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Lipoprotein diacylglyceryl transferase (Lgt) catalyzes the first step in the biogenesis of Gram-negative bacterial lipoproteins which play crucial roles in bacterial growth and pathogenesis. We demonstrate that Lgt depletion in a clinical uropathogenic Escherichia coli strain leads to permeabilization of the outer membrane and increased sensitivity to serum killing and antibiotics. Importantly, we identify G2824 as the first-described Lgt inhibitor that potently inhibits Lgt biochemical activity in vitro and is bactericidal against wild-type Acinetobacter baumannii and E. coli strains. While deletion of a gene encoding a major outer membrane lipoprotein, lpp , leads to rescue of bacterial growth after genetic depletion or pharmacologic inhibition of the downstream type II signal peptidase, LspA, no such rescue of growth is detected after Lgt depletion or treatment with G2824. Inhibition of Lgt does not lead to significant accumulation of peptidoglycan-linked Lpp in the inner membrane. Our data validate Lgt as a novel antibacterial target and suggest that, unlike downstream steps in lipoprotein biosynthesis and transport, inhibition of Lgt may not be sensitive to one of the most common resistance mechanisms that invalidate inhibitors of bacterial lipoprotein biosynthesis and transport. IMPORTANCE As the emerging threat of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria continues to increase, no new classes of antibiotics have been discovered in the last 50 years. While previous attempts to inhibit the lipoprotein biosynthetic (LspA) or transport (LolCDE) pathways have been made, most efforts have been hindered by the emergence of a common mechanism leading to resistance, namely, the deletion of the gene encoding a major Gram-negative outer membrane lipoprotein lpp . Our unexpected finding that inhibition of Lgt is not susceptible to lpp deletion-mediated resistance uncovers the complexity of bacterial lipoprotein biogenesis and the corresponding enzymes involved in this essential outer membrane biogenesis pathway and potentially points to new antibacterial targets in this pathway.

In this report, we describe a truncated Deinococcus radiodurans 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS) protein that retains enzymatic activity, while slowing protein degradation and showing improved crystallization properties. With modern drug-design approaches relying heavily on the elucidation of atomic interactions of potential new drugs with their targets, the need for co-crystal structures with the compounds of interest is high. DXS itself is a promising drug target, as it catalyzes the first reaction in the 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP)-pathway for the biosynthesis of the universal precursors of terpenes, which are essential secondary metabolites. In contrast to many bacteria and pathogens, which employ the MEP pathway, mammals use the distinct mevalonate-pathway for the biosynthesis of these precursors, which makes all enzymes of the MEP-pathway potential new targets for the development of anti-infectives. However, crystallization of DXS has proven to be challenging: while the first X-ray structures from Escherichia coli and D. radiodurans were solved in 2004, since then only two additions have been made in 2019 that were obtained under anoxic conditions. The presented site of truncation can potentially also be transferred to other homologues, opening up the possibility for the determination of crystal structures from pathogenic species, which until now could not be crystallized. This manuscript also provides a further example that truncation of a variable region of a protein can lead to improved structural data., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The product of 1-deoxy-d-xyluose 5-phosphate (DXP) synthase, DXP, feeds into the bacterial biosynthesis of isoprenoids, thiamin diphosphate (ThDP), and pyridoxal phosphate. DXP is essential for human pathogens but not utilized by humans; thus, DXP synthase is an attractive anti-infective target. The unique ThDP-dependent mechanism and structure of DXP synthase offer ideal opportunities for selective targeting. Upon reaction with pyruvate, DXP synthase uniquely stabilizes the predecarboxylation intermediate, C2α-lactylThDP (LThDP), in a closed conformation. Subsequent binding of d-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate induces an open conformation that is proposed to destabilize LThDP, triggering decarboxylation. Evidence for the closed and open conformations has been revealed by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography, which indicate that H49 and H299 are involved in conformational dynamics and movement of the fork and spoon motifs away from the active site is important for the closed-to-open transition. Interestingly, H49 and H299 are critical for DXP formation and interact with the predecarboxylation intermediate in the closed conformation. H299 is removed from the active site in the open conformation of the postdecarboxylation state. In this study, we show that substitution at H49 and H299 negatively impacts LThDP formation by shifting the conformational equilibrium of DXP synthase toward an open conformation. We also present a method for monitoring the dynamics of the spoon motif that uncovered a previously undetected role for H49 in coordinating the closed conformation. Overall, our results suggest that H49 and H299 are critical for the closed, predecarboxylation state providing the first direct link between catalysis and conformational dynamics.

The use of natural systems, such as outer membrane protein A (OmpA), phosphoporin E (PhoE), ice nucleation protein (INP), etc., has been proved very useful for the surface exposure of proteins on the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. These strategies have the clear advantage of unifying in a one-step the production, the purification and the in vivo immobilisation of proteins/biocatalysts onto a specific biological support. Here, we introduce the novel Anchoring-and-Self-Labelling-protein-tag (ASL tag ), which allows the in vivo immobilisation of enzymes on E. coli surface and the labelling of the neosynthesised proteins with the engineered alkylguanine-DNA-alkyl-transferase (H 5 ) from Sulfolobus solfataricus. Our results demonstrated that this tag enhanced the overexpression of thermostable enzymes, such as the carbonic anhydrase (SspCA) from Sulfurihydrogenibium yellowstonense and the β-glycoside hydrolase (SsβGly) from S. solfataricus, without affecting their folding and catalytic activity, proposing a new tool for the improvement in the utilisation of biocatalysts of biotechnological interest.

To fight the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, new antibiotics are required that target essential bacterial processes other than protein, DNA/RNA, and cell wall synthesis, which constitute the majority of currently used antibiotics. 1-Deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate (DXP) synthase is a vital enzyme in bacterial central metabolism, feeding into the de novo synthesis of thiamine diphosphate, pyridoxal phosphate, and essential isoprenoid precursors isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate. While potent and selective inhibitors of DXP synthase in vitro activity have been discovered, their antibacterial activity is modest. To improve the antibacterial activity of selective alkyl acetylphosphonate (alkylAP) inhibitors of DXP synthase, we synthesized peptidic enamide prodrugs of alkylAPs inspired by the natural product dehydrophos, a prodrug of methyl acetylphosphonate. This prodrug strategy achieves dramatic increases in activity against Gram-negative pathogens for two alkylAPs, butyl acetylphosphonate and homopropargyl acetylphosphonate, decreasing minimum inhibitory concentrations against Escherichia coli by 33- and nearly 2000-fold, respectively. Antimicrobial studies and LC-MS/MS analysis of alkylAP-treated E. coli establish that the increased potency of prodrugs is due to increased accumulation of alkylAP inhibitors of DXP synthase via transport of the prodrug through the OppA peptide permease and subsequent amide hydrolysis. This work demonstrates the promise of targeting DXP synthase for the development of novel antibacterial agents.

