Regulation of S-Adenosylmethionine Synthetase in Escherichia coli

Addition of methionine to the growth medium of Escherichia coli K-12 leads to a reduction in the specific activity of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) synthetase. Thus the enzyme appears to be repressible rather than inducible. Mutant strains (probably metJ(-)) are constitutive for SAM synthetase as well as for the methionine biosynthetic enzymes, suggesting that the regulatory systems for these enzymes have at least some elements in common. Cells grown to stationary phase in complete medium, which have low specific activities of the enzymes, were routinely used for derepression experiments. The lag in growth and derepression when these cells are incubated in minimal medium is shortened by threonine. Ethionine, norleucine, and alpha-methylmethionine are poor substrates or nonsubstrates for SAM synthetase and are ineffective repressors. Selenomethionine, a better substrate for SAM synthetase than methionine, is also slightly more effective at repression than methionine. Although SAM is considered to be a likely candidate for the corepressor in the control of the methionine biosynthetic enzymes, addition of SAM to the growth medium does not cause repression. Measurement of SAM uptake shows that too little is taken into the cells to have a significant effect, even if it were active in the control system.     

腺苷甲硫氨酸合成酶的提取纯化研究

腺苷蛋氨酸具有转甲基、转硫和转氨丙基等重要生理作用,已成为治疗疾病的重要药物。目的：为腺苷蛋氨酸合酶的基因克隆做准备。方法：研究了腺苷甲硫氨酸合成酶的提取和纯化。腺苷蛋氨酸合酶为胞内酶,其提取需先进行细胞破碎,然后进行盐析和离子交换层析等方法来纯化。酵母的破壁试验考察了研磨、加入有机溶剂和超声波等不同的破碎方法。结果：超声波破碎法最好,得到粗酶液的酶活力为0．934U／ml;经过硫酸铵盐析后,利用离子交换层析法纯化腺苷甲硫氨酸合成酶,作出了腺苷甲硫氨酸合成酶的穿透曲线和洗脱曲线。     

S-腺苷甲硫氨酸合成酶的组成型表达、产物纯化及鉴定

将大肠杆菌(E.coli K12) S 腺苷甲硫氨酸合成酶(SAMS)基因克隆至质粒pBR322中,获得的重组质粒pBR322-SAMS转入大肠杆菌JM109菌株,构建了能高效组成型表达SAMS的重组菌E.coli JM109 (pBR322-SAMS)。将重组大肠杆菌破碎后上清液经20%~40%硫酸铵分级盐析、Phenyl-Sepharose Fast Flow疏水层析和Q Sepharose Fast Flow离子交换层析,即可得到纯度提高5倍,比活为48.7 μ/mg的SAMS,三步纯化的总回收率为62%,纯度达到92%。SAMS表达量为1 176μ/L,占到菌体可溶性总蛋白的20%。重组酶的最适反应pH为8.5,4℃下在pH 7.5的缓冲液中保温10h酶活性几乎不改变。重组酶反应的最适温度为55℃ ,酶活性稳定的温度范围为20~35℃。重组酶的KmL Met为0.22mmol/L,Vmax L-Met为1.07mmol/(L·h),Km ATP为0.52 mmol/L,Vmax ATP为1.05 mmol/( L·h)。     

Overexpression of S-Adenosylmethionine Synthetase Enhances Tolerance to Cold Stress in Tobacco

Russian Journal of Plant Physiology - Cold stress affects plant growth and crop productivity. Consequently, there is considerable interest in plant genes that respond to cold stress as these might...     

Coproporphyrin Excretion and Low Thiol Levels Caused by Point Mutation in the Rhodobacter sphaeroides S-Adenosylmethionine Synthetase Gene

