Kinetics of transhydrogenase reaction catalyzed by the mitochondrial NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I) imply more than one catalytic nucleotide-binding sites.
(1/1246)
The steady-state kinetics of the transhydrogenase reaction (the reduction of acetylpyridine adenine dinucleotide (APAD+) by NADH, DD transhydrogenase) catalyzed by bovine heart submitochondrial particles (SMP), purified Complex I, and by the soluble three-subunit NADH dehydrogenase (FP) were studied to assess a number of the Complex I-associated nucleotide-binding sites. Under the conditions where the proton-pumping transhydrogenase (EC 1.6.1.1) was not operating, the DD transhydrogenase activities of SMP and Complex I exhibited complex kinetic pattern: the double reciprocal plots of the velocities were not linear when the substrate concentrations were varied in a wide range. No binary complex (ping-pong) mechanism (as expected for a single substrate-binding site enzyme) was operating within any range of the variable substrates. ADP-ribose, a competitive inhibitor of NADH oxidase, was shown to compete more effectively with NADH (Ki = 40 microM) than with APAD+ (Ki = 150 microM) in the transhydrogenase reaction. FMN redox cycling-dependent, FP catalyzed DD transhydrogenase reaction was shown to proceed through a ternary complex mechanism. The results suggest that Complex I and the simplest catalytically competent fragment derived therefrom (FP) possess more than one nucleotide-binding sites operating in the transhydrogenase reaction. (+info)
Purification, characterization and gene cloning of 6-hydroxynicotinate 3-monooxygenase from Pseudomonas fluorescens TN5.
(2/1246)
6-Hydroxynicotinate 3-monooxygenase, a membrane-bound, 42-kDa monomeric enzyme from Pseudomonas fluorescens TN5 was purified and characterized. The enzyme catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of 6-hydroxynicotinate and depends on O2, NADH and FAD with the holoenzyme containing 1 M of FAD per 1 M of enzyme. The isolated enzyme was used for the synthesis of 2,5-dihydroxypyridine, a precursor for the chemical synthesis of 5-aminolevulinic acid, which is applied as a plant growth hormone, a herbicide and in cancer therapy. A 1.8-kbp DNA fragment, which contains the ORF encoding 6-hydroxynicotinic acid 3-monooxygenase, was cloned, sequenced and expressed in Escherichia coli. The deduced 385 amino acid sequence of the cloned ORF is in agreement with the enzyme molecular mass, amino acid sequence of an internal peptide, contains a putative FAD-binding site and is homologous to similar flavoproteins such as salicylate 1-monoxygenase. (+info)
Flavodoxin: an allosteric inhibitor of AMP nucleosidase from Azotobacter vinelandii.
(3/1246)
Flavodoxin, which participates in nitrogen fixation, was found to be a potent allosteric inhibitor of AMP nucleosidase [EC 3.2.2.4] from Azotobacter vinelandii. It inhibited the enzyme by decreasing its affinity for ATP without affecting the maximum velocity. The inhibition constant for flavodoxin was estimated to be 10 muM, which is within the range of physiological concentration in the cells. The concentration of flavodoxin able to alter the activity in vitro suggests that this phenomenon could be of significance in the regulation of flavin biosynthesis in vivo. Flavin mononucleotide (FMN), a prosthetic group of flavodoxin, was also found to act as an allosteric inhibitor. Since no inhibitory action of apo-flavodoxin was observed, it was concluded that the FMN chromophore of the flavodoxin is responsible for the inhibition of the enzyme by this protein. (+info)
Anti-mitochondrial flavoprotein autoantibodies of patients with myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy (anti-M7): interaction with flavin-carrying proteins, effect of vitamin B2 and epitope mapping.
(4/1246)
Vitamin B2 and flavin cofactors are transported tightly bound to immunoglobulin in human serum. We reasoned that anti-mitochondrial flavoprotein autoantibodies (alpha Fp-AB) present in the serum of patients with myocarditis and cardiomyopathy of unknown aetiology may form immunoglobulin aggregates with these serum proteins. However, immunodiffusion and Western blot assays demonstrated that the flavin-carrying proteins were not recognized by alpha Fp-AB. Apparently the flavin moiety in the native protein conformation was inaccessible to alpha Fp-AB. This conclusion was supported by the absence of an immunoreaction between the riboflavin-binding protein from egg white and alpha FP-AB. Intravenous application of vitamin B2 to rabbits immunized with 6-hydroxy-D-nicotine oxidase, a bacterial protein carrying covalently attached FAD, did not neutralize alpha Fp-AB which had been raised in the serum of the animals. FAD-carrying peptides generated from 6-hydroxy-D-nicotine oxidase by trypsin and chymotrypsin treatment were not recognized by the alpha Fp-AB, but those generated by endopeptidase Lys were. This demonstrates that the epitope recognized by alpha Fp-AB comprises, besides the flavin moiety, protein secondary structure elements. (+info)
Regulation of the mammalian pineal by non-rod, non-cone, ocular photoreceptors.