Muraymycins are a subclass of antimicrobially active uridine-derived natural products. Biological data on several muraymycin analogues have been reported, including some inhibitory in vitro activities toward their target protein, the bacterial membrane enzyme MraY. However, a structure-activity relationship (SAR) study on naturally occurring muraymycins based on such in vitro data has been missing so far. In this work, we report a detailed SAR investigation on representatives of the four muraymycin subgroups A-D using a fluorescence-based in vitro MraY assay. For some muraymycins, inhibition of MraY with IC 50 values in the low-picomolar range was observed. These inhibitory potencies were compared with antibacterial activities and were correlated to modelling data derived from a previously reported X-ray crystal structure of MraY in complex with a muraymycin inhibitor. Overall, these results will pave the way for the development of muraymycin analogues with optimized properties as antibacterial drug candidates., (© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Antibiotic selection for the maintenance of expression plasmids is discouraged in the production of recombinant proteins for pharmaceutical or other human uses due to the risks of antibiotic residue contamination of the final products and the release of DNA encoding antibiotic resistance into the environment. We describe the construction of expression plasmids that are instead maintained by complementation of the lgt gene encoding a (pro)lipoprotein glyceryl transferase essential for the biosynthesis of bacterial lipoprotein. Mutations in lgt are lethal in Escherichia coli and other Gram-negative organisms. The lgt gene was deleted from E. coli and complemented by the Vibrio cholerae -derived gene provided in trans on a temperature-sensitive plasmid, allowing cells to grow at 30°C but not at 37°C. A temperature-insensitive expression vector carrying the V. cholerae -derived lgt gene was constructed, whereby transformants were selected by growth at 39°C. The vector was successfully used to express two recombinant proteins, one soluble and one forming insoluble inclusion bodies. Reciprocal construction was done by deleting the lgt gene from V. cholerae and complementing the lesion with the corresponding gene from E. coli The resulting strain was used to produce the secreted recombinant cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) protein, a component of licensed as well as newly developed oral cholera vaccines. Overall, the lgt system described here confers extreme stability on expression plasmids, and this strategy can be easily transferred to other Gram-negative species using the E. coli -derived lgt gene for complementation. IMPORTANCE Many recombinant proteins are produced in bacteria from genes carried on autonomously replicating DNA elements called plasmids. These plasmids are usually inherently unstable and rapidly lost. This can be prevented by using genes encoding antibiotic resistance. Plasmids are thus maintained by allowing only plasmid-containing cells to survive when the bacteria are grown in medium supplemented with antibiotics. In the described antibiotic-free system for the production of recombinant proteins, an essential gene is deleted from the bacterial chromosome and instead provided on a plasmid. The loss of the plasmid becomes lethal for the bacteria. Such plasmids can be used for the expression of recombinant proteins. This broadly applicable system removes the need for antibiotics in recombinant protein production, thereby contributing to reducing the spread of genes encoding antibiotic resistance, reducing the release of antibiotics into the environment, and freeing the final products (often used in pharmaceuticals) from contamination with potentially harmful antibiotic residues., (Copyright © 2018 Terrinoni et al.)

The Escherichia coli holo-(acyl carrier protein) synthase (ACPS) catalyzes the coenzyme A-dependent activation of apo-ACPP to generate holo-(acyl carrier protein) (holo-ACPP) in an early step of fatty acid biosynthesis. E. coli ACPS is sufficiently different from the human fatty acid synthase to justify the development of novel ACPS-targeting antibiotics. Models of E. coli ACPS in unliganded and holo-ACPP-bound forms solved by X-ray crystallography to 2.05and 4.10Å, respectively, revealed that ACPS bound three product holo-ACPP molecules to form a 3:3 hexamer. Solution NMR spectroscopy experiments validated the ACPS binding interface on holo-ACPP using chemical shift perturbations and by determining the relative orientation of holo-ACPP to ACPS by fitting residual dipolar couplings. The binding interface is organized to arrange contacts between positively charged ACPS residues and the holo-ACPP phosphopantetheine moiety, indicating product contains more stabilizing interactions than expected in the enzyme:substrate complex. Indeed, holo-ACPP bound the enzyme with greater affinity than the substrate, apo-ACPP, and with negative cooperativity. The first equivalent of holo-ACPP bound with a K D =62±13nM, followed by the binding of two more equivalents of holo-ACPP with K D =1.2±0.2μM. Cooperativity was not observed for apo-ACPP which bound with K D =2.4±0.1μM. Strong product binding and high levels of holo-ACPP in the cell identify a potential regulatory role of ACPS in fatty acid biosynthesis., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

1-Deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXS) is a rate-limiting enzyme in the 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway, which is responsible for production of two precursors of all isoprenoids, isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP). Previously, we attempted the overexpression of endogenous DXS in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, and revealed that although the mRNA level was 4-fold higher, the DXS protein level was only 1.5-fold higher compared with those of the original strain, suggesting the lability of endogenous DXS protein. Therefore, for the creation of a robust isoprenoid synthesis system, it is necessary to build a novel MEP pathway by combining stable enzymes. In this study, we expressed 11 dxs genes from 9 organisms in Escherichia coli and analyzed their protein solubility. Furthermore, we purified the recombinant DXSes and evaluated their specific activities and protease tolerance, thermostability, and feedback inhibition tolerance. Among DXSes we examined in this study, the highest protein solubility was observed in Paracoccus aminophilus DXS (PaDXS). The DXS with the highest activity was one from Rhodobacter capsulatus (RcDXSA). The highest protease tolerance, thermostability, and tolerance of feedback inhibition were found in Bacillus subtilis DXS (BsDXS), RcDXSA, PaDXS, BsDXS, respectively. These DXSes can be potentially used for the design of robust isoprenoid synthesis system., (Copyright © 2016 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The membrane protein translocase I (MraY) is a key enzyme in bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis. It is therefore frequently discussed as a target for the development of novel antibiotics. The screening of compound libraries for the identification of MraY inhibitors is enabled by an established fluorescence-based MraY assay. However, this assay requires a dansylated derivative of the bacterial biosynthetic intermediate Park's nucleotide as the MraY substrate. Isolation of Park's nucleotide from bacteria and subsequent dansylation only furnishes limited amounts of this substrate, thus hampering the high-throughput screening for MraY inhibitors. Accordingly, the efficient provision of dansylated Park's nucleotide is a major bottleneck in the exploration of this promising drug target. In this work, we present the first total synthesis of dansylated Park's nucleotide, affording an unprecedented amount of the target compound for high-throughput MraY assays., (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

