Insights Into the Carboxyltransferase Reaction of Pyruvate Carboxylase From the Structures of Bound Product and Intermediate Analogs

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) is a biotin-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the MgATP- and bicarbonate-dependent carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, an important anaplerotic reaction in central metabolism. The carboxyltransferase (CT) domain of PC catalyzes the transfer of a carboxyl group from carboxybiotin to the accepting substrate, pyruvate. It has been hypothesized that the reactive enolpyruvate intermediate is stabilized through a bidentate interaction with the metal ion in the CT domain active site. Whereas bidentate ligands are commonly observed in enzymes catalyzing reactions proceeding through an enolpyruvate intermediate, no bidentate interaction has yet been observed in the CT domain of PC. Here, we report three X-ray crystal structures of the Rhizobium etli PC CT domain with the bound inhibitors oxalate, 3-hydroxypyruvate, and 3-bromopyruvate. Oxalate, a stereoelectronic mimic of the enolpyruvate intermediate, does not interact directly with the metal ion. Instead, oxalate is buried in a pocket formed by several positively charged amino acid residues and the metal ion. Furthermore, both 3-hydroxypyruvate and 3-bromopyruvate, analogs of the reaction product oxaloacetate, bind in an identical manner to oxalate suggesting that the substrate maintains its orientation in the active site throughout catalysis. Together, these structures indicate that the substrates, products and intermediates in the PC-catalyzed reaction are not oriented in the active site as previously assumed. The absence of a bidentate interaction with the active site metal appears to be a unique mechanistic feature among the small group of biotin-dependent enzymes that act on α-keto acid substrates

A Substrate-induced Biotin Binding Pocket in the Carboxyltransferase Domain of Pyruvate Carboxylase

Biotin-dependent enzymes catalyze carboxyl transfer reactions by efficiently coordinating multiple reactions between spatially distinct active sites. Pyruvate carboxylase (PC), a multifunctional biotin-dependent enzyme, catalyzes the bicarbonate- and MgATP-dependent carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate, an important anaplerotic reaction in mammalian tissues. To complete the overall reaction, the tethered biotin prosthetic group must first gain access to the biotin carboxylase domain and become carboxylated and then translocate to the carboxyltransferase domain, where the carboxyl group is transferred from biotin to pyruvate. Here, we report structural and kinetic evidence for the formation of a substrate-induced biotin binding pocket in the carboxyltransferase domain of PC from Rhizobium etli. Structures of the carboxyltransferase domain reveal that R. etli PC occupies a symmetrical conformation in the absence of the biotin carboxylase domain and that the carboxyltransferase domain active site is conformationally rearranged upon pyruvate binding. This conformational change is stabilized by the interaction of the conserved residues Asp590 and Tyr628 and results in the formation of the biotin binding pocket. Site-directed mutations at these residues reduce the rate of biotin-dependent reactions but have no effect on the rate of biotin-independent oxaloacetate decarboxylation. Given the conservation with carboxyltransferase domains in oxaloacetate decarboxylase and transcarboxylase, the structure-based mechanism described for PC may be applicable to the larger family of biotin-dependent enzymes

Writing Assignments with a Metacognitive Component Enhance Learning in a Large Introductory Biology Course

Writing assignments, including note taking and written recall, should enhance retention of knowledge, whereas analytical writing tasks with metacognitive aspects should enhance higher-order thinking. In this study, we assessed how certain writing-intensive “interventions,” such as written exam corrections and peer-reviewed writing assignments using Calibrated Peer Review and including a metacognitive component, improve student learning. We designed and tested the possible benefits of these approaches using control and experimental variables across and between our three-section introductory biology course. Based on assessment, students who corrected exam questions showed significant improvement on postexam assessment compared with their nonparticipating peers. Differences were also observed between students participating in written and discussion-based exercises. Students with low ACT scores benefited equally from written and discussion-based exam corrections, whereas students with midrange to high ACT scores benefited more from written than discussion-based exam corrections. Students scored higher on topics learned via peer-reviewed writing assignments relative to learning in an active classroom discussion or traditional lecture. However, students with low ACT scores (17–23) did not show the same benefit from peer-reviewed written essays as the other students. These changes offer significant student learning benefits with minimal additional effort by the instructors

Inhibitors of Pyruvate Carboxylase

This review aims to discuss the varied types of inhibitors of biotin-dependent carboxylases, with an emphasis on the inhibitors of pyruvate carboxylase. Some of these inhibitors are physiologically relevant, in that they provide ways of regulating the cellular activities of the enzymes e.g. aspartate and prohibitin inhibition of pyruvate carboxylase. Most of the inhibitors that will be discussed have been used to probe various aspects of the structure and function of these enzymes. They target particular parts of the structure e.g. avidin – biotin, FTP – ATP binding site, oxamate – pyruvate binding site, phosphonoacetate – binding site of the putative carboxyphosphate intermediate

Allosteric Regulation Alters Carrier Domain Translocation in Pyruvate Carboxylase

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) catalyzes the ATP-dependent carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate. The reaction occurs in two separate catalytic domains, coupled by the long-range translocation of a biotinylated carrier domain (BCCP). Here, we use a series of hybrid PC enzymes to examine multiple BCCP translocation pathways in PC. These studies reveal that the BCCP domain of PC adopts a wide range of translocation pathways during catalysis. Furthermore, the allosteric activator, acetyl CoA, promotes one specific intermolecular carrier domain translocation pathway. These results provide a basis for the ordered thermodynamic state and the enhanced carboxyl group transfer efficiency in the presence of acetyl CoA, and reveal that the allosteric effector regulates enzyme activity by altering carrier domain movement. Given the similarities with enzymes involved in the modular synthesis of natural products, the allosteric regulation of carrier domain movements in PC is likely to be broadly applicable to multiple important enzyme systems

