A gene, cobA + hemD, from Selenomonas ruminantium encodes a bifunctional enzyme involved in the synthesis of vitamin B12.

Coenzymes derived from vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) are particularly important for core metabolism in ruminant animals. Selenomonas ruminantium, a Gram-positive obligate anaerobe isolated from cattle, is the main contributor of vitamin B12 to such ruminant animals. In nature, there are both aerobic and anaerobic pathways for B12 synthesis - the latter is only partly elucidated. Until now, there has been no investigation of B12 synthesis in S. ruminantium, which must use an anaerobic pathway. This paper reports the cloning of the chromosomal operon from S. ruminantium which is responsible for the first committed steps in corrinoid synthesis. Five open reading frames were found in the cloned fragment. All deduced amino acid sequences had similarity to defined proteins in the databases that are involved in porphyrin and corrin synthesis. Of particular interest is the gene designated cobA + hemD, which encodes a single polypeptide possessing two catalytic functions - uroporphyrinogen III synthase and uroporphyrinogen III 2,7-methyltransferase. This enzyme converts hydroxymethylbilane to precorrin-2. The functions of the protein coded by cobA + hemD were established by heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. The CobA activity has been demonstrated for three distinct types of proteins - monofunctional, bifunctional with siroheme formation and, this report, bifunctional with uroporphyrinogen III synthesis. The type found in S. ruminantium (cobA + hemD) is probably restricted to obligately anaerobic fermentative bacteria.

Analysis of the pobA and pobR genes controlling expression of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase in Azotobacter chroococcum.

We report the cloning and analysis of a gene and its cognate regulatory element from a member of the Azotobacteriaceae which are involved in the breakdown of an aromatic compound. The genes from Azotobacter chroococcum encoding p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (pobA) and its regulatory protein (pobR) were cloned from a genomic library and sequenced. Sequence analysis of pobA revealed homology with other bacterial p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase enzymes. Residues essential to the structure and function of the enzyme have been conserved. The pobR gene encodes a DNA binding regulatory protein with similarity to proteins from the AraC/XylS family of transcriptional activators. A fragment containing both pobA and pobR was cloned into pUC19 and p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase activity was induced in Escherichia coli by the addition of p-hydroxybenzoate. A frame-shift mutation introduced into the pobR gene prevented expression of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase, indicating that PobR is the protein required for transcription of pobA. Interestingly, A. chroococcum PobR has no homology to the PobR protein that is the transcriptional activator of pobA in Acinetobacter strain ADP1, a protein that is homologous to the IclR family of transcriptional regulators. However, PobR from A. chroococcum is homologous to several other proteins, suggesting that these proteins will also function as transcriptional activators of pobA.

Identification of cyanobacteria and their toxigenicity in environmental samples by rapid molecular analysis.

We report molecular analyses which identify cyanobacterial strains present in environmental samples. These analyses do not require the isolation and culture of strains. Identification of cyanobacteria used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), based on the phycocyanin operon. Differentiation was either by restriction endonuclease digestion (restriction fragment length polymorphisms) or sequencing of the PCR products. Identification was based on sequence homology of the intergenic spacer region (IGS) between the beta- and alpha-phycocyanin subunits (PC-IGS) with database records. We have found that the length and sequence of the PC-IGS is capable of predicting the genus accurately, but not the species. Toxigenicity was determined with oligonucleotide probes for key steps in the microcystin toxin synthesis pathway. We have shown that it is possible to easily and routinely obtain PCR amplification products and differentiate the strains in bloom samples. The methods can detect even minor components in bloom samples, which may not be apparent on microscopic examination. Genetic probes for microcystin toxigenicity are effective on environmental samples, eliminating the need for isolation and culture of the organisms. The use of a suite of tests described here will allow water managers to determine the presence and the type of cyanobacteria and their microcystin toxigenicity.

Mechanistic insights into p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase from studies of the mutant Ser212Ala.

