Purification and characterization of the esterases involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis in Aspergillus parasiticus

1996 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 804-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken-Ichi Kusumoto ◽  
Dennis P. H. Hsieh

The esterases from the cell-free extracts (CFEs) of Aspergillus parasiticus ATCC15517, an aflatoxin-producing strain, catalyzing the hydrolytic conversion of versiconal hemiacetal acetate (VHA) to versiconal was biochemically studied. The specific activity of the enzymes increased 2.5-fold during incubation of mycelia through 40–55 h. No metal ions were required for enzyme stability, but EDTA at 1 mM and dithiothreitol at 0.5–5 mM increased its stability. Three peaks of VHA esterase activity were resolved when the proteins in the CFEs prepared from the mycelia of different ages were separated by anion-exchange column chromatography, suggesting that at least three VHA esterases were present in the eluate of this purification step. One of these esterases extracted from the mycelia of a 55-h culture was partially purified in five steps by means of preparative chromatography and fast protein liquid chromatogaphy. The partially purified enzyme when reacted with [14C]diisopropylfluorophosphate followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gave a single radiolabelled band, which corresponded to a protein of 32 kDa. The molecular mass of the partially purified VHA esterase determined with gel filtration was around 60 kDa. The results suggested that the enzyme consists of two isomeric subunits.Key words: aflatoxin biosynthesis, esterase, versiconal hemiacetal acetate, Aspergillus parasiticus.

1998 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimiko Yabe ◽  
Ken-ichiro Matsushima ◽  
Takumi Koyama ◽  
Takashi Hamasaki

ABSTRACT O-Methyltransferase I, which catalyzes conversions both of demethylsterigmatocystin (DMST) to sterigmatocystin (ST) and of dihydrodemethylsterigmatocystin (DHDMST) to dihydrosterigmatocystin (DHST) during aflatoxin biosynthesis, was purified to apparent homogeneity from the cytosol fraction of the mycelia ofAspergillus parasiticus NIAH-26 through the following chromatography series: phenyl-Sepharose, DEAE-Sepharose, phenyl-Sepharose, Sephacryl S-300, and Matrex gel Green A. The apparent molecular mass was estimated at 150 kDa based on Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration chromatography, and the denaturing molecular mass was 43 kDa based on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The pI of the enzyme was 4.4, and the optimal pH for activity was broad, from 6.5 to 9.0. In competition experiments using the purified enzyme, the formation of ST from DMST was suppressed when DHDMST was added to the reaction mixture and DHST was newly formed. These results indicate that DMST and DHDMST commonly serve as substrates for the enzyme. TheKm of the enzyme for DMST was 0.94 μM, and that for DHDMST was 2.5 μM. Interestingly, MT-I kinetics deviated substantially from standard Michaelis-Menten kinetics, demonstrating substrate inhibition at a higher substrate concentration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-112
Author(s):  
C.F. Okechukwu ◽  
P.L. Shamsudeen ◽  
R.K. Bala ◽  
B.G. Kurfi ◽  
A.M. Abdulazeez

The most effective and acceptable therapy for snakebite victims is the immediate administration of antivenin which is limited by problems of hypersensitivity reactions in some individuals and its inability to resolve the local effects of the venom. The aim of this study was to isolate, partially purify and characterize phospholipase A2 from Naja Katiensis venom. Phospholipase A2 was partially purified via a two-step process: gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 and ion exchange chromatography using CM Sephadex, and subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis. From the results, the specific activity of the partially purified PLA2 decreased from 0.67μmol/min/mg in crude venom to 0.29μmol/min/mg after ion exchange chromatography with a yield of 5% and purification fold of 0.43. The optimum temperature of the purified PLA2 was found to be 35ºC and optimum p.H of 7. velocity studies for the determination of kinetic constants using L-a-lecithin as substrate revealed a Km  of 1.47mg/ml and Vmax  of 3.32μ moles/min/mg. The sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified PLA2 showed a distinct band with molecular weight estimated to be 14KDa. In conclusion, the present study shows that phospholipase A2 was isolated, purified and characterized. This may serve as a promising candidate for future development of a novel anti-venin drug.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Boon Hooi Tan ◽  
Thean Chor Leow ◽  
Hooi Ling Foo ◽  
Raha Abdul Rahim

