Structure-function relationship of Vibrio harveyi NADPH-flavin oxidoreductase FRP: essential residues Lys167 and Arg15 for NADPH binding.

Vibrio harveyi NADPH-FMN oxidoreductase (FRP) catalyzes flavin reduction by NADPH. In comparing amino acid sequence and crystal structure with Escherichia coli NfsA, residues N134, R225, R133, K167, and R15 were targeted for investigation of their possible roles in the binding and utilization of the NADPH substrate. By mutation of each of these five residues to an alanine, steady-state rate analyses showed that the variants K167A and R15A had apparently greatly increased K(m,NADPH) and reduced k(cat)/K(m,NADPH), whereas little or much more modest changes were found for the other variants. The deuterium isotope effects (D)(V/K) for (4R)-[4-(2)H]-NADPH were markedly increased to 6.3 and 7.4 for K167A and R15A, respectively, indicating that the rate constants for NADPH and NADP(+) dissociation were greatly enhanced relative to the hydride transfer steps. Also, anaerobic stopped-flow analyses revealed that the equilibrium dissociation constant for NADPH binding (K(d)) to be 2.5-3.9 and 1.1 mM for K167A and R15A, respectively, much higher than the 0.4 µM K(d) for the native FRP, whereas the k(cat) of these two variants were similar to that of the wild-type enzyme. Moreover, the K167 to alanine mutation led to even a slight increase in k(cat)/K(m) for NADH. These results, taken together, provide a strong support to the conclusion that K167 and R15 each was critical in the binding of NADPH by FRP. Such a functional role may also exist for other FRP homologous proteins.

Activities, kinetics and emission spectra of bacterial luciferase-fluorescent protein fusion enzymes.

A new approach to alter bacterial bioluminescence color was developed by fusing Vibrio harveyi luciferase with the coral Discosoma sp. fluorescent protein mOrange, a homolog of the Aequorea green fluorescent protein. Attachment of mOrange to the N- or C-terminus of luciferase α or ß subunit, via a 5 or 10 residue linker, produced fully active fusion enzymes. However, only the fusion of mOrange to the N-terminus of luciferase α produced a new 560 nm emission. The differences in emission color by two such fusion enzymes from that of the wild-type luciferase (λ(max) 490 nm) were evident by eye or photographically with the aid of cut-off optical filters. In nonturnover reactions, light decay rates of fusion enzyme remained the same when monitored as the full-spectrum light or at 480 nm (from the luciferase emitter) or 570 nm (from mOrange). No 560 nm emission component was observed with a mixture of luciferase and free mOrange. These findings support that the 560 nm emission by the fusion enzyme was due to bioluminescence resonance energy transfer from luciferase to mOrange. We believe that the same approach could also alter the bacterial bioluminescence color by covalent attachment of other suitable fluorescent proteins or chromophores to luciferase.

A single-residue mutation destabilizes Vibrio harveyi flavin reductase FRP dimer.

Our earlier studies have shown that the Vibrio harveyi flavin reductase FRP undergoes a monomer-dimer equilibrium, and luciferase forms a functional complex with the FRP monomer but not significantly with the dimer. This work is aimed at further investigating the nature and regulation of FRP subunit interactions by computation and site-directed mutagenesis approaches. In silico mutations of a number of residues were performed, and energetic analyses led us to target residue E99, which interacts directly with R113 and R225 from the second subunit of the FRP homodimer, for detailed investigation. E99 was found non-essential to the binding of either the FMN cofactor or the substrates. However, in comparison with the native enzyme, the E99K variant was shown to have an enhanced subunit dissociation as evident from a 44-fold higher K(d) for the monomer-dimer equilibrium. The critical role of E99 in the formation of the FRP dimer has thus been demonstrated.

Activity coupling and complex formation between bacterial luciferase and flavin reductases.

