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Dissimilatory nitrate reduction by liquid membrane encapsulated cell-free extracts and whole cells of Micrococcus denitrificans.

The combination of Sephadex G-15 and ion-exchange resin columns allows one-step desalting and separation of cellodextrins using water as the sole eluent. The column apparatus described in this paper has the potential of producing up to 3 g cellodextrins in one day. In addition, the columns described are stable and do not require repacking or regeneration after each run. Hence the potential exists for scaling up this system for even greater production of cellodextrins if need be.

Cell-Free System↗

Subunit III of cytochrome c oxidase is not involved in proton translocation: a site-directed mutagenesis study.

Subunit III (COIII) is one of the three core subunits of the aa3-type cytochrome c oxidase. COIII does not contain any of the redox centres and can be removed from the purified enzyme but has a function during biosynthesis of the enzyme. Dicyclohexyl carbodiimide (DCCD) modifies a conserved glutamic acid residue in COIII and abolishes the proton translocation activity of the enzyme. In this study, the invariant carboxylic acids E98 (the DCCD-binding glutamic acid) and D259 of COIII were changed by site-directed mutagenesis to study their role in proton pumping. Spectroscopy and activity measurements show that a structurally normal enzyme, which is active in electron transfer, is formed in the presence of the mutagenized COIII. Experiments with bacterial spheroplasts indicate that the mutant oxidases are fully competent in proton translocation. In the absence of the COIII gene, only a fraction of the oxidase is assembled into an enzyme with low but significant activity. This residual activity is also coupled to proton translocation. We conclude that, in contrast to numerous earlier suggestions, COIII is not an essential element of the proton pump.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Semiautomatic sequence-specific assignment of proteins based on the tertiary structure--the program st2nmr.

The sequence-specific assignment of resonances is still the most time-consuming procedure that is necessary as the first step in high-resolution NMR studies of proteins. In many cases a reliable three-dimensional (3D) structure of the protein is available, for example, from X-ray spectroscopy or homology modeling. Here we introduce the st2nmr program that uses the 3D structure and Nuclear Overhauser Effect spectroscopy (NOESY) peak list(s) to evaluate and optimize trial sequence-specific assignments of spin systems derived from correlation spectra to residues of the protein. A distance-dependent target function that scores trial assignments based on the presence of expected NOESY crosspeaks is optimized in a Monte Carlo fashion. The performance of the program st2nmr is tested on real NMR data of an alpha-helical (cytochrome c) and beta-sheet (lipocalin) protein using homology models and/or X-ray structures; it succeeded in completely reproducing the correct sequence-specific assignments in most cases using 2D and/or 15N/13C Nuclear Overhauser Effect (NOE) data. Additionally to amino acid residues the program can also handle ligands that are bound to the protein, such as heme, and can be used as a complementary tool to fully automated assignment procedures.

Algorithms↗

Metal accumulation by bacteria with particular reference to dissimilatory sulphate-reducing bacteria.

Dissimilatory sulphate-reducing bacteria, genera Desulfovibrio and Desulfotomaculum, exhibit a superior ability, over assimilatory organisms, to extract three amounts of metals from culture media. This property does not appear to be solely a function of the presence of H2S. In media containing elevated amounts of Fe, electron dense particles, provisionally identified as FeS, are deposited within the cells of dissimilatory bacteria.

Bacillaceae↗

Transmembrane and water-soluble helix bundles display reverse patterns of surface roughness.

Amino acid exposure and surface roughness were calculated for 12 helices from three transmembrane alpha-helix bundles and 13 helices from seven water-soluble alpha-helix bundles. Transmembrane helix bundles have relatively rough surfaces exposed to the lipid bilayer hydrocarbon chains and relatively smooth surfaces along helix-helix interfaces. This pattern is the reverse of what occurs in water-soluble helix bundles, where relatively rough surfaces are at the helix-helix interfaces and relatively smooth surfaces are exposed to water. The relatively rough exposed surfaces and buried smooth surfaces of transmembrane helices are likely to contribute to the stability of transmembrane helical bundles in a phospholipid environment.

Electron Transport Complex IV↗

Second-site reversion analysis is not a reliable method to determine distances in membrane proteins: an assessment using mutations in yeast cytochrome c oxidase subunits I and II.

