Mesotrione: a new selective herbicide for use in maize.

Mesotrione is a new herbicide being developed for the selective pre- and post-emergence control of a wide range of broad-leaved and grass weeds in maize (Zea mays). It is a member of the benzoylcyclohexane-1,3-dione family of herbicides, which are chemically derived from a natural phytotoxin obtained from the Californian bottlebrush plant, Callistemon citrinus. The compound acts by competitive inhibition of the enzyme 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD), a component of the biochemical pathway that converts tyrosine to plastoquinone and alpha-tocopherol. Mesotrione is an extremely potent inhibitor of HPPD from Arabidopsis thaliana, with a Ki value of c 6-18 pM. It is rapidly taken up by weed species following foliar application, and is distributed within the plants by both acropetal and basipetal movement. Maize is tolerant to mesotrione as a consequence of selective metabolism by the crop plant. Slower uptake of mesotrione, relative to susceptible weed species, may also contribute to its utility as a selective herbicide for use in maize.

Oxo-vanadium as a spin probe for the investigation of the metal coordination environment of imidazole glycerol phosphate dehydratase.

Imidazole glycerol phosphate dehydratase (IGPD) catalyses the dehydration of imidazole glycerol phosphate to imidazole acetol phosphate, an important late step in the biosynthesis of histidine. IGPD, isolated as a low molecular weight and inactive apo-form, assembles with specific divalent metal cations to form a catalytically active high molecular weight metalloenzyme. Oxo-vanadium ions also assemble the protein into, apparently, the same high molecular weight form but, uniquely, yield a protein without catalytic activity. The VO2+ derivative of IGPD has been investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) and electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) spectroscopy. The spin Hamiltonian parameters indicate the presence of multiple 14N nuclei in the inner coordination sphere of VO2+ which is corroborated by ENDOR and ESEEM spectra showing resonances attributable to interactions with 14N nuclei. The isotropic superhyperfine coupling component of about 7 MHz determined by ENDOR is consistent with a nitrogen of coordinated histidine imidazole(s). The ESEEM Fourier-transform spectra further support the notion that the VO2+ substituted enzyme contains inner-sphere nitrogen ligands. The isotropic and anisotropic 14N superhyperfine coupling components are similar to those reported for other equatorially coordinated enzymatic histidine imidazole systems. ESEEM resonances from axial 14N ligands are discussed.

Rhizobium (Sinorhizobium) meliloti phn genes: characterization and identification of their protein products.

In Escherichia coli, the phn operon encodes proteins responsible for the uptake and breakdown of phosphonates. The C-P (carbon-phosphorus) lyase enzyme encoded by this operon which catalyzes the cleavage of C-P bonds in phosphonates has been recalcitrant to biochemical characterization. To advance the understanding of this enzyme, we have cloned DNA from Rhizobium (Sinorhizobium) meliloti that contains homologues of the E. coli phnG, -H, -I, -J, and -K genes. We demonstrated by insertional mutagenesis that the operon from which this DNA is derived encodes the R. meliloti C-P lyase. Furthermore, the phenotype of this phn mutant shows that the C-P lyase has a broad substrate specificity and that the organism has another enzyme that degrades aminoethylphosphonate. A comparison of the R. meliloti and E. coli phn genes and their predicted products gave new information about C-P lyase. The putative R. meliloti PhnG, PhnH, and PhnK proteins were overexpressed and used to make polyclonal antibodies. Proteins of the correct molecular weight that react with these antibodies are expressed by R. meliloti grown with phosphonates as sole phosphorus sources. This is the first in vivo demonstration of the existence of these hitherto hypothetical Phn proteins.

A mechanism of drug action revealed by structural studies of enoyl reductase.

Enoyl reductase (ENR), an enzyme involved in fatty acid biosynthesis, is the target for antibacterial diazaborines and the front-line antituberculosis drug isoniazid. Analysis of the structures of complexes of Escherichia coli ENR with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and either thienodiazaborine or benzodiazaborine revealed the formation of a covalent bond between the 2' hydroxyl of the nicotinamide ribose and a boron atom in the drugs to generate a tight, noncovalently bound bisubstrate analog. This analysis has implications for the structure-based design of inhibitors of ENR, and similarities to other oxidoreductases suggest that mimicking this molecular linkage may have generic applications in other areas of medicinal chemistry.

