Biochemistry and molecular genetics of cobalamin biosynthesis

Sustained detoxification of 1,2-dichloroethane to ethylene by a symbiotic consortium containing Dehalococcoides species

1,2-Dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) is a ubiquitous volatile halogenated organic pollutant in groundwater and soil, which poses a serious threat to the ecosystem and human health. Microbial reductive dechlorination has been recognized as an environmentally-friendly strategy for the remediation of sites contaminated with 1,2-DCA. In this study, we obtained an anaerobic microbiota derived from 1,2-DCA contaminated groundwater, which was able to sustainably convert 1,2-DCA into non-toxic ethylene with an average dechlorination rate of 30.70 ± 11.06 μM d^-1 (N = 6). The microbial community profile demonstrated that the relative abundance of Dehalococcoides species increased from 0.53 ± 0.08% to 44.68 ± 3.61% in parallel with the dechlorination of 1,2-DCA. Quantitative PCR results showed that the Dehalococcoides species 16S rRNA gene increased from 2.40 ± 1.71 × 10⁸ copies∙mL^-1 culture to 4.07 ± 2.45 × 10⁸ copies∙mL^-1 culture after dechlorinating 110.69 ± 30.61 μmol of 1,2-DCA with a growth yield of 1.55 ± 0.93 × 10⁸ cells per μmol Cl^- released (N = 6), suggesting that Dehalococcoides species used 1,2-DCA for organohalide respiration to maintain cell growth. Notably, the relative abundances of Methanobacterium sp. (p = 0.0618) and Desulfovibrio sp. (p = 0.0001995) also increased significantly during the dechlorination of 1,2-DCA and were clustered in the same module with Dehalococcoides species in the co-occurrence network. These results hinted that Dehalococcoides species, the obligate organohalide-respiring bacterium, exhibited potential symbiotic relationships with Methanobacterium and Desulfovibrio species. This study illustrates the importance of microbial interactions within functional microbiota and provides a promising microbial resource for in situ bioremediation in sites contaminated with 1,2-DCA.

Function and metabolism of sirtuin metabolite O-acetyl-ADP-ribose

Sirtuins catalyze the NAD(+)-dependent deacetylation of target proteins, which are regulated by this reversible lysine modification. During deacetylation, the glycosidic bond of the nicotinamide ribose is cleaved to yield nicotinamide and the ribose accepts the acetyl group from substrate to produce O-acetyl-ADP-ribose (OAADPr), which exists as an approximately 50:50 mixture of 2' and 3' isomers at neutral pH. Discovery of this metabolite has fueled the idea that OAADPr may play an important role in the biology associated with sirtuins, acting as a signaling molecule and/or an important substrate for downstream enzymatic processes. Evidence for OAADPr-metabolizing enzymes indicates that at least three distinct activities exist that could modulate the cellular levels of this NAD(+)-derived metabolite. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, NUDIX hydrolase Ysa1 cleaves OAADPr to AMP and 2- and 3-O-acetylribose-5-phosphate, lowering the cellular levels of OAADPr. A buildup of OAADPr and ADPr has been linked to a metabolic shift that lowers endogenous reactive oxygen species and diverts glucose towards preventing oxidative damage. In vitro, the mammalian enzyme ARH3 hydrolyzes OAADPr to acetate and ADPr. A third nuclear-localized activity appears to utilize OAADPr to transfer the acetyl-group to another small molecule, whose identity remains unknown. Recent studies suggest that OAADPr may regulate gene silencing by facilitating the assembly and loading of the Sir2-4 silencing complex onto nucleosomes. In mammalian cells, the Trpm2 cation channel is gated by both OAADPr and ADP-ribose. Binding is mediated by the NUDIX homology (NudT9H) domain found within the intracellular portion of the channel. OAADPr is capable of binding the Macro domain of splice variants from histone protein MacroH2A, which is highly enriched at heterochromatic regions. With recently developed tools, the pace of new discoveries of OAADPr-dependent processes should facilitate new molecular insight into the diverse biological processes modulated by sirtuins.