3-Deoxy-d-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (Kdo) is an essential component of bacterial lipopolysaccharides, where it provides the linkage between lipid and carbohydrate moieties. In all known LPS structures, Kdo residues possess α-anomeric configurations, and the corresponding inverting α-Kdo transferases are well characterized. Recently, it has been shown that a large group of capsular polysaccharides from Gram-negative bacteria, produced by ATP-binding cassette transporter-dependent pathways, are also attached to a lipid anchor through a conserved Kdo oligosaccharide. In the study reported here, the structure of this Kdo linker was determined by NMR spectroscopy, revealing alternating β-(2→4)- and β-(2→7)-linked Kdo residues. KpsC contains two retaining β-Kdo glycosyltransferase domains belonging to family GT99 that are responsible for polymerizing the β-Kdo linker on its glycolipid acceptor. Full-length Escherichia coli KpsC was expressed and purified, together with the isolated N-terminal domain and a mutant protein (KpsC D160A) containing a catalytically inactivated N-terminal domain. The Kdo transferase activities of these proteins were determined in vitro using synthetic acceptors, and the reaction products were characterized using TLC, mass spectrometry, and NMR spectroscopy. The N- and C-terminal domains were found to catalyze formation of β-(2→4) and β-(2→7) linkages, respectively. Based on phylogenetic analyses, we propose the linkage specificities of the glycosyltransferase domains are conserved in KpsC homologs from other bacterial species., (© 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)

Lipoprotein biogenesis is essential for bacterial survival. Phosphatidylglycerol:prolipoprotein diacylglyceryl transferase (Lgt) is an integral membrane enzyme that catalyses the first reaction of the three-step post-translational lipid modification. Deletion of the lgt gene is lethal to most Gram-negative bacteria. Here we present the crystal structures of Escherichia coli Lgt in complex with phosphatidylglycerol and the inhibitor palmitic acid at 1.9 and 1.6 Å resolution, respectively. The structures reveal the presence of two binding sites and support the previously reported structure-function relationships of Lgt. Complementation results of lgt-knockout cells with different mutant Lgt variants revealed critical residues, including Arg143 and Arg239, that are essential for diacylglyceryl transfer. Using a GFP-based in vitro assay, we correlated the activities of Lgt with structural observations. Together, the structural and biochemical data support a mechanism whereby substrate and product, lipid-modified lipobox-containing peptide, enter and leave the enzyme laterally relative to the lipid bilayer.

1-Deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate (DXP) synthase is the first enzyme in the methylerythritol phosphate pathway to essential isoprenoids in pathogenic bacteria and apicomplexan parasites. In bacterial pathogens, DXP lies at a metabolic branch point, serving also as a precursor in the biosynthesis of vitamins B1 and B6, which are critical for central metabolism. In an effort to identify new bisubstrate analogue inhibitors that exploit the large active site and distinct mechanism of DXP synthase, a library of aryl mixed oximes was prepared and evaluated. Trihydroxybenzaldoximes emerged as reversible, low-micromolar inhibitors, competitive against D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (D-GAP) and either uncompetitive or noncompetitive against pyruvate. Hydroxybenzaldoximes are the first class of D-GAP-competitive DXP synthase inhibitors, offering new tools for mechanistic studies of DXP synthase and a new direction for the development of antimicrobial agents targeting isoprenoid biosynthesis., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Cell-free (CF) protein expression has emerged as one of the most efficient production platforms for membrane proteins. Central bottlenecks prevalent in conventional cell-based expression systems such as mistargeting, inclusion body formation, degradation as well as product toxicity can be addressed by taking advantage of the reduced complexity of CF expression systems. However, the open accessibility of CF reactions offers the possibility to design customized artificial expression environments by supplying synthetic hydrophobic compounds such as micelles or membranes of defined composition. The open nature of CF systems therefore generally allows systematic screening approaches for the identification of efficient cotranslational solubilization environments of membrane proteins. Synergies exist in particular with the recently developed nanodisc (ND) technology enabling the synthesis of stable and highly soluble particles containing membrane discs of defined composition. Specific types of lipids frequently modulate folding, stability, and activity of integrated membrane proteins. One recently reported example are phospho-MurNAc-pentapeptide (MraY) translocases that catalyze a crucial step in bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis making them interesting as future drug targets. Production of functionally active MraY homologues from most human pathogens in conventional cellular production systems was so far not successful due to their obviously strict lipid dependency for functionally folding. We demonstrate that the combination of CF expression with ND technologies is an efficient strategy for the production of folded MraY translocases, and we present a general protocol for the rapid screening of lipid specificities of membrane proteins., (© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Translocase MraY is the site of action of lysis protein E from bacteriophage ϕX174. Previous genetic studies have shown that mutation F288L in transmembrane helix 9 of E. coli MraY confers resistance to protein E. Construction of a helical wheel model for transmembrane helix 9 of MraY and the transmembrane domain of protein E enabled the identification of an Arg-Trp-x-x-Trp (RWxxW) motif in protein E that might interact with Phe288 of MraY and the neighbouring Glu287. This motif is also found in a number of cationic antimicrobial peptide sequences. Synthetic dipeptides and pentapeptides based on the RWxxW consensus sequence showed inhibition of particulate E. coli MraY activity (IC50 200-600 μM), and demonstrated antimicrobial activity against E. coli (MIC 31-125 μg mL(-1)). Cationic antimicrobial peptides at a concentration of 100 μg mL(-1) containing Arg-Trp sequences also showed 30-60 % inhibition of E. coli MraY activity. Assay of the synthetic peptide inhibitors against recombinant MraY enzymes from Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Micrococcus flavus (all of which lack Phe288) showed reduced levels of enzyme inhibition, and assay against recombinant E. coli MraY F288L and an E287A mutant demonstrated either reduced or no detectable enzyme inhibition, thus indicating that these peptides interact at this site. The MIC of Arg-Trp-octyl ester against E. coli was increased eightfold by overexpression of mraY, and was further increased by overexpression of the mraY mutant F288L, also consistent with inhibition at the RWxxW site. As this site is on the exterior face of the cytoplasmic membrane, it constitutes a potential new site for antimicrobial action, and provides a new cellular target for cationic antimicrobial peptides., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

