title: Functional analysis by site-directed mutagenesis of individual amino acid residues in the flavin domain of Neurospora crassa nitrate reductase.
abstract: Nitrate reductase of Neurospora crassa is a complex multi-redox protein composed of two identical subunits, each of which contains three distinct domains, an amino-terminal domain that contains a molybdopterin cofactor, a central heme-containing domain, and a carboxy-terminal domain which binds a flavin and a pyridine nucleotide cofactor. The flavin domain of nitrate reductase appears to have structural and functional similarity to ferredoxin NADPH reductase (FNR). Using the crystal structure of FNR and amino acid identities in numerous nitrate reductases as guides, site-directed mutagenesis was used to replace specific amino acids suspected to be involved in the binding of the flavin or pyridine nucleotide cofactors and thus important for the catalytic function of the flavin domain. Each mutant flavin domain protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and analyzed for NADPH: ferricyanide reductase activity. The effect of each amino acid substitution upon the activity of the complete nitrate reductase reaction was also examined by transforming each manipulated gene into a nit-3- null mutant of N. crassa. Our results identify amino acid residues which are critical for function of the flavin domain of nitrate reductase and appear to be important for the binding of the flavin or the pyridine nucleotide cofactors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Brito
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Marzluf
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D015153:Blotting, Western; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D005415:Flavins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009247:NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009492:Neurospora crassa / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D050901:Nitrate Reductase; D009565:Nitrate Reductases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D009711:Nucleotides / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014170:Transformation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D005415:Flavins; D009711:Nucleotides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D009247:NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases; C014227:ferricyanide reductase; D009565:Nitrate Reductases; D050901:Nitrate Reductase