing a promising platform for the industrial bioproduction of PCA and derived chemicals from renewable sugars.     

Protein hydroxylation: prolyl 4-hydroxylase, an enzyme with four cosubstrates and a multifunctional subunit

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.11.2) catalyzes the formation of 4-hydroxyproline in collagens by the hydroxylation of proline residues in X-Pro-Gly sequences. The reaction requires Fe2+, 2-oxoglutarate, O2, and ascorbate and involves an oxidative decarboxylation of 2-oxoglutarate. Ascorbate is not consumed during most catalytic cycles, but the enzyme also catalyzes decarboxylation of 2-oxoglutarate without subsequent hydroxylation, and ascorbate is required as a specific alternative oxygen acceptor in such uncoupled reaction cycles. A number of compounds inhibit prolyl 4-hydroxylase competitively with respect to some of its cosubstrates or the peptide substrate, and recently many suicide inactivators have also been described. Such inhibitors and inactivators are of considerable interest, because the prolyl 4-hydroxylase reaction would seem a particularly suitable target for chemical regulation of the excessive collagen formation found in patients with various fibrotic diseases. The active prolyl 4-hydroxylase is an alpha 2 beta 2 tetramer, consisting of two different types of inactive monomer and probably containing two catalytic sites per tetramer. The large catalytic site may be cooperatively built up of both the alpha and beta subunits, but the alpha subunit appears to contribute the major part. The beta subunit has been found to be identical to the enzyme protein disulfide isomerase and a major cellular thyroid hormone-binding protein and shows partial homology with a phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C, thioredoxins, and the estrogen-binding domain of the estrogen receptor. The COOH-terminus of this beta subunit has the amino acid sequence Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu, which was recently suggested to be necessary for the retention of a polypeptide within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. The alpha subunit does not have this COOH-terminal sequence, and thus one function of the beta subunit in the prolyl 4-hydroxylase tetramer appears to be to retain the enzyme within this cell organelle.     

Genetic and biochemical studies on the conversion of flavanones to dihydroflavonols in flowers of Petunia hybrida

Summary Chemogenetic investigations and precursor experiments on flowers of Petunia hybrida suggest that recessive alleles of the gene An3 block the biosynthetic pathway of flavonols and anthocyanins between the flavanone and dihydroflavonol step. In confirmation of this hypothesis, activity of the enzyme flavanone 3-hydroxylase, which catalyses the conversion of flavanones to dihydroflavonols, was readily demonstrated in enzyme preparations from flowers of lines with the dominant allele An3, whereas no or very low activity could be found in extracts from lines with recessive alleles (an3an3). A second genetic factor is described which clearly reduces the amount of flavonols in the flowers but not the amount of anthocyanins. Crossing experiments revealed that this factor represents a third allele of the An3 gene. It is referred to as an3-1. As expected, a residual flavanone 3-hydroxylase activity of about 10% could be found in enzyme extracts from plants with the an3-1 allele. The decreased level of dihydroflavonol formed under this condition is obviously still sufficient for anthocyanin formation but not for flavonol synthesis.Similar to flavanone 3-hydroxylases from other plants, the enzyme of Petunia is a soluble enzyme and belongs according to its cofactor requirements to the 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases. The residual flavanone 3-hydroxylase activity found in plants with the an3-1 allele is identical to the activity extracted from An3-genotypes with regard to cofactors, substrate specificity and most of the inhibitors. The difference observed in the respective pH-optima and the genetic data suggest that the mutation providing the an3-1 phenotype is localized in the structural gene for flavanone 3-hydroxylase.     

Pseudomonas cepacia 3-hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase: induction, purification, and characterization

A single strain of Pseudomonas cepacia cells was differentially induced to synthesize salicylate hydroxylase, 3-hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase, or 4-hydroxybenzoate 3-hydroxylase. A procedure was developed for the purification of 3-hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase to apparent homogeneity. The purified hydroxylase appears to be a monomer with a molecular weight of about 44,000 and exhibits optimal activity near pH 8. The hydroxylase contains one FAD per enzyme molecule and utilizes NADH and NADPH with similar efficiencies. The reaction stoichiometry for this enzyme has been determined. In comparison with other aromatic flavohydroxylases, this enzyme is unique in inserting a new hydroxyl group to the substrate at a position para to an existing one.     

