Purification and properties of three NAD(P)+ isozymes of L-glutamate dehydrogenase of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Bypassing isophthalate inhibition by modulating glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH): purification and kinetic characterization of NADP-GDHs from isophthalate-degrading Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PP4 and Acinetobacter lwoffii strain ISP4

Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PP4 and Acinetobacter lwoffii strain ISP4 metabolize isophthalate as a sole source of carbon and energy. Isophthalate is known to be a competitive inhibitor of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), which is involved in C and N metabolism. Strain PP4 showed carbon source-dependent modulation of NADP-GDH; GDH(I) was produced when cells were grown on isophthalate, while GDH(II) was produced when cells were grown on glucose. Strain ISP4 produced a single form of NADP-GDH, GDH(P), when it was grown on either isophthalate or rich medium (2YT). All of the forms of GDH were purified to homogeneity and characterized. GDH(I) and GDH(II) were found to be homotetramers, while GDH(P) was found to be a homohexamer. GDH(II) was more sensitive to inhibition by isophthalate (2.5- and 5.5-fold more sensitive for amination and deamination reactions, respectively) than GDH(I). Differences in the N-terminal sequences and electrophoretic mobilities in an activity-staining gel confirmed the presence of two forms of GDH, GDH(I) and GDH(II), in strain PP4. In strain ISP4, irrespective of the carbon source, the GDH(P) produced showed similar levels of inhibition with isophthalate. However, the specific activity of GDH(P) from isophthalate-grown cells was 2.5- to 3-fold higher than that of GDH(P) from 2YT-grown cells. Identical N-terminal sequences and electrophoretic mobilities in the activity-staining gel suggested the presence of a single form of GDH(P) in strain ISP4. These results demonstrate the ability of organisms to modulate GDH either by producing an entirely different form or by increasing the level of the enzyme, thus enabling strains to utilize isophthalate more efficiently as a sole source of carbon and energy.

Physiological role and regulation of glutamate dehydrogenase in Prochlorococcus sp. strain MIT9313

Glutamate dehydrogenase is an enzyme catalysing a reaction for ammonium assimilation, alternative to those performed by glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase. In the genus Prochlorococcus, genomic studies have shown the presence of the gdhA gene (encoding glutamate dehydrogenase) in only four of the sequenced strains, including MIT9313. We studied the physiological regulation of glutamate dehydrogenase in this strain, by measuring the expression of gdhA, the intracellular concentration of the enzyme and its activity. Our goal was to clarify the physiological role of glutamate dehydrogenase, in order to understand why it has been selectively conserved in certain strains. Studies performed in cultures under nitrogen starvation, or with inhibitors of the nitrogen assimilation, suggest that the main role of glutamate dehydrogenase is not the assimilation of ammonium. Glutamate dehydrogenase activity and gdhA expression increased along the growth of cultures. Besides, we found a significant upregulation in gene expression when cultures were grown on glutamate as nitrogen source. We suggest that the main physiological role of glutamate dehydrogenase in Prochlorococcus MIT9313 is the utilization of glutamate to produce ammonium and 2-oxoglutarate, and amino acid recycling, thus enabling to use amino acids as nitrogen source. Therefore we propose that glutamate dehydrogenase is present in the genome of strains for whom the utilization of amino acids is most important.

Carbon source-dependent modulation of NADP-glutamate dehydrogenases in isophthalate-degrading Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PP4, Pseudomonas strain PPD and Acinetobacter lwoffii strain ISP4

Acinetobacter lwoffii strain ISP4 metabolizes isophthalate rapidly compared with Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PP4 and Pseudomonas strain PPD. Isophthalate has been reported to be a potent competitive inhibitor of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH). Exogenous supplementation of isophthalate with glutamate or alpha-ketoglutarate at 1 mM concentration caused strains PP4 and PPD to grow faster than in the presence of isophthalate alone; however, no such effect was observed in strain ISP4. When grown on isophthalate, all strains showed activity of NADP-dependent GDH (NADP-GDH), while cells grown on glucose, 2x yeast extract-tryptone broth (2YT) or glutamate showed activities of both NAD-dependent GDH (NAD-GDH) and NADP-GDH. Activity staining, inhibition and thermal stability studies indicated the carbon source-dependent presence of two (GDH(I) and GDH(II)), three (GDH(A), GDH(B) and GDH(C)) and one (GDH(P)) forms of NADP-GDH in strains PP4, PPD and ISP4, respectively. The results demonstrate the carbon source-dependent modulation of different forms of NADP-GDH in these bacterial strains. This modulation may help the efficient utilization of isophthalate as a carbon source by overcoming the inhibitory effect on GDH.