Vitamin B12 partners the CarH repressor to downregulate a photoinducible promoter in Myxococcus xanthus

A light-inducible promoter, P(B), drives expression of the carB operon in Myxococcus xanthus. Repressed by CarA in the dark, P(B) is activated when CarS, produced in the light, sequesters CarA to prevent operator-CarA binding. The MerR-type, N-terminal domain of CarA, which mediates interactions with both operator and CarS, is linked to a C-terminal oligomerization module with a predicted cobalamin-binding motif. Here, we show that although CarA does bind vitamin B12, mutating the motif involved has no effect on its ability to repress P(B). Intriguingly, P(B) could be repressed in the dark even with no CarA, so long as B12 and an intact CarA operator were present. We have discovered that this effect of B12 depends on the gene immediately downstream of carA. Its product, CarH, also consists of a MerR-type, N-terminal domain that specifically recognizes the CarA operator and CarS, linked to a predicted B12-binding C-terminal oligomerization module. The B12-mediated repression of P(B) in the dark is relieved by deleting carH, by mutating the DNA- or B12-binding residues of CarH, or by illumination. Our findings unveil parallel regulatory circuits that control a light-inducible promoter using a transcriptional factor repertoire that includes a paralogous gene pair and vitamin B12.

Single-enzyme conversion of FMNH2 to 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole, the lower ligand of B12

The synthesis of 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole (DMB), the lower ligand of coenzyme B(12), has remained elusive. We report in vitro and in vivo evidence that the BluB protein of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum is necessary and sufficient for catalysis of the O(2)-dependent conversion of FMNH(2) to DMB. The product of the reaction (DMB) was isolated by using reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography, and its identity was established by UV-visible spectroscopy and MS. No metals were detected in homogeneous preparations of BluB, and the enzyme did not affect DMB synthesis from 4,5-dimethylphenylenediamine and ribose-5-phosphate. The effect of the lack of bluB function in R. rubrum was reflected by the impaired ability of a DeltabluB strain to convert Mg-protoporphyrin IX monomethyl ester (MPE) into protochlorophylide, a reaction of the bacteriochlorophyll biosynthetic pathway catalyzed by the MPE-cyclase enzyme present in this bacterium (BchE, EC 1.14.13.81), a predicted coenzyme B(12)-dependent enzyme. The growth defect of the DeltabluB strain observed under anoxic photoheterotrophic conditions was corrected by the addition of DMB or B(12) to the culture medium or by introducing into the strain a plasmid encoding the wild-type allele of bluB. The findings reported here close an important gap in our understanding of the enzymology of the assembly of coenzyme B(12).

Role of the precorrin 6-X reductase gene in cobamide biosynthesis in Methanococcus maripaludis

In Methanococcus maripaludis strain JJ, deletion of the homolog to cbiJ, which encodes the corrin biosynthetic enzyme precorrin 6-X reductase, yielded an auxotroph that required either cobamide or acetate for good growth. This phenotype closely resembled that of JJ117, a mutant in which tandem repeats were introduced into the region immediately downstream of the homolog of cbiJ. Mutant JJ117 also produced low quantities of cobamides, about 15 nmol g(-1) protein or 1-2% of the amount found in wild-type cells. These results confirm the role of the cbiJ homolog in cobamide biosynthesis in the Archaea and suggest the presence of low amounts of a bypass activity in these organisms.

ABC transporter for corrinoids in Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1

We report evidence for the existence of a putative ABC transporter for corrinoid utilization in the extremely halophilic archaeon Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1. Results from genetic and nutritional analyses of Halobacterium showed that mutants with lesions in open reading frames (ORFs) Vng1370G, Vng1371Gm, and Vng1369G required a 10(5)-fold higher concentration of cobalamin for growth than the wild-type or parent strain. The data support the conclusion that these ORFs encode orthologs of the bacterial cobalamin ABC transporter permease (btuC; Vng1370G), ATPase (btuD; Vng1371Gm), and substrate-binding protein (btuF; Vng1369G) components. Mutations in the Vng1370G, Vng1371Gm, and Vng1369G genes were epistatic, consistent with the hypothesis that their products work together to accomplish the same function. Extracts of btuF mutant strains grown in the presence of cobalamin did not contain any cobalamin molecules detectable by a sensitive bioassay, whereas btuCD mutant strain extracts did. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that the BtuF protein is exported to the extracellular side of the cell membrane, where it can bind cobalamin in the absence of BtuC and BtuD. Our data also provide evidence for the regulation of corrinoid transport and biosynthesis. Halobacterium synthesized cobalamin in a chemically defined medium lacking corrinoid precursors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first genetic analysis of an archaeal corrinoid transport system.