Hydrolytic dehalogenation of 4-chlorobenzoic acid by an Acinetobacter sp

Acinetobacter sp. strain ST-1, isolated from garden soil, can mineralize 4-chlorobenzoic acid (4-CBA). The bacterium degrades 4-CBA, starting with dehalogenation to yield 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, suggesting that the dehalogenating enzyme in the strain is not an oxygenase; the enzyme may catalyze halide hydrolysis. To identify the oxygen source of the C(4)-hydroxy groups in the dehalogenation step, we used H(2)(18)O as the solvent under anaerobic conditions. When resting cells were incubated in the presence of 4-CBA and H(2)(18)O under a nitrogen gas stream, the hydroxy group on the aromatic nucleus of the 4-HBA produced was derived from water, not from molecular oxygen. This dehalogenation was hydrolytic, because analysis of the mass spectrum of the trimethylsilyl derivative of one of the metabolites, (18)O-labeled 4-HBA, showed that 80% of the C4-hydroxy groups were labeled with (18)O. Hydrolytic dehalogenation of 4-CBA in intact cells has not been reported earlier. To identify substrate specificity, we next examined the ability of the strain to dehalogenate 4-CBA analogues and dichlorobenzoic acids. The results of metabolite analysis by high-pressure liquid chromatography showed that the strain dehalogenated 4-bromobenzoic acid and 4-iodobenzoic acid, yielding 4-HBA, suggesting that these compounds could be further degraded and mineralized by the strain via the beta-ketoadipate pathway, as occurs with 4-CBA. This strain, however, did not dehalogenate 4-fluorobenzoic acid, 2- and 3-chlorobenzoic acids, or 2,4-, 3,4-, and 3,5-dichlorobenzoic acids during 4 days of incubation, implying that the dehalogenating enzyme of the strain has high substrate specificity.     

Purification and characterisation of 3-hydroxyphenylacetate 6-hydroxylase: a novel FAD-dependent monooxygenase from a Flavobacterium species

3-Hydroxyphenylacetate 6-hydroxylase was purified 70-fold from a Flavobacterium sp. grown upon phenylacetic acid as its sole carbon and energy source. The presence of FAD and dithiothreitol during purification is essential for high recovery of active enzyme. SDS/PAGE of purified enzyme reveals a single band with a minimum molecular mass of 63 kDa. Analytical gel-filtration, sedimentation-equilibrium and sedimentation-velocity experiments indicate that the purified enzyme exists in solution mainly as a dimer, containing 1 molecule non-covalently bound FAD/subunit. 3-Hydroxyphenylacetate 6-hydroxylase utilizes NADH and NADPH as external electron donors with similar efficiency. The enzyme shows a narrow substrate specificity. Only the primary substrate 3-hydroxyphenylacetate is hydroxylated efficiently, yielding 2,5-dihydroxyphenylacetate as a product. During turnover, the substrate analogues 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate are partially hydroxylated, exclusively at the 6' (2') position. The physiological product 2,5-dihydroxyphenylacetate acts as an effector, strongly stimulating NAD(P)H oxidation. The activity of 3-hydroxyphenylacetate 6-hydroxylase is severely inhibited by chloride ions, competitive to the aromatic substrate. In the native state of enzyme, two sulfhydryl groups are accessible to 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate). Titration with stoichiometric amounts of either 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoate) or mercurial reagents completely blocks enzyme activity. Inactivation by cysteine reagents is inhibited by the substrate 3-hydroxyphenylacetate. The original activity is fully restored by treatment of the modified enzyme with dithiothreitol. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme lacks the consensus sequence GXGXXG, found at the N-termini of all flavin-dependent external monooxygenases sequenced so far. The amino acid composition of 3-hydroxyphenylacetate 6-hydroxylase is also presented.