Implication by site-directed mutagenesis of Arg314 and Tyr316 in the coenzyme site of pig mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase

Sequence alignment of pig mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase with eukaryotic (human, rat, and yeast) and Escherichia coli isocitrate dehydrogenases reveals that Tyr316 is completely conserved and is equivalent to the E. coli Tyr345, which interacts with the 2'-phosphate of NADP in the crystal structure [Hurley et al., Biochemistry 30 (1991) 8671-8678]. Lys321 is also completely conserved in the five isocitrate dehydrogenases. Either an arginine or lysine residue is found among the enzymes from other species at the position corresponding to the pig enzyme Arg314. While Arg323 is not conserved among all species, its proximity to the coenzyme site makes it a good candidate for investigation. The importance of these four amino acids to the function of pig mitochondrial NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase was studied by site-directed mutagenesis. Mutants (R314Q, Y316F, Y316L, K321Q, and R323Q) were generated by a megaprimer polymerase chain reaction method. Wild-type and mutant enzymes were expressed in E. coli and purified to homogeneity. All mutant and wild-type enzymes exhibited comparable molecular weights indicative of the dimeric enzyme. Mutations do not cause an appreciable change in enzyme secondary structure as revealed by circular dichroism measurements. The kinetic parameters (V(max) and K(M) values) of K321Q and R323Q are similar to those of wild-type, indicating that Lys321 and Arg323 are not involved in enzyme function. R314Q exhibits a 10-fold increase in K(M) for NADP as compared to that of wild-type, while they have comparable V(max) values. These results suggest that Arg314 contributes to the affinity between the enzyme and NADP. The hydroxyl group of Tyr316 is not required for enzyme function since Y316F exhibits similar kinetic parameters to those of wild-type. Y316L shows a 4-fold increase in K(M) for NADP and a decrease in V(max) as compared to wild-type, suggesting that the aromatic ring of the Tyr of isocitrate dehydrogenase contributes to the affinity for coenzyme, as well as to catalysis. The K(i) for NAD of R314Q, Y316F, and Y316L is comparable to that of wild-type, indicating that the Arg314 and Tyr316 may be located near the 2'-phosphate of enzyme-bound NADP.     

Multinuclear NMR studies of the divalent metal binding site of NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase from pig heart

The metal activator site of NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase from pig heart has been probed by using 113Cd and 25Mg NMR as well as manganese paramagnetic relaxation of nuclei in the fast-exchanging ligands alpha-ketoglutarate and adenosine 2'-monophosphate. Cadmium NMR shows that cadmium, bound to the enzyme in the presence of isocitrate, has a resonance at 9 ppm relative to cadmium perchlorate, while the free Cd-isocitrate complex has a resonance at -23 ppm. Comparison with model compounds and previously studied proteins indicates that cadmium is coordinated with six oxygen ligands. Measurements as a function of cadmium concentration give a dissociation constant of 66 microM and a dissociation rate constant of 1.5 X 10(4) s-1 at pH 7.0. 25Mg NMR demonstrates that the line width of the magnesium resonance is increased upon binding to isocitrate dehydrogenase. A further increase in line width is observed upon addition of isocitrate. Measurement of line widths as a function of temperature reveals that in the binary complex between magnesium and enzyme, exchange is the major contributor to broadening while in the ternary complex containing isocitrate, the intrinsic relaxation in the bound state is also important, suggesting an increase in the dissociation rate constant for magnesium from the ternary complex. Paramagnetic relaxation studies of nuclei of alpha-ketoglutarate, bicarbonate, and adenosine 2'-monophosphate locate the divalent metal within the active site. The results with adenosine 2'-monophosphate show that atoms in the adenosine moiety of the coenzyme are at least 8 A from the metal site.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Evaluation by mutagenesis of the roles of His309, His315, and His319 in the coenzyme site of pig heart NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase

