phosphothreonine and 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine-phosphate

Coenzyme B

Topics: Bacterial Proteins; Cobamides; DNA; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Phosphothreonine; Thermus thermophilus; Vitamin B 12

Methanogenesis, the anaerobic production of methane from CO2 or simple carbon compounds, requires seven organic coenzymes. This review describes pathways for the biosynthesis of methanofuran, 5,6,7,8-tetrahydromethanopterin, coenzyme F420, coenzyme M (2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid) and coenzyme B (7-mercaptoheptanoyl-L-threonine phosphate). Spectroscopic evidence for the pathways is reviewed and recent efforts are described to identify and characterize the biosynthetic enzymes from methanogenic archaea. The literature from 1971 to September 2001 is reviewed, and 169 references are cited.

Topics: Archaea; Carbon Dioxide; Coenzymes; Diterpenes; Euryarchaeota; Furans; Genomics; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mesna; Methane; Molecular Structure; Phosphothreonine; Pterins; Riboflavin

Our current knowledge of the pathways and genes involved in the biosynthesis of the methanogenic coenzymes methanopterin, coenzyme B, methanofuran, coenzyme F420, and coenzyme M is presented. Proposed reaction mechanisms for several of the novel reactions involved in the pathways are presented.

Topics: Coenzymes; Furans; Gene Expression Regulation, Archaeal; Mesna; Methanococcus; Molecular Structure; Phosphothreonine; Pterins; Riboflavin

Glutathione metabolism is associated with oxygenic cyanobacteria and the oxygen-utilizing purple bacteria, but is absent in many other prokaryotes. This review focuses on novel thiols found in those bacteria lacking glutathione. Included are glutathione amide and its perthiol, produced by phototrophic purple sulfur bacteria and apparently involved in their sulfide metabolism. Among archaebacteria, coenzyme M (2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid) and coenzyme B (7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate) play central roles in the anaerobic production of CH4 and associated energy conversion by methanogens, whereas the major thiol in the aerobic phototrophic halobacteria is gamma-glutamylcysteine. The highly aerobic actinomycetes produce mycothiol, a conjugate of N-acetylcysteine with a pseudodisaccharide of glucosamine and myo-inositol, AcCys-GlcNalpha(1 --> 1)Ins, which appears to play an antioxidant role similar to glutathione. Ergothioneine, also produced by actinomycetes, remains a mystery despite many years of study. Available data on the biosynthesis and metabolism of these and other novel thiols is summarized and key areas for additional study are identified.

Topics: Cysteine; Disaccharides; Ergothioneine; Glutathione; Glycopeptides; Inositol; Mesna; Models, Chemical; Phosphothreonine; Prokaryotic Cells; Pyrazoles; Sulfhydryl Compounds

Topics: Cobamides; Coenzymes; Euryarchaeota; Furans; Mesna; Metalloporphyrins; Metalloproteins; Methane; Molecular Structure; Nickel; Phosphothreonine; Pterins; Riboflavin

Topics: Coenzymes; Methane; Phosphothreonine; Threonine

Topics: Aminohydrolases; Chemical Phenomena; Chemistry; Coenzymes; Euryarchaeota; Hydroxymethyl and Formyl Transferases; Methane; Methyltransferases; Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-NH Group Donors; Phosphothreonine; Pterins; Transferases

Adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) or coenzyme B

Topics: Cobamides; Coenzymes; Ethanolamine Ammonia-Lyase; Glycerol; Hydro-Lyases; Molecular Chaperones; Phosphothreonine; Propanediol Dehydratase

Adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) or coenzyme B

Topics: Animals; Cobamides; Ethanolamine Ammonia-Lyase; Glycerol; Hydro-Lyases; Phosphothreonine

Catalysis by radical enzymes dependent on coenzyme B

Topics: Adenosine; Catalysis; Cobamides; Intramolecular Transferases; Methylmalonyl-CoA Mutase; Phosphothreonine

Find your path: Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR, turquoise) reversibly catalyzes the reduction of methyl-coenzyme M (methyl-S-CoM) with coenzyme B (CoB-SH) to form methane and the heterodisulfide. Recently, spectroscopic methods were used to detect trapped intermediates in a stopped-flow system, and CoM-S-Ni

Topics: Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Mesna; Methane; Models, Molecular; Molecular Structure; Phosphothreonine

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) is a nickel tetrahydrocorphinoid (coenzyme F430) containing enzyme involved in the biological synthesis and anaerobic oxidation of methane. MCR catalyzes the conversion of methyl-2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (methyl-SCoM) and N-7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate (CoB7SH) to CH4 and the mixed disulfide CoBS-SCoM. In this study, the reaction of MCR from Methanothermobacter marburgensis, with its native substrates was investigated using static binding, chemical quench, and stopped-flow techniques. Rate constants were measured for each step in this strictly ordered ternary complex catalytic mechanism. Surprisingly, in the absence of the other substrate, MCR can bind either substrate; however, only one binary complex (MCR·methyl-SCoM) is productive whereas the other (MCR·CoB7SH) is inhibitory. Moreover, the kinetic data demonstrate that binding of methyl-SCoM to the inhibitory MCR·CoB7SH complex is highly disfavored (Kd = 56 mM). However, binding of CoB7SH to the productive MCR·methyl-SCoM complex to form the active ternary complex (CoB7SH·MCR(Ni(I))·CH3SCoM) is highly favored (Kd = 79 μM). Only then can the chemical reaction occur (kobs = 20 s(-1) at 25 °C), leading to rapid formation and dissociation of CH4 leaving the binary product complex (MCR(Ni(II))·CoB7S(-)·SCoM), which undergoes electron transfer to regenerate Ni(I) and the final product CoBS-SCoM. This first rapid kinetics study of MCR with its natural substrates describes how an enzyme can enforce a strictly ordered ternary complex mechanism and serves as a template for identification of the reaction intermediates.

Topics: Archaeal Proteins; Biocatalysis; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Kinetics; Mesna; Methane; Methanobacteriaceae; Models, Biological; Models, Chemical; Nickel; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Protein Binding; Protein Multimerization; Protein Subunits; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; Substrate Specificity

In methanogenic archaea growing on H(2) and CO(2) the first step in methanogenesis is the ferredoxin-dependent endergonic reduction of CO(2) with H(2) to formylmethanofuran and the last step is the exergonic reduction of the heterodisulfide CoM-S-S-CoB with H(2) to coenzyme M (CoM-SH) and coenzyme B (CoB-SH). We recently proposed that in hydrogenotrophic methanogens the two reactions are energetically coupled via the cytoplasmic MvhADG/HdrABC complex. It is reported here that the purified complex from Methanothermobacter marburgensis catalyzes the CoM-S-S-CoB-dependent reduction of ferredoxin with H(2). Per mole CoM-S-S-CoB added, 1 mol of ferredoxin (Fd) was reduced, indicating an electron bifurcation coupling mechanism: 2H(2) + Fd(OX) + CoM-S-S-CoB-->Fd(red)(2-) + CoM-SH + CoB-SH + 2H(+). This stoichiometry of coupling is consistent with an ATP gain per mole methane from 4 H(2) and CO(2) of near 0.5 deduced from an H(2)-threshold concentration of 8 Pa and a growth yield of up to 3 g/mol methane.

Topics: Carbon Dioxide; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Disulfides; Ferredoxins; Hydrogen; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mesna; Methane; Methanobacteriaceae; Metronidazole; Oxidation-Reduction; Phosphothreonine; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase catalyzes the reversible synthesis of methane from methyl-coenzyme M in methanogenic and ANME-1 and ANME-2 Archaea. The purification procedure for methyl-coenzyme M reductase from Methanothermobacter marburgensis is described. The procedure is an accumulation of almost 30 years of research on MCR starting with the first purification described by Ellefson and Wolfe (Ellefson, W.L., and Wolfe, R.S. (1981). Component C of the methylreductase system of Methanobacterium. J. Biol. Chem.256, 4259-4262). To provide a context for this procedure, some background information is provided, including a description of whole cell experiments that provided much of our knowledge of the behavior and properties of methyl-coenzyme M reductase.

Topics: Mesna; Methanobacteriaceae; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine

Coenzyme M (CoM) and coenzyme B (CoB) are essential for methane production by the euryarchaea that employ this specialized anaerobic metabolism. Two pathways are known to produce CoM, 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate, and both converge on the 2-oxoacid sulfopyruvate. These cells have recruited the rich biochemistry of amino acid and 2-oxoacid metabolizing enzymes to produce a compound that resembles oxaloacetate, but with a more stable and acidic sulfonate group. 7-Mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate, CoB, likewise owes its carbon backbone to a 2-oxoacid. Three enzymes recruited from leucine biosynthesis have evolved to catalyze the elongation of 2-oxoglutarate to 2-oxosuberate in CoB biosynthesis. This chapter describes the enzymology, synthesis, and analytical techniques used to study 2-oxoacid metabolism in these pathways. Protein structure and mechanistic information from enzymes provide insight into the evolution of new enzymatic activity, and the evolution of substrate specificity from promiscuous enzyme scaffolds.