Crystallization and analysis of the subunit assembly and quaternary structure of imidazoleglycerol phosphate dehydratase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Imidazoleglycerol phosphate dehydratase (IGPD) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been crystallized in the presence of a range of divalent cations using the hanging-drop method of vapour diffusion with ammonium sulfate or polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 as the precipitants. X-ray precession photographs have established that the crystals formed with ammonium sulfate (form A) belong to the space group F432, with cell parameter a = 177.5 A and a single subunit in the asymmetric unit. A preliminary data set collected to 6 A resolution on a two-detector San Diego Multiwire area detector has established that the crystals formed with PEG 4000 (form B) belong to either of the special pair of space groups I23 or I2(1)3, with cell parameter a = 131.0 A. A self-rotation function has been calculated using these data and indicates that the cell axes show pseudo fourfold symmetry consistent with a dimer in the asymmetric unit in this crystal form. Light-scattering studies indicate that in the presence of Mn(2+) and a number of other divalent cations IGPD undergoes assembly to a particle of molecular weight approximately 500 kDa. Given the subunit molecular weight of 23 kDa together with the symmetry of the crystals it would indicate that the most likely quaternary structure for this enzyme is based on a 24-mer in 432 symmetry.

A new pathway for the synthesis of the plant sulpholipid, sulphoquinovosyldiacylglycerol.

A new pathway is proposed for the biosynthesis of the plant sulpholipid, sulphoquinovosyldiacylglycerol. The pathway begins at UDP-glucose and involves the formation therefrom of UDP-4-ketoglucose-5-ene to which is subsequently added sulphite (or its metabolic equivalent). Evidence consistent with this pathway, rather than with the previously proposed 'sulphoglycolytic' route, was obtained from experiments with pea chloroplast preparations. The evidence included the failure of potential inhibitors of the sulphoglycolytic pathway to alter the rate of synthesis of sulpholipid and the stimulation of the incorporation of 35SO4(2-) into the latter by UTP. Radioactivity was effectively incorporated into sulpholipid from UDP-[14C]glucose and this radiolabelling was stimulated by the addition of methyl alpha-glucose-enide or of an enzyme system known to be forming (although not accumulating) UDP-4-ketoglucose-5-ene. This new pathway is also consistent with other data in the literature.

Purification and characterization of the imidazoleglycerol-phosphate dehydratase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae from recombinant Escherichia coli.

The HIS3+ gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant imidazoleglycerol-phosphate dehydratase (IGPD) purified to homogeneity. Laser-desorption and electrospray m.s. indicated a molecular ion within 2 units of that expected (23833.3) on the basis of the protein sequence, with about half of the polypeptide lacking the N-terminal formylmethionine residue. IGPD initially purified as an apoprotein was catalytically inactive and mainly a trimer of M(r) 70,000. Addition of Mn2+ (but not Mg2+) caused this to assemble to an active (40 units/mg) enzyme (Mn-IGPD) comprising of 24 subunits (M(r) 573,000) and containing 1.35 +/- 0.1 Mn atoms/polypeptide subunit. An enzyme with an identical activity and metal content was also obtained when the fermenter growth medium of recombinant Escherichia coli was supplemented with MnCl2, and IGPD was purified through as Mn-IGPD rather than as the apoenzyme and assembled in vitro. Inhibition by EDTA indicated that the intrinsic Mn2+ was essential for activity. The retention of activity over time after dilution to very low concentrations of enzyme (< 20 nM) indicated that the metal remained in tight association with the protein. A novel continuous assay method was developed to facilitate the kinetic characterization of Mn-IGPD. At pH 7.0, the Km for IGP was 0.10 +/- 0.02 mM and the Ki value for inhibition by 1,2,4-triazole, 0.12 +/- 0.02 mM. In contrast with other reports, thiols had no influence on catalytic activity. The activity of Mn-IGPD varied with enzyme concentration in such a way as to suggest that it dissociates to a less active form at very low concentrations. Significant inhibition by the product, imidazole acetol phosphate, was inferred from the shape of the progress curve. Titration with, the potent competitive inhibitor, 2-hydroxy-3-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)propyl phosphonate indicated that Mn-IGPD contained 0.9 +/- 0.1 catalytic sites/protomer. The activity nearly doubled in the presence of high concentrations of Mn2+; the apparent Ks for stimulation was 20 microM. The basis of this effect was obscure, since there was no corresponding increase in the titre of active sites. Neither was there a discernable shift in the values of Km or Ki (above), although exogenous Mn2+ did reduce the optimum pH for kcat, from 7.2 to 6.8. On the basis of a single site/subunit, the maximum rate of catalytic turnover at 30 degrees C was 32 s-1.

Chorismate synthase. Pre-steady-state kinetics of phosphate release from 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate.

