title: Characterization of a bifunctional enzyme fusion of trehalose-6-phosphate synthetase and trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase of Escherichia coli.
abstract: To test the effect of the physical proximity of two enzymes catalyzing sequential reactions, a bifunctional fusion enzyme, TPSP, was constructed by fusing the Escherichia coli genes for trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) synthetase (TPS) and trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase (TPP). TPSP catalyzes the sequential reaction in which T6P is formed and then dephosphorylated, leading to the synthesis of trehalose. The fused chimeric gene was overexpressed in E. coli and purified to near homogeneity; its molecular weight was 88,300, as expected. The K(m) values of the TPSP fusion enzyme for the sequential overall reaction from UDP-glucose and glucose 6-phosphate to trehalose were smaller than those of an equimolar mixture of TPS and TPP (TPS/TPP). However, the k(cat) values of TPSP were similar to those of TPS/TPP, resulting in a 3.5- to 4.0-fold increase in the catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)). The K(m) and k(cat) values of TPSP and TPP for the phosphatase reaction from T6P to trehalose were quite similar. This suggests that the increased catalytic efficiency results from the proximity of TPS and TPP in the TPSP fusion enzyme. The thermal stability of the TPSP fusion enzyme was quite similar to that of the TPS/TPP mixture, suggesting that the structure of each enzyme moiety in TPSP is unperturbed by intramolecular constraint. These results clearly demonstrate that the bifunctional fusion enzyme TPSP catalyzing sequential reactions has kinetic advantages over a mixture of both enzymes (TPS and TPP). These results are also supported by the in vivo accumulation of up to 0.48 mg of trehalose per g of cells after isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside treatment of cells harboring the construct encoding TPSP.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Suwon 441-744, Korea.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Y D
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D005964:Glucosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D007544:Isopropyl Thiogalactoside / Q000494:pharmacology; D007700:Kinetics; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D013696:Temperature; D014199:Trehalose / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D007544:Isopropyl Thiogalactoside; D014199:Trehalose; D005964:Glucosyltransferases; C023180:trehalose-6-phosphate synthase; C023178:trehalose-phosphatase; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases