The lactic dehydrogenase of yeast. III. D(-)Lactic cytochrome c reductase, a zinc-flavoprotein from aerobic yeast

Enzymological characteristics of a novel archaeal dye-linked D-lactate dehydrogenase showing loose binding of FAD

A gene-encoding a dye-linked D-lactate dehydrogenase (Dye-DLDH) homolog was identified in the genome of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermoproteus tenax. The gene was expressed in Escherichia coli and the product was purified to homogeneity. The recombinant protein exhibited highly thermostable Dye-DLDH activity. To date, four types of Dye-DLDH have been identified in hyperthermophilic archaea (in Aeropyrum pernix, Sulfolobus tokodaii, Archaeoglobus fulgidus, and Candidatus Caldiarchaeum subterraneum). The amino acid sequence of T. tenax Dye-DLDH showed the highest similarity (45%) to A. pernix Dye-DLDH, but neither contained a known FAD-binding motif. Nonetheless, both homologs required FAD for enzymatic activity, suggesting that FAD binds loosely to the enzyme and is easily released unlike in other Dye-DLDHs. Our findings indicate that Dye-DLDHs from T. tenax and A. pernix are a novel type of Dye-DLDH characterized by loose binding of FAD.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Forms D-2-Hydroxyglutarate and Couples Its Degradation to D-Lactate Formation via a Cytosolic Transhydrogenase

The D or L form of 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) accumulates in certain rare neurometabolic disorders, and high D-2-hydroxyglutarate (D-2HG) levels are also found in several types of cancer. Although 2HG has been detected in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, its metabolism in yeast has remained largely unexplored. Here, we show that S. cerevisiae actively forms the D enantiomer of 2HG. Accordingly, the S. cerevisiae genome encodes two homologs of the human D-2HG dehydrogenase: Dld2, which, as its human homolog, is a mitochondrial protein, and the cytosolic protein Dld3. Intriguingly, we found that a dld3Δ knock-out strain accumulates millimolar levels of D-2HG, whereas a dld2Δ knock-out strain displayed only very moderate increases in D-2HG. Recombinant Dld2 and Dld3, both currently annotated as D-lactate dehydrogenases, efficiently oxidized D-2HG to α-ketoglutarate. Depletion of D-lactate levels in the dld3Δ, but not in the dld2Δ mutant, led to the discovery of a new type of enzymatic activity, carried by Dld3, to convert D-2HG to α-ketoglutarate, namely an FAD-dependent transhydrogenase activity using pyruvate as a hydrogen acceptor. We also provide evidence that Ser3 and Ser33, which are primarily known for oxidizing 3-phosphoglycerate in the main serine biosynthesis pathway, in addition reduce α-ketoglutarate to D-2HG using NADH and represent major intracellular sources of D-2HG in yeast. Based on our observations, we propose that D-2HG is mainly formed and degraded in the cytosol of S. cerevisiae cells in a process that couples D-2HG metabolism to the shuttling of reducing equivalents from cytosolic NADH to the mitochondrial respiratory chain via the D-lactate dehydrogenase Dld1.

Inhibition of glycolate and D-lactate metabolism in a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mutant deficient in mitochondrial respiration

The possibility that glycolate oxidation in unicellular green algae is linked to mitochondrial electron transport, rather than to peroxisomal metabolism as in higher plants and animals, was studied in a mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (dk97) deficient in cytochrome oxidase. This mutant had normal rates of dark respiration (40 +/- 15 mumol of O(2) uptake per hr per mg of chlorophyll) but had only 11% of wild-type levels of cytochrome oxidase activity. Salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM) reduced the dark respiration rate of dk97 cells by 71%, but cyanide did not significantly inhibit this rate. During photosynthesis in the presence of SHAM, glycolate oxidation was blocked, resulting in glycolate accumulation and excretion by mutant cells but not by wild-type Chlamydomonas. D-Lactate, which accumulated after brief periods of anaerobiosis in Chlamydomonas, was reoxidized by air-grown cells only aerobically in the light, and reoxidation of D-lactate was blocked by SHAM in the dk97 cells. Thus, glycolate and D-lactate dehydrogenase activities are both linked to mitochondrial electron transport in Chlamydomonas. During photosynthetic (14)CO(2) fixation by dk97 cells in the presence of SHAM, (14)C-labeled tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates accumulated, indicating that, in Chlamydomonas, mitochondrial respiration functions during photosynthesis.