In bacteria selenocysteyl-tRNA(sec) (SelC) is synthesized by selenocysteine synthase (SelA). Here we show by fluorescence anisotropy binding assays and electron microscopical symmetry analysis that the SelA-tRNA(sec) binding stoichiometry is of one tRNA(sec) molecule per SelA monomer (1:1) rather than the 1:2 value proposed previously. Negative stain transmission electron microscopy revealed a D5 pointgroup symmetry for the SelA-tRNA(sec) assembly both with and without tRNA(sec) bound. Furthermore, SelA can associate forming a supramolecular complex of stacked decamer rings, which does not occur in the presence of tRNA(sec). We discuss the structure-function relationships of these assemblies and their regulatory role in bacterial selenocysteyl-tRNA(sec) synthesis., (Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Selenocysteine Synthase (SELA, E.C. 2.9.1.1) from Escherichia coli is a homodecamer pyridoxal-5'-phosphate containing enzyme responsible for the conversion of seryl-tRNA(sec) into selenocysteyl-tRNA(sec) in the biosynthesis of the 21th amino acid, selenocysteine (Sec or U). This paper describes the cloning of the E. coli selA gene into a modified pET29a(+) vector and its expression in E. coli strain WL81460, a crucial modification allowing SELA expression without bound endogenous tRNA(sec). This expression strategy enabled the purification and additional biochemical and biophysical characterization of the SELA decamer. The homogeneous SELA protein was obtained using three chromatographic steps. Size Exclusion Chromatography and Native Gel Electrophoresis showed that SELA maintains a decameric state with molecular mass of approximately 500 kDa with an isoelectric point of 6,03. A predominance of α-helix structures was detected by circular dichroism with thermal stability up to 45 °C. The oligomeric assemblage of SELA was investigated by glutaraldehyde crosslinking experiments indicate that SELA homodecameric structure is the result of a stepwise addition of intermediate oligomeric states and not a direct monomer to homodecamer transition. Our results have contributed to the establishment of a robust expression model for the enzyme free of bound RNA and are of general interest to be taken into consideration in all cases of heterologous/homologous expressions of RNA-binding proteins avoiding the carryover of endogenous RNAs, which may interfere with further biochemical characterizations., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Nanodiscs (NDs) enable the analysis of membrane proteins (MP) in natural lipid bilayer environments. In combination with cell-free (CF) expression, they could be used for the co-translational insertion of MPs into defined membranes. This new approach allows the characterization of MPs without detergent contact and it could help to identify effects of particular lipids on catalytic activities. Association of MPs with different ND types, quality of the resulting MP/ND complexes as well as optimization parameters are still poorly analyzed. This study describes procedures to systematically improve CF expression protocols for the production of high quality MP/ND complexes. In order to reveal target dependent variations, the co-translational ND complex formation with the bacterial proton pump proteorhodopsin (PR), with the small multidrug resistance transporters SugE and EmrE, as well as with the Escherichia coli MraY translocase was studied. Parameters which modulate the efficiency of MP/ND complex formation have been identified and in particular effects of different lipid compositions of the ND membranes have been analyzed. Recorded force distance pattern as well as characteristic photocycle dynamics indicated the integration of functionally folded PR into NDs. Efficient complex formation of the E. coli MraY translocase was dependent on the ND size and on the lipid composition of the ND membranes. Active MraY protein could only be obtained with ND containing anionic lipids, thus providing new details for the in vitro analysis of this pharmaceutically important protein., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Kdo(2)-lipid A, a conserved substructure of lipopolysaccharide, plays critical roles in Gram-negative bacterial survival and interaction with host organisms. Inhibition of Kdo biosynthesis in Escherichia coli results in cell death and accumulation of the tetra-acylated precursor lipid IV(A). E. coli KdtA (EcKdtA) is a bifunctional enzyme that transfers two Kdo units from two CMP-Kdo molecules to lipid IV(A). In contrast, Haemophilus influenzae KdtA (HiKdtA) transfers only one Kdo unit. E. coli CMR300, which lacks Kdo transferase because of a deletion in kdtA, can be rescued to grow in broth at 37 degrees C if multiple copies of msbA are provided in trans. MsbA, the inner membrane transporter for nascent lipopolysaccharide, prefers hexa-acylated to tetra-acylated lipid A, but with the excess MsbA present in CMR300, lipid IV(A) is efficiently exported to the outer membrane. CMR300 is hypersensitive to hydrophobic antibiotics and bile salts and does not grow at 42 degrees C. Expressing HiKdtA in CMR300 results in the accumulation of Kdo-lipid IV(A) in place of lipid IV(A) without suppression of its growth phenotypes at 30 degrees C. EcKdtA restores intact lipopolysaccharide, together with normal antibiotic resistance, detergent resistance, and growth at 42 degrees C. To determine which residues are important for the mono- or bifunctional character of KdtA, protein chimeras were constructed using EcKdtA and HiKdtA. These chimeras, which are catalytically active, were characterized by in vitro assays and in vivo complementation. The N-terminal half of KdtA, especially the first 30 amino acid residues, specifies whether one or two Kdo units are transferred to lipid IV(A).

Engineering of glycosidases with efficient transglycosidases activity is an alternative to glycosyltransferases or glycosynthases for the synthesis of oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates. However, the engineering of transglycosidases by directed evolution methodologies is hampered by the lack of efficient screening systems for sugar-transfer activity. We report here the development of digital imaging-based high-throughput screening methodology for the directed evolution of glycosidases into transgalactosidases. Using this methodology, we detected transglycosidase mutants in intact Escherichia coli cells by digital imaging monitoring of the activation of non- or low-hydrolytic mutants by an acceptor substrate. We screened several libraries of mutants of beta-glycosidase from Thermus thermophilus using this methodology and found variants with up to a 70-fold overall increase in the transglycosidase/hydrolysis activity ratio. Using natural disaccharide acceptors, these transglycosidase mutants were able to synthesise trisaccharides, as a mixture of two regioisomers, with up to 76% yield.