Luminous bacteria contain several species of flavin reductases, which catalyze the reduction of FMN using NADH and/or NADPH as a reductant. The reduced FMN (i.e. FMNH(2)) so generated is utilized along with a long-chain aliphatic aldehyde and molecular oxygen by luciferase as substrates for the bioluminescence reaction. In this report, the general properties of luciferases and reductases from luminous bacteria are briefly summarized. Earlier and more recent studies demonstrating the direct transfer of FMNH(2) from reductases to luciferase are surveyed. Using reductases and luciferases from Vibrio harveyi and Vibrio fischeri, two mechanisms were uncovered for the direct transfer of reduced flavin cofactor and reduced flavin product of reductase to luciferase. A complex of an NADPH-specific reductase (FRP(Vh)) and luciferase from V. harveyi has been detected in vitro and in vivo. Both constituent enzymes in such a complex are catalytically active. The reduction of FRP(Vh)-bound FMN cofactor by NADPH is reversible, allowing the cellular contents of NADP(+) and NADPH as a factor for the regulation of the production of FMNH(2) by FRP(Vh) for luciferase bioluminescence. Other regulations of the activity coupling between reductase and luciferase are also discussed.

Vibrio harveyi flavin reductase--luciferase fusion protein mimics a single-component bifunctional monooxygenase.

Vibrio harveyi luciferase and flavin reductase FRP are, together, a two-component monooxygenase couple. The reduced flavin mononucleotide (FMNH2) generated by FRP must be supplied, through either free diffusion or direct transfer, to luciferase as a substrate. In contrast, single-component bifunctional monooxygenases each contains a bound flavin cofactor and does not require any flavin addition to facilitate catalysis. In this study, we generated and characterized a novel fusion enzyme, FRP-alphabeta, in which FRP was fused to the luciferase alpha subunit. Both FRP and luciferase within FRP-alphabeta were catalytically active. Kinetic properties characteristic of a direct transfer of FMNH2 cofactor from FRP to luciferase in a FRP:luciferase noncovalent complex were retained by FRP-alphabeta. At submicromolar levels, FRP-alphabeta was significantly more active than an equal molar mixture of FRP and luciferase in coupled bioluminescence without FMN addition. Importantly, FRP-alphabeta gave a higher total quantum output without than with exogenously added FMN. Moreover, effects of increasing concentrations of oxygen on light intensity were investigated using sub-micromolar enzymes, and results indicated that the bioluminescence produced by FRP-alphabeta without added flavin was derived from direct transfer of reduced flavin whereas bioluminescence from a mixture of FRP and luciferase with or without exogenously added flavin relied on free-diffusing reduced flavin. Therefore, the overall catalytic reaction of FRP-alphabeta without any FMN addition closely mimics that of a single-component bifunctional monooxygenase. This fusion enzyme approach could be useful to other two-component monooxygenases in enhancing the enzyme efficiencies under conditions hindering reduced flavin delivery. Other potential utilities of this approach are discussed.

In vivo translational inaccuracy in Escherichia coli: missense reporting using extremely low activity mutants of Vibrio harveyi luciferase.

A convenient, sensitive assay for measurement of in vivo missense translational errors is reported that uses luciferase activity generated by mistranslation of a gene encoding an inactive mutant alpha chain of the Vibrio harveyi enzyme. Mutations were introduced at alpha45 His, a position known to be highly intolerant of amino acids other than histidine. To normalize for any variations in expression level, the concentration of wild-type luciferase alphabeta dimer was determined by a novel assay using co-refolding of active/wild-type beta enzyme subunits with inactive alpha subunits in lysate with an excess of exogenously added active alpha subunits. Four His alpha45 missense mutants of luciferase encoded by leucine codons (CUC, CUU, CUG, and UUG) had histidine misincorporation rates of 2.0 x 10(-6), 1.3 x 10(-6), 9.0 x 10(-8), and 1.5 x 10(-8) respectively, a variation of over 133-fold among synonymous codons. Any substantial contribution of mutation was ruled out by a Luria-Delbrück fluctuation test. The two leucine codons with the highest rates, CUU and CUC, have a single central-mismatch to the histidyl-tRNAQUG anticodon. Aminoglycoside antibiotics known to enhance mistranslation increased the error rate of the CUC codon more than those of the CUU and CUG codons, consistent with the hypothesis that CUC codon mistranslation arises primarily from miscoding events such as the selection of noncognate histidyl-tRNAQUG at the central position of the codon.

Thermodynamic analysis of the binding of oxidized and reduced FMN cofactor to Vibrio harveyi NADPH-FMN oxidoreductase FRP apoenzyme.

