Structural characterization of tatiopterin, a novel pterin isolated from Methanogenium tationis

Cofactor extracts of Methanogenium tationis were screened for the presence of pterin-derivatives. Methanopterin, sarcinapterin and 7-methylpterin were absent, while 2-amino-4-hydroxy-pteridine and another blue fluorescent compound with a pterin spectrum were detected. The latter pterin was purified by ion exchange and reversed-phase column chromatography. The structure of this compound was elucidated by combining spectrophotometry, amino acid analysis and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The pterin, which we named tatiopterin, was identified as an aspartyl derivative of sarcinapterin with a 7-proton instead of a 7-methyl group in the pterin moiety. The IUPAC name is: N-[-1'-(2'-amino-4'-hydroxy-7'-proton-6'-pteridinyl)ethyl]-4- [2',3',4',5'-tetrahydroxypent-1'-yl(5'----1')O-alpha- ribofuranosyl-5'-phosphoric acid]aniline, in which the phosphate group is esterified with alpha-hydroxyglutarylglutamylaspartic acid.     

The enzymes of the ammonia assimilation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Glutamine synthetase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa is regulated by repression/derepression of enzyme synthesis and by adenylylation/deadenylylation control. High levels of deadenylylated biosynthetically active glutamine synthetase were observed in cultures growing with limiting amounts of nitrogen while synthesis of the enzyme was repressed and that present was adenylylated in cultures with excess nitrogen.NADP-and NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase could be separated by column chromatography and showed molecular weights of 110,000 and 220,000, respectively. Synthesis of the NADP-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase is repressed under nitrogen limitation and by growth on glutamate. In contrast, NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase is derepressed by glutamate. Glutamate synthase is repressed by glutamate but not by excess nitrogen.     

5,6,7,8-Tetrahydromethanopterin-dependent enzymes involved in methanogenesis

Abstract In the process of methanogenesis, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin (H₄MPT) is the carrier of the C₁ unit at the formyl through methyl state of reduction. By the transfer of a formyl group from formylmethanofuran, 5-formyl- and 10-formyl-H₄MPT are formed in hydrogenotrophic and methylotrophic organisms, respectively. Cyclohydrolysis of the 5- and 10-formyl derivatives then yields 5,10-methenyl-H₄MPT, which is reduced in two subsequent coenzyme F₄₂₀-dependent reactions to 5-methyl-H₄MPT. Following the transfer of the methyl group to coenzyme M, the substrate of the terminal step in methanogenesis, methylcoenzyme M, is produced. In this paper properties of the enzymes catalyzing the individual H₄MPT-dependent reactions are discussed.     

Interconversion of F430 derivatives of methanogenic bacteria

F₄₃₀ is the prosthetic group of the methylcoenzyme M reductase of methanogenic bacteria. The compound isolated from Methanosarcina barkeri appears to be identical to the one obtained from the only distinctly related Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. F₄₃₀ is thermolabile and in the presence of acetonitrile or C10 _in4 ^sup- two epimerization products are obtained upon heating; in the absence of these compounds F₄₃₀ is oxidized to 12, 13-didehydro-F₄₃₀. The latter is stereoselectively reduced under H₂ atmosphere to F₄₃₀ by cell-free extracts of M. barkeri or M. thermoautotrophicum. H₂ may be replaced by the reduced methanogenic electron carrier coenzyme F₄₂₀.Abbreviations CH₃S-CoM methylcoenzyme M, 2-methylthioethanesulfonic acid - HS-CoM coenzyme M, 2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid - F₄₃₀ Ni(II) tetrahydro-(12, 13)-corphin with a uroporphinoid (III) ligand skeleton - 13-epi-F₄₃₀ and 12,13-di-epi-F₄₃₀ the 12, 13- and 12, 13-derivatives of F₄₃₀ - 12, 13-didehydro-F₄₃₀ F₄₃₀ oxidized at C-12 and C-13 - coenzyme F₄₂₀ 7,8-didemethyl-8-hydroxy-5-deazaflavin derivative - coenzyme F₄₂₀H₂ reduced coenzyme F₄₂₀ - MV⁺ methylviologen semiquinone - HPLC high-performance liquid chromatography     