WecA is an integral membrane protein that initiates the biosynthesis of enterobacterial common antigen and O-antigen lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by catalyzing the transfer of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc)-1-phosphate onto undecaprenyl phosphate (Und-P) to form Und-P-P-GlcNAc. WecA belongs to a large family of eukaryotic and prokaryotic prenyl sugar transferases. Conserved aspartic acids in putative cytoplasmic loops 2 (Asp90 and Asp91) and 3 (Asp156 and Asp159) were targeted for replacement mutagenesis with either glutamic acid or asparagine. We examined the ability of each mutant protein to complement O-antigen LPS synthesis in a wecA-deficient strain and also determined the steady-state kinetic parameters of the mutant proteins in an in vitro transfer assay. Apparent K(m) and V(max) values for UDP-GlcNAc, Mg(2+), and Mn(2+) suggest that Asp156 is required for catalysis, while Asp91 appears to interact preferentially with Mg(2+), possibly playing a role in orienting the substrates. Topological analysis using the substituted cysteine accessibility method demonstrated the cytosolic location of Asp90, Asp91, and Asp156 and provided a more refined overall topological map of WecA. Also, we show that cells expressing a WecA derivative C terminally fused with the green fluorescent protein exhibited a punctate distribution of fluorescence on the bacterial surface, suggesting that WecA localizes to discrete regions in the bacterial plasma membrane.

The waaJ gene encodes an alpha-1,2-glucosyltransferase involved in the synthesis of the outer core region of the lipopolysaccha-ride of some Escherichia coli and Salmonella isolates. WaaJ belongs to glycosyltransferase CAZy family 8, characterized by the GT-A fold, a DXD motif, and by retention of configuration at the anomeric carbon of the donor sugar. Detailed kinetic and structural information for bacterial family 8 glycosyltransferases has resulted from studies of Neisseria meningitidis LgtC. As many as 28 amino acids could be deleted from the C terminus of LgtC without affecting its in vitro catalytic behavior. This C-terminal domain has a high ratio of positively charged and hydrophobic residues, a feature conserved in WaaJ and some other family 8 representatives. Unexpectedly, deletion of as few as five residues from the C terminus of WaaJ resulted in substantially reduced in vivo activity. With deletions of 15 residues or less, activity was only detected when levels of expression were elevated. No in vivo activity was detected after the removal of 20 amino acids, regardless of expression levels. Longer deletions (20 residues and greater) compromised the ability of WaaJ to associate with the membrane. However, the reduced in vivo activity in enzymes lacking 5-12 C-terminal residues also reflected a dramatic drop in catalytic activity in vitro (a 294-fold decrease in the apparent kcat/Km,LPS). Deletions removing 20 or more residues resulted in a protein showing no detectable in vitro activity. Therefore, the C-terminal domain of WaaJ plays a critical role in enzyme function.

Cell division and cell wall synthesis are tightly linked cellular processes for bacterial growth. A protoplast-type L-form Escherichia coli, strain LW1655F+, indicated that bacteria can divide without assembling a cell wall. However, the molecular basis of its phenotype remained unknown. To establish a first phenotype-genotype correlation, we analyzed its dcw locus, and other genes involved in division of E. coli. The analysis revealed defective ftsQ and mraY genes, truncated by a nonsense and a frame-shift mutation, respectively. Missense mutations were determined in the ftsA and ftsW products yielding amino-acid replacements at conserved positions. FtsQ and MraY, obviously nonfunctional in the L-form, are essential for cell division and cell wall synthesis, respectively, in all bacteria with a peptidoglycan-based cell wall. LW1655F+ is able to survive their loss-of-functions. This points to compensatory mechanisms for cell division in the absence of murein sacculus formation. Hence, this L-form represents an interesting model to investigate the plasticity of cell division in E. coli, and to demonstrate how concepts fundamental for bacterial life can be bypassed.

The acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) of fatty acid synthesis are functional only when modified by attachment of the prosthetic group, 4'-phosphopantetheine (4'-PP), which is transferred from CoA to the hydroxyl group of a specific serine residue. Almost 40 years ago Vagelos and Larrabee reported an enzyme from Escherichia coli that removed the prosthetic group. We report that this enzyme, called ACP hydrolyase or ACP phosphodiesterase, is encoded by a gene (yajB) of previously unknown function that we have renamed acpH. A mutant E. coli strain having a total deletion of the acpH gene has been constructed that grows normally, showing that phosphodiesterase activity is not essential for growth, although it is required for turnover of the ACP prosthetic group in vivo. ACP phosphodiesterase (AcpH) has been purified to homogeneity for the first time and is a soluble protein that very readily aggregates upon overexpression in vivo or concentration in vitro. The purified enzyme has been shown to cleave acyl-ACP species with acyl chains of 6-16 carbon atoms and is active on some, but not all, non-native ACP species tested. Possible physiological roles for AcpH are discussed.

IncI1 plasmid R64 encodes type IV pili or thin pili, which contain PilV adhesins. The C-terminal segments of PilV adhesins are exchanged into seven types by shufflon multiple DNA inversion. PilV adhesins determine recipient specificity in R64 liquid matings through the recognition of lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) on the surface of recipient cells. Using various waa mutants of Escherichia coli R1 as recipient cells, liquid mating experiments suggest that PilVA adhesin recognizes the GlcNAc(beta1-3)Glc moiety of E.coli R1 type LPS. The direct binding of PilV adhesins to LPSs of the recipient bacterial strains was demonstrated using filter overlay assays. The specificity of PilV-LPS binding is in close agreement with the recipient specificity determined by R64 liquid matings. The C-terminal segments of PilVA, PilVC, PilVC', and PilVD' adhesins were expressed as fusion proteins with glutathione-S-transferase (GST). GST-A, GST-C, GST-C', and GST-D' proteins bound to their respective LPSs with the specificities identical with those determined in the R64 liquid matings, indicating that the C-terminal segments of PilV adhesins bind to specific moieties of LPS molecules.