Two D-2-hydroxy-acid dehydrogenases in Arabidopsis thaliana with catalytic capacities to participate in the last reactions of the methylglyoxal and beta-oxidation pathways

The Arabidopsis thaliana locus At5g06580 encodes an ortholog to Saccharomyces cerevisiae d-lactate dehydrogenase (AtD-LDH). The recombinant protein is a homodimer of 59-kDa subunits with one FAD per monomer. A substrate screen indicated that AtD-LDH catalyzes the oxidation of d- and l-lactate, d-2-hydroxybutyrate, glycerate, and glycolate using cytochrome c as an electron acceptor. AtD-LDH shows a clear preference for d-lactate, with a catalytic efficiency 200- and 2000-fold higher than that for l-lactate and glycolate, respectively, and a K(m) value for d-lactate of approximately 160 microm. Knock-out mutants showed impaired growth in the presence of d-lactate or methylglyoxal. Collectively, the data indicated that the protein is a d-LDH that participates in planta in the methylglyoxal pathway. Web-based bioinformatic tools revealed the existence of a paralogous protein encoded by locus At4g36400. The recombinant protein is a homodimer of 61-kDa subunits with one FAD per monomer. A substrate screening revealed highly specific d-2-hydroxyglutarate (d-2HG) conversion in the presence of an organic cofactor with a K(m) value of approximately 580 microm. Thus, the enzyme was characterized as a d-2HG dehydrogenase (AtD-2HGDH). Analysis of knock-out mutants demonstrated that AtD-2HGDH is responsible for the total d-2HGDH activity present in A. thaliana. Gene coexpression analysis indicated that AtD-2HGDH is in the same network as several genes involved in beta-oxidation and degradation of branched-chain amino acids and chlorophyll. It is proposed that AtD-2HGDH participates in the catabolism of d-2HG most probably during the mobilization of alternative substrates from proteolysis and/or lipid degradation.

Identification of a dehydrogenase acting on D-2-hydroxyglutarate

Extracts of frozen rat liver were found to catalyse the formation of 3H2O from DL-2-hydroxy[2-3H]glutarate. Three peaks of enzyme activities were observed on separation by chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose. The first and second peaks corresponded to an enzyme acting on L-2-hydroxyglutarate and the third peak corresponded to an enzyme acting on D-2-hydroxyglutarate, as indicated by competitive inhibition of the detritiation of the racemic radioactive compound by the unlabelled L- and D-isomers respectively. The enzyme acting on the D-form was further characterized. It was independent of NAD or NADP and it converted D-2-hydroxyglutarate into a-ketoglutarate, transferring electrons to artificial electron acceptors. It also oxidized D-lactate, D-malate and meso-tartrate and was stimulated by Zn2+, Co2+ and Mn2+, but not by Mg2+ or Ca2+. Subcellular fractionation indicated that it was present in the mitochondrial fraction. The enzyme was further purified by chromatography on Blue Trisacryl and phenyl-Sepharose, up to a stage where only a few bands were still visible by SDS/PAGE. Among the four candidate polypeptides that were identified by MS, one corresponded to a predicted mitochondrial protein homologous with FAD-dependent D-lactate dehydrogenase. The corresponding human protein was expressed in HEK-293 cells and it was shown to catalyse the detritiation of DL-2-hydroxy[2-3H]glutarate with similar properties as the purified rat enzyme.

Cloning and characterization of the lactate-specific inducible gene KlCYB2, encoding the cytochrome b(2) of Kluyveromyces lactis

In yeast the utilization of lactate requires two enzymes, the D and L-lactate ferricytochrome c oxidoreductase (D and L-LCR), which stereospecifically oxidize D- and L-lactate to pyruvate. These enzymes are nuclearly encoded and localized in mitochondria. In the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, a mutant devoid of D- and L-LCR activities and unable to grow on racemic lactate was isolated. Transformation of the mutant with a K. lactis genomic library allowed the isolation of the KlCYB2 gene, restoring the growth on lactate and the L-LCR activity. The KlCYB2 gene and its flanking regions were sequenced (Accession No. AJ243324; EMBL/GenBank databases). The deduced amino acid sequence is highly homologous to the corresponding Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Hansenula anomala protein sequences previously characterized. The homology is missed in the N-terminal region, corresponding to the presequence cleaved during import into mitochondria. Analysis of KlCYB2 gene expression indicated that, in contrast to S. cerevisiae, the major regulatory feature is induction by lactate.