The Vibrio harveyi NADPH-specific flavin reductase FRP follows a ping-pong mechanism but switches to a sequential mechanism in the luciferase-coupled reaction. The bound FMN co-isolated with FRP, while acting as a genuine cofactor in the single-enzyme reaction, functions in the luciferase-coupled reaction as a prebound substrate and is directly transferred to luciferase once it is reduced [Lei, B., and Tu, S.-C. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 14623-14629]. With the aim of better understanding the functions of FMN in the FRP holoenzyme, this study was undertaken to quantify and compare the thermodynamic properties of the binding of oxidized and reduced FMN by the FRP apoenzyme. By isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) measurements in various buffers at pH 7.0 and 15-30 degrees C, the binding of FMN by apo-FRP was found to be noncooperative, exothermic, and primarily enthalpy driven. The binding free energy change (hence, the association constant) was nearly invariant over this temperature range. Significant conformational changes in FRP upon binding of FMN were indicated. Equilibrium bindings of reduced flavins by flavin-dependent proteins have rarely been studied. In this work, the thermodynamic properties of binding of reduced FMN by apo-FRP were found to closely resemble those of FMN binding under three sets of experimental conditions via ITC measurements and, in one case, fluorescence quenching. The kinetically deduced ping-pong mechanism of FRP is now supported by direct measurements of binding affinities of the oxidized and reduced FMN cofactors. These findings are also discussed in relation to the function of FRP as a reduced flavin donor in the FRP-luciferase couple.

Activity coupling of Vibrio harveyi luciferase and flavin reductase (FRP): oxygen as a probe.

Several lines of evidence have been reported previously to document the ability of the Vibrio harveyi NADPH-specific flavin reductase FRP to directly transfer reduced riboflavin-5'-phosphate to luciferase for bioluminescence. This study aimed at characterizing further the kinetic properties of FRP in such a direct channeling system and investigating whether the complete direct transfer of reduced flavin was the exclusive pathway in the FRP:luciferase coupled bioluminescence reaction. To these ends, a new kinetic approach of oxygen variation was employed. Results indicated that increases in oxygen concentration led to gradual decreases of the peak bioluminescence intensity, K(m,FMN), and K(m,NADPH) of FRP in the coupled reaction. In comparison with theoretical schemes, these findings indicated that the FRP:luciferase coupled reaction can utilize reduced flavin by both free diffusion and direct transfer. The upper limits of the true K(m,FMN) and K(m,NADPH) of FRP in the direct transfer system were determined.

Probing the functionalities of alphaGlu328 and alphaAla74 of Vibrio harveyi luciferase by site-directed mutagenesis and chemical rescue.

This work aimed at identifying essential residues on the alpha subunit of Vibrio harveyi luciferase and elucidating their functional roles. Four conserved alpha-subunit residues at the proposed luciferase active site were initially mutated to Ala. Screening of the in vivo bioluminescence of cells expressing these mutated luciferases allowed the work to focus on alphaGlu328 for additional mutations to Phe, Leu, Gln, His, and Asp. V. harveyi luciferase is known to contain, at the same proposed active site, an unusual cis-peptide linkage between alphaAla74 and alphaAla75. To explore the structure-function relationship, luciferase variants alphaA74F and alphaA74G were constructed. The six alphaGlu328-mutated and the two alphaAla74-mutated luciferase variants were purified and characterized with respect to Vmax, Michaelis constants, light and dark decays, quantum yield, and, for alphaE328F and alphaA74F, yield of the 4a-hydroperoxyFMN intermediate and the ability to oxidize aldehyde substrate. Results indicated that the structural integrities of both alphaGlu328 and alphaAla74 were essential to luciferase bioluminescence activity. Moreover, the essentiality of alphaGlu328 was linked to the acidic nature of its side chain. The low activity of alphaE328A was sensitive to chemical rescue by sodium acetate, an effect that was not reproduced by phosphate. The efficiency of activity rescue by acetate progressively increased at lower pH in the range from 6.0 to 8.0, supporting the interpretation of alphaGlu328 as a catalytic general acid. The rescuing effect of acetate was on a reaction step after the formation of the 4a-hydroperoxyFMN intermediate. The exact catalytic function of alphaGlu328 is unclear, but possibilities are discussed.

Active site hydrophobicity is critical to the bioluminescence activity of Vibrio harveyi luciferase.