Sequence alignment predicts that His(309) of pig heart NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase is equivalent to His(339) of the Escherichia coli enzyme, which interacts with the coenzyme in the crystal structure [Hurley et al. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 8671-8688], and porcine His(315) and His(319) are close to that site. The mutant porcine enzymes H309Q, H309F, H315Q, and H319Q were prepared by site-directed mutagenesis, expressed in E. coli, and purified. The H319Q mutant has K(m) values for NADP, isocitrate, and Mn(2+) similar to those of wild-type enzyme, and V(max) = 20.1, as compared to 37.8 micromol of NADPH min(-1) (mg of protein)(-1) for wild type. Thus, His(319) is not involved in coenzyme binding and has a minimal effect on catalysis. In contrast, H315Q exhibits a K(m) for NADP 40 times that of wild type and V(max) = 16.2 units/mg of protein, with K(m) values for isocitrate and Mn(2+) similar to those of wild type. These results implicate His(315) in the region of the NADP site. Replacement of His(309) by Q or F yields enzyme with no detectable activity. The His(309) mutants bind NADPH poorly, under conditions in which wild type and H319Q bind 1.0 mol of NADPH/mol of subunit, indicating that His(309) is important for the binding of coenzyme. The His(309) mutants bind isocitrate stoichiometrically, as do wild-type and the other mutant enzymes. However, as distinguished from the wild-type enzyme, the His(309) mutants are not oxidatively cleaved by metal isocitrate, implying that the metal ion is not bound normally. Since circular dichroism spectra are similar for wild type, H315Q, and H319Q, these amino acid substitutions do not cause major conformational changes. In contrast, replacement of His(309) results in detectable change in the enzyme's CD spectrum and therefore in its secondary structure. We propose that His(309) plays a significant role in the binding of coenzyme, contributes to the proper coordination of divalent metal ion in the presence of isocitrate, and maintains the normal conformation of the enzyme.     

Identification by mutagenesis of arginines in the substrate binding site of the porcine NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase

Pig heart mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase is the most extensively studied among the mammalian isocitrate dehydrogenases. The crystal structure of Escherichia coli isocitrate dehydrogenase and sequence alignment of porcine with E. coli isocitrate dehydrogenase suggests that the porcine Arg(101), Arg(110), Arg(120), and Arg(133) are candidates for roles in substrate binding. The four arginines were separately mutated to glutamine using a polymerase chain reaction method. Wild type and mutant enzymes were each expressed in E. coli, isolated as maltose binding fusion proteins, then cleaved with thrombin, and purified to yield homogeneous porcine isocitrate dehydrogenase. The R120Q mutant has a specific activity, as well as K(m) values for isocitrate, Mn(2+), and NADP(+) similar to wild type enzyme, indicating that Arg(120) is not needed for function. The specific activities of R101Q, R110Q, and R133Q are 1.73, 1.30, and 19.7 micromols/min/mg, respectively, as compared with 39.6 units/mg for wild type enzyme. The R110Q and R133Q enzymes exhibit K(m) values for isocitrate that are increased more than 400- and 165-fold, respectively, as compared with wild type. The K(m) values for Mn(2+), but not for NADP(+), are also elevated indicating that binding of the metal-isocitrate complex is impaired in these mutants. It is proposed that the positive charges of Arg(110) and Arg(133) normally strengthen the binding of the negatively charged isocitrate by electrostatic attraction. The R101Q mutant shows smaller, but significant increases in the K(m) values for isocitrate and Mn(2+); however, the marked decrease in k(cat) suggests a role for Arg(101) in catalysis. The V(max) of wild type enzyme depends on the ionized form of an enzymic group of pK 5.5, and this pK(aes) is similar for the R101Q and R120Q enzymes. In contrast, the pK(aes) for R110Q and R133Q enzymes increases to 6.4 and 7.4, respectively, indicating that the positive charges of Arg(110) and Arg(133) normally lower the pK of the nearby catalytic base to facilitate its ionization. These results may be understood in terms of the structure of the porcine NADP-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase generated by the Insight II Modeler Program, based on the x-ray coordinates of the E. coli enzyme.     