In the crystal structure of native p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase, Ser212 is within hydrogen bonding distance (2.7 A) of one of the carboxylic oxygens of p-hydroxybenzoate. In this study, we have mutated residue 212 to alanine to study the importance of the serine hydrogen bond to enzyme function. Comparisons between mutant and wild type (WT) enzymes with the natural substrate p-hydroxybenzoate showed that this residue contributes to substrate binding. The dissociation constant for this substrate is 1 order of magnitude higher than that of WT, but the catalytic process is otherwise unchanged. When the alternate substrate, 2,4-dihydroxybenzoate, is used, two products are formed (2,3,4-trihydroxybenzoate and 2,4, 5-trihydroxybenzoate), which demonstrates that this substrate can be bound in two orientations. Kinetic studies provide evidence that the intermediate with a high extinction coefficient previously observed in the oxidative half-reaction of the WT enzyme with this substrate is composed of contributions from both the dienone form of the product and the C4a-hydroxyflavin. During the reduction of the enzyme-2,4-dihydroxybenzoate complex by NADPH with 2, 4-dihydroxybenzoate, a rapid transient increase in flavin absorbance is observed prior to hydride transfer from NADPH to FAD. This is direct evidence for movement of the flavin before reduction occurs.

Substrate recognition by "password" in p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase.

The flavin of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (PHBH) adopts two conformations [Gatti, D. L., Palfey, B. A., Lah, M.-S., Entsch, B., Massey, V., Ballou, D. P., and Ludwig, M. L. (1994) Science 266, 110-114; Schreuder, H. A., Mattevi, A., Obmolova, G., Kalk, K. H., Hol, W. G. J., van der Bolt, F. J. T., and van Berkel, W. J. H. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 10161-10170]. Kinetic studies detected the movement of the flavin from the buried conformation to the exposed conformation caused by the binding of NADPH prior to its reaction with the flavin. The pH dependence of the rate constant for flavin reduction in wild-type PHBH and the His72Asn mutant indicates that the deprotonation of bound p-hydroxybenzoate is also required for flavin movement, and is accomplished by the same internal proton transport network previously found to be involved in substrate oxidation. The linkage of substrate deprotonation to flavin movement constitutes a novel mode of molecular recognition in which the enzyme tests the suitability of aromatic substrates before committing to the catalytic cycle.

Occurrence and expression of members of the ferritin gene family in cowpeas.

Ferritin gene expression has been demonstrated in a variety of plants including maize, Arabidopsis, cowpeas, soybeans, beans and peas. Most available evidence shows that the mature protein is located in plastids and its production is under gene transcriptional control. In maize, two different ferritin genes have been identified; they were found to express protein under different physiological conditions. Only single gene products have been found until now in the other plants, with the exception of cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata). Our previous work with cowpeas [Wicks and Entsch (1993) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 192, 813-819] showed the existence of a family of at least three ferritin genes, each coding for a protein subunit with a unique amino acid sequence. Here we report the discovery of a fourth active gene in cowpeas and present the full cDNA sequences for two of the four known members of the cowpea gene family. We also provide preliminary evidence for a family of ferritin genes in soybeans (Glycine max) related to that in cowpeas. We conclude that a family of genes is probably present in all higher plants. We have used quantitative reverse transcriptase-mediated PCR to show that each of the four members of the cowpea ferritin gene family expresses mRNA in leaves and roots under normal growth with a complete nutrient supply. The results clearly show a marked differential pattern of mRNA levels formed during development from the four genes. We conclude that the composition of plant ferritin molecules from plant leaf extracts is probably a complex mixture of subunits, which might be different in roots and in leaves.

