title: Comparative modeling of the latent form of a plant catechol oxidase using a molluskan hemocyanin structure.
abstract: The structure of the precursor form of catechol oxidase from sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) has been modeled on the basis of the 3D structural data of mature catechol oxidase [Nat. Struct. Biol. 5 (1998) 1084] and of hemocyanin from giant octopus (Octopus dofleini) [J. Mol. Biol. 278 (1998) 855]. A C-terminal extension peptide is found in the cDNA sequence but not in the purified, mature form of catechol oxidase. Superimposition of the 3D structures of the native hemocyanin and catechol oxidase reveals a close relationship except for an additional C-terminal domain only found in the hemocyanin structure. As sequence alignment shows good homology this domain of the hemocyanin structure was used as a template to model the 3D structure of the C-terminal extension peptide of catechol oxidase. As hemocyanins show no or only weak catecholase activity due to this domain this indicates an inhibitory function of this extension peptide. Beside this possible shielding function for the precursor form, evidence for a function in copper-uptake also increases due to the location of three histidine residues in the model.
authors.affiliation: Anorganisch-Chemisches Institut der Universität Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Strasse 8, 48149, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gerdemann
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eicken
authors.forename: Hans Joachim
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Galla
authors.forename: Bernt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Krebs
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D004156:Catechol Oxidase / Q000737:chemistry*; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism; D006433:Hemocyanins / Q000737:chemistry*; D027723:Ipomoea batatas / Q000201:enzymology*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D049831:Octopodiformes / Q000201:enzymology*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D006433:Hemocyanins; D004156:Catechol Oxidase