The first step of the 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway for isoprenoid biosynthesis in plant plastids and most eubacteria is catalyzed by 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXS), a recently described transketolase-like enzyme. To identify key residues for DXS activity, we compared the amino acid sequence of Escherichia coli DXS with that of E. coli and yeast transketolase (TK). Alignment showed a previously undetected conserved region containing an invariant histidine residue that has been described to participate in proton transfer during TK catalysis. The possible role of the conserved residue in E. coli DXS (H49) was examined by site-directed mutagenesis. Replacement of this histidine residue with glutamine yielded a mutant DXS-H49Q enzyme that showed no detectable DXS activity. These findings are consistent with those obtained for yeast TK and demonstrate a key role of H49 for DXS activity., (Copyright 2001 Academic Press.)

Selenocysteine synthase from Escherichia coli is a pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-containing enzyme which catalyses the conversion of seryl-tRNA(Sec) into selenocysteyl-tRNA(Sec). Analysis of amino acid sequences indicated that selenocysteine synthase belongs to the alpha/gamma superfamily of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent enzymes. To identify the lysine residue carrying the prosthetic group, the genes coding for the selenocysteine synthases from Moorella thermoacetica and Desulfomicrobium baculatum were cloned and sequenced and their derived amino acid sequences were aligned with those from E. coli and Haemophilus influenzae. Three lysine residues were found to be conserved; they were mutated into asparagine and one of them, Lys295, was found to be essential for activity. Proteolytic fragmentation of the E. coli enzyme reduced with borohydride, and mass-spectrometric and sequence analysis of the chromophoric peptide proved that Lys295 was modified. Kinetic analysis of the enzyme showed that thiophosphate served as a substrate leading to cysteyl-tRNA(Sec) synthesis, albeit with a 330-fold lower catalytic efficiency. Selenide and, to a much lesser degree, sulfide could also be used by the enzyme but only at much higher concentrations. These data together with the finding that selenophosphate synthetase is highly specific for selenide indicate that the phosphate moiety of selenophosphate provides selenocysteine synthase with the discrimination specificity against sulfur.

For many years it was accepted that isopentenyl diphosphate, the common precursor of all isoprenoids, was synthesized through the well known acetate/mevalonate pathway. However, recent studies have shown that some bacteria, including Escherichia coli, use a mevalonate-independent pathway for the synthesis of isopentenyl diphosphate. The occurrence of this alternative pathway has also been reported in green algae and higher plants. The first reaction of this pathway consists of the condensation of (hydroxyethyl)thiamin derived from pyruvate with the C1 aldehyde group of D-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate to yield D-1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate. In E. coli, D-1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate is also a precursor for the biosynthesis of thiamin and pyridoxol. Here we report the molecular cloning and characterization of a gene from E. coli, designated dxs, that encodes D-1-deoxyxylulose-5-phosphate synthase. The dxs gene was identified as part of an operon that also contains ispA, the gene that encodes farnesyl-diphosphate synthase. D-1-Deoxyxylulose-5-phosphate synthase belongs to a family of transketolase-like proteins that are highly conserved in evolution.

The Escherichia coli ispB gene encoding octaprenyl diphosphate synthase is responsible for the synthesis of the side chain of isoprenoid quinones. We tried to construct an E. coli ispB-disrupted mutant but could not isolate the chromosomal ispB disrupted mutant unless the ispB gene or its homolog was supplied on a plasmid. The chromosomal ispB disruptants that harbored plasmids carrying the ispB homologs from Haemophilus influenzae and Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803 produced mainly ubiquinone 7 and ubiquinone 9, respectively. Our results indicate that the function of the ispB gene is essential for normal growth and that this function can be substituted for by homologs of the ispB gene from other organisms that produce distinct forms of ubiquinone.

Phosphatidylglycerol:prolipoprotein diacylglyceryl transferase (Lgt) is the first enzyme in the posttranslational sequence of reactions resulting in the lipid modification of lipoproteins in bacteria. A previous comparison of the primary sequences of the Lgt enzymes from phylogenetically distant bacterial species revealed several highly conserved amino acid sequences throughout the molecule; the most extensive of these was the region 103HGGLIG108 in the Escherichia coli Lgt (H.-Y. Qi, K. Sankaran, K. Gan, and H. C. Wu, J. Bacteriol. 177:6820-6824, 1995). These studies also revealed that the kinetics of inactivation of E. coli Lgt with diethylpyrocarbonate were consistent with the modification of a single essential histidine or tyrosine residue. The current study was conducted in an attempt to identify this essential amino acid residue in order to further define structure-function relationships in Lgt. Accordingly, all of the histidine residues and seven of the tyrosine residues of E. coli Lgt were altered by site-directed mutagenesis, and the in vitro activities of the altered enzymes, as well the abilities of the respective mutant lgt alleles to complement the temperature-sensitive phenotype of E. coli SK634 defective in Lgt activity, were determined. The data obtained from these studies, in conjunction with additional chemical inactivation studies, support the conclusion that His-103 is essential for Lgt activity. These studies also indicated that Tyr-235 plays an important role in the function of this enzyme. Although other histidine and tyrosine residues were not found to be essential for Lgt activity, alterations of His-196 resulted in a significant reduction of in vitro activity.

Escherichia coli dimethylallyl diphosphate:tRNA dimethylallyltransferase (DMAPP-tRNA transferase) catalyzes the first step in the biosynthesis of the hypermodified A37 residue in tRNAs that read codons beginning with uridine. The enzyme, encoded by the miaA gene, was overproduced and purified to apparent homogeneity in three steps by ion-exchange (DE52 and Mono-Q) and size exclusion chromatography. Affinity-tagged DMAPP-tRNA transferase containing a C-terminal tripeptide alpha-tubulin epitope also was overproduced and purified to apparent homogeneity in two steps by ion-exchange and immunoaffinity chromatography. Addition of the C-terminal tripeptide alpha-tubulin epitope to DMAPP-tRNA transferase did not affect the activity of the enzyme. Undermodified tRNA(Phe) used as substrate in the DMAPP-tRNA transferase-catalyzed reaction was isolated and purified from an overexpressing clone in a miaA deficient strain of E. coli. Active recombinant E. coli DMAPP-tRNA transferase is monomeric. The enzyme transferred the dimethylallyl moiety of DMAPP to A37, located adjacent to the anticodon in undermodified tRNA(Phe). The enzyme required Mg2+ for activity and exhibited a broad pH optimum. Michaelis constants for tRNA(Phe) and DMAPP are 96 +/- 11 nM and 3.2 +/- 0.5 microM, respectively, and Vmax = 0.83 +/- 0.02 micromol min-1 mg-1. DMAPP-tRNA transferase bound tRNA(Phe) with a dissociation constant of 5.2 +/- 1.2 nM. In contrast, DMAPP did not bind to the enzyme in the absence of tRNA. However, DMAPP was bound with a dissociation constant of 3.4 +/- 0.6 microM in the presence of a minihelix analogue of the anticodon stem-loop of tRNA(Phe) where the base corresponding to A37 was replaced by inosine. These results suggest an ordered sequential mechanism for substrate binding.