Electrostatic effects on substrate activation in para-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase: studies of the mutant lysine 297 methionine.

p-Hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (EC 1.14.13.2) is a flavoprotein monooxygenase that catalyzes the incorporation of one atom of molecular oxygen into p-hydroxybenzoate to form 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate. The enzyme activates the substrate at the 3 position to electrophilic substitution by lowering the pKa of the phenolic oxygen. The results presented here indicate that regions of positive potential in the active site facilitate this substrate activation, which is necessary for rapid hydroxylation. We have neutralized a positive point charge by mutating lysine 297 to methionine (K297M). This mutation changes an amino acid near the active site, but not directly in contact with the flavin or the substrate. A variety of transient state kinetic and static parameters have been determined with two substrates. The results indicate that the K297M mutant does not activate the substrate through phenolic ionization to the same extent as wild-type (WT) and yet remains a competent hydroxylase. However, catalysis by the mutant is slow compared to that of WT, particularly in the oxidative half-reaction. Thus, normally quite labile oxygenated flavin intermediates encountered in the hydroxylation pathway of WT p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase are stabilized and their decay is rate limiting in the K297M turnover. Electrostatic potential calculations offer an explanation for the lack of substrate activation. The stability of the oxidative reaction intermediates seems to be related to a lower degree of substrate activation.

Evidence for flavin movement in the function of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase from studies of the mutant Arg220Lys.

The isoalloxazine ring system of the FAD cofactor of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase must be secluded from solvent at specific stages of catalysis in order to form and stabilize a flavin C4a-hydroperoxide. This species may then react with the activated phenolate of p-hydroxybenzoate. A number of crystal structures of the enzyme with alterations to active site substituents or complexes with analogue benzoates have revealed an alternate position for the isoalloxazine (Gatti et al. (1994) Science 266, 110-114; Schreuder et al. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 10161-10170). This new flavin conformation is 7 A "out" toward solvent and may open a passage for substrate entry to the active site. Arginine 220 is one of the few residues in the structure to demonstrate conformational changes when the flavin is "out". In this study we have made the Arg220Lys mutant to test the significance of this residue in flavin movement. The R220K mutation has brought about dramatic alterations to all aspects of catalysis. Stopped flow kinetic characterization of the mutant has revealed that, while the effector role for the substrate is maintained, there exists an order of magnitude decrease in the limiting rate of reduction, even though there is 40-fold increase in association with NADPH. The mutant enzyme has only a fraction of its reductive half-reaction coupled to product formation, and the hydroxylation process is slow. This occurs despite a higher proportion of the more activated substrate phenolate in the active site. Many of the observed changes can be attributed to a decrease in the stability of the "in" conformation of the flavin during the catalysis and indicate a role for flavin conformational states in many of the catalytic processes of the enzyme.

pH-dependent structural changes in the active site of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase point to the importance of proton and water movements during catalysis.

Deprotonation of p-hydroxybenzoate to the phenolate and reprotonation of the hydroxylated dienone intermediate to form the product are essential steps in the reaction catalyzed by p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (PHBH). The mechanism by which protons are transferred in these reactions is not obvious, because the substrate bound in the active site is isolated from solvent. Structure analyses of wild-type and mutant PHBH, with bound p-hydroxybenzoate or p-aminobenzoate, reveal a chain of proton donors and acceptors (the hydroxyl groups of Tyr201 and Tyr385, and two water molecules) that can connect the substrate 4-OH to His72, a surface residue. This chain could provide a pathway for proton transfer to and from the substrate. Using various combinations of pH and substrates, we show that in crystalline PHBH ionizable groups in the chain may rotate and change hydrogen-bond orientation. Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to predict the preferred orientation of hydrogen bonds in the chain as a function of the ionization states of substrate and His72. The calculations suggest that changes in the ionization state of the substrate could be associated with changes in orientation of the hydrogen bonds in the chain. Transfer of water between the chain of proton donors and the solvent also appears to be an essential part of the mechanism that provides reversible transfer of protons during the hydroxylation reaction.

Plasmid mutagenesis by PCR for high-level expression of para-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase.

We report a PCR deletion mutagenesis method for the exact positioning of a foreign gene (pobA) in the lac operon of an expression plasmid in place of the lacZ protein code. This method requires the synthesis of four oligonucleotides and three PCR reactions to delete unwanted bases and retain the nucleotide sequence naturally found between the lac promoter and the protein code. The engineered plasmid results in the production of at least 40% of the cellular protein as the foreign polypeptide. In the example presented the expression of the protein is high even with a substantial difference in codon usage between the host (Escherichia coli) and a foreign gene from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Some of the polypeptide produced has the ame properties as native protein and is easily purified. The remainder is present as insoluble inclusion bodies. This method of plasmid refinement may be applicable to the expression of many proteins.