A computational analysis of the three isoforms of glutamate dehydrogenase reveals structural features of the isoform EC 1.4.1.4 supporting a key role in ammonium assimilation by plants

BACKGROUND

There are three isoforms of glutamate dehydrogenase. The isoform EC 1.4.1.4 (GDH4) catalyses glutamate synthesis from 2-oxoglutarate and ammonium, using NAD(P)H. Ammonium assimilation is critical for plant growth. Although GDH4 from animals and prokaryotes are well characterized, there are few data concerning plant GDH4, even from those whose genomes are well annotated.

RESULTS

A large set of the three GDH isoforms was built resulting in 116 non-redundant full polypeptide sequences. A computational analysis was made to gain more information concerning the structure-function relationship of GDH4 from plants (Eukaryota, Viridiplantae). The tested plant GDH4 sequences were the two ones known to date, those of Chlorella sorokiniana. This analysis revealed several structural features specific of plant GDH4: (i) the lack of a structure called "antenna"; (ii) the NAD(P)-binding motif GAGNVA; and (iii) a second putative coenzyme-binding motif GVLTGKG together with four residues involved in the binding of the reduced form of NADP.

CONCLUSION

A number of structural features specific of plant GDH4 have been found. The results reinforce the probable key role of GDH4 in ammonium assimilation by plants.

REVIEWERS

This article was reviewed by Tina Bakolitsa (nominated by Eugene Koonin), Martin Jambon (nominated by Laura Landweber), Sandor Pangor and Franck Eisenhaber.

An NAD+-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase cloned from the ruminal ciliate protozoan,Entodinium caudatum

An NAD(+)-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH; EC 1.4.1.24) was cloned from the ruminal ciliate protozoan, Entodinium caudatum. The gene had high sequence similarity to GDH genes from the Bacteroides (class)--a class of bacteria which is highly represented in the rumen. When expressed in Escherichia coli the enzyme had a high affinity for ammonia and alpha-ketoglutarate (apparent K(m) of 2.33 and 0.71 mM, respectively) and a low affinity for glutamate (apparent K(m) of 98 mM). GDH activity and GDH mRNA concentration were increased by incubating washed E. caudatum cells with ammonia and antibiotics. These results suggest that the GDH is an anabolic enzyme catalysing the assimilation of ammonia by E. caudatum in the rumen and that the gene was probably acquired by lateral gene transfer from a ruminal bacterium.

Biochemical and molecular characterization of NADP-glutamate dehydrogenase from the ectomycorrhizal fungus Tuber borchii

• NADP-glutamate dehydrogenase (NADP-GDH) from Tuber borchii was purified and the corresponding gene was cloned in order to elucidate the physiological role of the enzyme in this ectomycorrhizal fungus. • NADP-GDH was purified using an anion-exchange column followed by affinity chromatography. The complete gene was cloned from a 30-d-old-mycelium cDNA library and characterized. • T. borchii NADP-GDH appears to be physically and kinetically similar to those from other fungi and the deduced amino acid sequence of the gdh gene showed a significant similarity to other fungal NADP-dependent GDHs. Biochemical and Northern blotting analyses carried out with mycelia grown on different nitrogen sources clearly showed that the regulation of T. borchii NADP-GDH in response to different nitrogen sources was markedly different from the responses of the NADP-GDHs of other ascomycetes. Northern blotting analyses highlighted that the gdh gene was also expressed in the symbiotic phase. • The biochemical and molecular data suggest that the fungal NADP-GDH contributes to the primary nitrogen metabolism in the ectomycorrhizal tissues.

Biochemical and genetical studies of NADP-specific glutamate dehydrogenase in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The initial velocity, pH and temperature optima, and Km values of Schizosaccharomyces pombe NADP-glutamate dehydrogenase (NADP-GDH:EC 1.4.1.4) have been determined. NADP-GDH was found to be specific for the substrates used in the reaction mixtures. NADP-GDH activity showed a sigmoidal response to changes in alpha-ketoglutarate concentrations, following Hill kinetics with a coefficient nH = 2. A two-fold and a three-fold increase in activity was found in extracts of cells grown on a medium containing cytosine or histidine as a sole nitrogen source, respectively, relative to the activity found in cells grown on other sole nitrogen sources including ammonium, adenine, arginine, aspartate, asparagine, glutamate, glutamine, leucine, lysine, proline, uridine and urea. Five NADP-GDH-defective mutants were isolated on the basis of no growth on ammonium plus allantoin as sole nitrogen sources. The mutants also failed to grow on allantoin alone but, in contrast, they were phenotypically indistinguishable from the wild-type growing on solid minimal medium with ammonium. Additionally, the mutants were found to grow as wild-type on minimal medium with alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartate, glutamate, glutamine, leucine, ornithine and proline in the absence or presence of allantoin. In liquid minimal medium with ammonium as sole nitrogen source they had a slower growth than the wild-type. Normal growth was observed in cells grown on alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartate, glutamate, glutamine, leucine, ornithine and proline. The mutants had undetectable levels of NADP-GDH activity, but retained wild-type levels of NAD-GDH, glutame synthase (GOGAT) and glutamine synthetase (GS).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)