Background: UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase (MurA), catalyses the first committed step of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis and is a target for the antibiotic fosfomycin. The only other known enolpyruvyl transferase is 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase, an enzyme involved in the shikimic acid pathway and the target for the herbicide glyphosate. Inhibitors of enolpyruvyl transferases are of biotechnological interest as MurA and EPSP synthase are found exclusively in plants and microbes., Results: The crystal structure of Escherichia coli MurA complexed with UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) and fosfomycin has been determined at 1.8 A resolution. The structure consists of two domains with the active site located between them. The domains have a very similar secondary structure, and the overall protein architecture is similar to that of EPSP synthase. The fosfomycin molecule is covalently bound to the cysteine residue Cys115, whereas UDP-GlcNAc makes several hydrogen-bonding interactions with residues from both domains., Conclusions: The present structure reveals the mode of binding of the natural substrate UDP-GlcNAc and of the drug fosfomycin, and provides information on the residues involved in catalysis. These results should aid the design of inhibitors which would interfere with enzyme-catalyzed reactions in the early stage of the bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. Furthermore, the crystal structure of MurA provides a model for predicting active-site residues in EPSP synthase that may be involved in catalysis and substrate binding.

Thymidylate synthase (TS) and dCMP hydroxymethylase (CH) are homologous enzymes which catalyze the alkylation of C5 of pyrimidine nucleotides. One of the first catalytic steps is isomerization of the alkyl donor, methylenetetrahydrofolate, from its N5,N10 bridged form to the N5 iminium ion upon enzyme binding. Glu58 in TS has been postulated [Matthews et al. (1990) J. Mol. Biol. 214, 937-948] to be involved in this isomerization and the deprotonation of C5 of the nucleotide. Substitution by Asp or Gln of Glu58 in Escherichia coli TS, or of the corresponding Glu60 in CH from phage T4, decreases the activity of either enzyme. Alkylation is slowed much more than deprotonation, indicating uncoupling of steps which are tightly coupled for the wild-type enzymes. The data support minor roles for Glu58/60 in nucleotide binding and in isomerization of methylenetetrahydrofolate, but no major roles in nucleotide deprotonation, product dissociation, or hydration catalyzed by CH. The primary role of Glu58/60 is to accelerate bond cleavage between N5 of tetrahydrofolate and the methylene being transferred. The influence of Glu58/60 on the rate of bond cleavage is proposed to arise from electrostatic destabilization due to the proximity of the glutamyl carboxylate, of the anionic species formed when C5 of the nucleotide is deprotonated. The proposal explains the uncoupling of deprotonation and alkylation with the Glu58/60 variants and the reduced kinetic isotope effect on hydride transfer for TS(Glu58Gln). The inability of 5-deazatetrahydrofolate to stimulate enzyme-catalyzed tritium exchange from [5-(3H)]nucleotides into solvent suggests that N5 of tetrahydrofolate is the base which deprotonates the nucleotide.

Polyprenyldiphosphate: 4-hydroxybenzoate polyprenyltransferase (4-HB polyprenyltransferase) is a key enzyme in ubiquinone biosynthesis in E. coli, encoded by the gene ubiA. By overexpression of ubiA and isolation of the membrane fraction, the enzyme was enriched approx. 3000-fold and characterized. The enzyme is membrane-bound and could not be solubilized by hypotonic buffer or detergent treatment. The enzymatic activity is optimal at pH 7.8 and depends on the presence of magnesium ions. Geranyldiphosphate (GPP), all-trans-farnesyldiphosphate (FPP) and all-trans-solanesyldiphosphate (SPP) are accepted as side chain precursors. The apparent Km values for these substances are are 254 microM, 22 microM and 31 microM, respectively. No reaction was observed with omega-t2-c5-octaprenyldiphosphate, in which five double bounds have cis-configuration. The reaction is stimulated by 0.01% CHAPS, but strongly inhibited by sodiumdeoxycholate, Tween 80 and Triton X-100. The amino acid sequence shows striking similarities to 4-HB hexaprenyltransferase from yeast. Sequence homologies to other prenyltransferases are discussed.

The integrity of the bacterial cell wall depends on the balanced action of several peptidoglycan (murein) synthesizing and degrading enzymes. Penicillin inhibits the enzymes responsible for peptide crosslinks in the peptidoglycan polymer. Enzymes that act solely on the glycosidic bonds are insensitive to this antibiotic, thus offering a target for the design of antibiotics distinct from the beta-lactams. Here we report the X-ray structure of the periplasmic soluble lytic transglycosylase (SLT; M(r) 70,000) from Escherichia coli. This unique bacterial exomuramidase cleaves the beta-1,4-glycosidic bonds of peptidoglycan to produce small 1,6-anhydromuropeptides. The structure of SLT reveals a 'superhelical' ring of alpha-helices with a separate domain on top which resembles the fold of lysozyme. Site-directed mutagenesis and a crystallographic inhibitor-binding study confirmed that the lysozyme-like domain contains the active site of SLT.

