Purification and properties of NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase from Phycomyces spores

The NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase from Phycomyces spores was purified more than 300-fold. Estimation of Mr by gel filtration gave a value of 98,000 whereas after SDS-PAGE one major band of Mr 54,000 was found, suggesting that the enzyme is a dimer. The enzyme was virtually dependent on the presence of AMP for activity and showed half-maximal activation at 9.5 and 43 microM-AMP in the direction of animation and deamination respectively. ADP was nearly as effective at 20-fold higher concentrations. Other nucleotide monophosphates were ineffective and nucleoside triphosphates were slightly inhibitory. Hyperbolic kinetics were found for all substrates yielding Km values of about 10 mM for ammonium, 1 mM for 2-oxoglutarate and 0.1 mM for NADH in the direction of amination, and 10 mM for glutamate and 0.7 mM for NAD in the direction of deamination.

Partial characterization of intracellular protease activity which participates in the inactivation of carbamyl phosphate synthase in Phycomyces blakesleeanus

We have partially characterized an intracellular fraction from Phycomyces blakesleeanus which shows proteolytic activity. The apparent thermal inactivation constant (Kd) was 0.12 min-1 at 50 degrees C. This proteolytic fraction was split into two active fractions by ultrafiltration using a membrane with an exclusion size of 30,000. Both fractions were inhibited by phenyl methyl sulphonyl fluoride. The Ki value for the fraction with molecular weight greater than 30,000 was 0.075 mM. The fraction with molecular weight less than 30,000 inactivated the Phycomyces CPS.

Stabilization of chitin synthetase and purification of chitosomes from several mycelial Mucorales

Stability of chitin synthetase in cell-free extracts from mycelial fungi was markedly improved by the presence of sucrose in the homogenization media. Breakage of mycelium in sucrose-containing buffer yielded enzyme preparations from which chitosomal chitin synthetase could be purified by a procedure involving ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration and centrifugation in sucrose density gradients. Purified chitosomes catalyzed the synthesis of chitin microfibrils in vitro upon incubation with substrate and activators. Chitosomal chitin synthetase from the filamentous form of M. rouxii was similar to the enzyme from yeast cells, except for the poorer stability and diminished sensitivity to GlcNAc activation of the former.

Primary structure of a precursor to the aspartic proteinase from Rhizomucor miehei shows that the enzyme is synthesized as a zymogen

In order to characterize the zymogen of the milk-clotting enzyme from Rhizomucor miehei, we constructed a cDNA library on pBR327 in Escherichia coli. Aspartic proteinase-specific recombinants were isolated by colony hybridization to a specific oligonucleotide mixture, and the cDNA sequence corresponding to a precursor form of the enzyme was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence shows that this secreted fungal proteinase is synthesized as a precursor. The first 22 amino acid residues in this precursor constitute a typical signal peptide. The amino acid sequence of the following 47-amino-acid-long prosegment shows homology to the prosegments from both the extracellular and intracellular vertebrate aspartic proteinases, and to the prosegments from the yeast and Mucor pusillus aspartic proteinases as well. These observations suggest that all aspartic proteinases are synthesized with a prosegment and that this prosegment is essential for the correct folding of all the mature enzymes. The active Rhizomucor miehei enzyme consists of 361 amino acid residues with a total molecular weight of 38,701. Clusters of identities around the active site cleft support the assumption that these proteinases have a common folding of their peptide chains. The disulphide bridges were localized in the fungal enzyme, and 2 N-glycosylation sites were identified.

A study of the allosteric kinetics of Phycomyces pyruvate kinase as judged by the effect of L-alanine and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate

The influence of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and L-alanine on the kinetics of pyruvate kinase (ATP:pyruvate O2-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.40) from Phycomyces blakesleeanus NRRL 1555 (-) was studied at pH 7.5. By addition of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate the sigmoid kinetics with respect to phosphoenol pyruvate and Mg2+ were abolished and the velocity curves became hyperbolic. In the presence of L-alanine the positive homotropic cooperativity with respect to phosphoenol pyruvate increased with Hill coefficient values close to 4, while the sigmoid kinetics with respect to Mg2+ became hyperbolic. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate overcomes the inhibition produced by L-alanine, the antagonism between phosphoenol pyruvate and L-alanine also being evident. Inhibition has been found at high Mg2+ concentrations, compatible with the binding of the magnesium ions to an inactive conformational state of the enzyme. The data were analysed on the basis of the two-states concerted-symmetry model of Monod, Wyman and Changeux, and the parameters of the model were calculated. Phosphoenol pyruvate and fructose 1,6-bisphosphate appeared to show exclusive binding to the active conformational state (R), whereas magnesium ions bind preferentially, by a factor of 45, to the R state. L-Alanine binds more readily to the inactive T state of the enzyme.

