Cloning and characterization of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase from Streptomyces sp. Strain CL190, which uses both the mevalonate and nonmevalonate pathways for isopentenyl diphosphate biosynthesis

In addition to the ubiquitous mevalonate pathway, Streptomyces sp. strain CL190 utilizes the nonmevalonate pathway for isopentenyl diphosphate biosynthesis. The initial step of this nonmevalonate pathway is the formation of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate (DXP) by condensation of pyruvate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate catalyzed by DXP synthase. The corresponding gene, dxs, was cloned from CL190 by using PCR with two oligonucleotide primers synthesized on the basis of two highly conserved regions among dxs homologs from six genera. The dxs gene of CL190 encodes 631 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 68 kDa. The recombinant enzyme overexpressed in Escherichia coli was purified as a soluble protein and characterized. The molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated to be 70 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 130 kDa by gel filtration chromatography, suggesting that the enzyme is most likely to be a dimer. The enzyme showed a pH optimum of 9.0, with a V(max) of 370 U per mg of protein and K(m)s of 65 microM for pyruvate and 120 microM for D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. The purified enzyme catalyzed the formation of 1-deoxyxylulose by condensation of pyruvate and glyceraldehyde as well, with a K(m) value of 35 mM for D-glyceraldehyde. To compare the enzymatic properties of CL190 and E. coli DXP synthases, the latter enzyme was also overexpressed and purified. Although these two enzymes had different origins, they showed the same enzymatic properties.