title: Subtle difference between benzene and toluene dioxygenases of Pseudomonas putida.
abstract: Benzene dioxygenase and toluene dioxygenase from Pseudomonas putida have similar catalytic properties, structures, and gene organizations, but they differ in substrate specificity, with toluene dioxygenase having higher activity toward alkylbenzenes. The catalytic iron-sulfur proteins of these enzymes consist of two dissimilar subunits, alpha and beta; the alpha subunit contains a [2Fe-2S] cluster involved in electron transfer, the catalytic nonheme iron center, and is also responsible for substrate specificity. The amino acid sequences of the alpha subunits of benzene and toluene dioxygenases differ at only 33 of 450 amino acids. Chimeric proteins and mutants of the benzene dioxygenase alpha subunit were constructed to determine which of these residues were primarily responsible for the change in specificity. The protein containing toluene dioxygenase C-terminal region residues 281 to 363 showed greater substrate preference for alkyl benzenes. In addition, we identified four amino acid substitutions in this region, I301V, T305S, I307L, and L309V, that particularly enhanced the preference for ethylbenzene. The positions of these amino acids in the alpha subunit structure were modeled by comparison with the crystal structure of naphthalene dioxygenase. They were not in the substrate-binding pocket but were adjacent to residues that lined the channel through which substrates were predicted to enter the active site. However, the quadruple mutant also showed a high uncoupled rate of electron transfer without product formation. Finally, the modified proteins showed altered patterns of products formed from toluene and ethylbenzene, including monohydroxylated side chains. We propose that these properties can be explained by a more facile diffusion of the substrate in and out of the substrate cavity.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Group, Division of Life Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom. c.bagneris@mail.cryst.bbk.ac.uk
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bagnéris
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cammack
authors.forename: Jeremy R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Mason
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D007700:Kinetics; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D010105:Oxygenases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D021122:Protein Subunits; D016958:Pseudomonas putida / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D021122:Protein Subunits; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases; D010105:Oxygenases; C023172:toluene dioxygenase; C019765:benzene 1,2-dioxygenase