title: Origin of the human alcohol dehydrogenase system: implications from the structure and properties of the octopus protein.
abstract: In contrast to the multiplicity of alcohol dehydrogenase in vertebrates, a class III type of the enzyme [i.e., a glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase; formaldehyde; NAD+ oxidoreductase (glutathione-formylating), EC 1.2.1.1.] is the only form detectable in appreciable yield in octopus. It is enzymatically and structurally highly similar to the human class III enzyme, with limited overall residue differences (26%) and only a few conservative residue exchanges at the substrate and coenzyme pockets, reflecting "constant" characteristics of this class over wide time periods. It is distinct from the ethanol-active "variable" class I type of the enzyme (i.e., classical liver alcohol dehydrogenase; alcohol:NAD+ oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.1). The residue conservation of class III is also spaced differently from that of class I but is typical of that of proteins in general, emphasizing that class I, with divergence at three functional segments, is the form with deviating properties. In spite of the conservation in class III, surface charges differ considerably. The apparent absence of a class I enzyme in octopus and the constant nature of the class III enzyme support the concept of a duplicative origin of the class I line from the ancient class III form. Still more distant relationships define further enzyme lines that have subunits with other properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry I, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Parés
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jörnvall
mesh_terms: D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D000442:Octanols / Q000378:metabolism; D049831:Octopodiformes / Q000201:enzymology*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000442:Octanols; D000426:Alcohol Dehydrogenase