Location in the yeast hexokinase structure of residues related to the enzyme activity

Effect of exogenous lead on growth and carbon metabolism of pea (Pisum sativum L) seedlings

The present study investigated the effect of exogenous lead (Pb) on seedling growth, carbohydrate composition and vital enzymes of sucrose metabolism, starch degradation, pentose phosphate pathway and glycolysis in pea seedlings. With 0.5 mM Pb, reduction of about 50 % in shoot and 80 % in root lengths was observed. At 5 and 7 days of seedling growth, cotyledons of Pb-stressed seedlings had about 25-50 % lower α- and β-amylase activities resulting in their higher starch content. Low starch content in the cotyledons of control seedlings at days 1, 3, 5 and 7 may be due to higher investment of carbon for seedling growth. Seedlings exposed to Pb showed significant inhibition of about 30-50 % in acid invertase activity in the growing tissues i.e. roots and shoots. Sucrose content increased by 10-20 % in shoots with much larger increase in cotyledons at 5-7 days of growth in Pb-stressed seedlings. In stressed seedlings, sucrose synthase (SS) and sucrose-6-phosphate synthase (SPS) enzymes were down regulated in the roots but SS activity was up regulated in the cotyledons leading to increased sucrose content. Exogenous Pb increased the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGDH) in the cotyledons. Down regulation of G6PDH and up regulation of hexokinase (HXK) in the roots and shoots of stressed seedlings indicated that hexoses could be utilised preferably for glycolysis rather than pentose phosphate pathway in these tissues. Due to limited supply of sugars to growing tissues in the stressed seedlings, increased HXK may play a role in sugar sensing. Phosphoglucomutase (PGM) activity was maximum in the cotyledons and minimum in roots showing its importance in the conversion of glucose-1-phosphate into glucose-6-phosphate. Reduced seedling growth observed in the presence of exogenous Pb was mainly due to the decrease in the activities of amylases and invertases in the cotyledons and growing tissues respectively. Further biosynthetic capacity of the roots and shoots was down regulated in the pea seedlings due to reduced efficiency of pentose phosphate pathway under Pb toxicity.

Inactivation of yeast hexokinase by o-phthalaldehyde: evidence for the presence of a cysteine and a lysine at or near the active site

Yeast hexokinase (ATP:D-hexose 6-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.1), a homodimer, was rapidly and irreversibly inactivated by o-phthalaldehyde at 25 degrees C (pH 7.3). The reaction followed pseudo-first-order kinetics over a wide range of the inhibitor concentration. The second-order-rate constant for the inactivation of hexokinase was estimated to be 45 M-1.s-1. Hexokinase was protected more by sugar substrates than by nucleoside triphosphates during inactivation by o-phthalaldehyde. Absorption spectrum (lambda max 338 nm), and fluorescence excitation (lambda max 363 nm) and emission (lambda max 403 nm) spectra of the hexokinase-o-phthalaldehyde adduct were consistent with the formation of an isoindole derivative. These results also suggest that sulfhydryl and epsilon-amino functions of the cysteine and lysine residues, respectively, participating in the isoindole formation are about 3 A apart in the native enzyme. About 2 mol of the isoindole per mol of hexokinase dimer were formed following complete loss of the phosphotransferase activity. Chemical modification of hexokinase by iodoacetamide in the presence of mannose resulted in the modification of six sulfhydryl groups per mol of hexokinase with retention of the phosphotransferase activity. Subsequent reaction of the iodoacetamide modified hexokinase with o-phthalaldehyde resulted in complete loss of the phosphotransferase activity with concomitant modification of the remaining two sulfhydryl groups of hexokinase. Chemical modification of hexokinase by iodoacetamide in the absence of mannose resulted in complete inactivation of the enzyme. The iodoacetamide inactivated hexokinase failed to react with o-phthalaldehyde as evidenced by the absence of a fluorescence emission maximum characteristic of the isoindole derivative. The holoenzyme failed to react with [5'-(p-fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]adenosine. The dissociated hexokinase could be inactivated by [5'-(p-fluorosulfonyl)benzoyl]adenosine; the degree of inactivation paralleled the extent of reaction between o-phthalaldehyde and the nucleotide-analog modified enzyme. Thus, it is concluded that two cysteines and lysines at or near the active site of the hexokinase were involved in reaction with o-phthalaldehyde following complete loss of the phosphotransferase activity. An important finding of this investigation is that the lysines, involved in isoindole formation, located at or near the active site are probably buried.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)