Topics: Euryarchaeota; Keto Acids; Mesna; Methane; Phosphothreonine

Acetate is the major source of methane in nature. The majority of investigations have focused on acetotrophic methanogens for which energy-conserving electron transport is dependent on the production and consumption of H₂ as an intermediate, although the great majority of acetotrophs are unable to metabolize H₂. The presence of cytochrome c and a complex (Ma-Rnf) homologous to the Rnf (Rhodobacter nitrogen fixation) complexes distributed in the domain Bacteria distinguishes non-H₂-utilizing Methanosarcina acetivorans from H₂-utilizing species suggesting fundamentally different electron transport pathways. Thus, the membrane-bound electron transport chain of acetate-grown M. acetivorans was investigated to advance a more complete understanding of acetotrophic methanogens.. A component of the CO dehydrogenase/acetyl-CoA synthase (CdhAE) was partially purified and shown to reduce a ferredoxin purified using an assay coupling reduction of the ferredoxin to oxidation of CdhAE. Mass spectrometry analysis of the ferredoxin identified the encoding gene among annotations for nine ferredoxins encoded in the genome. Reduction of purified membranes from acetate-grown cells with ferredoxin lead to reduction of membrane-associated multi-heme cytochrome c that was re-oxidized by the addition of either the heterodisulfide of coenzyme M and coenzyme B (CoM-S-S-CoB) or 2-hydoxyphenazine, the soluble analog of methanophenazine (MP). Reduced 2-hydoxyphenazine was re-oxidized by membranes that was dependent on addition of CoM-S-S-CoB. A genomic analysis of Methanosarcina thermophila, a non-H2-utilizing acetotrophic methanogen, identified genes homologous to cytochrome c and the Ma-Rnf complex of M. acetivorans.. The results support roles for ferredoxin, cytochrome c and MP in the energy-conserving electron transport pathway of non-H₂-utilizing acetotrophic methanogens. This is the first report of involvement of a cytochrome c in acetotrophic methanogenesis. The results suggest that diverse acetotrophic Methanosarcina species have evolved diverse membrane-bound electron transport pathways leading from ferredoxin and culminating with MP donating electrons to the heterodisulfide reductase (HdrDE) for reduction of CoM-S-S-CoB.

Topics: Acetates; DNA, Bacterial; Electron Transport; Electron Transport Chain Complex Proteins; Ferredoxins; Mesna; Methanosarcina; Molecular Sequence Data; Phenazines; Phosphothreonine; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) is the key enzyme in methane formation by methanogenic Archaea. It converts the thioether methyl-coenzyme M and the thiol coenzyme B into methane and the heterodisulfide of coenzyme M and coenzyme B. The catalytic mechanism of MCR and the role of its prosthetic group, the nickel hydrocorphin coenzyme F(430), is still disputed, and no intermediates have been observed so far by fast spectroscopic techniques when the enzyme was incubated with the natural substrates. In the presence of the competitive inhibitor coenzyme M instead of methyl-coenzyme M, addition of coenzyme B to the active Ni(I) state MCR(red1) induces two new species called MCR(red2a) and MCR(red2r) which have been characterized by pulse EPR spectroscopy. Here we show that the two MCR(red2) signals can also be induced by the S-methyl- and the S-trifluoromethyl analogs of coenzyme B. (19)F-ENDOR data for MCR(red2a) and MCR(red2r) induced by S-CF(3)-coenzyme B show that, upon binding of the coenzyme B analog, the end of the 7-thioheptanoyl chain of coenzyme B moves closer to the nickel center of F(430) by more than 2 A as compared to its position in both, the Ni(I) MCR(red1) form and the X-ray structure of the inactive Ni(II) MCR(ox1-silent) form. The finding that the protein is able to undergo a conformational change upon binding of the second substrate helps to explain the dramatic change in the coordination environment induced in the transition from MCR(red1) to MCR(red2) forms and opens the possibility that nickel coordination geometries other than square planar, tetragonal pyramidal, or elongated octahedral might occur in intermediates of the catalytic cycle.

Topics: Binding Sites; Catalytic Domain; Crystallography, X-Ray; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Models, Molecular; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Protein Conformation

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) catalyzes the final and rate-limiting step in methane biogenesis: the reduction of methyl-coenzyme M (methyl-SCoM) by coenzyme B (CoBSH) to methane and a heterodisulfide (CoBS-SCoM). Crystallographic studies show that the active site is deeply buried within the enzyme and contains a highly reduced nickel-tetrapyrrole, coenzyme F(430). Methyl-SCoM must enter the active site prior to CoBSH, as species derived from methyl-SCoM are always observed bound to the F(430) nickel in the deepest part of the 30 A long substrate channel that leads from the protein surface to the active site. The seven-carbon mercaptoalkanoyl chain of CoBSH binds within a 16 A predominantly hydrophobic part of the channel close to F(430), with the CoBSH thiolate lying closest to the nickel at a distance of 8.8 A. It has previously been suggested that binding of CoBSH initiates catalysis by inducing a conformational change that moves methyl-SCoM closer to the nickel promoting cleavage of the C-S bond of methyl-SCoM. In order to better understand the structural role of CoBSH early in the MCR mechanism, we have determined crystal structures of MCR in complex with four different CoBSH analogues: pentanoyl, hexanoyl, octanoyl, and nonanoyl derivatives of CoBSH (CoB(5)SH, CoB(6)SH, CoB(8)SH, and CoB(9)SH, respectively). The data presented here reveal that the shorter CoB(5)SH mercaptoalkanoyl chain overlays with that of CoBSH but terminates two units short of the CoBSH thiolate position. In contrast, the mercaptoalkanoyl chain of CoB(6)SH adopts a different conformation, such that its thiolate is coincident with the position of the CoBSH thiolate. This is consistent with the observation that CoB(6)SH is a slow substrate. A labile water in the substrate channel was found to be a sensitive indicator for the presence of CoBSH and HSCoM. The longer CoB(8)SH and CoB(9)SH analogues can be accommodated in the active site through exclusion of this water. These analogues react with Ni(III)-methyl, a proposed MCR catalytic intermediate of methanogenesis. The CoB(8)SH thiolate is 2.6 A closer to the nickel than that of CoBSH, but the additional carbon of CoB(9)SH only decreases the nickel thiolate distance a further 0.3 A. Although the analogues do not induce any structural changes in the substrate channel, the thiolates appear to preferentially bind at two distinct positions in the channel, one being the previously observed CoBSH thiolate position and the other being

Topics: Catalysis; Catalytic Domain; Crystallography, X-Ray; Mesna; Methane; Methanobacteriaceae; Models, Molecular; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Protein Conformation

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) from methanogenic archaea catalyzes the terminal step in methanogenesis using coenzyme B (CoBSH) as the two-electron donor to reduce methyl-coenzyme M (methyl-SCoM) to form methane and the heterodisulfide, CoBS-SCoM. The active site of MCR contains an essential redox-active nickel tetrapyrrole cofactor, coenzyme F(430), which is active in the Ni(I) state (MCR(red1)). Several catalytic mechanisms have been proposed for methane synthesis that mainly differ in whether an organometallic methyl-Ni(III) or a methyl radical is the first catalytic intermediate. A mechanism was recently proposed in which methyl-Ni(III) undergoes homolysis to generate a methyl radical (Li, X., Telser, J., Kunz, R. C., Hoffman, B. M., Gerfen, G., and Ragsdale, S. W. (2010) Biochemistry 49, 6866-6876). Discrimination among these mechanisms requires identification of the proposed intermediates, none of which have been observed with native substrates. Apparently, intermediates form and decay too rapidly to accumulate to detectible amounts during the reaction between methyl-SCoM and CoBSH. Here, we describe the reaction of methyl-SCoM with a substrate analogue (CoB(6)SH) in which the seven-carbon heptanoyl moiety of CoBSH has been replaced with a hexanoyl group. When MCR(red1) is reacted with methyl-SCoM and CoB(6)SH, methanogenesis occurs 1000-fold more slowly than with CoBSH. By transient kinetic methods, we observe decay of the active Ni(I) state coupled to formation and subsequent decay of alkyl-Ni(III) and organic radical intermediates at catalytically competent rates. The kinetic data also revealed substrate-triggered conformational changes in active Ni(I)-MCR(red1). Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies coupled with isotope labeling experiments demonstrate that the radical intermediate is not tyrosine-based. These observations provide support for a mechanism for MCR that involves methyl-Ni(III) and an organic radical as catalytic intermediates. Thus, the present study provides important mechanistic insights into the mechanism of this key enzyme that is central to biological methane formation.

Topics: Acetylation; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Kinetics; Mesna; Methane; Methanobacteriaceae; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Spectrophotometry; Tyrosine

Homoaconitase enzymes catalyze hydrolyase reactions in the alpha-aminoadipate pathway for lysine biosynthesis or the 2-oxosuberate pathway for methanogenic coenzyme B biosynthesis. Despite the homology of this iron-sulfur protein to aconitase, previously studied homoaconitases catalyze only the hydration of cis-homoaconitate to form homoisocitrate rather than the complete isomerization of homocitrate to homoisocitrate. The MJ1003 and MJ1271 proteins from the methanogen Methanocaldococcus jannaschii formed the first homoaconitase shown to catalyze both the dehydration of (R)-homocitrate to form cis-homoaconitate, and its hydration is shown to produce homoisocitrate. This heterotetrameric enzyme also used the analogous longer chain substrates cis-(homo)(2)aconitate, cis-(homo)(3)aconitate, and cis-(homo)(4)aconitate, all with similar specificities. A combination of the homoaconitase with the M. jannaschii homoisocitrate dehydrogenase catalyzed all of the isomerization and oxidative decarboxylation reactions required to form 2-oxoadipate, 2-oxopimelate, and 2-oxosuberate, completing three iterations of the 2-oxoacid elongation pathway. Methanogenic archaeal homoaconitases and fungal homoaconitases evolved in parallel in the aconitase superfamily. The archaeal homoaconitases share a common ancestor with isopropylmalate isomerases, and both enzymes catalyzed the hydration of the minimal substrate maleate to form d-malate. The variation in substrate specificity among these enzymes correlated with the amino acid sequences of a flexible loop in the small subunits.

