Escherichia coli photoreactivating enzyme: purification and properties

We have purified large quantities of Escherichia coli photoreactivating enzyme (EC 4.1.99.3) to apparent homogeneity and have studied its physical and chemical properties. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 36 800 and a S020,W of 3.72 S. Amino acid analysis revealed an apparent absence of tryptophan, a low content of aromatic residues, and the presence of no unusual amino acids. The N terminus is arginine. The purified enzyme contained up to 13% carbohydrate by weight. The carbohydrate was composed of mannose, galactose, glucose, and N-acetylglucosamine. The enzyme is also associated with RNA (approximately 10 nucleotides/enzyme molecule) containing uracil, adenine, guanine, and cytosine with no unusual bases detected.     

Glutamate dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli: induction, purification and properties of the enzyme.

When Escherichia coli was grown in a minimum medium with glucose as sole carbon source and a proper level of ammonia, NADP+ specific glutamate dehydrogenase (L-glutamate: NADP+ oxidoreductase (deaminating), ED 1.4.1.4) was induced. The enzyme was solubilized by French press treatment and purified to homogeneity by (NH4)2SO4 fractionation, heat treatment followed by DEAE-cellulose, hydroxylapatite and Bio-Gel chromatography with an overall yield of 30%. The enzyme proved to be heat stable and relatively resistant to protein denaturants. The optimum of enzymic activity for the reductive amination is at pH 8 and at pH 9 for the oxidative deamination. The activity is affected by adenine nucleotides. The molecular weight (about 250 000 for the native form and 46 000 for the inactive subunit) and amino acid composition, suggest strict similarities with the NADP+ enzyme from fungal origin.     

Gene cloning,purification, and characterization of 2,3-diaminopropionate ammonia-lyase from Escherichia coli

2,3-Diaminopropionate ammonia-lyase (DAPAL), which catalyzes alpha,beta-elimination of 2,3-diaminopropionate regardless of its stereochemistry, was purified from Salmonella typhimurium. We cloned the Escherichia coli ygeX gene encoding a putative DAPAL and purified the gene product to homogeneity. The protein obtained contained pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and was composed of two identical subunits with a calculated molecular weight of 43,327. It catalyzed the alpha,beta-elimination of both D- and L-2,3-diaminopropionate. The results confirmed that ygeX encoded DAPAL. The enzyme acted on D-serine, but its catalytic efficiency was only 0.5% that with D-2,3-diaminopropionate. The enzymologic properties of E. coli DAPAL resembled those of Salmonella DAPAL, except that L-serine, D-and L-beta-Cl-alanine were inert as substrates of the enzyme from E. coli. DAPAL had significant sequence similarity with the catalytic domain of L-threonine dehydratase, which is a member of the fold-type II group of pyridoxal phosphate enzymes, together with D-serine dehydratase and mammalian serine racemase.     

DAHP synthase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv: cloning, expression, and purification of functional enzyme

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, remains the leading cause of mortality due to a bacterial pathogen. According to the 2004 Global TB Control Report of the World Health Organization, there are 300,000 new cases per year of multi-drug resistant strains (MDR-TB), defined as resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin, and 79% of MDR-TB cases are now "super strains," resistant to at least three of the four main drugs used to treat TB. Thus there is a need for the development of effective new agents to treat TB. The shikimate pathway is an attractive target for the development of antimycobacterial agents because it has been shown to be essential for the viability of M. tuberculosis, but absent from mammals. The M. tuberculosis aroG-encoded 3-deoxy-d-arabino-heptulosonate 7-phosphate synthase (mtDAHPS) catalyzes the first committed step in this pathway. Here we describe the PCR amplification, cloning, and sequencing of aroG structural gene from M. tuberculosis H37Rv. The expression of recombinant mtDAHPS protein in the soluble form was obtained in Escherichia coli Rosetta-gami (DE3) host cells without IPTG induction. An approximately threefold purification protocol yielded homogeneous enzyme with a specific activity value of 0.47U mg(-1) under the experimental conditions used. Gel filtration chromatography results demonstrate that recombinant mtDAHPS is a pentamer in solution. The availability of homogeneous mtDAHPS will allow structural and kinetics studies to be performed aiming at antitubercular agents development.     