Partial purification and some kinetic properties of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Phycomyces blakesleeanus

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from sporangiophores of Phycomyces blakesleeanus NRRL 1555 (-) was partially purified. The enzyme showed a molecular weight of 85 700 as determined by gel-filtration. NADP+ protected the enzyme from inactivation. Magnesium ions did not affect the enzyme activity. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was specific for NADP+ as coenzyme. The reaction rates were hyperbolic functions of substrate and coenzyme concentrations. The Km values for NADP+ and glucose 6-phosphate were 39.8 and 154.4 microM, respectively. The kinetic patterns, with respect to coenzyme and substrate, indicated a sequential mechanism. NADPH was a competitive inhibitor with respect to NADP+ (Ki = 45.5 microM) and a non-competitive inhibitor with respect to glucose 6-phosphate. ATP inhibited the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The inhibition was of the linear-mixed type with respect to NADP+, the dissociation constant of the enzyme-ATP complex being 2.6 mM, and the enzyme-NADP+-ATP dissociation constant 12.8 mM.

Cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase from Phycomyces blakesleeanus: kinetics and mechanism

The kinetics and reaction mechanism of cytoplasmic malate dehydrogenase (L-malate:NAD+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.37) from mycelium of Phycomyces blakesleeanus NRRL 1555 (-) in 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.5) at 30 degrees C have been investigated. The initial rate and product inhibition studies were consistent with an ordered bi-bi mechanism that involved more than one kinetically significant ternary complex and also with the coenzyme binding first. The dissociation of the coenzyme from the enzyme-coenzyme complex appeared to be the slowest step in either direction of the reaction. The kinetic and rate constants for the individual steps of the reaction were determined.

Production of beta-glucosidase, exo-beta-1,4-glucanase and endo-beta-1,4-glucanase by selected microscopic fungi

Production of beta-glucosidase, exo-beta-1,4-glucanase and endo-beta-1,4-glucanase was screened in 58 species of imperfect fungi, mucoral fungi and some ascomycetes. beta-Glucosidase activity was found in all of the tested microorganisms, exo-beta-1,4-glucanase activity in 23, and endo-beta-1,4=glucanase activity in 38 microorganisms. Growth on cellobiose was found in all tested microorganisms, growth on carboxymethylcellulose in in 38 tested strains.

[Effect of surface-active substances on hydroxylase activity of Tieghemella orchidis in a free and immobilized state]

The effect of nonionogenic surface-active substances (SAS) on hydroxylase activity of Tieghemella orchidis in free and polyacrylamide gel (PAAG) immobilized states was studied. It was shown that addition of SAS (1%) to the cultivation medium simultaneously with the inoculation stimulated the filamentous growth of the mycelium. It was also demonstrated that certain SAS (span-80/sorbitanemonooleate/and polyethylene glycol-600-monolaurate) affected beneficially the culture transformation activity. The hydroxylase activity also increased after mycelium preincubation with tweens (1%) and transformation in the presence of span-20 (sorbitane monolaurate) and span-80 (0.3%). The use of the latter substances during gel preincubation with immobilized cells led to the stabilization of transformation activity, increase in the hydroxylation rate, and a change in the yield of hydroxylated products to produce hydrocortisone.

D-Mannitol dehydrogenase from Absidia glauca. Steady-state kinetic properties and the inhibitory role of mannitol 1-phosphate

Steady-state kinetic studies including initial velocity for mannitol oxidation and fructose reduction and product inhibition for mannitol oxidation using fructose and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) are in accord with a reaction mechanism best described as ordered Bi-Bi with NAD+ and NADH designated as the first substrate, last product, respectively at pH 8.8. All replots of slopes and intercepts from product inhibition studies were linear. Dead-end inhibition studies using mannitol 1-phosphate gave slope-parabolic, intercept-linear noncompetitive inhibition for both NAD+ and mannitol as substrates. The dead-end inhibitor is capable of binding multiply to the E, EA, and EQ forms of the enzyme to an extent that is controlled by the concentration of substrates. The EQ complex is inferred to undergo a conformational change, E'Q equilibrium EQ, since (V1/E1) greater than (KiqV2)/(KqE1), and no evidence for dead-end complex formation with NADH can be adduced. This is interpreted to mean that the release of fructose from the central complex is faster than the isomerization of the E-NADH complex. When mannitol is saturating, the noncompetitive inhibition against NAD+, as the variable substrate, becomes parabolic uncompetitive. A replot of the slopes of the parabola against mannitol 1-phosphate remains concave upward. This situation could arise if the conformational change we infer in the EQ complex opens up additional sites on the protein which can interact with the dead-end inhibitor.

