Des-1-25-fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, a nonallosteric derivative produced by trypsin treatment of the native protein

Directed mutations in the poorly defined region of porcine liver fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase significantly affect catalysis and the mechanism of AMP inhibition

Asn64, Asp68, Lys71, Lys72, and Asp74 of porcine liver fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) are conserved residues and part of a loop for which no electron density has been observed in crystal structures. Yet mutations of the above dramatically affect catalytic rates and/or AMP inhibition. The Asp74 --> Ala and Asp74 --> Asn mutant enzymes exhibited 50,000- and 2,000-fold reductions, respectively, in kcat relative to wild-type FBPase. The pH optimum for the catalytic activity of the Asp74 --> Glu, Asp68 --> Glu, Asn64 --> Gln, and Asn64 --> Ala mutant enzymes shifted from pH 7.0 (wild-type enzyme) to pH 8.5, whereas the Lys71 --> Ala mutant and Lys71,72 --> Met double mutant had optimum activity at pH 7.5. Mg2+ cooperativity, Km for fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, and Ki for fructose 2,6-bisphosphate were comparable for the mutant and wild-type enzymes. Nevertheless, for the Asp74 --> Glu, Asp68 --> Glu, Asn64 --> Gln, and Asn64 --> Ala mutants, the binding affinity for Mg2+ decreased by 40-125-fold relative to the wild-type enzyme. In addition, the Asp74 --> Glu and Asn64 --> Ala mutants exhibited no AMP cooperativity, and the kinetic mechanism of AMP inhibition with respect to Mg2+ was changed from competitive to noncompetitive. The double mutation Lys71,72 --> Met increased Ki for AMP by 175-fold and increased Mg2+ affinity by 2-fold relative to wild-type FBPase. The results reported here strongly suggest that loop 51-72 is important for catalytic activity and the mechanism of allosteric inhibition of FBPase by AMP.

The form II fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase and phosphoribulokinase genes form part of a large operon in Rhodobacter sphaeroides: primary structure and insertional mutagenesis analysis

Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) and phosphoribulokinase (PRK) are two key enzymes of the reductive pentose phosphate pathway or Calvin cycle of photosynthetic carbon dioxide assimilation. Early studies had indicated that the properties of enzymes isolated from photosynthetic bacteria were clearly distinct from those of enzymes obtained from the chloroplasts of higher plants [for a review, see Tabita (1988)]. The eucaryotic enzymes, which are light activated by the thioredoxin/ferredoxin system (Buchanan, 1980), were each shown to contain a putative regulatory amino acid sequence (Marcus et al., 1988; Porter et al., 1988). The enzymes from photosynthetic bacteria are not controlled by the thioredoxin/ferredoxin system but exhibit complex kinetic properties and, in the case of PRK, there is an absolute requirement of NADH for activity. In the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides, the structural genes of the Calvin cycle, including the genes that encode FBPase (fbp) and PRK (prk), are found in two distinct clusters, and the fbp and prk genes are closely associated in each cluster. In the present investigation, we have determined the nucleotide sequence of the fbpB and prkB genes of the form II cluster and have compared the deduced amino acid sequences to previously determined sequences of light-activated enzymes from higher plants and from other eucaryotic and procaryotic sources. In the case of FBPase, there are several regions that are conserved in the R. sphaeroides enzymes, including a protease-sensitive area located in a region equivalent to residues 51-71 of mammalian FBPase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Limited proteolysis of inactive tetrameric chloroplast NADP-malate dehydrogenase produces active dimers

Carboxy-terminal amino acids of NADP-dependent malate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.82) from pea chloroplasts were removed by treatment with carboxypeptidase Y. This results in the activation of the inactive oxidized enzyme, while activation by light in vivo is thought to occur via reduction of an intrasubunit disulfide bridge. After proteolytic activation the oxidized enzyme had a specific activity of 100 U/mg protein, which is 50% of the maximal activity of the control enzyme in the reduced state. When the truncated enzyme was reduced with dithiothreitol (DTT), the specific activity was further increased to 1200 U/mg. While the native enzyme is composed of four identical subunits of 38,900 Da, the truncated malate dehydrogenase forms dimers composed of two subunits of 38,000 Da. No further change of molecular mass or activity was noticed subsequent to prolonged incubation of native NADP-malate dehydrogenase with carboxypeptidase Y for several days. When the enzyme is denatured by 2 M guanidine-HCl, the proteolytic activation proceeds more rapidly, but only transiently. The truncated enzyme is less accessible to activation by reduced thioredoxin, but the stimulation of activity by DTT alone is more rapid than that of the native enzyme. These results indicate that only a small carboxy-terminal peptide of native NADP-malate dehydrogenase from pea chloroplasts is accessible to proteolytic degradation and that this peptide is involved in the regulation of activity, tetramer formation, and thioredoxin binding. While the pH optimum for catalytic activity of the intact reduced enzyme is at pH 8.0-8.5, it is shifted to more acidic values upon proteolysis of NADP-malate dehydrogenase. At pH values below 8 the reduced truncated enzyme exhibits substrate inhibition by oxaloacetate.