title: Adenylylation and catalytic properties of Mycobacterium tuberculosis glutamine synthetase expressed in Escherichia coli versus mycobacteria.
abstract: Bacterial glutamine synthetases (GSs) are complex dodecameric oligomers that play a critical role in nitrogen metabolism, converting ammonia and glutamate to glutamine. Recently published reports suggest that GS from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb) may be a therapeutic target (Harth, G., and Horwitz, M. A. (2003) Infect. Immun. 71, 456-464). In some bacteria, GS is regulated via adenylylation of some or all of the subunits within the aggregate; catalytic activity is inversely proportional to the extent of adenylylation. The adenylylation and deadenylylation of GS are catalyzed by adenylyl transferase (ATase). Here, we demonstrate via electrospray ionization mass spectrometry that GS from pathogenic M. tuberculosis is adenylylated by the Escherichia coli ATase. The adenylyl group can be hydrolyzed by snake venom phosphodiesterase to afford the unmodified enzyme. The site of adenylylation of MTb GS by the E. coli ATase is Tyr-406, as indicated by the lack of adenylylation of the Y406F mutant, and, as expected, is based on amino acid sequence alignments. Using electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy methodology, we found that GS is not adenylylated when obtained directly from MTb cultures that are not supplemented with glutamine. Under these conditions, the highly related but non-pathogenic Mycobacterium bovis BCG yields partially ( approximately 25%) adenylylated enzyme. Upon the addition of glutamine to the cultures, the MTb GS becomes significantly adenylylated ( approximately 30%), whereas the adenylylation of M. bovis BCG GS does not change. Collectively, the results demonstrate that MTb GS is a substrate for E. coli ATase, but only low adenylylation states are accessible. This parallels the low adenylylation states observed for GS from mycobacteria and suggests the intriguing possibility that adenylylation in the pathogenic versus non-pathogenic mycobacteria is differentially regulated.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathobiology and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-7610, USA.
authors.forename: Ranjana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Josh T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: Sumit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.forename: Abhinav
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nath
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hickey
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Sherman
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Atkins
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase / Q000737:chemistry*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D005973:Glutamine / Q000737:chemistry; D006868:Hydrolysis; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009154:Mutation; D009159:Mycobacteriaceae / Q000378:metabolism*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000201:enzymology*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D012910:Snake Venoms / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D013997:Time Factors; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012910:Snake Venoms; D005973:Glutamine; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D014443:Tyrosine; D000641:Ammonia; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases; D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase; D009584:Nitrogen