Topics: Archaea; Catalysis; Cloning, Molecular; Hydro-Lyases; Iron; Kinetics; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Methane; Methanococcus; Models, Biological; Models, Chemical; Molecular Sequence Data; Phosphothreonine; Substrate Specificity

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) catalyses the formation of methane from methyl-coenzyme M (CH(3)-S-CoM) and coenzyme B (HS-CoB) in methanogenic archaea. The enzyme has an alpha(2)beta(2)gamma(2) subunit structure forming two structurally interlinked active sites each with a molecule F(430) as a prosthetic group. The nickel porphinoid must be in the Ni(I) oxidation state for the enzyme to be active. The active enzyme exhibits an axial Ni(I)-based electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal and a UV-vis spectrum with an absorption maximum at 385 nm. This state is called the MCR-red1 state. In the presence of coenzyme M (HS-CoM) and coenzyme B the MCR-red1 state is in part converted reversibly into the MCR-red2 state, which shows a rhombic Ni(I)-based EPR signal and a UV-vis spectrum with an absorption maximum at 420 nm. We report here for MCR from Methanothermobacter marburgensis that the MCR-red2 state is also induced by several coenzyme B analogues and that the degree of induction by coenzyme B is temperature-dependent. When the temperature was lowered below 20 degrees C the percentage of MCR in the red2 state decreased and that in the red1 state increased. These changes with temperature were fully reversible. It was found that at most 50% of the enzyme was converted to the MCR-red2 state under all experimental conditions. These findings indicate that in the presence of both coenzyme M and coenzyme B only one of the two active sites of MCR can be in the red2 state (half-of-the-sites reactivity). On the basis of this interpretation a two-stroke engine mechanism for MCR is proposed.

Topics: Binding Sites; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Kinetics; Mesna; Methanobacteriaceae; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Temperature

Heterodisulfide reductase (Hdr) from methanogenic archea is an iron-sulfur protein that catalyzes the reversible two-electron reduction of the mixed disulfide CoM-S-S-CoB to the thiol coenzymes, coenzyme M (CoM-SH) and coenzyme B (CoB-SH). It is unusual that this enzyme uses an iron-sulfur cluster to mediate disulfide reduction in two one-electron steps via site-specific cluster chemistry. Upon half-reaction of the oxidized enzyme with CoM-SH in the absence of CoB-SH, an iron-based paramagnetic intermediate is formed, designated CoM-Hdr. In this Communication we report 57Fe pulsed ENDOR at two very different frequencies, 9 and 94 GHz, that identify the iron sites of CoM-Hdr. We find direct evidence for a [4Fe-4S]3+ cluster, and we determine the sign of the 57Fe hyperfine couplings. The 57Fe isotropic hfc values suggest a complex interaction between the cluster and the CoM-SH substrate.

Topics: Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Iron Isotopes; Iron-Sulfur Proteins; Isotope Labeling; Methanobacteriaceae; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine

D-Ornithine aminomutase from Clostridium sticklandii comprises two strongly associating subunits, OraS and OraE, with molecular masses of 12,800 and 82,900 Da. Previous studies have shown that in Escherichia coli the recombinant OraS protein is synthesized in the soluble form and OraE as inclusion bodies. Refolding experiments also indicate that the interactions between OraS and OraE and the binding of either pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) or adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) play important roles in the refolding process. In this study, the DNA fragment containing both genes was cloned into the same expression vector and coexpression of the oraE and oraS genes was carried out in E. coli. The solubility of the coexpressed OraS and OraE increases with decreasing isopropyl thio-beta-D-galactoside induction temperature. Among substrate analogues tested, only 2,4-diamino-n-butyric acid displays competitive inhibition of the enzyme with a K(i) of 96 +/- 14 microm. Lys629 is responsible for the binding of PLP. The apparent K(d) for coenzyme B(6) binding to d-ornithine aminomutase is 224 +/- 41 nm as measured by equilibrium dialysis. The mutant protein, OraSE-K629M, is successfully expressed. It is catalytically inactive and unable to bind PLP. Because no coenzyme is involved in protein folding during in vivo translation of OraSE-K629M in E. coli, in vitro refolding of the enzyme employs a different folding mechanism. In both cases, the association of the S and E subunit is important for D-ornithine aminomutase to maintain an active conformation.

Topics: Binding Sites; Catalysis; Cloning, Molecular; Clostridium sticklandii; Cobamides; DNA; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Escherichia coli; Genetic Vectors; Intramolecular Transferases; Kinetics; Mutation; Oligonucleotides; Phosphothreonine; Plasmids; Protein Binding; Protein Conformation; Protein Folding; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Pyridoxal Phosphate; Recombinant Proteins; Ribosomes; Temperature; Thiogalactosides; Ultraviolet Rays

The synthesis of formyl-methanofuran and the reduction of the heterodisulfide (CoM-S-S-CoB) of coenzyme M (HS-CoM) and coenzyme B (HS-CoB) are two crucial, H2-dependent reactions in the energy metabolism of methanogenic archaea. The bioenergetics of the reactions in vivo were studied in chemostat cultures and in cell suspensions of Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus metabolizing at defined dissolved hydrogen partial pressures ( pH2). Formyl-methanofuran synthesis is an endergonic reaction (DeltaG degrees ' = +16 kJ.mol-1). By analyzing the concentration ratios between formyl-methanofuran and methanofuran in the cells, free energy changes under experimental conditions (DeltaG') were found to range between +10 and +35 kJ.mol-1 depending on the pH2 applied. The comparison with the sodium motive force indicated that the reaction should be driven by the import of a variable number of two to four sodium ions. Heterodisulfide reduction (DeltaG degrees ' = -40 kJ.mol-1) was associated with free energy changes as high as -55 to -80 kJ.mol-1. The values were determined by analyzing the concentrations of CoM-S-S-CoB, HS-CoM and HS-CoB in methane-forming cells operating under a variety of hydrogen partial pressures. Free energy changes were in equilibrium with the proton motive force to the extent that three to four protons could be translocated out of the cells per reaction. Remarkably, an apparent proton translocation stoichiometry of three held for cells that had been grown at pH2<0.12 bar, whilst the number was four for cells grown above that concentration. The shift occurred within a narrow pH2 span around 0.12 bar. The findings suggest that the methanogens regulate the bioenergetic machinery involved in CoM-S-S-CoB reduction and proton pumping in response to the environmental hydrogen concentrations.

Topics: Aldehyde Oxidoreductases; Archaeal Proteins; Cell Division; Disulfides; Energy Metabolism; Furans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Mesna; Methanobacteriaceae; Microbiological Techniques; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Protons; Sodium

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR), which catalyses the reduction of methyl-coenzyme M (CH(3)-S-CoM) with coenzyme B (H-S-CoB) to CH(4) and CoM-S-S-CoB, contains the nickel porphinoid F430 as prosthetic group. The active enzyme exhibits the Ni(I)-derived axial EPR signal MCR(red1) both in the absence and presence of the substrates. When the enzyme is competitively inhibited by coenzyme M (HS-CoM) the MCR(red1) signal is partially converted into the rhombic EPR signal MCR(red2). To obtain deeper insight into the geometric and electronic structure of the red2 form, pulse EPR and ENDOR spectroscopy at X- and Q-band microwave frequencies was used. Hyperfine interactions of the four pyrrole nitrogens were determined from ENDOR and HYSCORE data, which revealed two sets of nitrogens with hyperfine couplings differing by about a factor of two. In addition, ENDOR data enabled observation of two nearly isotropic (1)H hyperfine interactions. Both the nitrogen and proton data indicate that the substrate analogue coenzyme M is axially coordinated to Ni(I) in the MCR(red2) state.

Topics: Algorithms; Crystallography, X-Ray; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Isoenzymes; Nitrogen; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Pyrroles

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) catalyzes the reaction of methyl-coenzyme M (CH3-S-CoM) with coenzyme B (HS-CoB) to methane and CoM-S-S-CoB. At the active site, it contains the nickel porphinoid F430, which has to be in the Ni(I) oxidation state for the enzyme to be active. How the substrates interact with the active site Ni(I) has remained elusive. We report here that coenzyme M (HS-CoM), which is a reversible competitive inhibitor to methyl-coenzyme M, interacts with its thiol group with the Ni(I) and that for interaction the simultaneous presence of coenzyme B is required. The evidence is based on X-band continuous wave EPR and Q-band hyperfine sublevel correlation spectroscopy of MCR in the red2 state induced with 33S-labeled coenzyme M and unlabeled coenzyme B.

Topics: Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Mesna; Metalloporphyrins; Nickel; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Sulfhydryl Compounds

Hybrid density functional theory has been used to investigate the catalytic mechanism of methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR), an essential enzyme in methanogenesis. In a previous study of methane formation, a scheme was suggested involving oxidation of Ni(I) in the starting square-planar coordination to the high-spin Ni(II) form in the CoM-S-Ni(II)F(430) octahedral intermediate. The methyl radical, concomitantly released by methyl-coenzyme M (CoM), is rapidly quenched by hydrogen atom transfer from the coenzyme B (CoB) thiol group, yielding methane as the first product of the reaction. The present investigation primarily concerns the second and final step of the reaction: oxidation of CoB and CoM to the CoB-S-S-CoM heterodisulfide product and reduction of nickel back to the Ni(I) square-planar form. The activation energy for the second step is found to be around 10 kcal/mol, implying that the first step of methane formation with an activation energy of 20 kcal/mol should be rate-limiting. An oxygen of the Gln147 residue, occupying the rear axial position in the oxidized Ni(II) state, is shown to stabilize the intermediate by 6 kcal/mol, thereby slightly decreasing the barrier for the preceding rate-limiting transition state. The mechanism suggested is discussed in the context of available experimental data. An analysis of the flexibility of the F(430) cofactor during the reaction cycle is also given.