CbiZ, an amidohydrolase enzyme required for salvaging the coenzyme B12 precursor cobinamide in archaea

The existence of a pathway for salvaging the coenzyme B(12) precursor dicyanocobinamide (Cbi) from the environment was established by genetic and biochemical means. The pathway requires the function of a previously unidentified amidohydrolase enzyme that converts adenosylcobinamide to adenosylcobyric acid, a bona fide intermediate of the de novo coenzyme B(12) biosynthetic route. The cbiZ gene of the methanogenic archaeon Methanosarcina mazei strain Göl was cloned, was overproduced in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant protein was isolated to homogeneity. HPLC, UV-visible spectroscopy, MS, and bioassay data established adenosylcobyric as the corrinoid product of the CbiZ-catalyzed reaction. Inactivation of the cbiZ gene in the extremely halophilic archaeon Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1 blocked the ability of this archaeon to salvage Cbi. cbiZ function restored Cbi salvaging in a strain of the bacterium Salmonella enterica, whose Cbi-salvaging pathway was blocked. The salvaging of Cbi through the CbiZ enzyme appears to be an archaeal strategy because all of the genomes of B(12)-producing archaea have a cbiZ ortholog. Reasons for the evolution of two distinct pathways for Cbi salvaging in prokaryotes are discussed.

A new pathway for salvaging the coenzyme B12 precursor cobinamide in archaea requires cobinamide-phosphate synthase (CbiB) enzyme activity

The ability of archaea to salvage cobinamide has been under question because archaeal genomes lack orthologs to the bacterial nucleoside triphosphate:5'-deoxycobinamide kinase enzyme (cobU in Salmonella enterica). The latter activity is required for cobinamide salvaging in bacteria. This paper reports evidence that archaea salvage cobinamide from the environment by using a pathway different from the one used by bacteria. These studies demanded the functional characterization of two genes whose putative function had been annotated based solely on their homology to the bacterial genes encoding adenosylcobyric acid and adenosylcobinamide-phosphate synthases (cbiP and cbiB, respectively) of S. enterica. A cbiP mutant strain of the archaeon Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1 was auxotrophic for adenosylcobyric acid, a known intermediate of the de novo cobamide biosynthesis pathway, but efficiently salvaged cobinamide from the environment, suggesting the existence of a salvaging pathway in this archaeon. A cbiB mutant strain of Halobacterium was auxotrophic for adenosylcobinamide-GDP, a known de novo intermediate, and did not salvage cobinamide. The results of the nutritional analyses of the cbiP and cbiB mutants suggested that the entry point for cobinamide salvaging is adenosylcobyric acid. The data are consistent with a salvaging pathway for cobinamide in which an amidohydrolase enzyme cleaves off the aminopropanol moiety of adenosylcobinamide to yield adenosylcobyric acid, which is converted by the adenosylcobinamide-phosphate synthase enzyme to adenosylcobinamide-phosphate, a known intermediate of the de novo biosynthetic pathway. The existence of an adenosylcobinamide amidohydrolase enzyme would explain the lack of an adenosylcobinamide kinase in archaea.

