title: Structural genes of glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase for porphyrin synthesis in a cyanobacterium and Escherichia coli.
abstract: In bacteria 5-aminolevulinate, the universal precursor in the biosynthesis of the porphyrin nucleus of hemes, chlorophylls and bilins is synthesised by two different pathways: in non-sulphur purple bacteria (Rhodobacter) or Rhizobium 5-aminolevulinate synthase condenses glycine and succinyl-CoA into 5-aminolevulinate as is the case in mammalian cells and yeast. In cyanobacteria, green and purple sulphur bacteria, as in chloroplasts of higher plants and algae a three step pathway converts glutamate into 5-aminolevulinate. The last step is the conversion of glutamate 1-semialdehyde into 5-aminolevulinate. Using a cDNA clone encoding glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase from barley, genes for this enzyme were cloned from Synechococcus PCC6301 and Escherichia coli and sequenced. The popC gene of E. coli, previously considered to encode 5-aminolevulinate synthase, appears to be a structural gene for glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase. Domains with identical amino acid sequences comprise 48% of the primary structure of the barley, cyanobacterial and putative E. coli glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferases. The cyanobacterial and barley enzymes share 72% identical residues. The peptide containing a likely pyridoxamine phosphate binding lysine is conserved in all three protein sequences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Carlsberg Laboratory, Copenhagen-Valby, Denmark.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bull
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Breu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D001467:Hordeum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D019751:Intramolecular Transferases; D007535:Isomerases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D011166:Porphyrins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D011166:Porphyrins; D007535:Isomerases; D019751:Intramolecular Transferases; C061049:glutamate-1-semialdehyde 2,1-aminomutase