title: Selenocysteine synthase from Escherichia coli. Analysis of the reaction sequence.
abstract: The product of the selA gene, selenocysteine synthase, is a pyridoxal 5-phosphate-containing enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of seryl-tRNA(Sec UCA) into selenocysteyl-tRNA(Sec UCA). Reduction of the aldimine group of pyridoxal 5-phosphate inactivates the enzyme. When reacted with seryl-tRNA(Sec UCA) as sole substrate, pyruvate (and possibly also ammonia) is released; in the presence of a high concentration of potassium borohydride, alanyl-tRNA(Sec UCA) is formed from seryl-tRNA(Sec UCA). These results support the notion that the formyl group of pyridoxal phosphate forms a Schiff base with the alpha-amino group of L-serine with the subsequent 2,3-elimination of a water molecule and the generation of an aminoacrylyl-tRNA(Sec UCA) intermediate. ATP is not required for this reaction step, but it is necessary for the conversion of aminoacrylyl-tRNA into selenocysteyl-tRNA(Sec UCA) which, in addition, requires the SELD protein and reduced selenium. Selenocysteine synthase forms a stable complex with seryl-tRNA(Sec UCA) with one tRNA molecule bound per two 50-kDa monomers. The enzyme does not interact with serine-inserting tRNA species. Taken together, the results show that biosynthesis of selenocysteine takes place in the enzyme-bound state and involves the dehydration of L-serine esterified to tRNA in a first step formally followed by the 2,3-addition of HSe- which is provided by the SELD protein in an ATP-dependent reaction in the form of a reactive selenium donor molecule.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie, Universität München, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Forchhammer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Böck
mesh_terms: D001345:Autoradiography; D002384:Catalysis; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology*; D012362:RNA, Transfer, Ser / Q000378:metabolism; D014166:Transferases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012362:RNA, Transfer, Ser; D014166:Transferases; C060600:selenium transferase