Vibrio harveyi luciferase is an alphabeta heterodimer containing a single active site, proposed earlier to be at a cleft in the alpha subunit. In this work, six conserved phenylalanine residues at this proposed active site were subjected to site-directed mutations to investigate their possible functional roles and to delineate the makeup of luciferase active site. After initial screening of Phe --> Ala mutants, alphaF46, alphaF49, alphaF114, and alphaF117 were chosen for additional mutations to Asp, Ser, and Tyr. Comparisons of the general kinetic properties of wild-type and mutated luciferases indicated that the hydrophobic nature of alphaF46, alphaF49, alphaF114, and alphaF117 was important to luciferase V(max) and V(max)/K(m), which were reduced by 3-5 orders of magnitude for the Phe --> Asp mutants. Both alphaF46 and alphaF117 also appeared to be involved in the binding of reduced flavin substrate. Additional studies on the stability and yield of the 4a-hydroperoxyflavin intermediate II and measurements of decanal substrate oxidation by alphaF46D, alphaF49D, alphaF114D, and alphaF117D revealed that their marked reductions in the overall quantum yield (phi( degrees )) were a consequence of diminished yields of luciferase intermediates and, with the exception of alphaF114D, emission quantum yield of the excited emitter due to the replacement of the hydrophobic Phe by the anionic Asp. The locations of these four critical Phe residues in relation to other essential and/or hydrophobic residues are depicted in a refined map of the active site. Functional implications of these residues are discussed.

Redox potential and equilibria in the reductive half-reaction of Vibrio harveyi NADPH-FMN oxidoreductase.

Vibrio harveyi NADPH:FMN oxidoreductase P (FRP(Vh)) is a homodimeric enzyme having a bound FMN per enzyme monomer. The bound FMN functions as a cofactor of FRP(Vh) in transferring reducing equivalents from NADPH to a flavin substrate in the absence of V. harveyi luciferase but as a substrate for FRP(Vh) in the luciferase-coupled bioluminescent reaction. As part of an integral plan to elucidate the regulation of functional coupling between FRP(Vh) and luciferase, this study was carried out to characterize the equilibrium bindings, reductive potential, and the reversibility of the reduction of the bound FMN in the reductive half-reaction of FRP(Vh). Results indicate that, in addition to NADPH binding, NADP(+) also bound to FRP(Vh) in either the oxidized (K(d) 180 microM) or reduced (K(d) 230 microM) form. By titrations with NADP(+) and NADPH and by an isotope exchange experiment, the reduction of the bound FMN by NADPH was found to be readily reversible (K(eq) = 0.8). Hence, the reduction of FRP(Vh)-bound FMN is not the committed step in coupling the NADPH oxidation to bioluminescence. To our knowledge, such an aspect of flavin reductase catalysis has only been clearly established for FRP(Vh). Although the reductive potentials and some other properties of a R203A variant of FRP(Vh) and an NADH/NADPH-utilizing flavin reductase from Vibrio fischeri are quite similar to that of the wild-type FRP(Vh), the reversal of the reduction of bound FMN was not detected for either of these two enzymes.

Effects of iodide on the fluorescence and activity of the hydroperoxyflavin intermediate of Vibrio harveyi luciferase.

The 4a-hydroperoxy-4a,5-dihydroFMN intermediate (II or HFOOH) of Vibrio harveyi luciferase is known to transform from a low quantum yield IIx to a high quantum yield (lambdamax 485 nm, uncorrected) IIy fluorescent species on exposure to excitation light. Similar results were observed with II prepared from the alphaH44A luciferase mutant, which is very weak in bioluminescence activity. Because of the rapid decay of the alphaH44A II, its true fluorescence was obscured by the more intense 520 nm fluorescence (uncorrected) from its decay product oxidized flavin mononucleotide (FMN). Potassium iodide (KI) at 0.2 M was effective in quenching the FMN fluorescence, leaving the 485 nm fluorescence of II from both the wild-type (WT) and alphaH44A luciferase readily detectable. For both II species, the luciferase-bound peroxyflavin was well shielded from KI quenching. KI also enhanced the decay rates of both the WT and alphaH44A II. For alphaH44A, the transformation of IIx to IIy can be induced by KI in the dark, and it is proposed to be a consequence of a luciferase conformational change. The WT II formed a bioluminescence-inactive complex with KI, resulting in two distinct decay time courses based on absorption changes and decreases of bioluminescence activity of II.

Identity of the emitter in the bacterial luciferase luminescence reaction: binding and fluorescence quantum yield studies of 5-decyl-4a-hydroxy-4a,5-dihydroriboflavin-5'-phosphate as a model.