Cysteinyl peptides of pig heart NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase that are modified upon inactivation by N-ethylmaleimide

Pig heart NADP-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase is inactivated by N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) (Colman, R. F., and Chu, R. (1970) J. Biol. Chem. 245, 601-607), and is completely protected against inactivation, but not against the incorporation of NEM, by isocitrate plus Mn2+. We have now treated the enzyme with [3H]NEM in the absence and presence of isocitrate plus Mn2+, digested it with trypsin, and isolated and sequenced the labeled Cys peptides. In the inactive enzyme, two major peptides, SSGGFVWACK and DLAGCIHGLSNVK, and two minor peptides, CATITPDEAR and EPIICK, were labeled at Cys. Upon reaction with [3H]NEM in the presence of isocitrate plus Mn2+, full catalytic activity was retained and only DLAGCIHGLSNVK was labeled; the Cys of this peptide is therefore not essential for catalysis. The modification of SSGGFVWACK appears to be the major cause of inactivation by NEM. The Cys in SSGGFVWACK may have a catalytic role, most likely in the strengthened binding of Mn2+ in the presence of isocitrate. Isocitrate dehydrogenase was carboxymethylated under denaturing conditions with [14C]iodoacetate and digested with trypsin; 6 unique labeled Cys peptides, containing 6 unique Cys residues, were purified and sequenced. Six corresponding peptides were isolated from enzyme treated under denaturing conditions with [3H]NEM. These results eliminate the previous uncertainty regarding the number of Cys residues in the enzyme. A comparison of the sequences of the NH2-terminal 30 residues and the 6 Cys peptides of the pig heart NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase with the Escherichia coli NADP enzyme provides evidence for great dissimilarity between the two enzymes.     

Evaluation by site-directed mutagenesis of active site amino acid residues of Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase

Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase catalyzes the reversible formation of oxaloacetate and adenosine triphosphate from PEP, adenosine diphosphate, and carbon dioxide, and uses Mn²⁺ as the activating metal ion. The enzyme is a monomer and presents 68% identity with Escherichia coli PEP carboxykinase. Comparison with the crystalline structure of homologous E. coli PEP carboxykinase [Tari, L. W., Matte, A., Goldie, H., and Delbaere, L. T. J. (1997). Nature Struct. Biol. 4, 990–994] suggests that His225, Asp262, Asp263, and Thr249 are located in the active site of the protein, interacting with manganese ions. In this work, these residues were individually changed to Gln (His225) or Asn. The mutated enzymes present 3–6 orders of magnitude lower values of V _max/K _m, indicating high catalytic relevance for these residues. The His225Gln mutant showed increased K _m values for Mn²⁺ and PEP as compared with wild-type enzyme, suggesting a role of His²²⁵ in Mn²⁺ and PEP binding. From 1.5–1.6 Kcal/mol lower affinity for the 3(2)-O-(N-methylantraniloyl) derivative of adenosine diphosphate was observed for the His225Gln and Asp263Asn mutant A. succiniciproducens PEP carboxykinases, implying a role of His²²⁵ and Asp²⁶³ in nucleotide binding.     

Alkylation of cysteinyl residues of pig heart NAD-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase by iodoacetate.

Pig heart NAD-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase is inactivated by reaction with iodoacetate at pH 6.0. Loss of activity can be attributed to the formation of 1-2 mol of carboxymethyl-cysteine per peptide chain. The rate of inactivation is markedly decreased by the combined addition of Mn2+ and isocitrate, but not by alpha-ketoglutarate, the coenzyme NAD or the allosteric activator ADP. The substrate concentration dependence of the decreased rate of inactivation yields a dissociation constant of 1.6 mM for the enzyme-manganous-dibasic isocitrate complex, a value that is 50 times higher than the Km for this substrate. This result suggests that in protecting the enzyme against iodoacetate, isocitrate may bind to a region distinct from the catalytic site. Isocitrate and Mn2+ also prevent thermal denaturation, with an affinity for the enzyme close to that observed for the iodoacetate-sensitive site. The alkylatable cysteine residues may contribute to a manganous-isocitrate binding site which is responsible for stabilizing an active conformation of the enzyme.     

Histidine in the nucleotide-binding site of NADP-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase from pig heart.