Current awareness on yeast

In order to keep subscribers up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, this current awareness service is provided by John Wiley & Sons and contains newly-published material on yeasts. Each bibliography is divided into 10 sections. 1 Books, Reviews & Symposia; 2 General; 3 Biochemistry; 4 Biotechnology; 5 Cell Biology; 6 Gene Expression; 7 Genetics; 8 Physiology; 9 Medical Mycology; 10 Recombinant DNA Technology. Within each section, articles are listed in alphabetical order with respect to author. If, in the preceding period, no publications are located relevant to any one of these headings, that section will be omitted. (4 weeks journals - search completed 16th Feb 2000)

The Archaeoglobus fulgidus D-lactate dehydrogenase is a Zn(2+) flavoprotein

Archaeoglobus fulgidus, a hyperthermophilic, archaeal sulfate reducer, is one of the few organisms that can utilize D-lactate as a sole source for both carbon and electrons. The A. fulgidus open reading frame, AF0394, which is predicted to encode a D-(-)-lactate dehydrogenase (Dld), was cloned, and its product was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion with the maltose binding protein (MBP). The 90-kDa MBP-Dld fusion protein was more efficiently expressed in E. coli when coexpressed with the E. coli dnaY gene, encoding the arginyl tRNA for the codons AGA and AGG. When cleaved from the fusion protein by treatment with factor Xa, the recombinant Dld (rDld) has an apparent molecular mass of 50 kDa, similar to that of the native A. fulgidus Dld enzyme. Both the purified MBP-Dld fusion protein and its rDld cleavage fragment have lactate dehydrogenase activities specific for D-lactate, are stable at 80 degrees C, and retain activity after exposure to oxygen. The flavin cofactor FAD, which binds rDld apoprotein with a 1:1 stoichiometry, is essential for activity.

Carbon catabolite repression in Kluyveromyces lactis: isolation and characterization of the KIDLD gene encoding the mitochondrial enzyme D-lactate ferricytochrome c oxidoreductase

In the "petite-negative" yeast Kluyveromyces lactis carbon catabolite repression of some cytoplasmic enzymes has been observed. However, with respect to mitochondrial enzymes, in K. lactis, unlike the case in the "petite-positive" yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, growth on fermentable carbon sources does not cause repression of respiratory enzymes. In this paper data are reported on carbon catabolite repression of mitochondrial enzymes in K. lactis, in particular on L- and D-lactate ferricytochrome c oxidoreductase (LCR). The L- and D-LCR (E.C. 1123, E.C. 1124) in yeast catalyze the stereospecific oxidation of D and L isomers of lactate to pyruvate. This pathway is linked to the respiratory chain, cytochrome c being the electron acceptor of the redox reaction. We demonstrate that the level of mitochondrial D- and L-LCR is controlled by the carbon source, being induced by the substrate lactate and catabolite-repressed by glucose. We cloned the structural gene for D-LCR of K. lactis (KlDLD), by complementation of growth on D,L-lactate in the S. cerevisiae strain WWF18-3D, carrying both a CYB2 disruption and the dld mutation. From the sequence analysis an open reading frame was identified that could encode a polypeptide of 579 amino acids, corresponding to a calculated molecular weight of 63,484 Da. Analysis of mRNA expression indicated that glucose repression and induction by lactate are exerted at the transcriptional level.

Oxidation of D(minus) lactate by the electron transport fraction of Azotobacter vinelandii

d(-) Lactate oxidation in Azobacter vinelandii strain O is readily carried out by the membrane bound enzyme that concentrates in the electron transport fraction (R(3)). This oxidation in the R(3) fraction is not dependent on externally added nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, flavine adenine dinucleotide, or flavine mononucleotide. Phenazine methosulfate, O(2), and menadione all served as good electron carriers, and the oxidation of lactate was limited to the d(-) stereoisomer. Of all the alpha-hydroxyacids examined, only d(-) lactate and d(-) alpha-hydroxybutyrate were oxidized by the R(3) fraction. Paper chromatographic studies revealed that the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine derivative formed from d(-) lactate oxidation was pyruvate. Pyruvate, in turn, could be further decarboxylated nonoxidatively by the R(3) fraction. Spectral studies revealed that both the R(3) flavoprotein and cytochrome (a(2), a(1), b(1), c(4), and c(5)) components were reduced by d(-) lactate. The d(-) lactic oxidase activity was sensitive to electron transport inhibitors, i.e., chlorpromazine, antimycin A, 2-n-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide, rotenone, dicumarol, and cyanide, and to a small extent to 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-thienyl)-1,3-butane-dione (TFTB) and Amytal. The d(-) lactic phenazine methosulfate and menadione reductases were sensitive only to dicumarol and TFTB. Chlorpromazine was found to be a highly specific inhibitor of d(-) lactic oxidase activity, 50% inhibition occurring at 6.6 x 10(-6)m.