The methylating system for 3-sn-phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis in Fusarium oxysporum

1980 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 774-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan C. Wilson ◽  
Leslie R. Barran

Cell extracts of hyphae of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici rapidly transferred the methyl group of S-[methyl-3 H]adenosyl-L-methionine (Ado-Met) to endogenous phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). About 80% of the radioactivity incorporated into the phospholipid fraction was found in phosphatidylcholine (PC) while the rest of the radioactivity was present in the intermediates monomethylphosphatidylethanolamine (MePE) and dimethylphosphatidylethanolamine (DiMePE). The phospholipid methylating system had a pH optimum of 8.5, a Km of 30 μm for Ado-Met, and a Vmax of 10 nmol/h per milligram protein. The specific activity of the methylating system was highest in early log phase and lowest in the late log phase of growth.The activity of the cell-free methylating system was reduced by incubation at temperatures above 25 °C, and at 37 °C about 50% of the initial methylating activity remained after incubation for 15 min. In contrast, the activity of the in vivo methylation system almost doubled when the incubation temperature was raised from 25 to 37 °C.

1970 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-41
Author(s):  
Taslima Taher Lina ◽  
Mohammad Ilias

The in vivo production of soluble inorganic pyrophosphatases (PPases) was investigated in two strains, namely, Vibrio cholerae EM 004 (environmental strain) and Vibrio cholerae O1 757 (ATCC strain). V. cholerae is known to contain both family I and family II PPase coding sequences. The production of family I and family II PPases were determined by measuring the enzyme activity in cell extracts. The effects of pH, temperature, salinity of the growth medium on the production of soluble PPases were studied. In case of family I PPase, V. cholerae EM 004 gave the highest specific activity at pH 9.0, with 2% NaCl + 0.011% NaF and at 37°C. The strain V. cholerae O1 757 gave the highest specific activity at pH 9.0, with media containing 0% NaCl and at 37°C. On the other hand, under all the conditions family II PPase did not give any significant specific activity, suggesting that the family II PPase was not produced in vivo in either strains of V. cholerae under different experimental conditions. Keywords: Vibrio cholerae, Pyrophosphatases (PPases), Specific activityDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjm.v24i1.1235 Bangladesh J Microbiol, Volume 24, Number 1, June 2007, pp 38-41


1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 22-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pratima Dutta ◽  
Gopal C. Majumder

A neutral β-D-galactosidase has been partially purified from rat epididymis and characterized. The enzyme having molecular mass of approximately 50 kilodaltons has been purified 400-fold by using calcium phosphate gel adsorption, DEAE-cellulose chromatography, Sephadex G-100 gel filtration, and concanavalin A - agarose affinity chromatography. Although the neutral enzyme binds to the concanavalin A affinity column, the activity could be eluted with α-methyl mannoside only if the buffer contained salt (NaCl) at a concentration as high as 0.3 M. The enzyme was of cytosolic origin, since 90% of the total enzymic activity of the tissue homogenate was recovered in the soluble fraction of these cells. The neutral β-galactosidase was not dependent on metal ions for its activity and it had a pH optimum of 7.0. Zn2+, p-chloromercuribenzoate, Hg2+, and Pb2+ served as potent inhibitors of the enzyme. There was a marked increase (approximately fourfold) in the specific activity of the neutral β-galactosidase during sexual maturity of epididymis in vivo.Key words: neutral β-galactosidase, rat epididymal, cytosolic, developmental, sexual maturity.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 2784-2791
Author(s):  
G Podgorski ◽  
R A Deering

Two thymidine auxotrophs of Dictyostelium discoideum were isolated which improve the efficiency of in vivo DNA-specific radiolabeling. Mutant HPS400 lacked detectable thymidylate synthetase activity, required 50 micrograms of thymidine per ml, and incorporated sixfold more [3H]thymidine into nuclear DNA than did a wild-type strain. Either dTMP or exogenously provided DNA also permitted growth of this strain. The second mutant, HPS401, was isolated from HPS400 and also lacked thymidylate synthetase activity, but required only 4 micrograms of thymidine per ml for normal growth and incorporated 55 times more thymidine label than did a control strain. Incorporation of the thymidine analog 5'-bromodeoxyuridine was also markedly increased in the mutants. Catalytic properties of the thymidylate synthetase of D. discoideum investigated in cell extracts were consistent with those observed for this enzyme in other organisms. These strains should facilitate studies of DNA replication and repair in D. discoideum which require short-term labeling, DNA of high specific activity, or elevated levels of substitution in DNA by thymidine analogs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jue Wang ◽  
Karl Anderson ◽  
Ellen Yang ◽  
Lian He ◽  
Mary E. Lidstrom