Topics: Catalysis; Mesna; Metalloporphyrins; Methane; Models, Chemical; Models, Molecular; Nickel; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Sulfides

Heterodisulfide reductases (HDRs) from methanogenic archaea are iron-sulfur flavoproteins or hemoproteins that catalyze the reversible reduction of the heterodisulfide (CoM-S-S-CoB) of the methanogenic thiol coenzymes, coenzyme M (CoM-SH) and coenzyme B (CoB-SH). In this work, the ground- and excited-state electronic properties of the paramagnetic Fe-S clusters in Methanothermobacter marburgensis HDR have been characterized using the combination of electron paramagnetic resonance and variable-temperature magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopies. The results confirm multiple S=1/2 [4Fe-4S](+) clusters in dithionite-reduced HDR and reveal spectroscopically distinct S=1/2 [4Fe-4S](3+) clusters in oxidized HDR samples treated separately with the CoM-SH and CoB-SH cosubstrates. The active site of HDR is therefore shown to contain a [4Fe-4S] cluster that is directly involved in mediating heterodisulfide reduction. The catalytic mechanism of HDR is discussed in light of the crystallographic and spectroscopic studies of the related chloroplast ferredoxin:thioredoxin reductase class of disulfide reductases.

Topics: Archaeal Proteins; Catalytic Domain; Disulfides; Iron; Iron-Sulfur Proteins; Mesna; Methanobacteriaceae; Models, Chemical; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Sulfur

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) is a nickel enzyme catalyzing the formation of methane from methyl-coenzyme M and coenzyme B in all methanogenic archaea. The active purified enzyme exhibits the axial EPR signal MCR-red1 and in the presence of coenzyme M and coenzyme B the rhombic signal MCR-red2, both derived from Ni(I). Two other EPR-detectable states of the enzyme have been observed in vivo and in vitro designated MCR-ox1 and MCR-ox2 which have quite different nickel EPR signals and which are inactive. Until now the MCR-ox1 and MCR-ox2 states could only be induced in vivo. We report here that in vitro the MCR-red2 state is converted into the MCR-ox1 state by the addition of polysulfide and into a light-sensitive MCR-ox2 state by the addition of sulfite. In the presence of O(2) the MCR-red2 state was converted into a novel third state designated MCR-ox3 and exhibiting two EPR signals similar but not identical to MCR-ox1 and MCR-ox2. The formation of the MCR-ox states was dependent on the presence of coenzyme B. Investigations with the coenzyme B analogues S-methyl-coenzyme B and desulfa-methyl-coenzyme B indicate that for the induction of the MCR-ox states the thiol group of coenzyme B is probably not of importance. The results were obtained with purified active methyl-coenzyme M reductase isoenzyme I from Methanothermobacter marburgensis. They are discussed with respect to the nickel oxidation states in MCR-ox1, MCR-ox2 and MCR-ox3 and to a possible presence of a second redox active group in the active site. Electronic supplementary material to this paper can be obtained by using the Springer LINK server located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00775-001-0325-z.

Topics: Chloroform; Citric Acid; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Euryarchaeota; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Light; Metalloporphyrins; Nickel; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Oxygen; Phosphothreonine; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Sulfides; Sulfites

Heterodisulfide reductase (HDR) is a component of the energy-conserving electron transfer system in methanogens. HDR catalyzes the two-electron reduction of coenzyme B-S-S-coenzyme M (CoB-S-S-CoM), the heterodisulfide product of the methyl-CoM reductase reaction, to free thiols, HS-CoB and HS-CoM. HDR from Methanosarcina thermophila contains two b-hemes and two [Fe(4)S(4)] clusters. The physiological electron donor for HDR appears to be methanophenazine (MPhen), a membrane-bound cofactor, which can be replaced by a water-soluble analog, 2-hydroxyphenazine (HPhen). This report describes the electron transfer pathway from reduced HPhen (HPhenH(2)) to CoB-S-S-CoM. Steady-state kinetic studies indicate a ping-pong mechanism for heterodisulfide reduction by HPhenH(2) with the following values: k(cat) = 74 s(-1) at 25 degrees C, K(m) (HPhenH(2)) = 92 microm, K(m) (CoB-S-S-CoM) = 144 microm. Rapid freeze-quench EPR and stopped-flow kinetic studies and inhibition experiments using CO and diphenylene iodonium indicate that only the low spin heme and the high potential FeS cluster are involved in CoB-S-S-CoM reduction by HPhenH(2). Fe-S cluster disruption by mersalyl acid inhibits heme reduction by HPhenH(2), suggesting that a 4Fe cluster is the initial electron acceptor from HPhenH(2). We propose the following electron transfer pathway: HPhenH(2) to the high potential 4Fe cluster, to the low potential heme, and finally, to CoB-S-S-CoM.

Topics: Carbon Monoxide; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Electron Transport; Flow Injection Analysis; Iron-Sulfur Proteins; Mersalyl; Mesna; Methanosarcina; Onium Compounds; Oxidoreductases; Phenazines; Phosphothreonine

Heterodisulfide reductase (Hdr) from methanogenic archaea is an iron-sulfur protein that catalyses the reversible reduction of the heterodisulfide (CoM-S-S-CoB) of the methanogenic thiol coenzymes, coenzyme M (H-S-CoM) and coenzyme B (H-S-CoB). In EPR spectroscopic studies with the enzyme from Methanothermobacter marburgensis, we have identified a unique paramagnetic species that is formed upon reaction of the oxidized enzyme with H-S-CoM in the absence of H-S-CoB. This paramagnetic species can be reduced in a one-electron step with a midpoint-potential of -185 mV but not further oxidized. A broadening of the EPR signal in the 57Fe-enriched enzyme indicates that it is at least partially iron based. The g values (gxyz = 2.013, 1.991 and 1.938) and the midpoint potential argue against a conventional [2Fe-2S]+, [3Fe-4S]+, [4Fe-4S]+ or [4Fe-4S]3+ cluster. This species reacts with H-S-CoB to form an EPR silent form. Hence, we propose that only a half reaction is catalysed in the presence of H-S-CoM and that a reaction intermediate is trapped. This reaction intermediate is thought to be a [4Fe-4S]3+ cluster that is coordinated by one of the cysteines of a nearby active-site disulfide or by the sulfur of H-S-CoM. A paramagnetic species with similar EPR properties was also identified in Hdr from Methanosarcina barkeri.

Topics: Alkylating Agents; Amino Acid Sequence; Base Sequence; Catalytic Domain; DNA Primers; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Enzyme Inhibitors; Euryarchaeota; Methanobacterium; Methanosarcina barkeri; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Protein Subunits; Recombinant Proteins

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR), the key enzyme in methanogenesis, catalyzes methane formation from methyl-coenzyme M (methyl-SCoM) and N-7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate (CoBSH). Steady-state and presteady-state kinetics have been used to test two mechanistic models that contrast in the role of CoBSH in the MCR-catalyzed reaction. In class 1 mechanisms, CoBSH is integrally involved in methane formation and in C-S (methyl-SCoM) bond cleavage. On the other hand, in class 2 mechanisms, methane is formed in the absence of CoBSH, which functions to regenerate active MCR after methane is released. Steady-state kinetic studies are most consistent with a ternary complex mechanism in which CoBSH binds before methane is formed, as found earlier [Bonacker et al. (1993) Eur. J. Biochem. 217, 587-595]. Presteady-state kinetic experiments at high MCR concentrations are complicated by the presence of tightly bound CoBSH in the purified enzyme. Chemical quench studies in which (14)CH(3)-SCoM is rapidly reacted with active MCRred1 in the presence versus the absence of added CoBSH indicate that CoBSH is required for a single-turnover of methyl-SCoM to methane. Similar single turnover studies using a CoBSH analogue leads to the same conclusion. The results are consistent with class 1 mechanisms in which CoBSH is integrally involved in methane formation and in C-S (methyl-SCoM) bond cleavage and are inconsistent with class 2 mechanisms in which CoBSH binds after methane is formed. These are the first reported pre-steady-state kinetic studies of MCR.

Topics: Catalysis; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Kinetics; Methane; Methanobacterium; Models, Chemical; Phosphothreonine; Protein Binding; Protein Conformation; Spectrophotometry; Temperature; Thermodynamics; Time Factors; Ultraviolet Rays

Two putative Methanococcus jannaschii isocitrate dehydrogenase genes, MJ1596 and MJ0720, were cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and their gene products were tested for the ability to catalyze the NAD- and NADP-dependent oxidative decarboxylation of DL-threo-3-isopropylmalic acid, threo-isocitrate, erythro-isocitrate, and homologs of threo-isocitrate. Neither enzyme was found to use any of the isomers of isocitrate as a substrate. The protein product of the MJ1596 gene, designated AksF, catalyzed the NAD-dependent decarboxylation of intermediates in the biosynthesis of 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid, a moiety of methanoarchaeal coenzyme B (7-mercaptoheptanylthreonine phosphate). These intermediates included (-)-threo-isohomocitrate [(-)-threo-1-hydroxy-1,2, 4-butanetricarboxylic acid], (-)-threo-iso(homo)(2)citrate [(-)-threo-1-hydroxy-1,2,5-pentanetricarboxylic acid], and (-)-threo-iso(homo)(3)citrate [(-)-threo-1-hydroxy-1,2, 6-hexanetricarboxylic acid]. The protein product of MJ0720 was found to be alpha-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase (LeuB) and was found to catalyze the NAD-dependent decarboxylation of one isomer of DL-threo-isopropylmalate to 2-ketoisocaproate; thus, it is involved in the biosynthesis of leucine. The AksF enzyme proved to be thermostable, losing only 10% of its enzymatic activity after heating at 100 degrees C for 10 min, whereas the LeuB enzyme lost 50% of its enzymatic activity after heating at 80 degrees C for 10 min.