We have examined deficiency mutations and reversions in subunits I and II of yeast cytochrome c oxidase in order to test the reliability of second-site reversion analysis in prediction of tertiary structure of a membrane protein complex. It appears that the method can not provide information on distance between residues, since reversions can be up to 30 A from the primary mutations. However, the reversions are not randomly located in the structure but reveal regions essential for assembly or functional units.

Animals↗

The Greek key protein apo-pseudoazurin folds through an obligate on-pathway intermediate.

Folding of the 123 amino acid residue Greek key protein apo-pseudo azurin from Thiosphaera pantotropha has been examined using stopped-flow circular dichroism in 0.5 M Na2SO4 at pH 7.0 and 15 degrees C. The data show that the protein folds from the unfolded state with all eight proline residues in their native isomers (seven trans and one cis) to an intermediate within the dead-time of the stopped-flow mixing (50 ms). The urea dependence of the rates of folding and unfolding of the protein were also determined. The ratio of the folding rate to the unfolding rate (extrapolated into water) is several orders of magnitude too small to account for the equilibrium stability of the protein, consistent with the population of an intermediate. Despite this, the logarithm of the rate of folding versus denaturant concentration is linear. These data can be rationalised by the population of an intermediate under all refolding conditions. Accordingly, kinetic and equilibrium measurements were combined to fit the chevron plot to an on-pathway model (U <==> I <==> N). The fit shows that apo-pseudoazurin rapidly forms a compact species that is stabilised by 25 kJ/mol before folding to the native state at a rate of 2 s-1. Although the data can also be fitted to an off-pathway model (I <==> U <==> N), the resulting kinetic parameters indicate that the protein would have to fold to the native state at a rate of 86,000 s-1 (a time constant of only 12 microseconds). Similarly, models in which this intermediate is bypassed also lead to unreasonably fast refolding rates. Thus, the intermediate populated during the refolding of apo-pseudoazurin appears to be obligate and on the folding pathway. We suggest, based on this study and others, that some intermediates play a critical role in limiting the search to the native state.

Apoproteins↗

Structure, function, and applications of tryptophan tryptophylquinone enzymes.

Tryptophan and tyrosine residues in proteins may be posttranslationally modified to form enzyme cofactors. Tryptophan tryptophylquinone (TTQ), the cofactor of methylamine dehydrogenase (MADH), is formed by covalent cross-linking of two tryptophan residues and incorporation of two oxygen atoms into one of the indole rings to form a quinone. MADH converts primary amines to their corresponding aldehydes plus ammonia. During the catalytic cycle, TTQ mediates electron transfer from substrate to a copper protein, amicyanin. These electrons are transferred to the respiratory chain via a c-type cytochrome. Structural, kinetic and site-directed mutagenesis studies have characterized protein-protein interactions, and mechanisms of catalysis and electron transfer by TTQ. Preliminary results obtained with MADH enzyme-electrodes demonstrate the potential for quinoprotein-based biosensors.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Dictyostelium discoideum mitochondrial DNA encodes a NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit which is nuclear encoded in other eukaryotes.

Complex I, a key component of the mitochondrial electron transport system, is thought to have evolved from at least two separate enzyme systems prior to the evolution of mitochondria from a bacterial endosymbiont, but the genes for one of the enzyme systems are thought to have subsequently been transferred to the nuclear DNA. We demonstrated that the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum retains the ancestral characteristic of having mitochondria encoding at least one gene (80-kDa subunit) that is nuclear encoded in other eukaryotes. This is consistent with the cellular slime molds of the family Dictyosteliaceae having diverged from other eukaryotes at an early stage prior to the loss of the mitochondrial gene in the lineage giving rise to plants and animals. The D. discoideum mitochondrially encoded 80-kDa subunit of complex I exhibits a twofold-higher mutation rate compared with the homologous chromosomal gene in other eukaryotes, making it the most divergent eukaryotic form of this protein.

Animals↗

The pathway of nitrogen and reductive enzymes of denitrification.

Some recent studies on the pathway of nitrogen and the reductases of denitrification are reviewed. The available evidence suggests that while the intermediates of denitrification can remain enzyme-bound (presumably to nitrite reductase) prior to formation of N2O, NO and nitroxyl (HNO) can be released in part by certain bacteria. Release of NO is recognized by a nitrite/NO-15N exchange reaction and isotopic scrambling in product N2O; release of nitroxyl by Pseudomonas stutzeri is recognized by isotopic scrambling of nitrite and NO in product N2O in absence of exchange and affords evidence that the first N-N bond forms in denitrification at the N1+ redox level. The recent purification and partial characterization of nitrous oxide reductase are described. The ability of the dissimilatory nitrite reductase to activate nitrite for nitrosyl transfer affords a new chemical probe into the mechanism of action of this central enzyme. It would appear that reduction of nitrite is subject to electrophilic catalysis. 18O studies show that dissociation of nitrite from nitrite reductase can be slow relative to competing reduction or nitrosyl transfer.

