Herbert Hottinger

Evolutionary relationship of NAD(+)-dependent D-lactate dehydrogenase: comparison of primary structure of 2-hydroxy acid dehydrogenases.

A comparison of the primary structures of NAD(+)-dependent D-lactate dehydrogenase with L-lactate dehydrogenase and L-malate dehydrogenase failed to show any sequence similarity. However, D-2-hydroxyisocaproate dehydrogenase from Lactobacillus casei, glycerate dehydrogenase from cucumber, D-3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase and erythronate 4-phosphate dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli showed 38%, 24%, 24% and 22% amino acid identity, respectively. The profile analysis of the aligned sequences confirmed their relatedness. The hydropathy profiles of the aligned dehydrogenases were almost identical between residues 100-300 indicating largely preserved folding patterns of their polypeptide chains. The data suggest that L- and D-specific 2-hydroxy acid dehydrogenase genes evolved from two different ancestors and thus represent two different sets of enzyme families.

Misaminoacylation and transamidation are required for protein biosynthesis in Lactobacillus bulgaricus.

Aminoacylation studies with Lactobacillus bulgaricus show that this organism possesses glutamyl-tRNA synthetase activity; however, glutamyl-tRNA synthetase activity cannot be demonstrated. Instead, Glu-tRNAGln, which is formed by glutamyl-tRNA synthetase, is amidated by a specific amidotransferase to Gln-tRNAGln. The amide donor in this reaction is glutamine. Thus, Gln-tRNAGln in this organism is not formed by direct glutaminylation of tRNAGln, but instead by a pathway which involves misaminoacylation and transamidation.

Cloning and overexpression of the Lactobacillus bulgaricus NAD+-dependent D-lactate dehydrogenase gene in Escherichia coli : purification and characterization of the recombinant enzyme

The Lactobacillus bulgaricus NAD(+)-dependent D-lactate dehydrogenase gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and cloned into an Escherichia coli expression plasmid pKK223.3. Attempts to clone the full-length chromosomal DNA encoding D-lactate dehydrogenase from a partial Sau3AI lambda phage library or an enriched clone bank in E. coli were unsuccessful. The recombinant plasmid pKBULDH containing the amplified gene overexpressed D-lactate dehydrogenase (greater than 30% of total soluble protein) following induction of the tac promotor with isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside. The cloned gene product was purified to homogeneity by two chromatographic steps with 76% recovery of enzyme activity. All the properties of the recombinant protein, e.g., optimum pH and temperature, Km and k(cat) for pyruvate as well as for other 2-oxo acids and the subunit structure were identical to the wild-type enzyme.

A Lactobacillus nifS-like gene suppresses an Escherichia coli transaminase B mutation

The nifS gene was first identified in nitrogen-fixing bacteria where its protein product is essential for efficient nitrogen fixation. Here, we demonstrate that a nifS-like gene also occurs in Lactobacillus bulgaricus, an organism which does not fix nitrogen, and that the nifS gene product suppresses the leucine auxotrophy of an ilvD, ilvE Escherichia coli strain. The known nifS genes from prokaryotes and eukaryotes exhibit a high degree of sequence conservation although the genes have diverse functions, as shown by their ability to complement or suppress dissimilar mutations. It was suggested that the nifS gene products represent a group of enzymes which mediate a specific chemical reaction common to diverse metabolic pathways. The purified NifS protein from Azotobacter vinelandii was experimentally shown to be a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent cysteine desulfurase. Curiously, the NifS proteins exhibit also a remarkable sequence homology to a new class of pyridoxal phoshate-dependent aminotransferases. We show that the L bulgaricus NifS-like protein is able to replace in vivo transaminase B in E coli. This experimental observation supports the prediction that some NifS-like proteins may be aminotransferases.