The pre-steady-state kinetics of phosphate formation from 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate catalysed by Escherichia coli chorismate synthase (EC 4.6.1.4) were studied by a rapid-acid-quench technique at 25 degrees C at pH 7.5. No pre-steady-state 'burst' or 'lag' phase was observed, showing that phosphate is released concomitant with the rate-limiting step of the enzyme. The implications of this result for the mechanism of action of chorismate synthase are discussed.

The nifH gene product is required for the synthesis or stability of the iron-molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase from Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The MoFe protein of nitrogenase from Klebsiella pneumoniae contains an iron-molybdenum cofactor, FeMoco, the synthesis or processing of which involves the products of at least five genes, nifQ, nifB, nifN, nifE and nifV. We have detected FeMoco activity in extracts of strains which synthesise neither of the MoFe protein subunits, indicating that FeMoco can be synthesised prior to combination with the MoFe protein polypeptides. Expression of the nifH gene (or a large part of it), was essential for FeMoco activity to be observed either in the presence or in the absence of the MoFe protein subunits. The nifH gene product was not involved in the control of the transcription of other nif gene products known to be involved in FeMoco synthesis or processing, nor was it essential for the stability of performed FeMoco before its combination with the MoFe protein polypeptides.

Interaction of purified NtrC protein with nitrogen regulated promoters from Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The product of the Klebsiella pneumoniae nitrogen regulatory gene ntrC has been purified and shown to be a dimeric protein of subunit molecular weight 54Kd, designated NtrC. In an in vitro coupled transcription-translation system NtrC inhibited expression from both the ntrBC and glnA promoters. NtrC bound to both of these ntr repressible promoters with equal affinity, but did not bind to the activatable nitrogen fixation promoters nifF or nifLA. NtrC makes contact with nucleotides flanking the -10 region of the glnA (RNA2) promoter at sequences homologous with the proposed consensus binding site.

The inactive MoFe protein (NifB-Kp1) of the nitrogenase from nifB mutants of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Its interaction with FeMo-cofactor and the properties of the active MoFe protein formed.

The inactive MoFe protein (NifB-Kp1) of nitrogenase from nifB mutants of Klebsiella pneumoniae may be activated by addition of the iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMoco) extracted from active MoFe protein (Kp1). However, when apparently saturated with FeMoco, our preparations of NifB-Kp1 yielded activated protein, Kp1-asm, with a specific activity that was at best only 40% of that expected. This was not due to degradation of Kp1-asm, NifB-Kp1 or FeMoco during the activation reaction. Nor could activation be enhanced by addition of other nif-gene products or other proteins. Whereas fully active Kp1 contains 2 FeMoco/molecule, apparent saturation of our NifB-Kp1 preparations required the binding of only 0.4-0.65 FeMoco/molecule. By using chromatography Kp1-asm could be largely resolved from NifB-Kp1 that had not been activated. However, we were unable to isolate fully active MoFe protein (i.e. Kp1-asm containing 2 FeMoco/molecule) from solutions of NifB-Kp1 activated with FeMoco. The maximum activity/ng-atom of total Mo obtained for our purified Kp1-asm was approximately half the maximum activity for FeMoco. Since all NifB-Kp1 preparations contained some Mo, we suggest that FeMoco activated only those NifB-Kp1 molecules already containing one atom of (non-FeMoco) Mo, thus forming Kp1-asm with 2 Mo but only 1 FeMoco/molecule. Kp1-asm was identical with normal Kp1 in terms of its Mr, stability, e.p.r. signals, pattern of substrate reductions, CO inhibition and ATP/2e ratio. In addition, for preparations of differing specific activity, there was a constant and identical relationship between the e.p.r. signal intensity (from FeMoco) and the activity of both Kp1 and Kp1-asm. Assuming the above hypothesis on the structure of Kp1-asm, these data demonstrate that the two FeMoco sites in wild-type Kp1 operate independently.

Studies by electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectroscopy of the environment of the metal in the molybdenum cofactor of molybdenum-containing enzymes.