The cobY gene of the archaeon Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1 is required for de novo cobamide synthesis

Genetic and nutritional analyses of mutants of the extremely halophilic archaeon Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1 showed that open reading frame (ORF) Vng1581C encodes a protein with nucleoside triphosphate:adenosylcobinamide-phosphate nucleotidyltransferase enzyme activity. This activity was previously associated with the cobY gene of the methanogenic archaeon Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum strain DeltaH, but no evidence was obtained to demonstrate the direct involvement of this protein in cobamide biosynthesis in archaea. Computer analysis of the Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1 ORF Vng1581C gene and the cobY gene of M. thermoautotrophicum strain DeltaH showed the primary amino acid sequence of the proteins encoded by these two genes to be 35% identical and 48% similar. A strain of Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1 carrying a null allele of the cobY gene was auxotrophic for cobinamide-GDP, a known intermediate of the late steps of cobamide biosynthesis. The auxotrophic requirement for cobinamide-GDP was corrected when a wild-type allele of cobY was introduced into the mutant strain, demonstrating that the lack of cobY function was solely responsible for the observed block in cobamide biosynthesis in this archaeon. The data also show that Halobacterium sp. strain NRC-1 possesses a high-affinity transport system for corrinoids and that this archaeon can synthesize cobamides de novo under aerobic growth conditions. To the best of our knowledge this is the first genetic and nutritional analysis of cobalamin biosynthetic mutants in archaea.

Capture of a labile substrate by expulsion of water molecules from the active site of nicotinate mononucleotide:5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole phosphoribosyltransferase (CobT) from Salmonella enterica

Nicotinate mononucleotide (NaMN):5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole (DMB) phosphoribosyltransferase (CobT) from Salmonella enterica plays a central role in the synthesis of alpha-ribazole-5'-phosphate, an intermediate for the lower ligand of cobalamin. In earlier studies it proved difficult to obtain the structure of CobT bound to NaMN because it is hydrolyzed in the crystal lattice in the absence of the second substrate DMB. In an effort to map the reaction pathway of this enzyme, NaMN was captured in the active site with the substrate analogs 4,5-dimethyl-1,2-phenylenediamine, 4-methylcatechol, indole, 3,4-dimethylaniline, 2,5-dimethylaniline, 3,4-dimethylphenol, and 2-amino-p-cresol. Structures of these complexes reveal that they exclude water molecules responsible for the hydrolysis from the active site. These structures, together with the early complexes with alpha-ribazole-5'-phosphate and DMB, provide a complete description of the reaction pathway. They demonstrate that the nicotinate moiety and phosphate do not appear to move significantly between reactants and products but that the aromatic base and ribose moiety each move approximately 1.2 A toward each other in the transformation. This study also reveals that, like many other nucleotide binding proteins, coordination of DMB is accompanied by a disorder-order transition in a surface loop. The structure of apo-CobT is also reported.

Structural investigation of the biosynthesis of alternative lower ligands for cobamides by nicotinate mononucleotide: 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole phosphoribosyltransferase from Salmonella enterica

Nicotinate mononucleotide (NaMN):5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole phosphoribosyltransferase (CobT) from Salmonella enterica plays a central role in the synthesis of alpha-ribazole, a key component of the lower ligand of cobalamin. Surprisingly, CobT can phosphoribosylate a wide range of aromatic substrates, giving rise to a wide variety of lower ligands in cobamides. To understand the molecular basis for this lack of substrate specificity, the x-ray structures of CobT complexed with adenine, 5-methylbenzimidazole, 5-methoxybenzimidazole, p-cresol, and phenol were determined. Furthermore, adenine, 5-methylbenzimidazole, 5-methoxybenzimidazole, and 2-hydroxypurine were observed to react with NaMN within the crystal lattice and undergo the phosphoribosyl transfer reaction to form product. Significantly, the stereochemistries of all products are identical to those found in vivo. Interestingly, p-cresol and phenol, which are the lower ligand in Sporomusa ovata, bound to CobT but did not react with NaMN. This study provides a structural explanation for how CobT can phosphoribosylate most of the commonly observed lower ligands found in cobamides with the exception of the phenolic lower ligands observed in S. ovata. This is accomplished with minor conformational changes in the side chains that constitute the 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole binding site. These investigations are consistent with the implication that the nature of the lower ligand is controlled by metabolic factors rather by the specificity of the phosphoribosyltransferase.

