title: Maize C4 NADP-malic enzyme. Expression in Escherichia coli and characterization of site-directed mutants at the putative nucleoside-binding sites.
abstract: Malic enzymes catalyze the oxidative decarboxylation of l-malate to yield pyruvate, CO(2), and NAD(P)H in the presence of a bivalent metal ion. In plants, different isoforms of the NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME) are involved in a wide range of metabolic pathways. The C(4)-specific NADP-ME has evolved from C(3)-type malic enzymes to represent a unique and specialized form of NADP-ME as indicated by its particular kinetic and regulatory properties. In the present study, the mature C(4)-specific NADP-ME of maize was expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant enzyme has essentially the same physicochemical properties and K(m) for the substrates as those of the naturally occurring NADP-ME previously characterized. However, the k(cat) was almost 7-fold higher, which may suggest that the previously purified enzyme from maize leaves was partially inactive. The recombinant NADP-ME also has a very low intrinsic NAD-dependent activity. Five mutants of NADP-ME at the postulated putative NADP-binding site(s) (Gsite5V, Gsite2V, A392G, A387G, and R237L) were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis and purified to homogeneity. The participation of these residues in substrate binding and/or the catalytic reaction was inferred by kinetic measurements and circular dichroism and intrinsic fluorescence spectra. The results obtained were compared with a predicted three-dimensional model of maize C(4) NADP-ME based on crystallographic studies of related animal NAD(P)-MEs. The data presented here represent the first prokaryotic expression of a plant NADP-ME and reveals valuable insight regarding the participation of the mutated amino acids in the binding of substrates and/or catalysis.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquimicos (CEFOBI), CONICET, Fund. M. Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531, Argentina.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Detarsio
authors.forename: Mariel C Gerrard
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.forename: Valeria A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Campos Bermúdez
authors.forename: Carlos S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Andreo
authors.forename: María F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Drincovich
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D001665:Binding Sites; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D007700:Kinetics; D008291:Malate Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009154:Mutation; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D003313:Zea mays / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D008291:Malate Dehydrogenase; C031917:malate dehydrogenase (oxaloacetate-decarboxylating) (NADP+)