A superoxide dismutase (SOD) gene ofLactococcus lactisM4 was cloned and expressed in a prokaryotic system. Sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame of 621 bp which codes for 206 amino acid residues. Expression ofsodAunder T7 promoter exhibited a specific activity of 4967 U/mg when induced with 1 mM of isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside. The recombinant SOD was purified to homogeneity by immobilised metal affinity chromatography and Superose 12 gel filtration chromatography. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and western blot analyses of the recombinant SOD detected a molecular mass of approximately 27 kDa. However, the SOD was in dimer form as revealed by gel filtration chromatography. The purified recombinant enzyme had a pI of 4.5 and exhibited maximal activity at 25°C and pH 7.2. It was stable up to 45°C. The insensitivity of this lactococcal SOD to cyanide and hydrogen peroxide established that it was a MnSOD. Although it has 98% homology to SOD ofL. lactisIL1403, this is the first elucidated structure of lactococcal SOD revealing active sites containing the catalytic manganese coordinated by four ligands (H-27, H-82, D-168, and H-172).


1978 ◽  
Vol 169 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Woolley ◽  
Robert W. Glanville ◽  
Dennis R. Roberts ◽  
John M. Evanson

1. The neutral collagenase released into the culture medium by explants of human skin tissue was purified by ultrafiltration and column chromatography. The final enzyme preparation had a specific activity against thermally reconstituted collagen fibrils of 32μg of collagen degraded/min per mg of enzyme protein, representing a 266-fold increase over that of the culture medium. Electrophoresis in polyacrylamide disc gels showed it to migrate as a single protein band from which enzyme activity could be eluted. Chromatographic and polyacrylamide-gel-elution experiments provided no evidence for the existence of more than one active collagenase. 2. The molecular weight of the enzyme estimated from gel filtration and sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis was approx. 60000. The purified collagenase, having a pH optimum of 7.5–8.5, did not hydrolyse the synthetic collagen peptide 4-phenylazobenzyloxycarbonyl-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-d-Arg-OH and had no non-specific proteinase activity when examined against non-collagenous proteins. 3. It attacked undenatured collagen in solution at 25°C, producing the two characteristic products TCA(¾) and TCB(¼). Collagen types I, II and III were all cleaved in a similar manner by the enzyme at 25°C, but under similar conditions basement-membrane collagen appeared not to be susceptible to collagenase attack. At 37°C the enzyme attacked gelatin, producing initially three-quarter and one-quarter fragments of the α-chains, which were degraded further at a lower rate. As judged by the release of soluble hydroxyproline peptides and electron microscopy, the purified enzyme degraded insoluble collagen derived from human skin at 37°C, but at a rate much lower than that for reconstituted collagen fibrils. 4. Inhibition of the skin collagenase was obtained with EDTA, 1,10-phenanthroline, cysteine, dithiothreitol and sodium aurothiomaleate. Cartilage proteoglycans did not inhibit the enzyme. The serum proteins α2-macroglobulin and β1-anti-collagenase both inhibited the enzyme, but α1-anti-trypsin did not. 5. The physicochemical and enzymic properties of the skin enzyme are discussed in relation to those of other human collagenases.


1981 ◽  
Vol 195 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
N S Beer ◽  
W T Griffiths

A procedure for the purification of the enzyme NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase is described. This involves fractionation of sonicated oat etioplast membranes by discontinuous-sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation, which gives membranes in which the enzyme is present at a high specific activity. The enzyme is solubilized from the membranes with Triton X-100, followed by gel filtration of the extract; enzyme activity is eluted in fractions corresponding to a mol.wt of approx. 35000. Sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of the enzyme-containing fractions from gel filtration shows two peptides, of mol.wts. approx. 35000 and 37000.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 341-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Manganaro ◽  
A. Kuksis

We have purified the monoacylglycerol acyltransferase from rat small intestinal mucosa to homogeneity by a combination of hydrophobic absorption, guanidine dissociation, and gel filtration. The purified enzyme gives a single band of 37 000 daltons on sodium dodecyl sulphate – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme has a specific activity of about 5900 nmol/mg per hour and represents 0.12% of total cell protein, corresponding to about a 600-fold purification. The enzyme does not acylate diacylglycerols to triacylglycerols, which is consistent with the separate physical existence of the mono- and di-acylglycerol acyltransferases. The enzyme acylates the 2-monoacylglycerols to yield an essentially racemic mixture of diacylglycerols. It does not acylate glycerol 3-phosphate.