Incubation of pig heart NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase with ethoxyformic anhydride (diethylpyrocarbonate) at pH 6.2 results in a 9-fold greater rate of loss of dehydrogenase than of oxalosuccinate decarboxylase activity. The rate constants for loss of dehydrogenase and decarboxylase activities depend on the basic form of ionizable groups with pK values of 5.67 and 7.05, respectively, suggesting that inactivation of the two catalytic functions results from reaction with different amino acid residues. The rate of loss of dehydrogenase activity is decreased only slightly in the presence of manganous isocitrate, but is reduced up to 10-fold by addition of the coenzymes or coenzyme analogues, such as 2'-phosphoadenosine 5'-diphosphoribose (Rib-P2-Ado-P). Enzyme modified at pH 5.8 fails to bind NADPH, but exhibits manganese-enhanced isocitrate binding typical of native enzyme, indicating that reaction takes place in the region of the nucleotide binding site. Dissociation constants for enzyme . coenzyme-analogue complexes have been calculated from the decrease in the rate of inactivation as a function of analogue concentration. In the presence of isocitrate, activating metals (Mn2+, Mg2+, Zn2+) decrease the Kd value for enzyme . Rib-P2-Ado-P, while the inhibitor Ca2+ increases Kd. The strengthened binding of nucleotide produced by activating metal-isocitrate complexes may be essential for the catalytic reaction, reflecting an optimal orientation of NADP+ to facilitate hydride transfer. Measurements of ethoxyformyl-histidine formation at 240 nm and of incorporation of [14C]ethoxy groups in the presence and absence of Rib-P2-Ado-P indicate that loss of activity may be related to modification of approximately one histidine. The critical histidine appears to be located in the nucleotide binding site in a region distal from the substrate binding site.     

Location of the coenzyme binding site in the porcine mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase

The structure of crystalline porcine mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) has been determined in complex with Mn2+-isocitrate. Based on structural alignment between this porcine enzyme and seven determined crystal structures of complexes of NADP with bacterial IDHs, Arg83, Thr311, and Asn328 were chosen as targets for site-directed mutagenesis of porcine IDH. The circular dichroism spectra of purified wild-type and mutant enzymes are similar. The mutant enzymes exhibit little change in Km for isocitrate or Mn2+, showing that these residues are not involved in substrate binding. In contrast, the Arg83 mutants, Asn328 mutants, and T311A exhibit 3-20-fold increase in the Km(NADP). We propose that Arg83 enhances NADP affinity by hydrogen bonding with the 3'-OH of the nicotinamide ribose, whereas Asn328 hydrogen bonds with N1 of adenine. The pH dependence of Vmax for Arg83 and Asn328 mutants is similar to that of wild-type enzyme, but for all the Thr311 mutants, pK(es) is increased from 5.2 in the wild type to approximately 6.0. We have previously attributed the pH dependence of Vmax to the deprotonation of the metal-bound hydroxyl of isocitrate in the enzyme-substrate complex, prior to the transfer of a hydride from isocitrate to NADP's nicotinamide moiety. Thr311 interacts with the nicotinamide ribose and is the closest of the target amino acids to the nicotinamide ring. Distortion of the nicotinamide by Thr311 mutation will likely be transmitted to Mn2+-isocitrate resulting in an altered pK(es). Because porcine and human mitochondrial NADP-IDH have 95% sequence identity, these results should be applicable to the human enzyme.     

Regulation of ethanol-induced toxicity by mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase

Chronic alcohol administration has been known to increase peroxynitrite hepatotoxicity by enhancing concomitant production of nitric oxide and superoxide. We previously reported that control of the mitochondrial redox balance and the cellular defense against oxidative damage are primary functions of mitochondrial NADP⁺-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDPm) through to supply NADPH for antioxidant systems. In the present study, we demonstrate that modulation of IDPm expression in HepG2 cells regulates ethanol-induced toxicity. We observed the significantly enhanced protection to cell killing, lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, oxidative DNA damage, and decrease in generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species in IDPm-overexpressed cells compared to control cells upon exposure to ethanol. In contrast, transfection of HepG2 cells with IDPm short interfering RNA markedly decreased the expression of IDPm, modulating cellular redox status and subsequently enhancing the susceptibility of ethanol-induced toxicity. These studies support the hypothesis that IDPm plays an important role in regulating the toxicity induced by ethanol presumably through maintaining the cellular redox status.     