Partial purification of a lipolytic enzyme from Escherichia coli.

An enzyme with phospholipase Al activity was purified some 500-fold from Escherichia coli cell homogenates. Lipase, phospholipase A2, and lysophospholipase copurified with phospholipase A1 and the four activities displayed similar susceptibility to heat treatment. The phospholipase A and lipase activities were recovered in a single band when partially purified preparations were subjected to SDS gel electrophoresis. Phospholipase, lysophospholipase, and lipase all required Ca2+ for activity. Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and their lyso analogues were all hydrolysed at equivalent rates and these were substantially greater than the rate of methylpalmitate or tripalmitoylglycerol hydrolyses under similar incubation conditions. Evidence for a direct but slow hydrolysis of the ester at position 2 of phosphoglyceride was obtained; however, release of fatty acid from this position is mostly indirect involving acyl migration to position 1 and subsequent release of the translocated fatty acid. Escherichia coli, therefore, appears to possess a lipolytic enzyme of broad substrate specificity acting mainly at position 1 but also at position 2 of phosphoglycerides and on triacylglycerols and methyl fatty-acid esters.     

Trehalose synthase of Mycobacterium smegmatis: purification, cloning, expression, and properties of the enzyme.

Trehalose synthase (TreS) catalyzes the reversible interconversion of trehalose (glucosyl-alpha,alpha-1,1-glucose) and maltose (glucosyl-alpha1-4-glucose). TreS was purified from the cytosol of Mycobacterium smegmatis to give a single protein band on SDS gels with a molecular mass of approximately 68 kDa. However, active enzyme exhibited a molecular mass of approximately 390 kDa by gel filtration suggesting that TreS is a hexamer of six identical subunits. Based on amino acid compositions of several peptides, the treS gene was identified in the M. smegmatis genome sequence, and was cloned and expressed in active form in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein was synthesized with a (His)(6) tag at the amino terminus. The interconversion of trehalose and maltose by the purified TreS was studied at various concentrations of maltose or trehalose. At a maltose concentration of 0.5 mm, an equilibrium mixture containing equal amounts of trehalose and maltose (42-45% of each) was reached during an incubation of about 6 h, whereas at 2 mm maltose, it took about 22 h to reach the same equilibrium. However, when trehalose was the substrate at either 0.5 or 2 mm, only about 30% of the trehalose was converted to maltose in >or= 12 h, indicating that maltose is the preferred substrate. These incubations also produced up to 8-10% free glucose. The K(m) for maltose was approximately 10 mm, whereas for trehalose it was approximately 90 mm. While beta,beta-trehalose, isomaltose (alpha1,6-glucose disaccharide), kojibiose (alpha1,2) or cellobiose (beta1,4) were not substrates for TreS, nigerose (alpha1,3-glucose disaccharide) and alpha,beta-trehalose were utilized at 20 and 15%, respectively, as compared to maltose. The enzyme has a pH optimum of about 7 and is inhibited in a competitive manner by Tris buffer. [(3)H]Trehalose is converted to [(3)H]maltose even in the presence of a 100-fold or more excess of unlabeled maltose, and [(14)C]maltose produces [(14)C]trehalose in excess unlabeled trehalose, suggesting the possibility of separate binding sites for maltose and trehalose. The catalytic mechanism may involve scission of the incoming disaccharide and transfer of a glucose to an enzyme-bound glucose, as [(3)H]glucose incubated with TreS and either unlabeled maltose or trehalose results in formation of [(3)H]disaccharide. TreS also catalyzes production of a glucosamine disaccharide from maltose and glucosamine, suggesting that this enzyme may be valuable in carbohydrate synthetic chemistry.     