Topics: 3-Isopropylmalate Dehydrogenase; Alcohol Oxidoreductases; Cloning, Molecular; Enzyme Stability; Gene Expression; Heating; Heptanoic Acids; Isocitrate Dehydrogenase; Leucine; Methanococcus; Phosphothreonine; Sulfhydryl Compounds

The biochemistry of the 13 steps involved in the conversion of alpha-ketoglutarate and acetylCoA to alpha-ketosuberate, a precursor to the coenzymes coenzyme B (7-mercapto heptanoylthreonine phosphate) and biotin, has been established in Methanosarcina thermophila. These series of reactions begin with the condensation of alpha-ketoglutarate and acetylCoA to form trans-homoaconitate. The trans-homoaconitate is then hydrated and dehydrated to cis-homoaconitate with (S)-homocitrate serving as an intermediate. Rehydration of the cis-homoaconitate produces (-)-threo-isohomocitrate [(2R,3S)-1-hydroxy-1,2, 4-butanetricarboxylic acid], which undergoes a NADP+-dependent oxidative decarboxylation to produce alpha-ketoadipate. The resulting alpha-ketoadipate then undergoes two consecutive sets of alpha-ketoacid chain elongation reactions to produce alpha-ketosuberate. In each of these sets of reactions, it has been shown that the homologues of cis-homoaconitate, homocitrate, and (-)-threo-isohomocitrate serve as intermediates. The protein product of the Methanococcus jannaschii MJ0503 gene aksA (AksA) was found to catalyze the condensation of alpha-ketoglutarate and acetylCoA to form trans-homoaconitate. This gene product also catalyzed the condensation of alpha-ketoadipate or alpha-ketopimelate with acetylCoA to form, respectively, the (R)-homocitrate homologues of (R)-2-hydroxy-1,2,5-pentanetricarboxylic acid and (R)-2-hydroxy-1,2, 6-hexanetricarboxylic acid. The alpha-ketosuberate resulting from this series of reactions then undergoes a nonoxidative decarboxylation to form 7-oxoheptanoic acid, a precursor to coenzyme B, and an oxidative decarboxylation to form pimelate, the precursor to biotin. Of the 13 intermediates in this pathway, eight have not previously been reported as occurring in biological systems.

Topics: Acetyl Coenzyme A; Adipates; Cloning, Molecular; Coenzymes; Dicarboxylic Acids; Isocitrate Dehydrogenase; Keto Acids; Ketoglutaric Acids; Methanosarcina; Phosphothreonine; Pimelic Acids; Substrate Specificity; Tricarboxylic Acids

The biochemical mechanism for the formation of the amide bond in N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)-L-threonine phosphate (HS-HTP) has been studied by measuring the incorporation of L-[3-(3)H]threonine into N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)-L-threonine (HS-HT) by cell extracts (CE) of Methanosarcina thermophila incubated with different precursors. Synthesis of HS-HT was observed from L-[3-(3)H]threonine and 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid (HS-H) when the incubations were conducted with either crude CE or Sephadex column-purified CE. In the presence of CE, the synthesis of HS-HT was found to be inhibited 66% by preincubation of the extract with ATPase, indicating that ATP was involved in the biosynthesis. In spite of this indication of ATP involvement in the coupling reaction, incubation of the crude CE with L-[3-(3)H]threonine, HS-H, and ATP was found to inhibit the formation of HS-HT. In contrast, the synthesis of HS-HT in the presence of Sephadex column-purified CE was found to be stimulated by the addition of ATP. Incubation of the crude CE with the CoA thioester of 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid (HS-HCoA) or the mixed disulfide formed between coenzyme M and 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid did not stimulate the biosynthesis. The biosynthesis of HS-HT was found to be strongly inhibited by an ethanol extract of the crude CE. This inhibition was found to be attributed to the HS-HTP present in the extract. Stimulation of HS-HT biosynthesis 300-fold was observed when the Sephadex column-purified CE was incubated with L-[3-(3)H]threonine and 7-mercaptoheptanoyl phosphate (HS-H-P). Data indicate that HS-HT is produced by the phosphorylation of HS-H to HS-H-P with ATP, which then reacts with L-threonine to produce HS-HT.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Amides; Coenzymes; Heptanoic Acids; Mesna; Methanosarcina; Phosphorylation; Phosphothreonine; Sulfhydryl Compounds; Threonine

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR), the enzyme responsible for the microbial formation of methane, is a 300-kilodalton protein organized as a hexamer in an alpha2beta2gamma2 arrangement. The crystal structure of the enzyme from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, determined at 1.45 angstrom resolution for the inactive enzyme state MCRox1-silent, reveals that two molecules of the nickel porphinoid coenzyme F430 are embedded between the subunits alpha, alpha', beta, and gamma and alpha', alpha, beta', and gamma', forming two identical active sites. Each site is accessible for the substrate methyl-coenzyme M through a narrow channel locked after binding of the second substrate coenzyme B. Together with a second structurally characterized enzyme state (MCRsilent) containing the heterodisulfide of coenzymes M and B, a reaction mechanism is proposed that uses a radical intermediate and a nickel organic compound.

Topics: Binding Sites; Catalysis; Coenzymes; Crystallography, X-Ray; Disulfides; Hydrogen; Hydrogen Bonding; Ligands; Mesna; Metalloporphyrins; Methane; Methanobacterium; Models, Molecular; Nickel; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Protein Conformation; Protein Folding; Protein Structure, Secondary

Topics: Carbon Dioxide; Coenzymes; Energy Metabolism; Euryarchaeota; Mesna; Methane; Nickel; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Protein Conformation

Topics: Acetates; Carbon Dioxide; Coenzymes; Crystallography, X-Ray; Euryarchaeota; Formates; Hydrogen; Mesna; Metalloporphyrins; Methane; Methanobacterium; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Protein Conformation

During the methanogenic fermentation of acetate by Methanosarcina thermophila, the CO dehydrogenase complex cleaves acetyl coenzyme A and oxidizes the carbonyl group (or CO) to CO2, followed by electron transfer to coenzyme M (CoM)-S-S-coenzyme B (CoB) and reduction of this heterodisulfide to HS-CoM and HS-CoB (A. P. Clements, R. H. White, and J. G. Ferry, Arch. Microbiol. 159:296-300, 1993). The majority of heterodisulfide reductase activity was present in the soluble protein fraction after French pressure cell lysis. A CO:CoM-S-S-CoB oxidoreductase system from acetate-grown cells was reconstituted with purified CO dehydrogenase enzyme complex, ferredoxin, membranes, and partially purified heterodisulfide reductase. Coenzyme F420 (F420) was not required, and CO:F420 oxidoreductase activity was not detected in cell extracts. The membranes contained cytochrome b that was reduced with CO and oxidized with CoM-S-S-CoB. The results suggest that a novel CoM-S-S-CoB reducing system operates during acetate conversion to CH4 and CO2. In this system, ferredoxin transfers electrons from the CO dehydrogenase complex to membrane-bound electron carriers, including cytochrome b, that are required for electron transfer to the heterodisulfide reductase. The cytochrome b was purified from solubilized membrane proteins in a complex with six other polypeptides. The cytochrome was not reduced when the complex was incubated with H2 or CO, and H2 uptake hydrogenase activity was not detected; however, the addition of CO dehydrogenase enzyme complex and ferredoxin enabled the CO-dependent reduction of cytochrome b.

Topics: Acetates; Aldehyde Oxidoreductases; Carbon Monoxide; Cell-Free System; Cytochrome b Group; Electron Transport; Ferredoxins; Membranes; Mesna; Methanosarcina; Multienzyme Complexes; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Spectrophotometry

The biosynthesis of (7-mercaptoheptanoyl)threonine phosphate (HS-HTP) has been studied in the methanogenic bacteria Methanococcus volta and Methanosarcina thermophila. Growth of these cells in medium containing [7,7-2H2]-7-mercaptoheptanoic acid, [3,4,4,4-threonine-2H4]-N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)threonine, [7,7-2H2]-N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)threonine, or DL-[3,4,4,4-2H4]threonine led to the generation of labeled HS-HTP containing a portion of the molecules with the same number of deuteriums as the precursor molecule. This result indicated that each of these labeled molecules can serve as a precursor for the biosynthesis of HS-HTP. Cell-free extracts of these methanogens were shown to carry out the ATP-dependent phosphorylation of N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)threonine to HS-HTP. These observations indicate that the biosynthesis of HS-HTP involves the coupling of mercaptoheptanoic acid with threonine to form (7-mercaptoheptanoyl)threonine, which is then phosphorylated to HS-HTP.

Topics: Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Methanococcus; Methanosarcina; Phosphorylation; Phosphothreonine

Methanosarcina mazei Gö1 couples the methyl transfer from methyl-tetrahydromethanopterin to 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (coenzyme M) with the generation of an electrochemical sodium ion gradient (delta mu Na+) and the reduction of the heterodisulfide of coenzyme M and 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreoninephosphate with the generation of an electrochemical proton gradient (delta muH+). Experiments with washed inverted vesicles were performed to investigate whether both ion gradients are used directly for the synthesis of ATP. delta mu Na+ and delta mu H+ were both able to drive the synthesis of ATP in the vesicular system. ATP synthesis driven by heterodisulfide reduction (delta mu H+) or an artificial delta pH was inhibited by the protonophore SF6847 but not by the sodium ionophore ETH157, whereas ETH157 but not SF6847 inhibited ATP synthesis driven by a chemical sodium ion gradient (delta pNa) as well as the methyl transfer reaction (delta mu Na+). Inhibition of the Na+/H+ antiporter led to a stimulation of ATP synthesis driven by the methyl transfer reaction (delta mu Na+), as well as by delta pNa. These experiments indicate that delta mu Na+ and delta mu H+ drive the synthesis of ATP via an Na(+)- and an H(+)-translocating ATP synthase, respectively. Inhibitor studies were performed to elucidate the nature of the ATP synthase(s) involved. delta pH-driven ATP synthesis was specifically inhibited by bafilomycin A1, whereas delta pNa-driven ATP synthesis was exclusively inhibited by 7-chloro-4-nitro-2-oxa-1,3-diazole, azide, and venturicidin. These results are evidence for the presence of an F(1)F(0)-ATP synthase in addition to the A(1)A(0)-ATP synthase in membranes of M. Mazei Gö1 and suggest that the F(1)F(0)-type enzyme is an Na+-translocating ATP synthase, whereas the A(1)A(0)-ATP synthase uses H+ as the coupling ion.

