Parallel evolution of pairs of dehydrogenase isoenzymes

Free energy differences between enzyme bound states

A theory is presented that describes the free energy difference between the enzyme-substrate (ES) and enzyme-product (EP) complexes that is expected in enzymes optimized for catalytic efficiency. In such enzymes, the free energy drop between ES and EP complexes reflects a portion of the chemical potential difference between substrates and products outside the active site under physiological conditions. Qualitative and quantitative predictions of the model are discussed and compared with experimental data. The controversy over the kinetically optimal free energy profile for an enzymatic reaction operating under constraints set forward by Albery & Knowles (1976) is resolved.

Structural analysis of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from several Drosophila species

This report describes preliminary protein structural studies of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (alpha-GPDH) from Drosophila spp. and an important innovative feature of our enzyme purification protocol. The scheme involves the coupling of substrate (alpha-glycerophosphate) elution from CM-Sephadex and cofactor (NADH) elution from Affi-Gel blue resin. Using this method a 32.7% yield and a 111-fold purification were obtained from a D. melanogaster line carrying the alpha-GpdhS allele at the alpha-Gpdh locus. The product obtained from 0 to 3-day-old adult flies was electrophoretically homogeneous and consisted mainly of the adult alpha-GPDH-1 isozyme. The method was used to obtain alpha-GPDH protein from D. melanogaster (two lines), D. hydei, D. immigrans, and D. mercatorum. Peptide mapping revealed structural differences among the enzymes from the different species, and amino acid sequencing showed many similarities between D. melanogaster alpha-GPDH and the rabbit muscle enzyme.