title: Imidazole acetol phosphate aminotransferase in Zymomonas mobilis: molecular genetic, biochemical, and evolutionary analyses.
abstract: hisH encodes imidazole acetol phosphate (IAP) aminotransferase in Zymomonas mobilis and is located immediately upstream of tyrC, a gene which codes for cyclohexadienyl dehydrogenase. A plasmid containing hisH was able to complement an Escherichia coli histidine auxotroph which lacked the homologous aminotransferase. DNA sequencing of hisH revealed an open reading frame of 1,110 bp, encoding a protein of 40,631 Da. The cloned hisH product was purified from E. coli and estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to have a molecular mass of 40,000 Da. Since the native enzyme had a molecular mass of 85,000 Da as determined by gel filtration, the active enzyme species must be a homodimer. The purified enzyme was able to transaminate aromatic amino acids and histidine in addition to histidinol phosphate. The existence of a single protein having broad substrate specificity was consistent with the constant ratio of activities obtained with different substrates following a variety of physical treatments (such as freeze-thaw, temperature inactivation, and manipulation of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate content). The purified enzyme did not require addition of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, but dependence upon this cofactor was demonstrated following resolution of the enzyme and cofactor by hydroxylamine treatment. Kinetic data showed the classic ping-pong mechanism expected for aminotransferases. Km values of 0.17, 3.39, and 43.48 mM for histidinol phosphate, tyrosine, and phenylalanine were obtained. The gene structure around hisH-tyrC suggested an operon organization. The hisH-tyrC cluster in Z. mobilis is reminiscent of the hisH-tyrA component of a complex operon in Bacillus subtilis, which includes the tryptophan operon and aroE. Multiple alignment of all aminotransferase sequences available in the database showed that within the class I superfamily of aminotransferases, IAP aminotransferases (family I beta) are closer to the I gamma family (e.g., rat tyrosine aminotransferase) than to the I alpha family (e.g., rat aspartate aminotransferase or E. coli AspC). Signature motifs which distinguish the IAP aminotransferase family were identified in the region of the active-site lysine and in the region of the interdomain interface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eddy
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D011732:Pyridoxal Phosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D000637:Transaminases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017355:Zymomonas / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011732:Pyridoxal Phosphate; D014364:Tryptophan; D000637:Transaminases; C053430:histidinol-phosphate aminotransferase