Topics: Acetamides; Adenosine Triphosphatases; Adenosine Triphosphate; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antifungal Agents; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Macrolides; Membrane Potentials; Mesna; Methanosarcina; Methyltransferases; Nitriles; Phosphothreonine; Protons; Sodium

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) catalyses the methane-forming step in the energy metabolism of methanogenic Archaea. It brings about the reduction of methyl-coenzyme M (CH3-S-CoM) by 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate (H-S-HTP). Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum contains two isoenzymes of MCR, designated MCR I and MCR II, which are expressed differentially under different conditions of growth. These two isoenzymes have been separated, purified and their catalytic and spectroscopic properties determined. Initial-velocity measurements of the two-substrate reaction showed that the kinetic mechanism for both isoenzymes involved ternary-complex formation. Double reciprocal plots of initial rates versus the concentration of either one of the two substrates at different constant concentrations of the other substrate were linear and intersected on the abcissa to the left of the 1/v axis. The two purified isoenzymes differed in their Km values for H-S-HTP and for CH3-S-CoM and in Vmax. MCR I displayed a Km for H-S-HTP of 0.1-0.3 mM, a Km for CH3-S-CoM of 0.6-0.8 mM and a Vmax of about 6 mumol.min-1 x mg-1 (most active preparation). MCR II showed a Km for H-S-HTP of 0.4-0.6 mM, a Km for CH3-S-CoM of 1.3-1.5 mM and a Vmax of about 21 mumol.min-1 x mg-1 (most active preparation). The pH optimum of MCR I was 7.0-7.5 and that of MCR II 7.5-8.0. Both isoenzymes exhibited very similar temperature activity optima and EPR properties. The location of MCR I and of MCR II within the cell, determined via immunogold labeling, was found to be essentially identical. The possible basis for the existence of MCR isoenzymes in M. thermoautotrophicum is discussed.

Topics: Catalysis; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Immunohistochemistry; Isoenzymes; Kinetics; Mesna; Methane; Methanobacterium; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet

Purified S-methyl-coenzyme M reductase (methylreductase) exhibits a very low fraction of its in vivo activity, suggesting either enzyme inactivation during cell lysis and chromatographic purification or the lack of an activating component in assay mixtures. Evidence that all methylreductase molecules in the purified protein can catalyze slow substrate turnover is found in a study of turnover-dependent in vitro incorporation of radiolabeled HS-CoM at the enzyme active site (Hartzell, P. L., Donnelly, M. I., and Wolfe, R. S. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 5581-5586). We have conducted active site titrations of purified methylreductase and of a highly active partially purified preparation (Rospert, S., Bocher, R., Albracht, S. P. J., and Thauer, R. K. (1991) FEBS Lett. 291, 371-375) using the reversible competitive inhibitor bromopropanesulfonate (K(i) = 0.05 microM). Curve fitting the data based on an equilibrium binding model shows that 0.1-1.4% of purified methylreductase has functional inhibitor binding sites while up to 25% of a highly active preparation binds the inhibitor. An EPR titration of highly active methylreductase with this inhibitor is consistent with this result, showing that the MCR-red1 and -red2 EPR signals (Albracht, S. P. J., Ankel-Fuchs, D., Bocher, R., Ellermann, J., Moll, J., van der Zwann, J. W., and Thauer, R. K. (1988) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 955, 86-102) are titrated in parallel with this active fraction. Attempts to observe turnover-dependent uptake of radiolabel from [thio-35S]2-methylthioethane-sulfonate by methylreductase were unsuccessful. These results suggest that the low activity of purified methylreductase is due primarily to low percentages of catalytically competent enzyme.

Topics: Alkanesulfonates; Binding Sites; Binding, Competitive; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Disulfides; Dithiothreitol; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Enzyme Activation; Euryarchaeota; Mesna; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine

Methyl-coenzyme-M reductase (MCR) catalyzes the formation of methane from methyl-coenzyme M [2-(methylthio)ethanesulfonate] and 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate in methanogenic archaea. The enzyme contains the nickel porphinoid coenzyme F430 as a prosthetic group. In the active, reduced (red) state, the enzyme displays two characteristic EPR signals, MCR-red1 and MCR-red2, probably derived from Ni(I). In the presence of the substrate methyl-coenzyme M, the rhombic MCR-red2 signal is quantitatively converted to the axial MCR-red1 signal. We report here on the effects of inhibitory substrate analogues on the EPR spectrum of the enzyme. 3-Bromopropanesulfonate (BrPrSO3), which is the most potent inhibitor of MCR known to date (apparent Ki = 0.05 microM), converted the EPR signals MCR-red1 and MCR-red2 to a novel axial Ni(I) signal designated MCR-BrPrSO3. 3-Fluoropropanesulfonate (apparent Ki < 50 microM) and 3-iodopropanesulfonate (apparent Ki < 1 microM) induced a signal identical to that induced by BrPrSO3 without affecting the line shape, despite the fact that the fluorine, bromine and iodine isotopes employed have nuclear spins of I = 1/2, I = 3/2 and I = 5/2, respectively. This finding suggests that MCR-BrPrSO3 is not the result of a close halogen-Ni(I) interaction. 7-Bromoheptanoylthreonine phosphate (BrHpoThrP) (apparent Ki = 5 microM), which is an inhibitory substrate analogue of 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate, converted the signals MCR-red1 and MCR-red2 to a novel axial Ni(I) signal, MCR-BrHpoThrP, similar but not identical to MCR-BrPrSO3. The results indicate that inhibition of MCR by the halogenated substrate analogues investigated above is not via oxidation of Ni(I)F430. The different MCR EPR signals are assigned to different enzyme/substrate and enzyme/inhibitor complexes.

Topics: Alkanesulfonates; Catalysis; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Mesna; Methane; Methanobacterium; Nickel; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Substrate Specificity

Methanosarcina strain Gö1 was tested for the presence of cytochromes. Low-temperature spectroscopy, hemochrome derivative spectroscopy, and redox titration revealed the presence of two b-type (b559 and b564) and two c-type (c547 and c552) cytochromes in membranes from Methanosarcina strain Gö1. The midpoint potentials determined were Em,7 = -135 +/- 5 and -240 +/- 11 mV (b-type cytochromes) and Em,7 = -140 +/- 10 and -230 +/- 10 mV (c-type cytochromes). The protoheme IX and the heme c contents were 0.21 to 0.24 and 0.09 to 0.28 mumol/g of membrane protein, respectively. No cytochromes were detectable in the cytoplasmic fraction. Of various electron donors and acceptors tested, only the reduced form of coenzyme F420 (coenzyme F420H2) and the heterodisulfide of coenzyme M and 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate (CoM-S-S-HTP) were capable of reducing and oxidizing the cytochromes at a high rate, respectively. Addition of CoM-S-S-HTP to reduced cytochromes and subsequent low-temperature spectroscopy revealed the oxidation of cytochrome b564. On the basis of these results, we suggest that one or several cytochromes participate in the coenzyme F420H2-dependent reduction of the heterodisulfide.

Topics: Cytochromes; Electron Transport; Mesna; Methanol; Methanosarcina; Oxidation-Reduction; Phosphothreonine; Potentiometry; Riboflavin; Spectrum Analysis; Temperature

The 2-(methylthio)ethanesulfonic acid (CH3-S-CoM) reductase catalyzes the final methane-yielding reaction in fastidiously anaerobic methanogenic archaebacteria. This step involves the reductive demethylation of CH3-S-CoM with reducing equivalents from N-7-(mercaptoheptanoyl)-L-threonine O3-phosphate (HS-HTP) to yield methane and the nonsymmetrical disulfide of 2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid and HS-HTP. We chemically synthesized modified analogs of CH3-S-CoM (which has two carbons in the ethylene bridge) and of HS-HTP (which has seven carbons in the side chain); analog pairs possessed an overall correct number of side chain carbons (i.e., a total of nine in combination). They were simultaneously added to anaerobic cell extracts of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum delta H. The ability of the extracts to reductively demethylate the modified substrates was tested by gas chromatography. We also describe here previously unknown inhibitors of methanogenesis, 6-(methylthio)hexanoyl-L-threonine O3-phosphate (a structural analog of HS-HTP) and sodium bromomethanesulfonic acid (a structural analog of CH3-S-CoM). Both analogs were found to be effective competitive inhibitors with respect to HS-HTP. These substrate analogs were also found to inhibit a recently described photoactivation of homogeneous inactive reductase (K. D. Olson, C. W. McMahon, and R. S. Wolfe, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:4099-4103, 1991). In addition, we probed the mechanism of action of a potent inhibitor of the enzyme, 2-bromoethanesulfonic acid, a structural analog of CH3-S-CoM.