Methanogenesis: surprising molecules,microorganisms and ecosystems

Methanogenesis involves a novel set of coenzymes as one-carbon and electron carriers. Consequently, metabolic processes of methanogens deviate from those present in non-methanogenic bacteria. Methanogenic bacteria can be classified on the basis of substrate utilization. Group I (24 species) grows at the expense of hydrogen plus CO₂ and/or formate and group II (7 species) uses methanol and/or acetate. Hydrogen-consuming methanogens are found as epi- or endosymbionts of anaerobic ciliates.     

The selectivity of cathepsin D suggests an involvement of the enzyme in the generation of T-cell epitopes

The selectivity of cathepsin D, a mammalian intracellular aspartyl proteinase involved in the degradation of endocytosed proteins, was studied. For this purpose, several proteins of known primary structure were subjected to mild proteolysis by the enzyme, and the preferentially cleaved peptide bonds were identified. Comparison of the primary structures around these sites indicates that cathepsin D shows a strong preference for peptide bonds within a distinct sequence pattern of amino acids extending over 7 residues. In general, this pattern is most likely to occur within amphipathic alpha-helical structures. These findings and their possible implications are discussed together with additional evidence suggesting an important role for cathepsin D in the processing of protein antigens, an essential step for their recognition by T-cells. Accordingly, it is proposed that the proteolytic activity of cathepsin D is crucial in selecting processing sites and hence the location and structural context of T-cell epitopes for the majority of protein antigens.     

Allantoinase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa Purification,properties and immunochemical characterization of its in vivo inactivation

The catabolic enzyme allantoinase is rapidly inactivated in cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa when the stationary phase of growth is reached. This process is irreversible since the protein synthesis inhibitor chloramphenicol completely blocked the reappearance of allantoinase activity that is observed when allantoin is added to stationary cells. Purified allantoinase appeared to be a protein composed of four identical subunits with a molecular weight of 38 000. With antibodies raised against purified allantoinase it was found that allantoinase inactivation is accompanied by a parallel decrease in immunologically reactive material. This suggest that allantoinase inactivation is caused or followed by rapid proteolysis.     

Activation and inactivation of methanol: 2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid methyltransferase from Methanosarcina barkeri.

Methanol is converted to methane by crude extracts of Methanosarcina barkeri. The first reaction involved in this process, is catalyzed by methanol:2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.-). The methyltransferase has an optimum at pH 6.5 and is not inhibited by 2-bromoethanesulfonic acid. Pyridoxal-5'-phosphate acts as an inhibitor (Ki = 0.30 mM). The methyltransferase was tested in the presence of 2-bromoethanesulfonic acid, which inhibits the conversion of 2-(methylthio)ethanesulfonic acid to methane. The reaction is subject to activation and inactivation. Inactivation is brought about by the presence of oxygen, flavin mononucleotide, flavin adenine dinucleotide, and 2-(methylthio)ethanesulfonic acid, the product of the reaction. Activation of the system requires the presence of ATP and Mg2+ and of hydrogen. Hydrogen can be replaced by enzymatic systems, such as pyruvate dehydrogenase, which deliver free hydrogen.     

Characterization of glutamine-requiring mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Revertants were isolated from a glutamine-requiring mutant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO. One strain showed thermosensitive glutamine requirement and formed thermolabile glutamine synthase, suggesting the presence of a mutation in the structural gene for glutamine synthetase. The mutation conferring glutamine auxotrophy was subsequently mapped and found to be located at about 15 min on the chromosomal map, close to and before hisII4. Furthermore, in transduction experiments, it appeared to be very closely linked to gln-2022, a suppressor mutation affecting nitrogen control. With immunological techniques, it could be demonstrated that the glutamine auxotrophs form an inactive glutamine synthetase protein which is regulated by glutamine or a product derived from it in a way similar to other nitrogen-controlled proteins.