The purification and properties of Escherichia coli methylglyoxal synthase

1. Methylglyoxal synthase was purified over 1500-fold from glycerol-grown Escherichia coli K 12 strain CA 244. The purified enzyme was inactivated by heat or proteolysis, had a molecular weight of approx. 67000, a pH optimum of 7.5 and was specific for dihydroxyacetone phosphate with K(m) 0.47mm. 2. The possibility that a Schiff-base intermediate was involved in the reaction mechanism was investigated but not confirmed. 3. The purified enzyme lost activity, especially at low temperature, but could be stabilized by P(i). Two binding sites for P(i) may be present on the enzyme. Of other compounds tested only the substrate, dihydroxyacetone phosphate, and bovine serum albumin showed any significant stabilizing effect. 4. Phosphoenolpyruvate, 3-phosphoglycerate, PP(i) and P(i) were potent inhibitors of the enzyme. Kinetic experiments showed that PP(i) was apparently a simple competitive inhibitor, but inhibition by the other compounds was more complex. In the presence of P(i) the enzyme behaved co-operatively, with at least three binding sites for dihydroxyacetone phosphate. 5. It is proposed that methylglyoxal synthase and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase play important roles in the catabolism of the triose phosphates in E. coli. Channelling of dihydroxyacetone phosphate via methylglyoxal would not be linked to ATP formation and could be involved in the uncoupling of catabolism and anabolism.     

Dihydroneopterin triphosphate epimerase of Escherichia coli: purification, genetic cloning, and expression.

The enzyme catalyzing the epimerization at position 2' of dihydroneopterin triphosphate was purified by a factor of about 10,000 from cell extract of Escherichia coli. The cognate gene was cloned, sequenced, expressed, and mapped to kb 2427 on the E. coli chromosome.     

Over-expression, purification, and characterization of recombinant NAD-malic enzyme from Escherichia coli K12

NAD(+)-dependent malic enzyme (NAD-ME) gene from Escherichia coli K12 was inserted into an expression vector pET24b(+) and transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3). Recombinant NAD-ME was expressed upon IPTG induction, purified with affinity chromatography, and biochemically characterized. The results showed that recombinant NAD-ME could be produced mainly in a soluble form. The monomeric molecular weight of recombinant NAD-ME was about 65 kDa, whereas monomer, homotetramer, and homooctamer were formed in solution as revealed by nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis. Finally, the K(m) values of NAD-ME for L-malate and NAD were determined as 0.420+/-0.174 and 0.097+/-0.038 mM, respectively, at pH 7.2. By using this over-expression and purification system, recombinant E. coli K12 NAD-ME can now be obtained in large quantity necessary for further biochemical characterization and applications.     

Cyclopropane fatty acid synthase of Escherichia coli: deduced amino acid sequence, purification, and studies of the enzyme active site.

Cyclopropane fatty acid (CFA) synthase of Escherichia coli catalyzes a modification of the acyl chains of phospholipid bilayers. We report (i) identification of the CFA synthase protein, (ii) overproduction (> 600-fold) and purification to essential homogeneity of the enzyme, and (iii) the amino acid sequence of CFA synthase as deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the cfa gene. CFA synthase was overproduced by use of the T7 promoter/RNA polymerase system under closely defined conditions. The enzyme was readily purified by a two-step procedure requiring only ammonium sulfate fractionation and binding to phospholipid vesicles followed by flotation in sucrose density gradients. The deduced amino acid sequence predicts a protein of 43,913 Da (382 residues) that lacks long hydrophobic segments. The CFA synthase sequence has no significant similarity to known proteins except for sequences found in other enzymes that utilize S-adenosyl-L-methionine. We also report inhibitor studies of the enzyme active site.     

Expression and purification of His-tagged flavonol synthase of Camellia sinensis from Escherichia coli

Flavonols, a class of bioactive polyphenols present in plants, are the products of flavonol desaturation catalyzed by flavonol synthase (FLS). We cloned the cDNA coding for the enzyme FLS from Camellia sinensis (CsFLS) by end-to-end PCR followed by 5'- and 3'-RACE. The putative CsFLS had 333 amino acid residues, displayed identities to the FLSs of Arabidopsis and Ginkgo of 53% and 52.5%, respectively, and contained several conserved elements found in the 2-oxoglutarate-Fe(II)-dioxygenase superfamily. The cDNA of CsFLS was subcloned into pET28a(+) and introduced into Escherichia coli (BL21-CodonPlus-RIL). Induction with 0.1mM IPTG at low temperature (20 degrees C) led to higher amounts of CsFLS in the soluble fraction than induction at 30 degrees C. The enzyme aggregated into inclusion bodies could be rescued by denaturation with 6M urea and purification with a His.Bind purification kit. The purified protein was desalted by Amicon Ultra-15 centrifugal filter unit, and the His-tag was removed with thrombin. The finally purified protein was assayed with dihydroquercetin as substrate and the products were analyzed by HPLC. The addition of FeSO(4) to the buffers used in the CsFLS purification significantly increased the recovery of active enzyme. The CsFLS obtained in this study was found to have higher specific activity and lower K(m) than previously reported FLSs.     