Topics: Binding, Competitive; Enzyme Activation; Enzyme Inhibitors; Kinetics; Light; Mesna; Methane; Methanobacterium; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Subcellular Fractions; Substrate Specificity; Sulfides

Methanomicrobium mobile requires a heat-stable factor present in ruminal fluid and in boiled cell extract from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum for growth. By comparing the growth of M. mobile with boiled cell extract with that observed with various methanogenic cofactors, we found that 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate (HS-HTP) supported sustained growth of M. mobile, at an optimal concentration of 100 microM. No derivatives or possible biosynthetic precursors of HS-HTP could replace HS-HTP as the sole source of growth factor. Results suggest that the growth requirement might be satisfied by 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid plus a second, unidentified heat-stable factor.

Topics: Culture Media; Growth Substances; Hot Temperature; Methanomicrobiales; Phosphothreonine; Tungsten

Inactive 2-(methylthio)ethanesulfonic acid (CH3-S-CoM) reductase was partially activated by exposure to light. This simplified system replaces the complex enzymatic system of protein components A2, A3a, A3b, and ATP, which previously represented the only available means of reactivating the enzyme. Components necessary for light activation include N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)-L-threonine O3-phosphate (HS-HTP), CH3-S-CoM, titanium(III) citrate [Ti(III)Cit], and light above 400 nm. Photoactivation was inhibited by known inhibitors of methanogenesis: 2-bromoethanesulfonate (BES), N-(6-mercaptohexanoyl)-L-threonine O3-phosphate, N-(8-mercaptooctanoyl)-L-threonine O3-phosphate, and sodium dithionite. Methanogenesis continued when the light-activated reaction mixture was incubated in the dark. Although the specific activity was low (35 nmol of CH4 per h per mg of protein) the reaction products methane and the unsymmetrical disulfide of 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (HS-CoM) and HS-HTP were identified. We were unable to photoactivate a reaction mixture containing the isolated prosthetic group, native F430, or its analogues.

Topics: Citrates; Citric Acid; Disulfides; Enzyme Activation; Euryarchaeota; Light; Mesna; Methane; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Photochemistry

Methyl coenzyme M methylreductase from acetate-grown Methanosarcina thermophila TM-1 was purified 16-fold from a cell extract to apparent homogeneity as determined by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Ninety-four percent of the methylreductase activity was recovered in the soluble fraction of cell extracts. The estimated native molecular weight of the enzyme was between 132,000 (standard deviation [SD], 1,200) and 141,000 (SD, 1,200). Denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed three protein bands corresponding to molecular weights of 69,000 (SD, 1,200), 42,000 (SD, 1,200), and 33,000 (SD, 1,200) and indicated a subunit configuration of alpha 1 beta 1 gamma 1. As isolated, the enzyme was inactive but could be reductively reactivated with titanium (III) citrate or reduced ferredoxin. ATP stimulated enzyme reactivation and was postulated to be involved in a conformational change of the inactive enzyme from an unready state to a ready state that could be reductively reactivated. The temperature and pH optima for enzyme activity were 60 degrees C and between 6.5 and 7.0, respectively. The active enzyme contained 1 mol of coenzyme F430 per mol of enzyme (Mr, 144,000). The Kms for 2-(methylthio)ethane-sulfonate and 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate were 3.3 mM and 59 microM, respectively.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Aldehyde Oxidoreductases; Amino Acid Sequence; Centrifugation, Density Gradient; Citrates; Citric Acid; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Euryarchaeota; Ferredoxins; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Molecular Sequence Data; Multienzyme Complexes; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; Temperature

The distribution of radioiodinated N-methyl-4-(4-hydroxy-3-iodobenzyl)-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MHTP), an analog of the reportedly nontoxic N-methyl-4-benzyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine, (4-homo-MPTP), has been studied in the primate. [123I]MHTP-derived radioactivity exhibited a progressive accumulation and prolonged retention within the primate eye. Following iv injection, [123I]MHTP rapidly accumulated within the primate brain and was subsequently oxidized to a radiolabeled metabolite. The half-life of [123I]MHTP-derived radioactivity within the primate brain was 50 min. The highest concentrations of radioactivity were found in the caudate-putamen and the frontal, temporal and cingulate cortices; the substantia nigra and inferior olivary nucleus were labeled with medium intensity. Very low concentrations of radiolabel were detected in the cerebellum and white matter. Selective accumulation of [125I]MHTP-derived radioactivity within these structures was blocked by pretreatment with pargyline, suggesting that monoamine oxidase B is involved in the bioactivation of radioiodinated MHTP.

Topics: 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; Animals; Autoradiography; Basal Ganglia; Cerebral Cortex; Female; Haplorhini; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Pargyline; Phosphothreonine; Threonine

The reduction of the heterodisulfide of coenzyme M (H-S-CoM) and 7-mercaptoheptanoyl-L-threonine phosphate (H-S-HTP) is a key reaction in the metabolism of methanogenic bacteria. The heterodisulfide reductase catalyzing this step was purified 80-fold to apparent homogeneity from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. The native enzyme showed an apparent molecular mass of 550 kDa. Sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed the presence of three different subunits of apparent molecular masses 80 kDa, 36 kDa, and 21 kDa. The enzyme, which was brownish yellow, contained per mg protein 7 +/- 1 nmol FAD, 130 +/- 10 nmol non-heme iron and 130 +/- 10 nmol acid-labile sulfur, corresponding to 4 mol FAD and 72 mol FeS/mol native enzyme. The purified heterodisulfide reductase catalyzed the reduction of CoM-S-S-HTP (app. Km = 0.1 mM) with reduced benzylviologen at a specific rate of 30 mumol.min-1.mg protein-1 (kcat = 68 s-1) and the reduction of methylene blue with H-S-CoM (app. Km = 0.2 mM) plus H-S-HTP (app. Km less than 0.05 mM) at a specific rate of 15 mumol.min-1.mg-1. The enzyme was highly specific for CoM-S-S-HTP and H-S-CoM plus H-S-HTP. The physiological electron donor/acceptor remains to be identified.

Topics: Disulfides; Euryarchaeota; Mesna; Molecular Weight; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Spectrum Analysis; Substrate Specificity

The cofactor required in the methylcoenzyme M methylreductase reaction was shown to be a large molecule with an Mr of 1149.21 in the free acid form. The cofactor, named MRF for methyl reducing factor, was identified from analyses by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and 1H, 13C, and 31P NMR spectroscopy as uridine 5'-[N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)-O-3-phosphothreonine-P-yl(2-acetamido- 2-deoxy- beta-mannopyranuronosyl)(acid anhydride)]-(1----4)-O-2-acetamido-2-deoxy- alpha-glucopyranosyl diphosphate. MRF contains N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)threonine O-3-phosphate (HS-HTP) [No11, K. M., Rinehart, K. L., Tanner, R. S., & Wolfe, R. S. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 4238-4242] and is linked to C-6 of 2-acetamido-2-deoxymannopyranuronic acid of the UDP-disaccharide through a carboxylic-phosphoric anhydride linkage. It is postulated that this bond is responsible for the instability of the molecule and its hydrolysis during isolation. Analyses of Eadie and Hofstee plots of the methylcoenzyme M methylreductase reaction indicate that MRF has a 6-fold lower Km(app) than HS-HTP and a 50% greater Vmax. This suggests that the UDP-disaccharide moiety may be of importance in the binding of MRF to the enzyme active site.

Topics: Binding Sites; Carbohydrate Sequence; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mass Spectrometry; Methylation; Molecular Sequence Data; Molecular Weight; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Uridine Diphosphate

An unusual fumarate reductase was purified from cell extracts of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum and partially characterized. Two coenzymes previously isolated from cell extracts, 2-mercaptoethane-sulfonic acid (HS-CoM) and N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)threonine-O3-phosphate (HS-HTP), were established as direct electron donors for fumarate reductase. By measuring the consumption of free thiol, we determined that fumarate reductase catalyzed the oxidation of HS-CoM and HS-HTP; by the direct measurement of succinate and the heterodisulfide of HS-CoM and HS-HTP (CoM-S-S-HTP), we established that these compounds were products of the fumarate reductase reaction. A number of thiol-containing compounds did not function as substrates for fumarate reductase, but this enzyme had high specific activity when HS-CoM and HS-HTP were used as electron donors. HS-CoM and HS-HTP were quantitatively oxidized by the fumarate reductase reaction, and results indicated that this reaction was irreversible. Additionally, by measuring formylmethanofuran, we demonstrated that the addition of fumarate to cell extracts activated CO2 fixation for the formation of formylmethanofuran. Results indicated that this activation resulted from the production of CoM-S-S-HTP (a compound known to be involved in the activation of formylmethanofuran synthesis) by the fumarate reductase reaction.

Topics: Disulfides; Electron Transport; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Euryarchaeota; Fumarates; Furans; Mercaptoethanol; Mesna; Oxidation-Reduction; Phosphothreonine; Substrate Specificity; Succinate Dehydrogenase; Succinates; Succinic Acid; Sulfhydryl Compounds

The biosynthetic steps involved in the conversion of alpha-ketosuberate to 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid were studied in cell-free extracts of methanogenic bacteria. The pathway was established by measuring the incorporation of stable isotopically labeled precursors into the S-methyl ether methyl ester derivative of the enzymatically generated 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Quantitation of the 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid produced in the incubations with the substrates was accomplished by using an internal standard of 6-mercaptohexanoic acid. [4,4,6,6-2H4]-2-Oxosuberic acid, [7-2H]-7-oxoheptanoic acid, [2-2H]-2(RS)-(5-carboxypentyl)thiazolidine-4(R)-carboxylic acid, and S-(6-carboxyhexyl)cysteine were each shown to be converted to 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid. Incubation of cell extracts with a mixture of 2(RS)-(5-carboxypentyl)thiazolidine-4(R)-carboxylic acid and [2-2H]-2-(RS)-(5-carboxypentyl)-[34S]thiazolidine-4(R)-carboxylic acid showed that both 34S and 2H are incorporated into the 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid but only after separation of the cysteine from the [7-2H]-7-oxyheptanoic acid portion of the molecule. Furthermore, the sulfur from the cysteine was incorporated into the thiol only after its elimination from the cysteine and subsequent mixing with an unlabeled sulfur source which had a molecular weight of sufficient size that it was excluded from Sephadex G-25. Hydrogen sulfide was found to supply the sulfur for the production of the 7-mercaptoheptanoic acid in a reaction that was shown to obtain its reducing equivalents from hydrogen via an F420-dependent hydrogenase.