A spontaneous mutant of Rhodobacter sphaeroides f. sp. denitrificans IL-106 was found to excrete a large amount of a red compound identified as coproporphyrin III, an intermediate in bacteriochlorophyll and heme synthesis. The mutant, named PORF, is able to grow under phototrophic conditions but has low levels of intracellular cysteine and glutathione and overexpresses the cysteine synthase CysK. The expression of molybdoenzymes such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and nitrate reductases is also affected under certain growth conditions. Excretion of coproporphyrin and overexpression of CysK are not directly related but were both found to be consequences of a diminished synthesis of the key metabolite S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). The wild-type phenotype is restored when the gene metK encoding SAM synthetase is supplied in trans. The metK gene in the mutant strain has a mutation leading to a single amino acid change (H145Y) in the encoded protein. This point mutation is responsible for a 70% decrease in intracellular SAM content which probably affects the activities of numerous SAM-dependent enzymes such as coproporphyrinogen oxidase (HemN); uroporphyrinogen III methyltransferase (CobA), which is involved in siroheme synthesis; and molybdenum cofactor biosynthesis protein A (MoaA). We propose a model showing that the attenuation of the activities of SAM-dependent enzymes in the mutant could be responsible for the coproporphyrin excretion, the low cysteine and glutathione contents, and the decrease in DMSO and nitrate reductase activities.Rhodobacter sphaeroides is a photosynthetic purple bacterium that is able to grow under phototrophic or chemoheterotrophic conditions. Anoxygenic photosynthetic growth requires the synthesis of a large amount of bacteriochlorophyll (Bchl) via the tetrapyrrole pathway. Tetrapyrrole biosynthesis is a central anabolic pathway leading to the formation of essential compounds such as heme, Bchl, siroheme, and vitamin B₁₂ from simple precursors (Fig. ​(Fig.1).1). In photosynthetic purple bacteria, the first seven enzymatic reactions leading to protoporphyrin IX are common to heme and Bchl biosynthesis. Addition of Fe²⁺ to protoporphyrin IX yields heme, whereas addition of Mg²⁺ yields Mg-protoporphyrin, which subsequently produces Bchl (for a review, see reference 46).Open in a separate windowFIG. 1.Tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathway. Only the names of the intermediates and the genes encoding the enzymes of the pathway are shown. The gene encoding protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase has not been identified in R. sphaeroides 2.4.1 (46).The first branch point in tetrapyrrole biosynthesis directs uroporphyrinogen III toward corrinoid production. The first reaction of the corrinoid branch is catalyzed by the cobA gene product, a methyltransferase that transfers two S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-derived methyl groups to generate precorrin-2, an intermediate common to the cobalamin and siroheme pathways (for a review, see reference 44). Siroheme is the prosthetic group of some assimilatory nitrite and sulfite reductases. In Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1, the sulfite reductase, which is involved in the cysteine biosynthesis pathway that reduces sulfite into sulfide, is encoded by cysI (34). Sulfide is then incorporated into O-acetyl-l-serine to produce cysteine. This step is catalyzed by either O-acetylserine (thiol)-lyase A or O-acetylserine (thiol)-lyase B, encoded by the genes cysK and cysM, respectively. Both enzymes are able to synthesize cysteine from O-acetylserine and sulfide, but only CysM can utilize thiosulfate (21).As tetrapyrroles are precursors for several pathways, they are essential compounds in the cell. Heme is an essential cofactor in cells, playing a key role as an electron carrier under both aerobic and photosynthetic conditions. In contrast, Bchl synthesis is inhibited under aerobic conditions, as free Bchl and porphyrin intermediates produce toxic free radicals in the presence of light and oxygen (27). When oxygen is limiting, the need for a high level of Bchl drives tetrapyrrole synthesis toward Bchl, increasing overall tetrapyrrole production by up to 100-fold (23). Tetrapyrrole synthesis is thus strictly regulated (for a review, see reference 50). There are two major points at which the biosynthetic pathway is controlled as a function of oxygen tension (50). One is at the first reaction shown in Fig. ​Fig.1,1, the condensation of glycine and succinyl coenzyme A (succinyl-CoA) to give 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). The second control point is the conversion of coproporphyrinogen III to protoporphyrinogen IX. Two structurally different enzymes catalyze this reaction; one is active only under aerobic conditions and the other only under anaerobic conditions (16, 48). The dimeric aerobic coproporphyrinogen III oxidase (encoded by hemF) uses molecular oxygen as an electron acceptor for the decarboxylation of propionyl groups to vinyl groups, while anaerobic coproporphyrinogen III oxidase (encoded by hemN or hemZ), a monomeric iron-sulfur protein, requires SAM for catalysis (24). In R. sphaeroides 2.4.1, a single gene, hemF (RSP_0682), encodes the aerobic coproporphyrinogen oxidase, while two genes encode anaerobic coproporphyrinogen oxidases. One of the latter was initially described and named hemF (9), but this name is now reserved for the aerobic coproporphyrinogen oxidase gene, so we refer to it here as hemN. Another gene flanking fnrL, named hemZ, has been characterized (51). hemN and hemZ (RSP_0317 and RSP_0699, respectively) are both expressed under anaerobic conditions (with very low expression under aerobic conditions) and are under the control of FnrL and PrrA (30). HemN and HemZ belong to the family of “radical SAM” proteins (40). A third gene (RSP_1224) encodes a putative anaerobic coproporphyrinogen oxidase. Despite having only 20% identity with the other two enzymes, key residues involved in SAM binding and the 4Fe4S cluster are conserved. Radical SAM proteins transfer one electron from an iron-sulfur cluster to the SAM cofactor, which is then cleaved into methionine and a highly oxidizing radical. This catalytic radical abstracts one hydrogen atom from the substrate''s propionate chain, giving rise to a vinyl group with the elimination of CO₂. According to Fontecave et al. (15), SAM is the second most prevalent enzyme substrate in cells after ATP. In addition to its role in radical SAM enzymes, it is the major methyl donor for essential methylation reactions (4, 7) and serves as a substrate in polyamine biosynthesis (15). SAM is synthesized in a two-step reaction from ATP and l-methionine by SAM synthetase. This tetrameric metalloenzyme is encoded by metK. This gene is unique in some bacteria and has been shown to be essential for development, in particular in Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, or Myxococcus xanthus (38, 45, 49). One SAM transporter has been identified in Rickettsia prowazekii and allows the growth of strains with an inactivated metK gene (12, 42).Regulation of the tetrapyrrole biosynthesis pathway is complex and involves several regulatory systems. It is nevertheless an efficient process in bacteria; despite the heavy metabolic demands, which vary according to the growth conditions and affect different branches of this pathway, there is no intracellular accumulation of intermediates (52). However, several mutants affected in one of the steps of the tetrapyrrole synthesis pathway accumulate porphyrins (25, 35-37, 48). In R. sphaeroides, one mutant unable to grow under photosynthetic conditions excretes coproporphyrin III into the growth medium (9). Synthesis of Bchl and photosynthetic growth are recovered by introducing the hemN gene in trans.While studying selenite reduction in R. sphaeroides, we isolated several spontaneous mutants showing increased resistance to selenite (not explored further here). Several of these mutants excreted large amounts of a red compound that we show here to be coproporphyrin III. We present a detailed analysis of one of these mutants, which we named PORF (for porphyrin). This mutant is also affected in cysteine synthesis and molybdoenzyme activity. We propose a model showing that this phenotype results from SAM depletion due to a single point mutation in metK, the gene encoding SAM synthetase.     