An in vitro reducing system for the enzymic conversion of cobalamin to adenosylcobalamin

Homogeneous ferredoxin (flavodoxin):NADP(+) reductase and flavodoxin A proteins served as electron donors for the reduction of co(III)rrinoids to co(I)rrinoids in vitro. The resulting co(I)rrinoids served as substrates for the ATP:co(I)rrinoid adenosyltransferase (CobA) enzyme of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 and were converted to their respective adenosylated derivatives. The reaction products were isolated by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography, and their identities were confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and in vivo biological activity assays. Adenosylcobalamin generated by this system supported the activity of 1,2-propanediol dehydratase as effectively as authentic adenosylcobalamin. This is the first report of a protein system that can be coupled to the adenosyltransferase CobA enzyme for the conversion of co(III)rrinoids to their adenosylated derivatives.

Analysis of the adenosylcobinamide kinase/adenosylcobinamide-phosphate guanylyltransferase (CobU) enzyme of Salmonella typhimurium LT2. Identification of residue His-46 as the site of guanylylation

CobU is a bifunctional enzyme involved in adenosylcobalamin (coenzyme B(12)) biosynthesis in Salmonella typhimurium LT2. In this bacterium, CobU is the adenosylcobinamide kinase/adenosylcobinamide-phosphate guanylyltransferase needed to convert cobinamide to adenosylcobinamide-GDP during the late steps of adenosylcobalamin biosynthesis. The guanylyltransferase reaction has been proposed to proceed via a covalently modified CobU-GMP intermediate. Here we show that CobU requires a nucleoside upper ligand on cobinamide for substrate recognition, with the nucleoside base, but not the 2'-OH group of the ribose, being important for this recognition. During the kinase reaction, both the nucleotide base and the 2'-OH group of the ribose are important for gamma-phosphate donor recognition, and GTP is the only nucleotide competent for the complete nucleotidyltransferase reaction. Analysis of the ATP:adenosylcobinamide kinase reaction shows CobU becomes less active during this reaction due to the formation of a covalent CobU-AMP complex that holds CobU in an altered conformation. Characterization of the GTP:adenosylcobinamide-phosphate guanylyltransferase reaction shows the covalent CobU-GMP intermediate is on the reaction pathway for the generation of adenosylcobinamide-GDP. Identification of a modified histidine and analysis of cobU mutants indicate that histidine 46 is the site of guanylylation.

Identification of an alternative nucleoside triphosphate: 5'-deoxyadenosylcobinamide phosphate nucleotidyltransferase in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum delta H

Computer analysis of the archaeal genome databases failed to identify orthologues of all of the bacterial cobamide biosynthetic enzymes. Of particular interest was the lack of an orthologue of the bifunctional nucleoside triphosphate (NTP):5'-deoxyadenosylcobinamide kinase/GTP:adenosylcobinamide-phosphate guanylyltransferase enzyme (CobU in Salmonella enterica). This paper reports the identification of an archaeal gene encoding a new nucleotidyltransferase, which is proposed to be the nonorthologous replacement of the S. enterica cobU gene. The gene encoding this nucleotidyltransferase was identified using comparative genome analysis of the sequenced archaeal genomes. Orthologues of the gene encoding this activity are limited at present to members of the domain Archaea. The corresponding ORF open reading frame from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum Delta H (MTH1152; referred to as cobY) was amplified and cloned, and the CobY protein was expressed and purified from Escherichia coli as a hexahistidine-tagged fusion protein. This enzyme had GTP:adenosylcobinamide-phosphate guanylyltransferase activity but did not have the NTP:AdoCbi kinase activity associated with the CobU enzyme of S. enterica. NTP:adenosylcobinamide kinase activity was not detected in M. thermoautotrophicum Delta H cell extract, suggesting that this organism may not have this activity. The cobY gene complemented a cobU mutant of S. enterica grown under anaerobic conditions where growth of the cell depended on de novo adenosylcobalamin biosynthesis. cobY, however, failed to restore adenosylcobalamin biosynthesis in cobU mutants grown under aerobic conditions where de novo synthesis of this coenzyme was blocked, and growth of the cell depended on the assimilation of exogenous cobinamide. These data strongly support the proposal that the relevant cobinamide intermediates during de novo adenosylcobalamin biosynthesis are adenosylcobinamide-phosphate and adenosylcobinamide-GDP, not adenosylcobinamide. Therefore, NTP:adenosylcobinamide kinase activity is not required for de novo cobamide biosynthesis.