Structure and mechanism of para-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase.

Para-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (EC 1.14.13.2) is a flavoprotein involved in degradation of aromatic compounds, and it has become a model for enzymes involved in the oxygenation of a substrate. The chemical and kinetic mechanisms of this enzyme are described and integrated with an outline of the structure of the protein from crystallographic analysis. The structure is unusual because there is no recognizable domain for the binding of NADPH involved in the reaction. Recently, mechanistic studies of site-directed mutants, combined with structural analyses, have provided some exciting discoveries about protein function. The substrate during catalysis is largely isolated from solvent in the active site, a necessary condition for successful product formation. The flavin ring structure moves substantially in the active site, probably to enable substrate and product exchange into this site and possibly to regulate the reduction of the flavin by NADPH. A chain of H-bonds can connect p-hydroxy-benzoate in the active site of the enzyme with the protein surface. This chain is responsible for the reversible formation of substrate phenolate anion observed in the active site and partly responsible for the reactivity of this substrate.

The mobile flavin of 4-OH benzoate hydroxylase.

Para-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase inserts oxygen into substrates by means of the labile intermediate, flavin C(4a)-hydroperoxide. This reaction requires transient isolation of the flavin and substrate from the bulk solvent. Previous crystal structures have revealed the position of the substrate para-hydroxybenzoate during oxygenation but not how it enters the active site. In this study, enzyme structures with the flavin ring displaced relative to the protein were determined, and it was established that these or similar flavin conformations also occur in solution. Movement of the flavin appears to be essential for the translocation of substrates and products into the solvent-shielded active site during catalysis.

Changes in the catalytic properties of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase caused by the mutation Asn300Asp.

By site-directed mutagenesis, we have changed Asn300 to Asp in p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (PHBH; EC 1.14.13.2) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the wild-type (WT) enzyme, residue 300 is in contact with the isoalloxazine ring of the active-site FAD; in the Asn300Asp mutant, this side chain has moved by about 5 A, altering the protein structure [Lah, M.S., Palfey, B.A., Schreuder, H.A., & Ludwig, M.L. (1994) Biochemistry (following paper in this issue)]. The structural changes are responsible for profound catalytic and dynamic effects. The flavin of PHBH is reduced by NADPH in the first half of catalysis. The mutation has decreased this rate 330-fold, apparently by affecting the reactive orientation of the isoalloxazine and pyridine rings. Furthermore, the redox potential of the flavin is lower in the mutant enzyme than in WT by 20-40 mV. The reduced flavin of PHBH reacts with O2 to form a flavin C(4a)-hydroperoxide, which is the species that transfers oxygen to the aromatic substrate. Previous studies indicated that the enzyme promotes the hydroxylation reaction in part by activating the substrate through lowering the phenolic pKa. The Asn300Asp mutant does not lower the substrate pKa. As a consequence of this, and also an enhanced stability of the flavin C(4a)-hydroperoxide, the hydroxylation is 50-fold slower in the mutant than in WT. However, despite the slow rate of the hydroxylation reaction, no H2O2 is formed by the competitive elimination reaction. The kinetic stability of the flavin C(4a)-hydroxide formed by the hydroxylation was also enhanced by the mutation. By studying the effects of the inhibitor azide on the oxidative sequence, we were able to conclude that the inhibitory site is readily accessible to solvent; azide binding at a second site slowly displaces the substrate from the reduced enzyme. The mutation has profoundly slowed the rates of ligand binding to the enzyme. Kinetic studies of binding indicated the presence of several enzyme conformations. Thus, the mutation of this one residue interferes with the orientation of pyridine nucleotide and flavin during reduction, stabilizes flavin C(4a) intermediates, prevents substrate ionization, and alters the rates and strengths of ligand binding.