Oxidative Modification of Glutamine Synthetase by Amyloid Beta Peptide

β-Amyloid peptide (Aβ), the main constituent of senile plaques and diffuse amyloid deposits in Alzheimer's diseased brain, was shown to initiate the development of oxidative stress in neuronal cell cultures. Toxic lots of Aβ form free radical species in aqueous solution. It was proposed that Aβ-derived free radicals can directly damage cell proteins via oxidative modification. Recently we reported that synthetic Aβ can interact with glutamine synthetase (GS) and induce inactivation of this enzyme. In the present study we present the evidence that toxic Aβ(25-35) induces the oxidation of pure GS in vitro. It was found that inactivation of GS by Aβ, as well as the oxidation of GS by metal-catalyzed oxidation system, is accompanied by an increase of protein carbonyl content. As it was reported previously by our laboratory, radicalization of Aβ is not iron or peroxide-dependent. Our present observations consistently show that toxic Aβ does not need iron or peroxide to oxidize GS. However, treatment of GS with the peptide, iron and peroxide together significantly stimulates the protein carbonyl formation. Here we report also that Aβ(25-35) induces carbonyl formation in BSA. Our results demonstrate that P-peptide, as well as other free radical generators, induces carbonyl formation when brought into contact with different proteins.     

Eth-1, the Neurospora Crassa Locus Encoding S-Adenosylmethionine Synthetase: Molecular Cloning, Sequence Analysis and in Vivo Overexpression

Intense biochemical and genetic research on the eth-1(r) mutant of Neurospora crassa suggested that this locus might encode S-adenosylmethionine synthetase (S-Adomet synthetase). We have used protoplast transformation and phenotypic rescue of a thermosensitive phenotype associated with the eth-1(r) mutation to clone the locus. Nucleotide sequence analysis demonstrated that it encodes S-Adomet synthetase. Homology analyses of prokaryotic, fungal and higher eukaryotic S-Adomet synthetase polypeptide sequences show a remarkable evolutionary conservation of the enzyme. N. crassa strains carrying S-Adomet synthetase coding sequences fused to a strong heterologous promoter were constructed to assess the phenotypic consequences of in vivo S-Adomet synthetase overexpression. Studies of growth rates and microscopic examination of vegetative development revealed that normal growth and morphogenesis take place in N. crassa even at abnormally high levels of cellular S-Adomet. The degree of cytosine methylation of a naturally methylated genomic region was dependent on the cellular levels of S-Adomet. We conclude that variation in S-Adomet levels in N. crassa cells, which in addition to the status of genomic DNA methylation could modify the flux of other S-Adomet-dependent metabolic pathways, does not affect growth rate or morphogenesis.     