AbstractFormate is an attractive feedstock for sustainable microbial production of fuels and chemicals, but its potential is limited by the lack of efficient assimilation pathways. The reduction of formate to formaldehyde would allow efficient downstream assimilation, but no efficient enzymes are known for this transformation. To develop a 2-step formate-reduction pathway, we screened natural variants of acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) and acylating aldehyde dehydrogenase (ACDH) for activity on one-carbon substrates and identified active and highly expressed homologs of both enzymes. We then performed directed evolution, increasing ACDH specific activity by 2.5-fold and ACS lysate activity by 5-fold. To test for in vivo activity of our pathway, we expressed it in a methylotroph which can natively assimilate formaldehyde. Although the enzymes were active in cell extracts, we could not detect formate assimilation into biomass, indicating that further improvement will be required for formatotrophy. Our work provides a foundation for further development of a versatile pathway for formate assimilation.


1993 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Connell-Crowley ◽  
M J Solomon ◽  
N Wei ◽  
J W Harper

p33cdk2 is a serine-threonine protein kinase that associates with cyclins A, D, and E and has been implicated in the control of the G1/S transition in mammalian cells. Recent evidence indicates that cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2), like its homolog Cdc2, requires cyclin binding and phosphorylation (of threonine-160) for activation in vivo. However, the extent to which mechanistic details of the activation process are conserved between Cdc2 and Cdk2 is unknown. We have developed bacterial expression and purification systems for Cdk2 and cyclin A that allow mechanistic studies of the activation process to be performed in the absence of cell extracts. Recombinant Cdk2 is essentially inactive as a histone H1 kinase (< 4 x 10(-5) pmol phosphate transferred.min-1 x microgram-1 Cdk2). However, in the presence of equimolar cyclin A, the specific activity is approximately 16 pmol.mon-1 x microgram-1, 4 x 10(5)-fold higher than Cdk2 alone. Mutation of T160 in Cdk2 to either alanine or glutamic acid had little impact on the specific activity of the Cdk2/cyclin A complex: the activity of Cdk2T160E was indistinguishable from Cdk2, whereas that of Cdk2T160A was reduced by five-fold. To determine if the Cdk2/cyclin A complex could be activated further by phosphorylation of T160, complexes were treated with Cdc2 activating kinase (CAK), purified approximately 12,000-fold from Xenopus eggs. This treatment resulted in an 80-fold increase in specific activity. This specific activity is comparable with that of the Cdc2/cyclin B complex after complete activation by CAK (approximately 1600 pmol.mon-1 x microgram-1). Neither Cdk2T160A/cyclin A nor Cdk2T160E/cyclin A complexes were activated further by treatment with CAK. In striking contrast with cyclin A, cyclin B did not directly activate Cdk2. However, both Cdk2/cyclin A and Cdk2/cyclin B complexes display similar activity after activation by CAK. For the Cdk2/cyclin A complex, both cyclin binding and phosphorylation contribute significantly to activation, although the energetic contribution of cyclin A binding is greater than that of T160 phosphorylation by approximately 5 kcal/mol. The potential significance of direct activation of Cdk2 by cyclins with respect to regulation of cell cycle progression is discussed.


1987 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 663-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Derek Sutherland ◽  
C. Noel Williams ◽  
Donna M. Hutchison ◽  
Lillian V. Holdeman

A gram-positive, rod-shaped anaerobe (strain F-6) was isolated from soil. This organism was identified by cellular morphology as well as fermentative and biochemical data as Clostridium bifermentans. Strain F-6 formed 7-ketolithocholic acid from chenodeoxycholic acid and 7-ketodeoxycholic acid from cholic acid in whole cell cultures, but did not transform deoxycholic acid, ursodeoxycholic acid, or ursocholic acid. This reaction is reversible. The structures of 7-ketolithocholic acid and 7-ketodeoxycholic acid were verified by mass spectroscopy and by thin-layer chromatography using Komarowsky's spray reagent. When incubated with the strain F-6 glycine and taurine conjugates of the primary bile acids were partially hydrolyzed and transformed to 7-keto products. Optimal yields of 7-ketolithocholic acid and 7-ketodeoxycholic acid were obtained after 78 h of incubation. Culture pH changed with time and was characterized by an initial drop (1.1 pH units) and a gradual increase back to the starting pH (7.3). Corroborating these observations, an inducible, NADP-dependent, 7α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase was demonstrated in cell extracts of strain F-6. A trace of NAD-dependent 7α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase was also found. A substantial increase in the specific activity of the NADP-dependent 7α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase was observed when either 7-ketolithocholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid, or deoxycholic acid was included in the growth medium. Optimal induction of the NADP-dependent 7α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase was achieved with 0.3–0.4 mM 7-ketolithocholic acid. Production of the enzyme(s) was optimal at 6–8 h of growth and the 7α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases had a pH optimum of approximately 11. The 7α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase from strain F-6 was purified 12-fold by triazine dye affinity chromatography with reactive blue 2 (Cibacron blue) agarose (95% yield). It was successfully lyophilized into a stable powder form.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. 2784-2791 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Podgorski ◽  
R A Deering