The molybdenum cofactor prepared by denaturing xanthine oxidase by heat treatment or other methods was partially purified by anaerobic gel filtration in the presence of sodium dithionite, with little loss of activity. A range of products with different elution volumes was obtained. This behaviour is apparently related to association of the molybdenum cofactor with various residual peptides. E.p.r. signals from molybdenum (V) in the active cofactor, present either in crude preparations or in purified fractions, may be generated in dimethyl sulphoxide solution by controlled oxidation carried out on the molybdenum cofactor alone or in the presence of added thiols. The g-values of the spectra suggest that in the oxidized cofactor molybdenum has one terminal oxygen ligand and four ligands from thiolate groups. It is proposed that two of these are from the organic part of the cofactor and two from cysteine residues in the protein or in residual peptides. A signal generated in high yield with little loss of cofactor activity in the presence of thiophenol has g parallel = 2.0258 and g = 1.9793. It is suggested that in this species two cysteine residues have been replaced by two thiophenol molecules. The possible usefulness of the thiophenol complex in further purification of the molybdenum cofactor is discussed.

Quantitative transfer of the molybdenum cofactor from xanthine oxidase and from sulphite oxidase to the deficient enzyme of the nit-1 mutant of Neurospora crassa to yield active nitrate reductase.

An assay method is described for measurement of absolute concentrations of the molybdenum cofactor, based on complementation of the defective nitrate reductase ('apo nitrate reductase') in extracts of the nit-1 mutant of Neurospora crassa. A number of alternative methods are described for preparing, anaerobically, molybdenum-cofactor-containing solutions from sulphite oxidase, xanthine oxidase and desulpho xanthine oxidase. For assay, these were mixed with an excess of extract of the nit-1 mutant, incubated for 24 h at 3.5 degrees C then assayed for NADPH:nitrate reductase activity. In all cases, the specific activity of the molybdenum cofactor, expressed as mumol of NO2-formed/min per ng-atom of Mo added from the denatured molybdoenzyme , was 25 +/- 4, a value that agrees with the known catalytic activity of the nitrate reductase of wild-type Neurospora crassa. This indicates that, under our conditions, there was quantitative transfer of the molybdenum cofactor from denatured molybdoenzyme to yield fully active nitrate reductase. Comparable cofactor assay methods of previous workers, apparently indicating transfer efficiencies of at best a few per cent, have never excluded satisfactorily the possibility that cofactor activity arose, not from stoichiometric constituents of the molybdoenzymes , but from contaminants. The following factors were investigated separately in developing the assay:the efficiency of extraction of the cofactor from the original enzyme, the efficiency of the complementation reaction between cofactor and apo nitrate reductase, and the assay of the resultant nitrate reductase, which must be carried out under non-inhibitory conditions. Though the cofactor is unstable in air (t1/2 about 15 min at 3.5 degrees C), it is stable when kept anaerobic in the presence of sodium dithionite, in aqueous solution or in dimethyl sulphoxide (activity lost at the rate of about 3%/24 h at 20-25 degrees C). Studies of stabilities, and investigations of the effect of added molybdate on the assay, permit conclusions to be drawn about the ligation of molybdenum to the cofactor and about steps in incorporation of the cofactor into the apoenzyme. Though the development of nitrate reductase activity is slow at 3.5 degrees C (t1/2 1.5-3 h) the complementation reaction may be carried out in high yield, aerobically. This is ascribed to rapid formation of an air-stable but catalytically inactive complex of the cofactor, as a precursor of the active nitrate reductase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Low-temperature magnetic-circular-dichroism spectroscopy of the iron-molybdenum cofactor and the complementary cofactor-less MoFe protein of Klebsiella pneumoniae nitrogenase.

The major metal clusters of the MoFe protein, Kpl , of Klebsiella pneumoniae nitrogenase were characterized separately by low-temperature magnetic-circular-dichroism spectroscopy. The spectra and magnetization curves of the extracted iron-molybdenum cofactor, FeMoco , and of 'P' clusters in NifB - Kpl , the inactive, FeMoco -less, MoFo protein from an nifB mutant, were measured and compared with those of the holoprotein. (When FeMoco and NifB - Kpl are combined, active Kpl is formed.) Reduced NifB - Kpl had a spectrum with a weak, paramagnetic, component superimposed on a diamagnetic background. The paramagnetic component was assigned to a contaminating, e.p.r.-active, species. Thionine-oxidized NifB - Kpl had a spectrum and magnetization properties very similar to those of thionine-oxidized Kpl , demonstrating that the 'P' clusters are not significantly affected by the absence of the FeMoco clusters. The spectra of reduced isolated FeMoco had similar magnetization curves but sharper features and higher intensities than those of this centre in dithionite-reduced Kpl . Furthermore, a shoulder near 580 nm in the Kpl spectrum was absent from that of FeMoco . This may be due to the loss of a ligand or to a change in symmetry of the FeMoco cluster on extraction.

The structure of the inhibitory complex of alloxanthine (1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine-4,6-diol) with the molybdenum centre of xanthine oxidase from electron-paramagnetic-resonance spectroscopy.