The excited state of 4a-hydroxy-4a,5-dihydroFMN has been postulated to be the emitter in the bacterial bioluminescence reaction. However, while the bioluminescence quantum yield of the luciferase emitter is about 0.16, chemiluminescence and fluorescence quantum yields of earlier flavin models mimicking the luciferase emitter were no more than 10(-5). To further examine the proposed chemical identity of the luciferase emitter, 5-decyl-4a-hydroxy-4a,5-dihydroFMN was prepared as a new flavin model. Both the wild-type Vibrio harveyi luciferase and a catalytically active alphaC106A mutant formed complexes with the flavin model at a 1:1 molar ratio with K(d) values at 2.4 and 1.2 microM, respectively. This flavin model inhibited the activity of both luciferases, suggesting that it was bound to the enzyme active center. While the free flavin model was itself only very weakly fluorescent, its binding to either luciferase species resulted in markedly enhanced fluorescence, peaking at 440 nm. The fluorescence quantum yields of 5-decyl-4a-hydroxy-4a,5-dihydroFMN bound to wild-type and alphaC106A luciferases were 0.08 and 0.05, respectively, which are about 50% of the respective emitter bioluminescence quantum yields of these two luciferases. The present findings clearly demonstrated that the luciferase active site was suitable for marked enhancement of fluorescence of 4a-hydroxyflavin and, hence, provides a strong support to the proposed identity of 4a-hydroxy-4a,5-dihydroFMN, in its exited state, as the luciferase emitter.

Aminobacter aminovorans NADH:flavin oxidoreductase His140: a highly conserved residue critical for NADH binding and utilization.

Homodimeric FRD(Aa) Class I is an NADH:flavin oxidoreductase from Aminobacter aminovorans. It is unusual because it contains an FMN cofactor but utilizes a sequential-ordered kinetic mechanism. Because little is known about NADH-specific flavin reductases in general and FRD(Aa) in particular, this study aimed to further explore FRD(Aa) by identifying the functionalities of a key residue. A sequence alignment of FRD(Aa) with several known and hypothetical flavoproteins in the same subfamily reveals within the flavin reductase active-site domain a conserved GDH motif, which is believed to be responsible for the enzyme and NADH interaction. Mutation of the His140 in this GDH motif to alanine reduced FRD(Aa) activity to <3%. An ultrafiltration assay and fluorescence quenching demonstrated that H140A FRD(Aa) binds FMN in the same 1:1 stoichiometric ratio as the wild-type enzyme, but with slightly weakened affinity (K(d) = 0.9 microM). Anaerobic stopped-flow studies were carried out using both the native and mutated FRD(Aa). Similar to the native enzyme, H140A FRD(Aa) was also able to reduce the FMN cofactor by NADH although much less efficiently. Kinetic analysis of anaerobic reduction measurements indicated that the His140 residue of FRD(Aa) was essential to NADH binding, as well as important for the reduction of the FMN cofactor. For the native enzyme, the cofactor reduction was followed by at least one slower step in the catalytic pathway.

Kinetic mechanism and quaternary structure of Aminobacter aminovorans NADH:flavin oxidoreductase: an unusual flavin reductase with bound flavin.

The homodimeric NADH:flavin oxidoreductase from Aminobacter aminovorans is an NADH-specific flavin reductase herein designated FRD(Aa). FRD(Aa) was characterized with respect to purification yields, thermal stability, isoelectric point, molar absorption coefficient, and effects of phosphate buffer strength and pH on activity. Evidence from this work favors the classification of FRD(Aa) as a flavin cofactor-utilizing class I flavin reductase. The isolated native FRD(Aa) contained about 0.5 bound riboflavin-5'-phosphate (FMN) per enzyme monomer, but one bound flavin cofactor per monomer was obtainable in the presence of excess FMN or riboflavin. In addition, FRD(Aa) holoenzyme also utilized FMN, riboflavin, or FAD as a substrate. Steady-state kinetic results of substrate titrations, dead-end inhibition by AMP and lumichrome, and product inhibition by NAD(+) indicated an ordered sequential mechanism with NADH as the first binding substrate and reduced FMN as the first leaving product. This is contrary to the ping-pong mechanism shown by other class I flavin reductases. The FMN bound to the native FRD(Aa) can be fully reduced by NADH and subsequently reoxidized by oxygen. No NADH binding was detected using 90 microM FRD(Aa) apoenzyme and 300 microM NADH. All results favor the interpretation that the bound FMN was a cofactor rather than a substrate. It is highly unusual that a flavin reductase using a sequential mechanism would require a flavin cofactor to facilitate redox exchange between NADH and a flavin substrate. FRD(Aa) exhibited a monomer-dimer equilibrium with a K(d) of 2.7 microM. Similarities and differences between FRD(Aa) and certain flavin reductases are discussed.