Alcaligenes↗

Oxidative phosphorylation in Micrococcus denitrificans: calculation of the P/O ratio in growing cells.

P/O ratios were measured in membrane particles obtained from cells of Micrococcus denitrificans, while growing on different carbon sources. The membrane particles obtained from cells growing actively on glucose, succinate, ethanol and propanol as the carbon and energy sources catalyzed oxidative phosphorylation and yielded respective P/O ratios of 1.4, 1.2, 0.8, and 0.5 with NADH, and 0.8, 0.6, 0.6, and 0.5 with succinate as the electron donors. Not such a difference in P/O ratio is observed in intact resting cells grown with different carbon sources. It is concluded that the influence of the carbon source is probably directed towards the efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation in membrane particles and not in the growing cells. For the aerobic carbon source-limited chemostat cultures the following maximum growth yields were determined: 40.2 and 34.2 for succinate and oxygen, 41.7 and 36.5 for malate and oxygen, 81.4 and 39.4 for mannitol and oxygen, and 77.8 and 43.4 for gluconate and oxygen respectively. With a mathematical model (de Kwaadsteniet et al., in press) the P/O ratio was valued at 1.4-1.7. YATP at mu=0.2 was valued at 8.7-10.9; YmaxATP at 9.6-13.2 and me at 0.6-4.5 for the most precise experiment (gluconate-limited). The calculation of these growth parameters has been discussed.

Aerobiosis↗

Bacterial NADH-quinone oxidoreductases.

The NADH-quinone oxidoreductases of the bacterial respiratory chain could be divided in two groups depending on whether they bear an energy-coupling site. Those enzymes that bear the coupling site are designated as NADH dehydrogenase 1 (NDH-1) and those that do not as NADH dehydrogenase 2 (NDH-2). All members of the NDH-1 group analyzed to date are multiple polypeptide enzymes and contain noncovalently bound FMN and iron-sulfur clusters as prosthetic groups. The NADH-ubiquinone-1 reductase activities of NDH-1 are inhibited by rotenone, capsaicin, and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. The NDH-2 enzymes are generally single polypeptides and contain noncovalently bound FAD and no iron-sulfur clusters. The enzymatic activities of the NDH-2 are not affected by the above inhibitors for NDH-1. Recently, it has been found that both of these types of the NADH-quinone oxidoreductase are present in a single strain of bacteria. The significance of the occurrence of these two types of enzymes in a single organism has been discussed in this review.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Evolutionary aspects of cytochrome c oxidase.

The presence of additional subunits in cytochrome oxidase distinguish the multicellular eukaryotic enzyme from that of a simple unicellular bacterial enzyme. The number of these additional subunits increases with increasing evolutionary stage of the organism. Subunits I-III of the eukaryotic enzyme are related to the three bacterial subunits, and they are encoded on mitochondrial DNA. The additional subunits are nuclear encoded. Experimental evidences are presented here to indicate that the lower enzymatic activity of the mammalian enzyme is due to the presence of nuclear-coded subunits. Dissociation of some of the nuclear-coded subunits (e.g. VIa) by laurylmaltoside and anions increased the activity of the rat liver enzyme to a value similar to that of the bacterial enzyme. Further, it is shown that the intraliposomal nucleotides influence the kinetics of ferrocytochrome c oxidation by the reconstituted enzyme from bovine heart but not from P. denitrificans. The regulatory function attributed to the nuclear-coded subunits of mammalian cytochrome c oxidase is also demonstrated by the tissue-specific response of the reconstituted enzyme from bovine heart but not from bovine liver to intraliposomal ADP. These enzymes from bovine heart and liver differ in the amino acid sequences of subunits VIa, VIIa, and VIII. The results presented here are taken to indicate a regulation of cytochrome c oxidase activity by nuclear-coded subunits which act like receptors for allosteric effectors and influence the catalytic activity of the core enzyme via conformational changes.

Animals↗