Acetohydroxy acid synthase I of Escherichia coli: purification and properties.

Several properties of the three acetohydroxy acid synthases of Escherichia coli have been compared in crude extracts. The three enzymes can be readily distinguished from each other. Acetohydroxy acid synthase I, the product of the ilvB gene, has been purified to near homogeneity. The purification was made possible by the fact that the enzyme was maintained in buffers of a high ionic strength or in buffers containing glycerol. Density gradient centrifugation studies indicated that the enzyme exists as a dimer of subunits of similar (60,000) molecular weight in buffers containing glycerol with or without two of the cofactors. Mg2+ and thiamine diphosphate. When flavine adenine dinucleotide was added along with Mg2+ and thiamine diphosphate, an increase in the rate of sedimentation occurred that was thought to be due to a rapid tetramer-dimer interconversion. The addition of pyruvate, the substrate, along with the three cofactors, resulted in a further increase in sedimentation rate, due presumably to an increase in the tetramer-to-dimer ratio. The addition of valine to the complete system resulted in maintenance of the enzyme in the dimeric state concomitant with inhibition of enzyme activity.     

Purification,cloning and expression of spinach leaf sucrose-phosphate synthase in Escherichia coli

Sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) from leaves of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) has been purified to homogeneity by a procedure involving precipitation with polyethylenglycol and chromatography over diethylaminoethylcellulose, Ω-aminohexylagarose, Mono Q and Blue Affinity columns. The purification factor was 838 and the final specific activity was 1.3 nkat · (mg protein)^?1. On denaturing gels the major polypeptide was 120 kDa but there was also a variable amount of smaller polypeptides in the range of 90 to 110 kDa. A new activity stain was developed to allow visualization of SPS in gels. The holoenzyme had a molecular weight of about 240 and 480 kDa in native gels and Sepharose, respectively. A high-titre polyclonal antibody was obtained which reacted with SPS from other species including wheat, potato, banana and maize. Screening of a spinach-leaf cDNA-expression library with the antibody allowed the isolation of a full-length clone. Sequencing revealed a predicted molecular weight of 117649 Da, and considerable homology with the recently published sequence for maize leaf (Worrell et al. 1991, Plant Cell 3, 1121–1130). Expression of the spinach-leaf SPS gene in Escherichia coli resulted in biological activity, revealed by the presence of SPS activity in extracts and the accumulation of sucrose-6-phosphate and sucrose in the bacteria.     

The aconitase of Escherichia coli: purification of the enzyme and molecular cloning and map location of the gene (acn)

The aconitase of Escherichia coli was purified to homogeneity, albeit in low yield (0.6%). It was shown to be a monomeric protein of Mr 95,000 or 97,500 by gel filtration and SDS-PAGE analysis, respectively. The N-terminal amino acid sequence resembled that of the Bacillus subtilis enzyme (citB product), but the similarity at the DNA level was insufficient to allow detection of the E. coli acn gene using a 456 bp citB probe. Phages containing the acn gene were isolated from a lambda-E. coli gene bank by immunoscreening with an antiserum raised against purified bacterial enzyme. The acn gene was located at 28 min (1350 kb) in the physical map of the E. coli chromosome by probing Southern blots with a fragment of the gene. Attempts to locate the gene using the same procedure with oligonucleotide probes encoding segments of the N-terminal amino acid sequence were complicated by the lack of probe specificity and an inaccuracy in the physical map of Kohara et al. (Cell 50, 495-508, 1987). Aconitase specific activity was amplified some 20-200-fold in cultures transformed with pGS447, a derivative of pUC119 containing the acn gene, and an apparent four-fold activation-deactivation of the phagemid-encoded enzyme was observed in late exponential phase. The aconitase antiserum cross-reacted with both the porcine and Salmonella typhimurium (Mr 120,000) enzymes.