Limited proteolysis by trypsin influences activity of maize phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase.

Maize phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) was rapidly and completely inactivated by very low concentrations of trypsin at 37 degrees C. PEP+Mg2+ and several other effectors of PEP carboxylase offered substantial protection against trypsin inactivation. Inactivation resulted from a fairly specific cleavage of 20 kDa peptide from the enzyme subunit. Limited proteolysis under catalytic condition (in presence of PEP, Mg2+ and HCO3) although yielded a truncated subunit of 90 kDa, did not affect the catalytic function appreciably but desensitized the enzyme to the effectors like glucose-6-phosphate glycine and malate. However, under non-catalytic condition, only malate sensitivity was appreciably affected. Significant protection of the enzyme activity against trypsin during catalytic phase could be either due to a conformational change induced on substrate binding. Several lines of evidence indicate that the inactivation caused by a cleavage at a highly conserved C-terminal end of the subunit.

o-Phthalaldehyde as a probe in the active site of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase.

Modification of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase with o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) resulted in rapid and irreversible inactivation exhibiting biphasic reaction kinetics. The kinetic analysis and correlation of spectral changes with activity indicated that inactivation by OPA results from the modification of two lysine and two cysteine residues per subunit of the enzyme. PEP plus Mg2+ offered substantial protection against modification. Some of the effectors also gave appreciable protection against modification indicating that the residues may be located at or close to the active site. Thus, the results indicate formation of two isoindoles showing the proximity of the essential lysine and cysteine residues at the active site.

Interaction of pyridoxal phosphate with the amino groups at the active site of 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase in maize.

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate strongly and reversibly inhibited maize leaf 5-amino levulinic acid dehydratase. The inhibition was linearly competitive with respect to the substrate 5-aminolevulinic acid at pH values between 7 to 9·0. Pyridoxal was also effective as an inhibitor of the enzyme but pyridoxamine phosphate was not inhibitory. The results suggest that pyridoxal 5'-phosphate may be interacting with the enzyme either close to or at the 5- aminolevulinic acid binding site. This conclusion was further corroborated by the detection of a Schiff base between the enzyme and the substrate, 5-aminolevulinic acid and by reduction of pyridoxal phosphate and substrate complexes with sodium borohydride.