水稻谷氨酰半胱氨酸合成酶基因的结构和表达分析

利用该实验室T-DNA标签的编号为L395的水稻突变体,克隆了一个编码水稻谷胱苷肽(GSH)合成途径中关键酶即谷氨酰半胱氨酸合成酶(GCs)的基因,将其命名为OsGCS(Genbank accession No.AJ508915).该基因位于水稻第五染色体上,OsGCS基因含有15个外显子和14个内含子,编码492个氨基酸.该基因与拟南芥的GCS基因相比较,编码区域同源性较高,而启动子区域的序列没有显著的相似性.通过RT-PCR的方法确定OsGCS基因的转录起始位点可能位于翻译起始位点(ATG)上游211bp处.在L395突变体中,T-DNA是单拷贝形式插入在OsGCS基因的第二内含子和外显子连接处,并且造成了3个碱基的缺失.在重金属耐受性、OsGCS基因表达以及体内GsH含量方面突变体L395和对照中花11之间没有明显的差别.     

Chemical Modification of the Membrane-bound ATP Synthetase of Spinach Chloroplasts with Pyridoxal Phosphate in Light

Photosynthetic activities of the thylakoid membranes modifiedwith pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) and sodium borohydride in lightwere studied and compared with those modified in the dark. PLPmodified the membrane-bound chloroplast coupling factor 1 (CF₁)and inhibited photophosphorylation. Only PLP modification inlight stimulated basal electron transport. This stimulationof electron transport was prevented by the presence of ATP orcarbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone in the modificationmixture. Magnesium ion was required for PLP modification. Theextent of lightinduced proton uptake was decreased by PLP modificationin light. N,N'-Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide lowered the stimulatedelectron transport to the basal level of unmodified chloroplastsand restored proton uptake. When chloroplasts were modified with 4 mM PLP in light and dark,11.6 and 11.0 mol of PLP were incorporated into mol of CF₁,respectively. ATP could bind with high affinity to CF₁ isolatedafter PLP modification in light. The results indicate that PLP modifies membrane-bound CF₁ whichhas a conformation altered by energization of the thylakoidsin light, and causes an apparent uncoupling of phosphorylation(stimulation of basal electron transport). The results suggestthat this uncoupling is induced by the loss of the regulatoryfunction of CF₁ for proton translocation after PLP modificationin light. ¹ Presented at the ISRACON on Control Mechanisms in Photosynthesis.Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 1980, Acre, Israel (Received June 22, 1981; Accepted August 28, 1981)     

Structure Prediction of the Second Extracellular Loop in G-Protein-Coupled Receptors

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play key roles in living organisms. Therefore, it is important to determine their functional structures. The second extracellular loop (ECL2) is a functionally important region of GPCRs, which poses significant challenge for computational structure prediction methods. In this work, we evaluated CABS, a well-established protein modeling tool for predicting ECL2 structure in 13 GPCRs. The ECL2s (with between 13 and 34 residues) are predicted in an environment of other extracellular loops being fully flexible and the transmembrane domain fixed in its x-ray conformation. The modeling procedure used theoretical predictions of ECL2 secondary structure and experimental constraints on disulfide bridges. Our approach yielded ensembles of low-energy conformers and the most populated conformers that contained models close to the available x-ray structures. The level of similarity between the predicted models and x-ray structures is comparable to that of other state-of-the-art computational methods. Our results extend other studies by including newly crystallized GPCRs.     