Studies were carried out on the inhibitory complex of alloxanthine (1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine-4,5-diol) with xanthine oxidase, in extension of the work of Williams & Bray [Biochem. J. (1981) 195, 753-760]. By suitable regulation of the reaction conditions, up to 10% of the functional enzyme could be converted into the complex in the Mo(V) oxidation state. The e.p.r. spectrum of the complex was investigated in detail with the help of computer simulation and substitution with stable isotopes. Close structural analogy of the signal-giving species to that of the Very Rapid intermediate in enzyme turnover is shown by g-values (2.0279, 1.9593 and 1.9442) and by coupling to 33S in the cyanide-labile site of the enzyme [A(33S) 0.30, 3.10 and 0.70mT]. However, whereas in the Very Rapid signal there is strong coupling to 17O [Gutteridge & Bray, Biochem. J. (1980) 189, 615-623], instead, in the Alloxanthine signal there is strong coupling to a single nitrogen atom [A(14N) 0.35, 0.35, 0.32 mT]. This is presumed to originate from the 2-position of the heterocyclic ring system. From this work and from earlier kinetic studies it is concluded that alloxanthine, after being bound reversibly at the active centre, reacts slowly with it, in a specific manner, distinct from that in the normal catalytic reaction with substrates. This reaction involves elimination of an oxygen ligand of molybdenum and co-ordination, in this site, of alloxanthine via the N-2 nitrogen atom, to give a complex that is structurally but not chemically closely analogous to that of the Very Rapid species.

Nitrogenase from nifV mutants of Klebsiella pneumoniae contains an altered form of the iron-molybdenum cofactor.

When the iron-molybdenum cofactor (FeMoco) was extracted from the MoFe protein of nitrogenase from a nifV mutant of Klebsiella pneumoniae and combined with the FeMoco-deficient MoFe protein from a nifB mutant, the resultant MoFe protein exhibited the NifV phenotype, i.e. in combination with wild-type Fe protein it exhibited poor N2-fixation activity and its H2-evolution activity was inhibited by CO. These data provide strong evidence that FeMoco contains the active site of nitrogenase. The metal contents and e.p.r. properties of FeMoco from wild-type and nifV mutants of K. pneumoniae are very similar.

Nitrogenase from Klebsiella pneumoniae. An e.p.r. signal observed during enzyme turnover under ethylene is associated with the iron-molybdenum cofactor.

During turnover at 10 degrees C at pH 7.4 in the presence of ethylene, the MoFe protein of Klebsiella pneumoniae nitrogenase (Kp 1) exhibited an electron-paramagnetic-resonance signal with g-values at 2.12, 1.998 and 1.987. 57Fe isotopic substitution demonstrated that this signal arose from the Kp 1 FeMo-cofactor in an S = 1/2 spin state.

Evidence on intramolecular electron transfer in the MoFe protein of nitrogenase from Klebsiella pneumoniae from rapid-freeze electron-paramagnetic-resonance studies of its oxidation by ferricyanide.

A transient e.p.r. signal with g-values of 2.05, 1.95 and 1.81 was observed in rapid-freezing experiments when Kpl, the MoFe protein of nitrogenase from Klebsiella pneumoniae, was oxidized by ferricyanide or by some dyes. This e.p.r. signal was assigned to the 'P'-centres and, since such signals are characteristics of [4Fe-4S]1+ clusters, provides further evidence for the 'P'-centres being in the [4Fe-4S]0 oxidation level in the dithionite-reduced protein. When 4-10-fold excesses of ferricyanide were used as oxidants, the rate of disappearance of the transient e.p.r. signal was independent of the concentrations of ferricyanide, Kpl or ferrocyanide, i.e. its disappearance was by an intramolecular process. Under some circumstances the g = 3.7 e.p.r. signal from the FeMo-cofactors disappeared at a similar rate. It was concluded that, in these circumstances, the g = 3.7 e.p.r. signal disappears, owing to intramolecular electron transfer to the 'P'-centres in the [4Fe-4S]2+ (P2+) oxidation level, whereas the gav. = 1.933 transient e.p.r. signal from the P1+ centres disappears, owing to a change in its spin state from S = 1/2 to S = 5/2 the rate of this process being maximal when there are two P1+ centres in the half-molecule. The rate of the intramolecular decay of the e.p.r. signals, 4.1 +/- 0.8 s-1, is the same as the rate of enzyme turnover. It is suggested that both processes may be linked to the same conformational change, which triggers, or is triggered by, intramolecular electron transfer.