Two thymidine auxotrophs of Dictyostelium discoideum were isolated which improve the efficiency of in vivo DNA-specific radiolabeling. Mutant HPS400 lacked detectable thymidylate synthetase activity, required 50 micrograms of thymidine per ml, and incorporated sixfold more [3H]thymidine into nuclear DNA than did a wild-type strain. Either dTMP or exogenously provided DNA also permitted growth of this strain. The second mutant, HPS401, was isolated from HPS400 and also lacked thymidylate synthetase activity, but required only 4 micrograms of thymidine per ml for normal growth and incorporated 55 times more thymidine label than did a control strain. Incorporation of the thymidine analog 5'-bromodeoxyuridine was also markedly increased in the mutants. Catalytic properties of the thymidylate synthetase of D. discoideum investigated in cell extracts were consistent with those observed for this enzyme in other organisms. These strains should facilitate studies of DNA replication and repair in D. discoideum which require short-term labeling, DNA of high specific activity, or elevated levels of substitution in DNA by thymidine analogs.


1985 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 558-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen L. Dodds ◽  
David L. Collins-Thompson

Nitrite reductase activity in Lactobacillus lactis TS4 was induced by the presence of nitrite and was active under anaerobic conditions. An electron donor was required. Glucose was the most efficient donor in whole cells, while NADH was the most efficient in cell extracts. The optimum nitrite concentration for reduction was 2.0 mM, with higher levels sharply inhibiting activity. The pH optimum for nitrite reduction by resting cell suspensions was 7.2, and the temperature optimum was 30 °C. High levels of NADH oxidase activity in cell extracts interfered with nitrite reductase activity. Fractionation of the cell extract by ultracentrifugation and ammonium sulphate precipitation decreased the specific activity of NADH oxidase by 40 and 41%, respectively. Nitrite reductase activity was detected in the supernatant fluid after centrifugation of cell extract at 226 000 × g for 1 h.


1968 ◽  
Vol 170 (1020) ◽  
pp. 299-310 ◽  

Radioactivity from L-[Me- 14 C]methionine, in addition to being incorporated into pigments, as found by other workers, was incorporated into phosphatidylcholine, into phosphatidyl N -methylethanolamine and into phosphatidyl N, N -dimethylethanolamine. The latter two compounds were present in trace amounts only. Of the radioactivity in the phospholipid fraction, 90% was in the bases with only minor amounts in the fatty acids. Incorporation was also found into ornithine lipid. The presence of the pathway of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis which proceeds by the successive methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine was shown by demonstrating a precursor-product relationship between the N -methylated phospholipids and phos­phatidylcholine. Evidence for the presence of the enzymes concerned in the biosynthesis of phosphatidyl­choline by the pathway mentioned and also for the incorporation of the methyl group into ornithine lipid has been obtained in cell-free systems from Rhodopseudomonas spheroides . The methyl donor was S-adenosylmethionine. Radioactivity from [2- 14 C]glycine was incorporated into ethanolamine, into choline and into fatty acids. Ethionine markedly reduced the incorporation into choline without affecting the labelling of ethanolamine. Thus it seems likely that the methyl carbons of choline were radioactive and that ethionine acted by inhibiting transmethylation from S-adenosylmethionine. It is concluded that the α -carbon of glycine gives rise to ‘one carbon’ fragments and also to acetate and the pathways by which these reactions occur are discussed.


1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 871-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy H. A. Fields ◽  
John Baldwin ◽  
Peter W. Hochachka

Octopine dehydrogenases from the mantle muscle of the squid, Symplectoteuthis oualaniensis, and of the octopus, Octopus ornatus, were kinetically characterized and compared. In the squid, the specific activity of the enzyme was about 110 μmol product formed per minute per gram wet weight; in the octopus that value was over 600. Both enzymes show similar pH dependence; in the direction of octopine formation the pH optimum was about 6.5, whereas in the direction of octopine oxidation it was about 8.5. The affinities for NADH, arginine, and pyruvate were similar (Km values were about 0.04 mM, 7 mM, and 2 mM respectively). Increasing the concentration of either arginine or pyruvate increased the affinity for the cosubstrate (pyruvate or arginine), this mechanism being a means of regulating the enzyme activity in vivo. In the direction of octopine oxidation, the octopus enzyme showed a much higher affinity for octopine (Km = 0.8 mM) than did the squid enzyme (Km = 4.4 mM), suggesting that it may be better geared for reconverting octopine to arginine and pyruvate after anaerobic bursts of muscle activity.


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