Functional genes found for three different plant ferritin subunits in the legume, Vigna unguiculata.

The iron storage protein, ferritin, in plants can occur in multiple molecular forms that, until now, were proposed to be derived from degradation of a single mature polypeptide subunit (2,7,17), which is assembled into the holoprotein and functions in plastids. We have carried out some definitive experiments with the diploid legume, Vigna unguiculata (cowpeas), which show that there are functioning genes for three different ferritin subunits in the developing leaves. Unique segments of mRNAs which code for subunits with substantially different mature sequences were detected by PCR. Separate genes for each subunit were found by showing that each gene contained a unique intron. Thus, multiple molecular forms of ferritin can arise through differential expression of a family of genes in plants.

Catalytic function of tyrosine residues in para-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase as determined by the study of site-directed mutants.

The role of protein residues in activating the substrate in the reaction catalyzed by the flavoprotein p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase was studied. X-ray crystallography (Schreuder, H. A., Prick, P.A.J., Wieringa, R.K., Vriend, G., Wilson, K.S., Hol, W.G. J., and Drenth, J. (1989) J. Mol. Biol. 208, 679-696) indicates that Tyr-201 and Tyr-385 form a hydrogen bond network with the 4-OH of p-hydroxybenzoate. Therefore, site directed mutants were constructed, converting each of these tyrosines into phenylalanines. Spectral (visible and fluorescence) properties, reduction potentials, and binding constants are very similar to those of wild type, indicating that there are no major structural changes in the mutants. In the absence of substrate, the mutants and wild type exhibit similar pH-dependent changes in the FAD spectrum. However, the enzyme-substrate complex of Tyr-201----Phe lacks an ionization observed in both wild type and Tyr-385----Phe, which preferentially bind the phenolate form of substrates. Tyr-201----Phe shows no preference, indicating that Tyr-201 is required to ionize the substrate. The mutants have less than 6% the activity of the wild type enzyme. The effects on catalysis were studied by stopped flow techniques. Reduction of FAD by NADPH is slower by 10-fold in Tyr-201----Phe and 100-fold in Tyr-385----Phe. When the reduced Tyr-201----Phe-p-hydroxybenzoate complex reacts with oxygen, a long-lived flavin-C(4a)-hydroperoxide is observed, which slowly eliminates H2O2 with very little hydroxylation. Thus, the role of Tyr-201 is to activate the substrate by stabilizing the phenolate. Tyr-385----Phe reacts with oxygen to form 25% oxidized enzyme, and 75% flavin hydroperoxide, which successfully hydroxylates the substrate. This mutant also hydroxylates the product (3, 4-dihydroxybenzoate) to form gallic acid.

Purification, properties, and oxygen reactivity of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The monooxygenase, p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (4-hydroxybenzoate, NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (3-hydroxylating), EC 1.14.13.2) has been isolated and purified from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The reaction catalysed is linked to the pathways for degradation of aromatic compounds by microorganisms. The enzyme has been quantitatively characterized in this paper for use in the mechanistic analysis of the protein by site-directed mutagenesis. This can be achieved when the results presented are used in combination with the information on the sequence and structure of the gene for this protein and the high-resolution crystallographic data for the protein from P. fluorescens. The protein is a dimer of identical sub-units in solution, and has one FAD per polypeptide with a monomeric molecular weight of 45,000. A full steady-state kinetic analysis was carried out at the optimum pH (8.0). A Vmax of 3750 min-1 at 25 degrees C was calculated, and the enzyme has a concerted-substitution mechanism, involving the substrates, NADPH, oxygen, and p-hydroxybenzoate. Extensive analyses of the reactions of reduced enzyme with oxygen were carried out. The quality of the data obtained confirmed the mechanisms of these reactions as proposed earlier by the authors for the enzyme from P. fluorescens. It was found that the amino acid residue differences between enzyme from P. fluorescence and aeruginosa do marginally change some observed transient state kinetic parameters, even though the structure of the enzyme shows they have no direct role in catalysis. Thus, transient state kinetic analysis is an excellent tool to examine the role of amino acid residues in catalysis.

