title: Cofactor-independent phosphoglycerate mutase has an essential role in Caenorhabditis elegans and is conserved in parasitic nematodes.
abstract: Phosphoglycerate mutases catalyze the interconversion of 2- and 3-phosphoglycerate in the glycolytic and gluconeogenic pathways. They exist in two unrelated forms that are either cofactor (2,3-diphosphoglycerate)-dependent or cofactor-independent. The two enzymes have no similarity in amino acid sequence, tertiary structure, or catalytic mechanism. Certain organisms including vertebrates have only the cofactor-dependent form, whereas other organisms can possess the independent form or both. Caenorhabditis elegans has been predicted to have only independent phosphoglycerate mutase. In this study, we have cloned and produced recombinant, independent phosphoglycerate mutases from C. elegans and the human-parasitic nematode Brugia malayi. They are 70% identical to each other and related to known bacterial, fungal, and protozoan enzymes. The nematode enzymes possess the catalytic serine, and other key amino acids proposed for catalysis and recombinant enzymes showed typical phosphoglycerate mutase activities in both the glycolytic and gluconeogenic directions. The gene is essential in C. elegans, because the reduction of its activity by RNA interference led to embryonic lethality, larval lethality, and abnormal body morphology. Promoter reporter analysis indicated widespread expression in larval and adult C. elegans with the highest levels apparent in the nerve ring, intestine, and body wall muscles. The enzyme was found in a diverse group of nematodes representing the major clades, indicating that it is conserved throughout this phylum. Our results demonstrate that nematodes, unlike vertebrates, utilize independent phosphoglycerate mutase in glycolytic and gluconeogenic pathways and that the enzyme is probably essential for all nematodes.
authors.affiliation: New England Biolabs, 32 Tozer Road, Beverly, MA 01915, USA.
authors.forename: Yinhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jeremy M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Marjorie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fougere
authors.forename: Clotilde K S
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Carlow
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017178:Brugia malayi; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D010736:Phosphoglycerate Mutase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D034622:RNA Interference; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D013997:Time Factors; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D010736:Phosphoglycerate Mutase