D-Mannitol dehydrogenase from Absidia glauca. Purification, metabolic role, and subunit interactions

When Absidia glauca was grown in minimal media with D-mannitol as the only source of carbon, an NAD+ specific D-mannitol dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.67) was induced. The crude extract also gave evidence of mannitol kinase, mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphofructokinase, and L-iditol dehydrogenase activity. The heat labile purified preparation was judged enzymically homogeneous based on evidence derived from substrate specificity studies and activity staining, following disc gel electrophoresis. The enzymic monomer, with a weight of about 67000 daltons, slowly polymerizes when stored at -20 degrees C, giving a multiplicity of protein bands on electrophoresis distributed predominantly across a spectrum from dimer to pentamer, with enzymic activity resident predominantly in even multiples of the monomer. Depolymerization occurred rapidly (hours) when a frozen preparation was brought to and held between 4 and 20 degrees C. Aggregate fragmentation with sodium dodecyl sulfate showed a time-temperature dependence, terminating in a subunit component of 13000 daltons. pH optimum for polyol oxidation occurs at 9.6 (NaOH-glycine buffer) while ketose reduction proceeded most rapidly at pH 7.0-7.2 (phosphate buffer). A regulatory role is suggested for this enzyme based on dead-end inhibition by mannitol 1-phosphate, multiple enzyme forms, and its locus at the initiation site for mannitol utilization. The physiological relevance of low-temperature aggregation to regulatory control remains to be established.

Kinetic studies of alpha-galactosidase-containing mold pellets on PNPG hydrolysis

Little is known about techniques for applying untreated microbial cells containing enzymes directly to industrial processes as a biocatalyst. The kinetic behavior of alpha-galactosidase-containing spherical pellets which are formed naturally under given conditions in a submerged culture of Mortierella vinacea was studied on the hydrolysis of PNPG (p-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-galactopyranoside). The effect on intraparticle diffusion on the overall reaction rate was assessed by the use of an effectiveness factor, which was calculated by the approximate solution to the equation derived from the mass balance within a pellet. The experimental effectiveness factors were found to be represented as a single function of the modified Thiele modulus, including such parameters as pellet size, enzyme concentration in the pellet, and substrate concentration. As the diffusional effect became more significant, the marked substrate inhibition as seen for a free enzyme disappeared gradually. The effect of product inhibition on the pellets was much weaker than that for a free enzyme at a given substrate concentration. In the region of diffusion controlled reaction, it was found that the rate is proportional to the square root of the enzyme concentration in the pellet. In addition, similarly to what was reported previously for a free enzyme,the reaction in a batch system was found to be approximately representable as simple first-order kinetics in which the rate constant was dependent on the initial substrate concentration.

[The mechanism of action of trisportic acids on the carotene-synthesizing enzymes of the (-) strain of Blakeslea trispora]

Trisporic acids were found to increase the content of carotene, protein, and RNA in the (-)strain of Blakeslea trispora. Trisporic acids are inductors of the synthesis of carotenogenous enzymes as was found in experiments with the inhibitor of transcription (cycloheximide) and translation (actinomycin D). Trisporic acids stimulate the formation of neutral fractions of the sex hormone, the process being regulated presumably at the level of posttranscription control.

Kinetic studies of mold alpha-galactosidase on PNPG hydrolysis

The kinetic properties of alpha-galactosidase of Mortierella vinacea were investigated in detail using PNPG (p-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-galactopyranoside) as a substrate. Consequently, the enzyme was markedly inhibited not only by the substrate, but also by the galactose hydrolized. The initial rate of reaction at sufficiently high substrate concentrations, however, did not fall to zero and did approach a finite value. Galactose behaved as a mixed inhibitor and was neither totally competitive nor totally noncompetitive. A rate equation was obtained from a generalized equation derived from a kinetic model which took both the inhibitions into consideration. The constants used in the equation were appropriately estimated. The calculated rate agreed fairly well with the observed initial rate. Moreover, the PNPG hydrolysis progressing in a batch system was found to be approximately representable by simple first order kinetics in which the rate constant was dependent on the initial substrate concentration.

Chitin synthase in Mortierella vinacea: properties, cellular location and synthesis in growing cultures

Chitin synthase of Mortierella vinacea was present in the "microsomal' fraction (100 000 g precipitate), the 'cell-wall' fraction (2000 g precipitate) and the 'mitochondrial' fraction (10 000 g precipitate). The properties of the 'microsomal' enzyme were investigated. The pH optimum was between 5-8 and 6-2, and the temperature optimum was between 31 and 33 degrees C. The Km for UDP N-acetyl-D-glucosamine was 1.8 mM. The enzyme was stimulated by Mg2+ and a slight stimulation was also effected by N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Soluble chitodextrins were inhibitory. A pH-dependent, heat-stable inhibitor of chitin synthase activity was present in the soluble cytoplasm from the mycelium. The effects of aeration and glucose concentration on enzyme production in growing cultures were also investigated; maximum specific activity of chitin synthase was associated with the cessation of exponential growth.

The microbial colonization of some woods of small dimensions buried in soil

Several species of wood veneer, including some in a green undried state, were buried in various soils, and at intervals the colonists were isolated and identified. In addition, veneers were deteriorated for different periods of time, sterilized, and then reburied in the same soil. Isolates were obtained before sterilization and compared with those found afterwards. In each case the colonization involved a small number of microfungi and, because similar species were repeatedly isolated, an absence of succession under laboratory conditions was indicated. Deteriorating cubes of weed were periodically assayed for their glucose content, pH of exudates, and the release of microbial cellulase and amylase. A lack of any consistent change in colonist activity, with respect to these factors, again indicated an absence of stages during decay. The colonization pattern was contrasted with successions described in previous studies and the simplest explanation was given for the differences found.