Structure Prediction of the Second Extracellular Loop in G-Protein-Coupled Receptors

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play key roles in living organisms. Therefore, it is important to determine their functional structures. The second extracellular loop (ECL2) is a functionally important region of GPCRs, which poses significant challenge for computational structure prediction methods. In this work, we evaluated CABS, a well-established protein modeling tool for predicting ECL2 structure in 13 GPCRs. The ECL2s (with between 13 and 34 residues) are predicted in an environment of other extracellular loops being fully flexible and the transmembrane domain fixed in its x-ray conformation. The modeling procedure used theoretical predictions of ECL2 secondary structure and experimental constraints on disulfide bridges. Our approach yielded ensembles of low-energy conformers and the most populated conformers that contained models close to the available x-ray structures. The level of similarity between the predicted models and x-ray structures is comparable to that of other state-of-the-art computational methods. Our results extend other studies by including newly crystallized GPCRs.     

A Functional Loop Spanning Distant Domains of Glutaminyl-tRNA Synthetase Also Stabilizes a Molten Globule State

Molten globule and other disordered states of proteins are now known to play important roles in many cellular processes. From equilibrium unfolding studies of two paralogous proteins and their variants, glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase (GlnRS) and two of its variants [glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (GluRS) and its isolated domains, and a GluRS-GlnRS chimera], we demonstrate that only GlnRS forms a molten globule-like intermediate at low urea concentrations. We demonstrated that a loop in the GlnRS C-terminal anticodon binding domain that promotes communication with the N-terminal domain and indirectly modulates amino acid binding is also responsible for stabilization of the molten globule state. This loop was inserted into GluRS in the eukaryotic branch after the archaea-eukarya split, right around the time when GlnRS evolved. Because of the structural and functional importance of the loop, it is proposed that the insertion of the loop into a putative ancestral GluRS in eukaryotes produced a catalytically active molten globule state. Because of their enhanced dynamic nature, catalytically active molten globules are likely to possess broad substrate specificity. It is further proposed that the putative broader substrate specificity allowed the catalytically active molten globule to accept glutamine in addition to glutamic acid, leading to the evolution of GlnRS.     

Glutamine Synthetase Sensitivity to Oxidative Modification during Nutrient Starvation in Prochlorococcus marinus PCC 9511

Glutamine synthetase plays a key role in nitrogen metabolism, thus the fine regulation of this enzyme in Prochlorococcus, which is especially important in the oligotrophic oceans where this marine cyanobacterium thrives. In this work, we studied the metal-catalyzed oxidation of glutamine synthetase in cultures of Prochlorococcus marinus strain PCC 9511 subjected to nutrient limitation. Nitrogen deprivation caused glutamine synthetase to be more sensitive to metal-catalyzed oxidation (a 36% increase compared to control, non starved samples). Nutrient starvation induced also a clear increase (three-fold in the case of nitrogen) in the concentration of carbonyl derivatives in cell extracts, which was also higher (22%) upon addition of the inhibitor of electron transport, DCMU, to cultures. Our results indicate that nutrient limitations, representative of the natural conditions in the Prochlorococcus habitat, affect the response of glutamine synthetase to oxidative inactivating systems. Implications of these results on the regulation of glutamine synthetase by oxidative alteration prior to degradation of the enzyme in Prochlorococcus are discussed.     

Further Study on the Relation of Polyoxin Structure to Chitin Synthetase Inhibition

As a part of studies on the mechanism of action of antibiotics polyoxins, effects of various N-aminoacyl derivatives of polyoxin C and other polyoxins on chitin-UDP acetylglucosaminyl-transferase (EC 2.4.1.16, chitin synthetase) prepared from phytopathogenic fungus Piricularia oryzae were investigated. It was found that they inhibited the enzyme in competition with the substrate UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, Inhibitor constants, Ki, for these polyoxins were determined and the values of binding affinity, ?ΔG_bind of the inhibitors to the enzyme were calculated from the Ki values. In addition, by using these ?ΔG_bind values the values of partial binding affinity, ?Δg for the several atoms and atomic groups or the several moieties contained in the polyoxin J molecule were estimated. From the results obtained, it was concluded that the carbamoylpolyoxamic acid moiety of polyoxins helps to stabilize the polyoxin-enzyme complex through the contributions of its oxygen atom at C?1″, amino group at C?2″, hydroxyl groups at C?3″ and C?4″, aliphatic carbon chain and terminal carbamoyloxy group.

The results obtained by the kinetic investigation using various nucleotides and nucleotide sugars suggested that there was a specific binding site on the enzyme corresponding to the uridine moiety of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, and that the pyrimidine nucleoside moiety of polyoxins was also bound to this site.     

