title: On the divalent metal ion dependence of DNA cleavage by restriction endonucleases of the EcoRI family.
abstract: Restriction endonucleases of the PD...D/EXK family need Mg(2+) for DNA cleavage. Whereas Mg(2+) (or Mn(2+)) promotes catalysis, Ca(2+) (without Mg(2+)) only supports DNA binding. The role of Mg(2+) in DNA cleavage by restriction endonucleases has elicited many hypotheses, differing mainly in the number of Mg(2+) involved in catalysis. To address this problem, we measured the Mg(2+) and Mn(2+) concentration dependence of DNA cleavage by BamHI, BglII, Cfr10I, EcoRI, EcoRII (catalytic domain), MboI, NgoMIV, PspGI, and SsoII, which were reported in co-crystal structure analyses to bind one (BglII and EcoRI) or two (BamHI and NgoMIV) Me(2+) per active site. DNA cleavage experiments were carried out at various Mg(2+) and Mn(2+) concentrations at constant ionic strength. All enzymes show a qualitatively similar Mg(2+) and Mn(2+) concentration dependence. In general, the Mg(2+) concentration optimum (between approximately 1 and 10 mM) is higher than the Mn(2+) concentration optimum (between approximately 0.1 and 1 mM). At still higher Mg(2+) or Mn(2+) concentrations, the activities of all enzymes tested are reduced but can be reactivated by Ca(2+). Based on these results, we propose that one Mg(2+) or Mn(2+) is critical for restriction enzyme activation, and binding of a second Me(2+) plays a role in modulating the activity. Steady-state kinetics carried out with EcoRI and BamHI suggest that binding of a second Mg(2+) or Mn(2+) mainly leads to an increase in K(m), such that the inhibitory effect of excess Mg(2+) or Mn(2+) can be overcome by increasing the substrate concentration. Our conclusions are supported by molecular dynamics simulations and are consistent with the structural observations of both one and two Me(2+) binding to these enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biochemie, Justus-Liebig-Universität, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, D-35392 Giessen, Germany. vera.pingoud@chemie.bio.uni-giessen.de
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pingoud
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wende
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Friedhoff
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reuter
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jeltsch
authors.forename: Letif
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mones
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fuxreiter
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pingoud
mesh_terms: D002412:Cations / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003067:Coenzymes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D053837:DNA Cleavage; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008274:Magnesium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008345:Manganese / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D003067:Coenzymes; D008345:Manganese; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D008274:Magnesium