The phosphorylation site of the Kdp-ATPase of Escherichia coli: site-directed mutagenesis of the aspartic acid residues 300 and 307 of the KdpB subunit

The potassium-translocating Kdp-ATPase of Escherichia coli shares common functional properties with eukaryotic P-type ATPases. The KdpB subunit has been identified as the catalytic subunit forming the phosphorylated intermediate. Substitution of Asp-307 in KdpB by Glu, Asn, Gln, Tyr, His, Ala or Ser by site-directed mutagenesis and the subsequent transfer of the point mutations to the chromosome revealed that the mutants were not functioning with respect to cell growth at low K+ concentrations and ATPase activity as well as phosphorylation capacity of the purified Kdp complex. These findings indicate that Asp-307 in KdpB is the phosphorylation site of the Kdp-ATPase. In contrast, replacement of the close but non-conserved Asp-300 by Asn or Glu has no immediate influence on the enzyme functions tested. However, the Km for K+ of the ATPase activity has been increased 30-fold compared with the wild-type enzyme.     

Ligands of the Mn2+ bound to porcine mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase, as assessed by mutagenesis

Pig heart mitochondrial NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase requires a divalent metal ion for catalysis, and metal-isocitrate is its preferred substrate. On the basis of the crystal structure of the enzyme-Mn(2+)-isocitrate complex, Asp(252), Asp(275), and Asp(279) were selected as targets for site-directed mutagenesis to evaluate the roles of these residues as ligands of the metal ion. The circular dichroism spectra of the purified mutant enzymes are similar to that of wild-type enzyme indicating there are no appreciable conformational changes. The K(m) values for isocitrate and for Mn(2+) are increased in the asparagine and histidine mutants at positions 252 and 275; while for cysteine mutants at the same positions, the K(m)'s are not changed appreciably. Mutants at position 279 exhibit only a small change in K(m) for isocitrate. These results indicate that Asp(252) and Asp(275) are ligands of enzyme-bound Mn(2+)and influence the binding of Mn(2+)-isocitrate. Cysteine is an acceptable substitute for aspartate as a ligand of Mn(2+). The pK(aes)'s of D252C and D275C enzymes are similar to that of the wild-type enzyme (about 5.2), while the pK(aes) of D279C is a little lower (about 4.7). These findings suggest that the V(max)'s of the D252C, D275C, and D279C enzymes depend on the ionizable form of the same group as in wild-type enzyme and neither Asp(252), Asp(275), nor Asp(279) acts as the general base in the enzymatic reaction. For wild-type enzyme, the pK(aes) varies with the metal ion used with Mg(2+) > Cd(2+) > Mn(2+) > Co(2+), similar to the order of the pK's for these four metal-bound waters. We therefore attribute the pH dependence of V(max) to the deprotonation of the metal-coordinated hydroxyl group of isocitrate bound to isocitrate dehydrogenase.     

Cyanate modification of essential lysyl residues of the diphosphopyridine nucleotide-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase of pig heart.

The DPN-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase of pig heart is totally and irreversibly inactivated by 0.05 M potassium cyanate at pH 7.4 A plot of the rate constant versus cyanate concentration is not linear, but rather exhibits saturation kinetics, implying that cyanate may bind to the enzyme to give an enzyme-cyanate complex (K equal 0.125 M) prior to the covalent reaction. In the presence of manganous ion the addition of isocitrate protects the enzyme against cyanate inactivation, indicating that chemical modification occurs in the active site region of the enzyme. The dependence of the decrease of the rate constant for inactivation on the isocitrate concentration yields a dissociation constant for the enzyme-manganese-isocitrate complex which agrees with the Michaelis constant. The allosteric activator ADP, which lowers the Michaelis constant for isocitrate, does not itself significantly affect the cyanate reaction; however, it strikingly enhances the protection by isocitrate. The addition of the chelator EDTA essentially prevents protection by isocitrate and manganous ion, demonstrating the importance of the metal ion in this process. The substrate alpha-ketoglutarate and the coenzymes DPN and DPNH do not significantly affect the rate of modification of the enzymes by cyanate. Incubation of isocitrate dehydrogenase with 14C-labeled potassium cyanate leads to the incorporation of approximately 1 mol of radioactive cyanate per peptide chain concomitant with inactivation. Analysis of acid hydrolysates of the radioactive enzyme reveals that lysyl residues are the sole amino acids modified. These results suggest that cyanate, or isocyanic acid, may bind to the active site of this enzyme as an analogue of carbon dioxide and carbamylate a lysyl residue at the active site.     