Topics: Cysteine; Dicarboxylic Acids; Euryarchaeota; Heptanoic Acids; Keto Acids; Models, Biological; Phosphothreonine; Sulfhydryl Compounds; Thiazoles; Threonine

The neurotoxic metabolite of N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium, selectively accumulates in dopaminergic neurons via the dopamine reuptake system. Consequently, nontoxic radiolabeled MPTP analogs may be potentially useful for visualizing catecholaminergic neurons in vivo. N-Methyl-4-(4-hydroxy-3-[125I]iodobenzyl)-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine [( 125I]MHTP), an analog of the nontoxic N-methyl-4-benzyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine, has been studied in rats and mice. After intravenous administration of [125I]MHTP to rodents, the initial accumulation of radioactivity within the brain was found to be comparable to that of radiolabeled MPTP. Following intravenous administration of [125I]MHTP, in vivo autoradiographic visualization of the rodent brain revealed selective accumulation of [125I]MHTP-derived radioactivity within the locus ceruleus; there was no accumulation of the radiotracer within dopaminergic fibers and cell bodies. The accumulation of radioactivity within the locus ceruleus was blocked by pretreatment with pargyline, a result suggesting that an MHTP metabolite formed by monoamine oxidase was responsible for the localization of the radiotracer within this structure. The anatomical distribution of the radiolabel demonstrates selective accumulation of this metabolite within noradrenergic cell bodies and those fibers making up the locus ceruleus. These findings further suggest that nontoxic metabolites of MPTP may become useful for in vivo labeling of selected populations of catecholaminergic neurons.

Topics: 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; Animals; Autoradiography; Brain; Iodine Radioisotopes; Locus Coeruleus; Male; Phosphothreonine; Pyridines; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Tissue Distribution

The heterodisulfide of the two coenzymes 2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid (coenzyme M, HS-CoM) and N-(7-mercaptoheptanoyl)threonine O3-phosphate (HS-HTP) increased the rate of CO2 reduction to methane by cell extracts 42-fold. The stimulation resulted from activation of the initial step of methanogenesis, the production of formylmethanofuran from methanofuran and CO2. These results establish a role for this heterodisulfide (CoM-S-S-HTP) in the reduction of CO2 to formylmethanofuran. Evidence indicates that CoM-S-S-HTP is the labile intermediate that accounts for the coupling of the reduction of 2-(methylthio)ethanesulfonic acid by the methylreductase to formylmethanofuran biosynthesis, the "RPG effect." The heterodisulfide was found to be labile in cell extracts due to enzyme-catalyzed reduction and possibly thioldisulfide exchange.

Topics: Carbon Dioxide; Coenzymes; Euryarchaeota; Kinetics; Mercaptoethanol; Mesna; Methane; Phosphothreonine; Threonine

The structure of component B of the methylcoenzyme M methylreductase of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum was recently assigned as 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate (HS-HTP) (Noll, K. M., Rinehart, K. L., Jr., Tanner, R.S., and Wolfe, R.S. (1986) (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 4238-4242). We report here the chemical synthesis and biochemical activity of this compound. Thiourea and 7-bromoheptanoic acid were used to to synthesize 7,7'-dithiodiheptanoic acid. This disulfide was then condensed with DL-threonine phosphate using N-hydroxysuccinimide and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. The product was reduced with dithiothreitol to give HS-HTP. It could be oxidized in air in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol to give the compound as it was isolated from cell extracts. The resulting product was identical to the authentic compound by 1H NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and coelution using high performance liquid chromatography. The synthetic compound is active in the in vitro methanogenic assay at concentrations comparable to the authentic compound. This confirms the structure of component B as HS-HTP and provides a means to synthesize quantities sufficient for studies of the methylreductase system.

Topics: Euryarchaeota; Indicators and Reagents; Kinetics; Mesna; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Threonine

Purified methyl-CoM reductase of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum (strain Marburg) catalyzed the reduction of methyl-CoM to methane with reduced cobalamin, when either synthetic 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate (HS-HTP) or naturally occurring component B was present. With both compounds the same maximal specific activity was obtained and ATP was neither required nor stimulatory. These findings indicate that HS-HTP functions as component B and do not support the idea that HS-HT is only active in an adenosine monophosphorylated form.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Euryarchaeota; Kinetics; Magnesium; Mercaptoethanol; Mesna; Methane; Phosphothreonine; Threonine; Vitamin B 12

The structure of component B of the methylcoenzyme M methylreductase system from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum was recently found to be 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate (HS-HTP). Three potential roles for this cofactor were considered. First, a methyl thioether derivative of the cofactor was synthesized to investigate its possible role as a methyl donor. This derivative was found to be incapable of acting as a substrate for methanogenesis and proved inhibitory. Secondly, an adenylated form of the cofactor was considered as the potential active form of the coenzyme. This possibility was ruled out based upon collaborative observations with Ankel-Fuchs et al. (FEBS Lett., in press) that HS-HTP is required by the methylreductase system even when ATP is not. Finally, HS-HTP was found to act as a reductant in a partially-purified methylreductase preparation that was incubated under nitrogen. The rate of methane production from HS-HTP exceeded that from other thiols or hydrogen.

Topics: Euryarchaeota; Kinetics; Mercaptoethanol; Mesna; Methane; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Threonine

The reduction of methyl-coenzyme M (CH3SCoM) to methane in methanogenic bacteria is dependent on component B (N-7-mercaptoheptanoyl-O-phospho-L-threonine, HSHTP). We report here that S-methyl-component B (N-7-(methylthio)heptanoyl-O-phospho-L-threonine, CH3SHTP) can substitute for neither CH3SCoM nor HSHTP in the methyl-CoM reductase reaction. Rather, CH3SHTP proved to be an inhibitor competitive with HSHTP (apparent Ki = 6 microM) and noncompetitive with CH3SCoM. These results make it very unlikely that HSHTP functions as a methyl group carrier. A role for HSHTP as direct electron donor for CH3SCoM reduction to CH4 is proposed.

Topics: Chromatography, Gas; Euryarchaeota; Mercaptoethanol; Mesna; Methane; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Threonine

The reduction of methylcoenzyme M to methane is known to require a heat stable and oxygen sensitive cofactor. Recently it has been shown that the active site of this cofactor is 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate. The present study shows that in the complete structure of this cofactor 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate is linked by pyrophosphate to two N-acetyl-glucosamine residues and an unidentified terminal group R with m/z 214. By fast-atom-bombardment mass spectrometry the intact cofactor, isolated as the mixed disulfide with 2-mercaptoethanol, was shown to have a molecular weight of 1084.5. The pyrophosphate bond is quite labile and undergoes hydrolysis or prolonged storage. This lability of the pyrophosphate bond may explain why the intact cofactor has not been isolated until now.

Topics: Euryarchaeota; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mass Spectrometry; Methane; Molecular Weight; Phosphothreonine; Threonine

When 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate (HS-HTP) was used as the sole source of electrons for reductive demethylation of 2-(methylthio)-ethanesulfonic acid (CH3-S-CoM) by cell extracts of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum strain delta H, the heterodisulfide of coenzyme M and HS-HTP (CoM-S-S-HTP) was quantitatively produced: HS-HTP + CH3-S-CoM----CH4 + CoM-S-S-HTP. CH4 and CoM-S-S-HTP were produced stoichiometrically in a ratio of 1:1. Coenzyme M (HS-CoM) inhibited HS-HTP driven methanogenesis indicating that CH3-S-CoM rather than HS-CoM was the substrate for CoM-S-S-HTP formation.

Topics: Euryarchaeota; Mercaptoethanol; Mesna; Methane; Oxidation-Reduction; Phosphothreonine; Sulfides; Threonine

Component B, the heat-stable low-molecular-weight cofactor required for methane production by dialyzed cell-free extracts of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, has been purified to homogeneity and its structure assigned. Results of low-resolution fast-atom-bombardment and field-desorption mass spectrometry indicated a molecular weight of 419, and high-resolution fast-atom-bombardment mass spectrometry agreed with the molecular formula C13H26NO8PS2. Evidence from fast-atom-bombardment and field-desorption mass spectrometry and 360-MHz 1H NMR in deuterium oxide argued that the compound was isolated as a mixed disulfide with 2-mercaptoethanol; so the proposed elemental formula of the free acid, free thiol would be C11H22NO7PS (molecular weight, 343). The proposed structure for an active form of the coenzyme is 7-mercaptoheptanoylthreonine phosphate.

Topics: Amides; Euryarchaeota; Fatty Acids; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mass Spectrometry; Mesna; Oxidoreductases; Phosphothreonine; Sulfhydryl Compounds; Threonine

Topics: Acetaldehyde; Aldehydes; Alkylation; Biochemical Phenomena; Biochemistry; Catalysis; Chemical Phenomena; Chemistry; Chromatography; Coenzymes; Glycols; Kinetics; Nucleosides; Phosphothreonine; Propylene Glycols; Purines; Research; Spectrum Analysis; Vitamin B 12

Topics: Animals; Coenzymes; Germ-Free Life; Liver; Mice; Phosphothreonine; Research

Topics: Coenzymes; Folic Acid; Hydroquinones; Phosphothreonine; Vitamin A; Vitamin B Complex