Sequence and organization of pobA, the gene coding for p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase, an inducible enzyme from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The only recognized gene for the metabolism of p-hydroxybenzoate in Pseudomonads (pobA) has been isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa to provide the DNA for mutagenesis studies of the protein product, p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase. Since pobA is induced by p-hydroxybenzoate to produce large amounts of enzyme, its regulation in P. aeruginosa is significant. The nucleotide sequence of pobA is presented with the derived amino acid (aa) sequence, which has only two substitutions compared to the amino acid sequence obtained from the enzyme from P. fluorescens. The derived amino acid sequence predicts that the enzyme is a single polypeptide of 394 aa residues and contains one molecule of FAD. The complete structure of the protein from P. aeruginosa can be derived by analogy from the published structure of the protein from P. fluorescens. Transcription mapping was used to determine that there is one site for the initiation of mRNA synthesis in P. aeruginosa. The presence of a putative operator in the sequence suggests primary regulation by a repressor protein which binds p-hydroxybenzoate. The ribosome-binding site permits translation of the gene in Escherichia coli at levels comparable to its production in P. aeruginosa, but it produces no detectable product in E. coli under the influence of its own promoter sequence. The promoter does not conform to the common consensus sequence of E. coli promoters. The results have identified an apparent novel promoter for P. aeruginosa, which may reflect the presence of a sigma factor required for pobA induction. Repression of expression by glucose suggests a binding site in the sequence for catabolite repression.

para-Hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase containing 6-hydroxy-FAD is an effective enzyme with modified reaction mechanisms.

The flavin prosthetic group (FAD) of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (EC 1.14.13.2) from Pseudomonas fluorescens, was replaced by 6-hydroxy-FAD (an extra hydroxyl group on the carbon at position 6 of the isoalloxazine ring of FAD). The catalytic cycle of this modified enzyme was analyzed and compared to the function of native (FAD) enzyme. Transient state kinetic analyses of the multiple changes in the chemical state of the flavin were the principal methods used to probe the mechanism. Four known substrates of the native enzyme were used to probe the reaction. With the natural substrate, p-hydroxybenzoate, the 6-hydroxy-FAD enzyme activity was 12-15% of native enzyme, due to a slower release of product from the enzyme, and less than one product molecule was formed per NADPH oxidized, due to an increased rate of nonproductive decomposition of the transient peroxyflavin essential to the catalytic pathway. More extensive changes in mechanism were observed with the substrates, 2,4-dihydroxybenzoate and p-aminobenzoate. The results suggest that, during catalysis, when the reduced state of FAD is ready for oxygen reaction, the substrate is located below and close to the C-4a/N-5 edge of the isoalloxazine ring. The nature of the high extinction, transient state of flavin, formed upon transfer of oxygen to substrate is discussed. It is not a flavin cation, and is unlikely to be an oxygen-substituted analogue of N-3/C-4 dihydroflavin.

The purification and identification of flavin nucleotides by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Many preparations of flavin nucleotides contain nucleotide isomers of the natural compounds which are difficult to remove or separate. The method of dynamic complex-exchange (or paired-ion) chromatography has been used with high-performance liquid chromatography to achieve resolution and purification of isomers. A solution of nucleotide in water was chromatographed isocratically on a C18-substituted silica column with a mobile phase of methanol, water, and tetrabutylammonium phosphate at neutral pH. Commercial preparations of FMN and FAD contained multiple components. The purified isomers were subjected to ion-exchange chromatography directly on a quaternary nitrogen-substituted silica column to remove methanol and tetrabutylammonium cation, and thus obtain pure nucleotide in aqueous buffer suitable for use with proteins. With analytical equipment, a milligram of pure FMN or FAD was produced in 1 day. The same procedure was useful for the rapid identification and quantitation of flavin nucleotides in proteins. After exposure of a protein solution to heat treatment, the supernatant was subjected to dynamic complex-exchange chromatography, as described above.