Inactivation of Mandelate Racemase by 3-Hydroxypyruvate Reveals a Potential Mechanistic Link between Enzyme Superfamilies

Mandelate racemase (MR), a member of the enolase superfamily, catalyzes the Mg2+-dependent interconversion of the enantiomers of mandelate. Several α-keto acids are modest competitive inhibitors of MR [e.g., mesoxalate (Ki = 1.8 ± 0.3 mM) and 3-fluoropyruvate (Ki = 1.3 ± 0.1 mM)], but, surprisingly, 3-hydroxypyruvate (3-HP) is an irreversible, time-dependent inhibitor (kinact/KI = 83 ± 8 M–1 s–1). Protection from inactivation by the competitive inhibitor benzohydroxamate, trypsinolysis and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry analyses, and X-ray crystallographic studies reveal that 3-HP undergoes Schiff-base formation with Lys 166 at the active site, followed by formation of an aldehyde/enol(ate) adduct. Such a reaction is unprecedented in the enolase superfamily and may be a relic of an activity possessed by a promiscuous progenitor enzyme. The ability of MR to form and deprotonate a Schiff-base intermediate furnishes a previously unrecognized mechanistic link to other α/β-barrel enzymes utilizing Schiff-base chemistry and is in accord with the sequence- and structure-based hypothesis that members of the metal-dependent enolase superfamily and the Schiff-base-forming N-acetylneuraminate lyase superfamily and aldolases share a common ancestor

The Structure of Allophanate Hydrolase from \u3cem\u3eGranulibacter bethesdensis\u3c/em\u3e Provides Insights into Substrate Specificity in the Amidase Signature Family

Allophanate hydrolase (AH) catalyzes the hydrolysis of allophanate, an intermediate in atrazine degradation and urea catabolism pathways, to NH3 and CO2. AH belongs to the amidase signature family, which is characterized by a conserved block of 130 amino acids rich in Gly and Ser and a Ser-cis-Ser-Lys catalytic triad. In this study, the first structures of AH from Granulibacter bethesdensis were determined, with and without the substrate analogue malonate, to 2.2 and 2.8 Å, respectively. The structures confirm the identity of the catalytic triad residues and reveal an altered dimerization interface that is not conserved in the amidase signature family. The structures also provide insights into previously unrecognized substrate specificity determinants in AH. Two residues, Tyr299 and Arg307, are within hydrogen bonding distance of a carboxylate moiety of malonate. Both Tyr299 and Arg307 were mutated, and the resulting modified enzymes revealed \u3e3 order of magnitude reductions in both catalytic efficiency and substrate stringency. It is proposed that Tyr299 and Arg307 serve to anchor and orient the substrate for attack by the catalytic nucleophile, Ser172. The structure further suggests the presence of a unique C-terminal domain in AH. While this domain is conserved, it does not contribute to catalysis or to the structural integrity of the core domain, suggesting that it may play a role in mediating transient and specific interactions with the urea carboxylase component of urea amidolyase. Analysis of the AH active site architecture offers new insights into common determinants of catalysis and specificity among divergent members of the amidase signature family

A possible origin for large aspect angle "HAIR'' echoes seen by SuperDARN radars in the E region

International audienceMilan2004 have recently reported on close-range E region decameter size echoes that seem to be relatively weak, have apparently unusually large aspect angles, and possess Doppler shifts that are slow and are clearly consistent with the ion drift of the medium as opposed to, say, its electron drift or its ion-acoustic speed. We argue that these irregularities are the result of a nonlinear wave conversion process triggered by the nonlocal evolution of decameter Farley-Buneman waves. According to this picture, structures which have weak spontaneous growth rates and are initially field-aligned undergo an evolution of their aspect angle that results in a jump in the aspect angle at some point in time and space. When this takes place, a rapid mode conversion must follow, which takes energy away from a standard two-stream signature and converts it either to a strongly damped ion-acoustic mode or to a purely decaying mode, depending on altitude

Functionally Diverse Biotin-dependent Enzymes with Oxaloacetate Decarboxylase Activity

Biotin-dependent enzymes catalyze carboxylation, decarboxylation and transcarboxylation reactions that participate in the primary metabolism of a wide range of organisms. In all cases, the overall reaction proceeds via two half reactions that take place in physically distinct active sites. In the first half-reaction, a carboxyl group is transferred to the 1-N′ of a covalently tethered biotin cofactor. The tethered carboxybiotin intermediate subsequently translocates to a second active site where the carboxyl group is either transferred to an acceptor substrate or, in some bacteria and archaea, is decarboxylated to biotin and CO2 in order to power the export of sodium ions from the cytoplasm. A homologous carboxyltransferase domain is found in three enzymes that catalyze diverse overall reactions: carbon fixation by pyruvate carboxylase, decarboxylation and sodium transport by the biotin-dependent oxaloacetate decarboxylase complex, and transcarboxylation by transcarboxylase from Propionibacterium shermanii. Over the past several years, structural data have emerged which have greatly advanced the mechanistic description of these enzymes. This review assembles a uniform description of the carboxyltransferase domain structure and catalytic mechanism from recent studies of pyruvate carboxylase, oxaloacetate decarboxylase and transcarboxylase, three enzymes that utilize an analogous carboxyltransferase domain to catalyze the biotin-dependent decarboxylation of oxaloacetate