Transcarboxylase from Propionibacterium shermanii is a biotin-containing enzyme which catalyzes the reversible transfer of a carboxyl group from methylmalonyl-CoA to pyruvate. It is composed of a central, hexameric 12 S subunit, 6 outer dimeric 5 S subunits which are held in a complex by 12 1.3 S biotinyl subunits. The transcarboxylase reaction requires two partial reactions, one of which is specific to 5 S. The cloning and expression of each of these subunits in Escherichia coli have been reported. We have designed a method for the purification of the 5 S subunit from an E. coli expression system. Protein purified to homogeneity by this method was shown to be active in the 5 S partial reaction, but unable to catalyze the overall transcarboxylase reaction. This protein was characterized as to its ability to form stable dimers, associate with the 1.3 S subunit in stable complexes referred to as 6 S, and assemble whole TC. The latter activity was shown to be lacking. The purified protein has a native molecular weight of 120 kDa and a subunit molecular weight of 60 kDa, consistent with the 5 S dimer. Plasma emission analysis of the metal content of the recombinant protein demonstrated the presence of both Co and Zn, comparable to the authentic protein. Fluorescence analysis verified the ability of the purified protein to bind substrates and 1.3 S subunits appropriately. Sequencing of the amino terminus and determination of the amino acid composition of the recombinant protein relative to that of the authentic subunit further verified the identity of the purified protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Photo-oxidation of Escherichia coli 5-enolpyruvoylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase, a target for the non-selective herbicide glyphosate (N-phosphonomethylglycine), in the presence of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate resulted in irreversible inactivation of the enzyme. The inactivation followed pseudo-first-order and saturation kinetics with a Kinact. of 50 microM. The inactivation is specifically prevented by preincubation of the enzyme with the combination of shikimate 3-phosphate and glyphosate. Increasing glyphosate concentration during preincubation resulted in a decreasing rate of inactivation. On 95% inactivation, approximately one histidine per molecule of enzyme was oxidized. Tryptic mapping of the enzyme modified in the absence and presence of shikimate 3-phosphate and glyphosate as well as analyses of the histidine content in the isolated peptides indicated that His385, in the peptide Asn383-Asp-His-Arg386, was the site of oxidation. These results suggest that His385 is the most accessible reactive imidazole group under these conditions and is located close to the glyphosate-binding site.

In addition to the soluble lytic transglycosylase, a murein-metabolizing enzyme with a molecular mass of 70 kDa (Slt70), Escherichia coli possesses a second lytic transglycosylase, which has been described as a membrane-bound lytic transglycosylase (Mlt; 35 kDa; EC 3.2.1.-). The mlt gene, which supposedly encodes Mlt, was cloned, and the complete nucleotide sequence was determined. The open reading frame, identified on a 1.7-kb SalI-PstI fragment, codes for a protein of 323 amino acids (M(r) = 37,410). Two transmembrane helices and one membrane-associated helix were predicted in the N-terminal half of the protein. Lysine and arginine residues represent up to 15% of the amino acids, resulting in a calculated isoelectric point of 10.0. The deduced primary structure did not show significant sequence similarity to Slt70 from E. coli. High-level expression of the presumed mlt gene was not paralleled by an increase in murein hydrolase activity. To clarify the identity of the second transglycosylase, we purified an enzyme with the specificity of a transglycosylase from an E. coli slt deletion strain. The completely soluble transglycosylase, with a molecular mass of approximately 35 kDa, was designated Slt35. Its determined 26 N-terminal amino acids showed similarity to a segment in the middle of the Slt70 primary structure. Polyclonal anti-Mlt antibodies, which had been used for the isolation of the mlt gene, were found to cross-react with Mlt as well as with Slt35, suggesting that the previously described Mlt preparation was contaminated with Slt35. We conclude that the second transglycosylase of E. coli is not a membrane-bound protein but rather is a soluble protein.

Previous studies of Escherichia coli 5-enolpyruvoylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS, EC 2.5.1.19) have suggested that the kinetic reaction mechanism for this enzyme in the forward direction is equilibrium ordered with shikimate 3-phosphate (S3P) binding first followed by phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). Recent results from this laboratory, however, measuring direct binding of PEP and PEP analogues to free EPSPS suggest more random character to the enzyme. Steady-state kinetic and spectroscopic studies presented here indicate that E. coli EPSPS does indeed follow a random kinetic mechanism. Initial velocity studies with S3P and PEP show competitive substrate inhibition by PEP added to a normal intersecting pattern. Substrate inhibition is proposed to occur by competitive binding of PEP at the S3P site [Ki(PEP) = 6-8 mM]. To test for a productive EPSPS.PEP binary complex, the reaction order of EPSPS was evaluated with shikimic acid and PEP as substrates. The mechanism for this reaction is equilibrium ordered with PEP binding first giving a Kia value for PEP in agreement with the independently measured Kd of 0.39 mM (shikimate Km = 25 mM). Results from this study also show that the 3-phosphate moiety of S3P offers 8.7 kcal/mol in binding energy versus a hydroxyl in this position. Over 60% of this binding energy is expressed in binding of substrate to enzyme rather than toward increasing kcat. Glyphosate inhibition of shikimate turnover was poor with approximately 8 x 10(4) loss in binding capacity compared to the normal reaction, consistent with the independently measured Kd of 12 mM for the EPSPS.glyphosate binary complex. The EPSPS.glyphosate complex induces shikimate binding, however, by a factor of 7 greater than EPSPS.PEP. Carboxyallenyl phosphate and (Z)-3-fluoro-PEP were found to be strong inhibitors of the enzyme that have surprising affinity for the S3P binding domain in addition to the PEP site as measured both kinetically and by direct observation with 31P NMR. The collective data indicate that the true kinetic mechanism for EPSPS in the forward direction is random with synergistic binding occurring between substrates and inhibitors. The synergism explains how the mechanism can be random with S3P and PEP, but yet equilibrium ordered with PEP binding first for shikimate turnover. Synergism also accounts for how glyphosate can be a strong inhibitor of the normal reaction, but poor versus shikimate turnover.

Incubation of Escherichia coli 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate synthase with its substrate analogue pyruvate in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride resulted in a significant decrease in its enzyme activity. The inactivation followed pseudo-first order and saturation kinetics with a Kinact of 16.12 mM and a maximum rate of constant of 0.046 min-1. The inactivation was specifically prevented by preincubation of the enzyme with a combination of the substrate shikimate 3-phosphate plus competitive inhibitor glyphosate. Upon 90% inactivation, approximately 1 mole of [14C]-label from [14C]-pyruvate was incorporated per mole of enzyme. Tryptic mapping of the modified enzyme as well as analysis of an isolated radioactive peptide indicated that Lys22 was the modified site. The results suggested that pyruvate inactivated the enzyme by forming a Schiff-base with Lys22 at the enzyme's active site.