Energy transfer evidence for in vitro and in vivo complexes of Vibrio harveyi flavin reductase P and luciferase.

Conservation of energetically "expensive" metabolites is facilitated by enzymatic intra- and intermolecular channeling mechanisms. Our previous in vitro kinetic studies indicate that Vibrio harveyi reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-flavin mononucleotide (NADPH-FMN) oxidoreductase flavin reductase P (FRP) can transfer reduced riboflavin 5'-phosphate (FMNH2) to bacterial luciferase by direct channeling. However, no evidence has ever been reported for such an FMNH2 channeling between these two enzymes in vivo. The formation of a donor-acceptor enzyme complex, stable or transient, is mandatory for direct metabolite channeling between two enzymes regardless of details of the transfer mechanisms. In this study, we have obtained direct evidence of in vitro and in vivo FRP-luciferase complexes that are functionally active. The approach used is a variation of a technique previously described as Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer. Yellow fluorescence protein (YFP) was fused to FRP to generate an active FRP-YFP fusion enzyme, which emits fluorescence peaking at 530 nm. In comparison with the normal 490 nm bioluminescence, an additional 530 nm component was observed in both the in vitro bioluminescence from the coupled reaction of luciferase and FRP-YFP and the in vivo bioluminescence from frp gene-negative V. harveyi cells that expressed FRP-YFP. This 530 nm bioluminescence component was not detected in a control in which a much higher level of YFP was present but not fused to FRP. Such findings indicate an energy transfer from the exited emitter of luciferase to the FRP component of the luciferase-FRP-YFP complex. Hence, the formation of an active complex of luciferase and FRP-YFP was detected both in vitro and in vivo.

Inhibition of InhA activity, but not KasA activity, induces formation of a KasA-containing complex in mycobacteria.

Isoniazid (INH) remains one of the key drugs used to control tuberculosis, with the enoyl-AcpM reductase InhA being the primary target. However, based on the observation that INH-treated Mycobacterium tuberculosis overproduces KasA, an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of mycolic acids, and induces the formation of a covalent complex consisting of AcpM, KasA, and INH, it has been proposed that KasA represents the primary target of INH. However, the relevance of this complex to INH action remains obscure. This study was aimed at clarifying the role of InhA and KasA in relation to INH activity. By using anti-KasA antibodies we detected the KasA-containing complex in INH-treated Mycobacterium smegmatis. In addition, INH-treated cells also produced constant levels of KasA that were not sequestered in the complex and presumably were sufficient to ensure mycolic acid biosynthesis. Interestingly, a furA-lacking strain induced the complex at lower concentrations of INH compared with the control strain, whereas higher INH concentrations were necessary to induce the complex in a strain that lacks katG, suggesting that INH needs to be activated by KatG to induce the KasA-containing complex. The InhA inhibitors ethionamide and diazaborine also induced the complex; thus, its formation was not specifically relevant to INH action but was because of InhA inhibition. In addition, in vitro assays using purified InhA and KasA demonstrated that KatG-activated INH, triclosan, and diazaborine inhibited InhA but not KasA activity. Moreover, several thermosensitive InhA mutant strains of M. smegmatis constitutively expressed the KasA-containing complex. This study provides the biochemical and genetic evidence. 1) Only inhibition of InhA, but not KasA, induces the KasA-containing complex. 2) INH is not part of the complex. 3) INH does not target KasA, consistent with InhA being the primary target of INH.

Complex formation between Vibrio harveyi luciferase and monomeric NADPH:FMN oxidoreductase.