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase from potato tuber: site-directed mutagenesis of homologous aspartic acid residues in the small and large subunits

Asp142 in the homotetrameric ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (ADP-Glc PPase) enzyme from Escherichia coli was demonstrated to be involved in catalysis of this enzyme [Frueauf, J.B., Ballicora, M.A. and Preiss J. (2001) J. Biol. Chem., 276, 46319-46325]. The residue is highly conserved throughout the family of ADP-Glc PPases, as well as throughout the super-family of sugar-nucleotide pyrophosphorylases. In the heterotetrameric ADP-Glc PPase from potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber, the homologous residue is present in both the small (Asp145) and the large (Asp160) subunits. It has been proposed that the small subunit of plant ADP-Glc PPases is catalytic, while the large subunit is modulatory; however, no catalytic residues have been identified. To investigate the function of these conserved Asp residues in the ADP-Glc PPase from potato tuber, we used site-directed mutagenesis to introduce either an Asn or a Glu. Kinetic analysis in the direction of synthesis or pyrophosphorolysis of ADP-Glc showed a significant decrease (more than four orders of magnitude) in the specific activity of the SD145NLwt, SD145NLD160N, and SD145NLD160E mutants, while the effect was smaller (approximately two orders of magnitude) with the SD145ELwt, SD145ELD160N, and SD145ELD160E mutants. By contrast, mutation of the large subunit alone did not affect the specific activity but did alter the apparent affinity for the activator 3-phosphoglycerate, showing two types of apparent roles for this residue in the different subunits. These results show that mutation of Asp160 of the large subunit does not affect catalysis, thus the large subunit is not catalytic, and that the negative charge of Asp145 in the small subunit is necessary for enzyme catalysis.     

Identification of the histidine and aspartic acid residues essential for enzymatic activity of a family I.3 lipase by site-directed mutagenesis

A lipase from Pseudomonas sp. MIS38 (PML) is a member of the lipase family I.3. We analyzed the roles of the five histidine residues (His(30), His(274), His(291), His(313), and His(365)) and five acidic amino acid residues (Glu(253), Asp(255), Asp(262), Asp(275), and Asp(290)), which are fully conserved in the amino acid sequences of family I.3 lipases, by site-directed mutagenesis. We showed that the mutation of His(313) or Asp(255) to Ala almost fully inactivated the enzyme, whereas the mutations of other residues to Ala did not seriously affect the enzymatic activity. Measurement of the far- and near-UV circular dichroism spectra suggests that inactivation by the mutation of His(313) or Asp(255) is not due to marked changes in the tertiary structure. We propose that His(313) and Asp(255), together with Ser(207), form a catalytic triad in PML.     

Probing the specificity of a trypanosomal aromatic alpha-hydroxy acid dehydrogenase by site-directed mutagenesis

The aromatic l-alpha-hydroxy acid dehydrogenase (AHDAH) from Trypanosoma cruzi has over 50% sequence identity with cytosolic malate dehydrogenases (cMDHs), yet it is unable to reduce oxaloacetate. Molecular modeling of the three-dimensional structure of AHADH using the pig cMDH as template directed the construction of several mutants. AHADH shares with MDHs the essential catalytic residues H195 and R171 (using Eventoff's numbering). The AHADH A102R mutant became able to reduce oxaloacetate, while remaining fully active towards aromatic alpha-oxoacids. The Y237G mutant diminished its affinity for all of the natural substrates, whereas the double mutant A102R/Y237G was more active than Y237G and had similar activity with oxaloacetate and with aromatic substrates. The present results reinforce our proposal that AHADH arose by a moderate number of point mutations from a cMDH no longer present in the parasite.