Diacetyl reductase

Purification, characterization and some properties of diacetyl(acetoin) reductase from Enterobacter aerogenes

A new method, faster, milder and more efficient than the one previously described [Bryn, K., Hetland, O. & Stormer, F. C. (1971) Eur. J. Biochem, 18, 116-119], for purification of diacetyl(acetoin) reductase from Enterobacter aerogenes is proposed. The experiments carried out with the electrophoretically pure preparations obtained by this procedure show that the enzyme (a) produces L-glycols from the corresponding L-alpha-hydroxycarbonyls by reversible reduction of their oxo groups and also reduces the oxo group of uncharged alpha-dicarbonyls converting them into L-alpha-hydroxycarbonyls, and (b) is specific for NAD. This is a new enzyme for which we suggest the systematic name of L-glycol: NAD+ oxidoreductase and the recommended name of L-glycol dehydrogenase(NAD). The molecular mass, pI, affinity for substrates and pH profiles of this enzyme are also described.

Purification and characterization of diacetyl-reducing enzymes from Staphylococcus aureus

A method was developed to purify diacetyl-reducing enzymes from Staphylococcus aureus. Two enzymes capable of catalysing diacetyl reduction were isolated, neither of which turned out to be a specific diacetyl reductase. One of them is a lactate dehydrogenase similar to the one from Staphylococcus epidermidis, which accepts diacetyl, although poorly. The other one uses as coenzyme beta-NAD and reduces uncharged alpha-dicarbonyls with more than three carbon atoms (especially the alpha-diketones diacetyl and pentane-2,3-dione), producing the L(+) form of the corresponding alpha-hydroxycarbonyls. This enzyme has an Mr of 68,000 and is, most probably, a monomer. Its optimum pH is 6.0. Its shows a high affinity for NADH and a rather low one for diacetyl, which, at least in vitro, does not seem to be as good a substrate as pentane-2,3-dione. We propose for it the systematic name L-alpha-hydroxyketone:NAD+ oxidoreductase and the recommended name of alpha-diketone reductase (NAD). We also suggest that the diacetyl reductase entry in the I.U.B. classification be suppressed.