A periplasmic location is essential for the role of the ApbE lipoprotein in thiamine synthesis in Salmonella typhimurium

ApbE is a lipoprotein in Salmonella typhimurium, and mutants unable to make this protein have a reduced ability to make thiamine (vitamin B(1)) and require it as a supplement for optimal growth in minimal glucose medium. Polyclonal antibodies specific to ApbE were used to determine that wild-type ApbE is located exclusively in the inner membrane. The periplasmic, monotopic topology of ApbE was determined by using computer-based hydrophobicity plots, LacZ and PhoA gene fusions, and proteinase protection experiments. This extracellular location of ApbE is required for its function, since a cytoplasmic form (ApbE(cyto)) did not allow an apbE mutant to grow in the absence of thiamine. A periplasmic form of ApbE (ApbE(peri)) lacking the lipoprotein modification allowed an apbE mutant to grow in the absence of thiamine, indicating that soluble ApbE could function in thiamine synthesis and that lipoation and membrane association were not required. Alteration of the amino acid implicated in membrane sorting for other lipoproteins did not result in a relocalization of ApbE to the outer membrane, suggesting that additional sorting determinants exist for ApbE.

Studies of regulation of expression of the propionate (prpBCDE) operon provide insights into how Salmonella typhimurium LT2 integrates its 1,2-propanediol and propionate catabolic pathways

Expression of the prpBCDE operon of Salmonella typhimurium LT2 required (i) the synthesis of propionyl-coenzyme A (CoA) by the PrpE protein or the acetyl-CoA-synthesizing systems of the cell and (ii) the synthesis of 2-methylcitrate from propionyl-CoA and oxaloacetate by the PrpC protein. We propose that either 2-methylcitrate or a derivative of it signals the presence of propionate in the environment. This as yet unidentified signal is thought to serve as a coregulator of the activity of PrpR, the member of the sigma-54 family of transcriptional activators needed for activation of prpBCDE transcription. The CobB protein was also required for expression of the prpBCDE operon, but its role is less well understood. Expression of the prpBCDE operon in cobB mutants was restored to wild-type levels upon induction of the propanediol utilization (pdu) operon by 1,2-propanediol. This effect did not require catabolism of 1,2-propanediol, suggesting that a Pdu protein, not a catabolite of 1,2-propanediol, was responsible for the observed effect. We explain the existence of these redundant functions in terms of metabolic pathway integration. In an environment with 1,2-propanediol as the sole carbon and energy source, expression of the prpBCDE operon is ensured by the Pdu protein that has CobB-like activity. Since synthesis of this Pdu protein depends on the availability of 1,2-propanediol, the cell solves the problem faced in an environment devoid of 1,2-propanediol where propionate is the sole carbon and energy source by having cobB located outside of the pdu operon and its expression independent of 1,2-propanediol. At present, it is unclear how the CobB and Pdu proteins affect prpBCDE expression.

CobB, a new member of the SIR2 family of eucaryotic regulatory proteins, is required to compensate for the lack of nicotinate mononucleotide:5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole phosphoribosyltransferase activity in cobT mutants during cobalamin biosynthesis in Salmonella typhimurium LT2

