Aminoacyl-tRNA-Synthetasen: Einteilung in zwei Klassen durch Chemie an Substraten und Enzymen vorweggenommen

Isolation and analysis of mutated histidyl-tRNA synthetases from Escherichia coli

Amino terminally deleted and point-mutated histidyl-tRNA synthetases were purified from E. coli via betaGal fusion proteins. A hinge region proximal and distal to the factor Xa cleavage region was necessary to cut the betaGal-fusion proteins efficiently under very mild nondenaturing conditions. N-terminal addition of either methionine or valine to this enzyme (its starting N-formyl-methionine is in vivo post-translationally removed) or the deletion of 6 amino terminal amino acids decreased the specific aminoacylation activity 2- to 7-fold. Further N-terminal deletions of 10 or 17 amino acids caused significantly reduced aminoacylation (100-fold) and ATP/PPi exchange (10-fold) activities, and a reduced binding affinity for histidine. Removal of 18 or more amino acids from the N-terminus thereby removing residues from MOTIF 1 resulted in inactive histidyl-tRNA synthetase mutants. Two point mutations within the histidyl-adenylate binding pocket, R259Q and R259K, also blocked histidyl-tRNA synthetase activity without affecting histidine or ATP binding. The experiments shown identify a highly conserved N-terminal R/KG-patch in front of MOTIF 1 as well as R259 as vital for full enzymatic activity.

ATP binding in peptide synthetases: determination of contact sites of the adenine moiety by photoaffinity labeling of tyrocidine synthetase 1 with 2-azidoadenosine triphosphate

Characterization of the nucleotide binding domain in peptide synthetases was approached by photoaffinity labeling of tyrocidine synthetase 1 (TY1) with 2-azidoadenosine triphosphate (2-azido-ATP). Exposure of TY1 in the presence of photolabel to irradiation with ultraviolet light resulted in a time-dependent covalent modification of the enzyme with a concomitant loss of catalytic activity. Inactivation was not observed if incubation was performed in the absence of either light or the nucleotide analogue. Specificity of labeling was indicated by the ability of 2-azido-ATP to serve as a substrate in the amino acid activation reaction. The modified protein was subjected to tryptic digestion, and the fragments labeled by the nucleotide analogue were purified by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Sequence analysis identified three tryptic peptides corresponding to residues G373-K384, W405-R416, and L483-K494, derived from the N-terminal half of the TY1 sequence. As this region shows similarity to strongly conserved regions in other peptide synthetases and acyl-CoA synthetases, it is considered to be the region catalyzing aminoacyl adenylate formation. The identified sequences appear to define components of the nucleotide binding domain found in close proximity to the adenine ring in ATP. Conservation of primary structure and homology to other carboxyl-activating enzymes of this superfamily, including peptide synthetases, insect luciferases, and acyl-CoA synthetases, is discussed.

Nucleotide binding by multienzyme peptide synthetases

Peptide synthetases consist of linearly arranged catalytic units, which by sequence alignment show equally spaced amino-acid-activating segments/modules of 600-700 amino acid residues. The consensus sequence comprises a new class of sequence motifs which are shared by some carboxyl-activating enzymes, but which do not occur in aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. The catalytic properties of peptide synthetases with respect to the nucleotide substrate were investigated by enzyme kinetic studies. In the activation reaction ATP may be substituted by 2'-deoxy-ATP (dATP) and 7-deazaadenosine 5'-triphosphate, substrate analogues which are not recognised by many aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and may thus prove useful alternative substrates in the detection of peptide synthetases within complex protein mixtures. ATP derivatives substituted at C2 are substrates, while those substituted at C8 are not, indicating a preference for the anti-conformation in substrate binding. Kinetic studies revealed that coenzyme A is a non-competitive inhibitor of the activation reaction, suggesting the presence of a second nucleotide binding site which accommodates nucleotides with phosphate in the C2' or C3' position. This substrate and inhibition profile is markedly different from that of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and indicative of a separate homogeneous family of carboxyl-activating enzymes.