(5/1246)
In mammals, ocular photoreceptors mediate an acute inhibition of pineal melatonin by light. The effect of rod and cone loss on this response was assessed by combining the rd mutation with a transgenic ablation of cones (cl) to produce mice lacking both photoreceptor classes. Despite the loss of all known retinal photoreceptors, rd/rd cl mice showed normal suppression of pineal melatonin in response to monochromatic light of wavelength 509 nanometers. These data indicate that mammals have additional ocular photoreceptors that they use in the regulation of temporal physiology. (+info)
Structure and function of a cysBJIH gene cluster in the purple sulphur bacterium Thiocapsa roseopersicina.
(6/1246)
A gene cluster containing homologues of the genes cysB, cysJI and cysH was found in the genome of the sulphur-oxidizing purple bacterium Thiocapsa roseopersicina. The nucleotide sequence indicated four open reading frames encoding homologues of 3'-phosphoadenylylsulphate (PAPS) reductase (CysH), sulphite reductase flavoprotein (CysJ) and haem protein (CysI) subunits, and a transcriptional regulator (CysB). Genes cysJIH are separated by a short cis-active intergenic region from cysB which is transcribed divergently. cysB encodes a polypeptide of 35.9 kDa consisting of 323 amino acid residues with 40% identity to the CysB regulator from enterobacteria. cysH encodes a protein with 239 amino acid residues and a calculated mass of 27.7 kDa; cysJ encodes a protein with 522 amino acid residues and a mass of 57.8 kDa; and cysI encodes a protein with 559 amino acid residues and a mass of 62.3 kDa. The cysJIH gene products have been expressed and used for complementation of cys mutants from Escherichia coli Biochemical analysis. The gene product CysH is a thioredoxin-dependent PAPS reductase (EC 1.8.99.4). It was repressed under photoautotrophic growth using hydrogen sulphide as electron donor and derepressed under conditions of sulphate deficiency. Products of the cysJI genes were identified as the two subunits of NADPH-sulphite reductase (EC 1.8.1.2). cysJ encoded the flavoprotein, with > or = 39% identity to the protein from E. coli, and cysI encoded the haem protein, with > or = 53% identity. A cysI clone was used to complement the corresponding mutant from E. coli and to express enzymically active methylviologen-sulphite reductase. (+info)
Antagonistic actions of Arabidopsis cryptochromes and phytochrome B in the regulation of floral induction.
(7/1246)
The Arabidopsis photoreceptors cry1, cry2 and phyB are known to play roles in the regulation of flowering time, for which the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. We have previously hypothesized that phyB mediates a red-light inhibition of floral initiation and cry2 mediates a blue-light inhibition of the phyB function. Studies of the cry2/phyB double mutant provide direct evidence in support of this hypothesis. The function of cryptochromes in floral induction was further investigated using the cry2/cry1 double mutants. The cry2/cry1 double mutants showed delayed flowering in monochromatic blue light, whereas neither monogenic cry1 nor cry2 mutant exhibited late flowering in blue light. This result suggests that, in addition to the phyB-dependent function, cry2 also acts redundantly with cry1 to promote floral initiation in a phyB-independent manner. To understand how photoreceptors regulate the transition from vegetative growth to reproductive development, we examined the effect of sequential illumination by blue light and red light on the flowering time of plants. We found that there was a light-quality-sensitive phase of plant development, during which the quality of light exerts a profound influence on flowering time. After this developmental stage, which is between approximately day-1 to day-7 post germination, plants are committed to floral initiation and the quality of light has little effect on the flowering time. Mutations in either the PHYB gene or both the CRY1 and CRY2 genes resulted in the loss of the light-quality-sensitive phase manifested during floral development. The commitment time of floral transition, defined by a plant's sensitivity to light quality, coincides with the commitment time of inflorescence development revealed previously by a plant's sensitivity to light quantity - the photoperiod. Therefore, the developmental mechanism resulting in the commitment to flowering appears to be the direct target of the antagonistic actions of the photoreceptors. (+info)
Photomophogenesis: Phytochrome takes a partner!
(8/1246)
How light signals are transduced by phytochromes is still poorly understood. Recent studies have provided evidence that a PAS domain protein, PIF3, physically interacts with phytochromes, plays a role in phytochrome signal transduction and might be a component of a novel signalling pathway in plants. (+info)