A direct transfer of the reduced flavin mononucleotide (FMNH(2)) cofactor of Vibrio harveyi NADPH:FMN oxidoreductase (FRP) to luciferase for the coupled bioluminescence reaction has been indicated by recent kinetic studies [Lei, B., and Tu, S.-C. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 14623-14629; Jeffers, C., and Tu, S.-C. (2001) Biochemistry 40, 1749-1754]. For such a mechanism, a complex formation of luciferase with FRP is essential, but until now, no evidence for such a complex has been reported. In this work, FRP was labeled at 1:1 molar ratio with the fluorophore eosin. The labeled enzyme was about 30% active in either the reductase single-enzyme or the luciferase-coupled assay. The labeled FRP in either the holo- or apoenzyme form was similar to the native FRP in undergoing a monomer-dimer equilibrium. By measuring the steady-state fluorescence anisotropy of eosin-labeled FRP, it was shown that luciferase formed a complex at 1:1 molar ratio with the monomer of either the apoenzyme or the holoenzyme form of FRP with K(d) values of 7 and 11 microM, respectively. Neither the holo- nor the apoenzyme of the labeled FRP in the dimeric form was effective in complexing with luciferase. At maximal in vivo bioluminescence, the V. harveyi cellular contents of luciferase and FRP were estimated to be 172 and 3 microM, respectively. The vast majority of FRP would be trapped in the luciferase/FRP complex. Plausible physiological significance of such a finding is discussed.

Isoniazid activation defects in recombinant Mycobacterium tuberculosis catalase-peroxidase (KatG) mutants evident in InhA inhibitor production.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis KatG catalyzes the activation of the antitubercular agent isoniazid to yield an inhibitor targeting enoyl reductase (InhA). However, no firm biochemical link between many KatG variants and isoniazid resistance has been established. In the present study, six distinct KatG variants identified in clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates resistant to isoniazid were generated by site-directed mutagenesis, and the recombinant mutant proteins (KatG(A110V), KatG(A139P), KatG(S315N), KatG(L619P), KatG(L634F), and KatG(D735A)) were purified and characterized with respect to their catalase-peroxidase activities (in terms of k(cat)/K(m)), rates of free-radical formation from isoniazid oxidation, and, moreover, abilities to activate isoniazid. The A110V amino acid replacement did not result in significant alteration of KatG activities except that the peroxidase activity was enhanced. The other mutations, however, resulted in modestly reduced catalase and peroxidase catalytic efficiencies and, for the four mutants tested, significantly lower activities to oxidize isoniazid. Compared to the wild-type enzyme, the ability of the KatG(L634F), KatG(A139P), and KatG(D735A) variants to activate isoniazid decreased by 36%, 76%, and 73%, respectively, whereas the KatG(S315N) and KatG(L619P) variants completely lost their abilities to convert isoniazid into the InhA inhibitor. In addition, the inclusion of exogenous Mn(2+) to the isoniazid activation reaction mix significantly improved the ability of wild-type and KatG mutants to produce the InhA inhibitor.

Functional roles of conserved residues in the unstructured loop of Vibrio harveyi bacterial luciferase.

Residues 257-291 of the Vibrio harveyi bacterial luciferase alpha subunit comprise a highly conserved, protease-labile, disordered loop region, most of which is unresolved in the previously determined X-ray structures of the native enzyme. This loop region has been shown to display a time- dependent proteolysis resistance upon single catalytic turnover and was postulated to undergo conformational changes during catalysis ([AbouKhair, N. K., Ziegler, M. M., and Baldwin, T. O. (1985) Biochemistry 24, 3942-3947]. To investigate the role of this region in catalysis, we have performed site-specific mutations of different conserved loop residues. In comparison with V(max) and V(max)/K(m,flavin) of the native luciferase, the bioluminescence activities of alphaG284P were decreased to 1-2% whereas those of alphaG275P and alphaF261D were reduced by 4-6 orders of magnitude. Stopped-flow results indicate that both alphaG275P and alphaF261D were able to form the 4a-hydroperoxy-FMN intermediate II but at lower yields. Both mutants also had enhanced rates for the intermediate II nonproductive dark decay and significantly compromised abilities to oxidize the decanal substrate. Additional mutations were introduced into the alphaG275 and alphaF261 positions, and the activities of the resulting mutants were characterized. Results indicate that the torsional flexibility of the alphaG275 residue and the bulky and hydrophobic nature of the alphaF261 residue were critical to the luciferase activity. Our results also support a functional role for the alpha subunit unstructured loop itself, possibly by serving as a mobile gating mechanism in shielding critical intermediates (including the excited flavin emitter) from exposure to medium.