1981 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naotika Toki ◽  
Hiroyuki Sumi ◽  
Sumiyoshi Takasugi

1. A kallikrein-like enzyme in plasma of patients with acute pancreatitis was further purified by successive hydroxyapatite/cellulose and Sepharose-4B column chromatography. 2. By these procedures 0.26 mg of purified enzyme with a specific activity of 215 S-2266 chromozyme units/mg of protein was obtained from 10 ml of original plasma. 3. The purified material was homogeneous as ascertained by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and had an apparent molecular weight of 31 000 as measured by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200. 4. It was confirmed immunologically that this enzyme was pancreatic kallikrein, which is distinct from plasma kallikrein, and that it could combine with α2-macroglobulin only in the presence of trypsin.


2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birthe Borup ◽  
James G. Ferry

ABSTRACT Cysteine is the major source of fixed sulfur for the synthesis of sulfur-containing compounds in organisms of the Bacteriaand Eucarya domains. Though pathways for cysteine biosynthesis have been established for both of these domains, it is unknown how the Archaea fix sulfur or synthesize cysteine. None of the four archaeal genomes sequenced to date contain open reading frames with identities to eitherO-acetyl-l-serine sulfhydrylase (OASS) or homocysteine synthase, the only sulfur-fixing enzymes known in nature. We report the purification and characterization of OASS from acetate-grown Methanosarcina thermophila, a moderately thermophilic methanoarchaeon. The purified OASS contained pyridoxal 5′-phosphate and catalyzed the formation of l-cysteine and acetate from O-acetyl-l-serine and sulfide. The N-terminal amino acid sequence has high sequence similarity with other known OASS enzymes from the Eucarya andBacteria domains. The purified OASS had a specific activity of 129 μmol of cysteine/min/mg, with a Km of 500 ± 80 μM for sulfide, and exhibited positive cooperativity and substrate inhibition withO-acetyl-l-serine. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed a single band at 36 kDa, and native gel filtration chromatography indicated a molecular mass of 93 kDa, suggesting that the purified OASS is either a homodimer or a homotrimer. The optimum temperature for activity was between 40 and 60°C, consistent with the optimum growth temperature for M. thermophila. The results of this study provide the first evidence for a sulfur-fixing enzyme in the Archaea domain. The results also provide the first biochemical evidence for an enzyme with the potential for involvement in cysteine biosynthesis in theArchaea.


1975 ◽  
Vol 151 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
S A Betts ◽  
R J Mayer

1. 6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase from rabbit mammary gland was purified to homogeneity by the criterion of polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate. The molecular weight of the subunit is 52 000. The enzyme was purified 150-fold with a final specific activity of 20 mumol of NADP+ reduced/min per mg of protein and overall yield of 3%. The molecular weight of the native enzyme is estimated to be 104 000 from gel-filtration studies. The final purification step was carried out by affinity chromatography with NADP+-Sepharose. 2. The Km values for 6-phosphogluconate and NADP+ are approx. 54 muM and 23 muM respectively. 3. Citrate and pyrophosphate are competitive inhibitors of the enzyme with respect to both 6-phosphogluconate and NADP+. 4. MgCl2 affects the apparent Km for NADP+ at saturating concentrations of 6-phosphogluconate.


1986 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 953-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Jensen ◽  
Brenda K. Leskiw ◽  
Leo. C. Vining ◽  
Yair Aharonowitz ◽  
Donald W. S. Westlake ◽  
...  

Isopenicillin N synthetase was purified from Streptomyces clavuligerus by sequential salt precipitation, ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography using both conventional open column and high-performance liquid chromatographic techniques. Material from the final purification step had a specific activity of 204.1 × 10−3 units/mg of protein which represented a 130-fold purification over the cell-free extract. The purified isopenicillin N synthetase was determined to have a molecular weight of 33 000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate – polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and to have a Km of 0.32 mM with respect to its substrate δ-(L-α-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine. The enzyme showed a sensitivity to thiol-specific inhibitors with N-ethylmaleimide giving the strongest inhibitory effect.


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