The cobB gene of Salmonella typhimurium LT2 has been isolated and genetically and biochemically characterized. cobB was located by genetic means to the 27-centisome region of the chromosome. Genetic crosses established the gene order to be cobB pepT phoQ, and the direction of cobB transcription was shown to be clockwise. The nucleotide sequence of cobB (711 base pairs) predicted a protein of 237 amino acids length with a molecular mass of 26.3 kDa, a mass consistent with the experimentally determined one of approximately 28 kDa. The cobB gene was defined genetically by deletions (10), insertions (5), and point mutations (15). The precise location of a Tn10d(Tc) element within cobB was established by sequencing. DNA sequence analysis of the region flanking cobB located it 81 base pairs 3' of the potABCD operon, with the potABCD operon and cobB being divergently transcribed. cobB was overexpressed to approximately 30% of the total soluble protein using a T7 overexpression system. In vitro activity assays showed that cell-free extracts enriched for CobB catalyzed the synthesis of the cobalamin biosynthetic intermediate N1-(5-phospho-alpha-D-ribosyl)-5, 6-dimethylbenzimidazole (also known as alpha-ribazole-5'-phosphate) from nicotinate mononucleotide and 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole, the reaction known to be catalyzed by the CobT phosphoribosyltransferase enzyme (EC 2.4.2.21) (Trzebiatowski, J. R. and Escalante-Semerena, J. C. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 17662-17667). Computer analysis of the primary amino acid sequence of the CobB protein identified the sequences GAGISAESGIRTFR and YTQNID which are diagnostic of members of the SIR2 family of eucaryotic transcriptional regulators. Possible roles of CobB as a regulator are discussed within the context of the catabolism of propionate, a pathway known to require cobB function (Tsang, A. W. and Escalante-Semerena, J. C. (1996) J. Bacteriol. 178, 7016-7019).

The apbE gene encodes a lipoprotein involved in thiamine synthesis in Salmonella typhimurium

Thiamine pyrophosphate is an essential cofactor that is synthesized de novo in Salmonella typhimurium. The biochemical steps and gene products involved in the conversion of aminoimidazole ribotide (AIR), a purine intermediate, to the 4-amino-5-hydroxymethyl-2-methyl pyrimidine (HMP) moiety of thiamine have yet to be elucidated. We have isolated mutations in a new locus (Escherichia coli open reading frame designation yojK) at 49 min on the S. typhimurium chromosome. Two significant phenotypes associated with lesions in this locus (apbE) were identified. First, apbE purF double mutants require thiamine, specifically the HMP moiety. Second, in the presence of adenine, apbE single mutants require thiamine, specifically both the HMP and the thiazole moieties. Together, the phenotypes associated with apbE mutants suggest that flux through the purine pathway has a role in regulating synthesis of the thiazole moiety of thiamine and are consistent with ApbE being involved in the conversion of AIR to HMP. The product of the apbE gene was found to be a 36-kDa membrane-associated lipoprotein, making it the second membrane protein implicated in thiamine synthesis.

CobD, a novel enzyme with L-threonine-O-3-phosphate decarboxylase activity, is responsible for the synthesis of (R)-1-amino-2-propanol O-2-phosphate, a proposed new intermediate in cobalamin biosynthesis in Salmonella typhimurium LT2

The cobD gene of Salmonella typhimurium LT2 has been cloned, sequenced, and overexpressed. The overexpressed protein had a molecular mass of approximately 40 kDa, in agreement with the mass predicted by the deduced amino acid sequence (40.8 kDa). Computer analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of CobD identified a consensus pyridoxal phosphate-binding motif. The role of CobD in cobalamin biosynthesis in this bacterium has been established. CobD was shown to decarboxylate L-threonine O-3-phosphate to yield (R)-1-amino-2-propanol O-2-phosphate. We propose that the latter is a substrate in the reaction catalyzed by the CbiB enzyme proposed to be responsible for the conversion of adenosylcobyric acid to adenosylcobinamide and that the product of the reaction is adenosylcobinamide phosphate, not adenosylcobinamide as previously thought. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the demonstrated kinase activity of the CobU enzyme (O'Toole, G. A., and Escalante-Semerena, J. C. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 23560-23569) responsible for the conversion of adenosylcobinamide to adenosylcobinamide phosphate. These findings shed light on the strategy used by this bacterium for the assimilation of exogenous unphosphorylated cobinamide from its environment. To our knowledge, CobD is the first enzyme reported to have L-threonine-O-3-phosphate decarboxylase activity, and computer analysis of its amino acid sequence suggests that it may be a member of a new class of pyridoxal phosphate-dependent decarboxylases.