Structure of an As(III) S-Adenosylmethionine Methyltransferase: Insights into the Mechanism of Arsenic Biotransformation

Enzymatic methylation of arsenic is a detoxification process in microorganisms but in humans may activate the metalloid to more carcinogenic species. We describe the first structure of an As(III) S-adenosylmethionine methyltransferase by X-ray crystallography that reveals a novel As(III) binding domain. The structure of the methyltransferase from the thermophilic eukaryotic alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae reveals the relationship between the arsenic and S-adenosylmethionine binding sites to a final resolution of ～1.6 ?. As(III) binding causes little change in conformation, but binding of SAM reorients helix α4 and a loop (residues 49-80) toward the As(III) binding domain, positioning the methyl group for transfer to the metalloid. There is no evidence of a reductase domain. These results are consistent with previous suggestions that arsenic remains trivalent during the catalytic cycle. A homology model of human As(III) S-adenosylmethionine methyltransferase with the location of known polymorphisms was constructed. The structure provides insights into the mechanism of substrate binding and catalysis.     

细菌类脂A的结构修饰及其应用前景

类脂A是革兰氏阴性细菌细胞外膜外侧脂多糖的主要组成成分,也是内毒素的活性成分,可以被宿主免疫细胞识别并引发疾病。类脂A的生物合成途径相对保守,但在转运到外膜外侧的过程中它的结构被修饰以适应不同的外界环境。类脂A的结构修饰在细菌体内受到严格调控,与细菌的毒性密切相关,却不影响细菌的生长繁殖。主要介绍近几年类脂A结构修饰方面的研究进展,在此基础上分析了类脂A结构修饰在病原菌防治、疫苗开发、工业发酵和食品安全等相关领域的应用前景。     

Mutational Analysis of Sclerostin Shows Importance of the Flexible Loop and the Cystine-Knot for Wnt-Signaling Inhibition

The cystine-knot containing protein Sclerostin is an important negative regulator of bone growth and therefore represents a promising therapeutic target. It exerts its biological task by inhibiting the Wnt (wingless and int1) signaling pathway, which participates in bone formation by promoting the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to osteoblasts. The core structure of Sclerostin consists of three loops with the first and third loop (Finger 1 and Finger 2) forming a structured β-sheet and the second loop being unstructured and highly flexible. Biochemical data showed that the flexible loop is important for binding of Sclerostin to Wnt co-receptors of the low-density lipoprotein related-protein family (LRP), by interacting with the Wnt co-receptors LRP5 or -6 it inhibits Wnt signaling. To further examine the structural requirements for Wnt inhibition, we performed an extensive mutational study within all three loops of the Sclerostin core domain involving single and multiple mutations as well as truncation of important regions. By this approach we could confirm the importance of the second loop and especially of amino acids Asn92 and Ile94 for binding to LRP6. Based on a Sclerostin variant found in a Turkish family suffering from Sclerosteosis we generated a Sclerostin mutant with cysteines 84 and 142 exchanged thereby removing the third disulfide bond of the cystine-knot. This mutant binds to LRP6 with reduced binding affinity and also exhibits a strongly reduced inhibitory activity against Wnt1 thereby showing that also elements outside the flexible loop are important for inhibition of Wnt by Sclerostin. Additionally, we examined the effect of the mutations on the inhibition of two different Wnt proteins, Wnt3a and Wnt1. We could detect clear differences in the inhibition of these proteins, suggesting that the mechanism by which Sclerostin antagonizes Wnt1 and Wnt3a is fundamentally different.     

Role of S-Adenosylmethionine in Methionine Biosynthesis in Yeast

Extracts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were used to develop a cell-free system capable of converting the beta-carbon of serine into the methyl group of methionine. No requirement for either S-adenosylmethionine or S-adenosylhomocysteine could be demonstrated for net methionine biosynthesis. Growth of the cells in B(12) did not affect the reaction. The mechanism for the methylation of homocysteine in yeast appears to be similar to the non-B(12) system in Escherichia coli.     

UDP-glucose: Glucan Synthetase in Developing Cotton Fibers: II. Structure of the Reaction Product

The solubility properties, composition, and structure of the radioactive product synthesized from UDP-[¹⁴C]glucose by a highly active cotton fiber glucan synthetase have been determined. Product obtained under the following three different conditions was analyzed: at high and low substrate concentrations by detached fibers, and at high substrate concentrations with an isolated particulate preparation. The results of acetic and nitric acid digestion, enzyme digestion, total acid hydrolyses, periodate oxidation, partial acid hydrolyses, and methylation analyses all support the conclusion that the product of the glucan synthetase produced under all three assay conditions is a linear β-(1→3)-glucan.