• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.373-378
• /
• 2004

The regulatory mechanism of methionine biosynthesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum was analyzed at the protein arid gene expression level. O-Acetylhomoserine sulfhydraylase (encoded by metY) was inhibited by 10 mM methionine to a residual activity of 10% level, whereas no such inhibition was found with cystathionine $\gamma$-synthase (encoded by metB) and cystathionine $\beta$-lyase (encoded by metC). The enzymatic activity of homoserine acetyltransferase (encoded by metX) was repressed to a residual activity of 25% level by 10 mM methionine which was added to the growth medium. Cystathionine $\gamma$-synthase and cystathionine $\beta$-lyase were also repressed by 10 mM methionine, but only to a residual activity of 50-70% level. O-Acetylhomoserine sulfhydrylase was very sensitive to repression by 10 mM methionine, showing residual activity of 13%. In addition, homoserine acetyltransferase was also repressed by 10 mM cysteine to 50% of its original activity. No repression of the enzymes by S-adenosyl methionine was observed. The pattern of repression by methionine indicated that the metB and aecD genes might be regulated by a common mechanism, while the metA and metY genes are differently regulated.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.7 no.6
• /
• pp.876-876
• /
• 2002

• Proceedings of the Botanical Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2002.04a
• /
• pp.73-82
• /
• 2002

The committing step in Met and S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) synthesis is catalyzed by cystathionine ${\gamma}$ -synthase (CGS). Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana overexpressing CGS under control of 35S promoter show increased soluble Met and its metabolite S-methylmethionine, but only at specific stages of development. CGS-overexpressing seedlings are resistant to ethionine. Similar results were obtained with transgenic potato plants overexpressing Arabidopsis CGS. Several of the transgenic lines show silencing of CGS resulting in deformed p]ants with a reduced capacity for reproductive growth similar as transgenic plants by antisense RNA (CGS[-]). Exogenous feeding of Met to the CGS[-] and CGS[+] silenced plants partially restores their growth. Similar morphological deformities are observed in plants cosuppressed for SAM synthetase, even though such plants accumulate 250 fold more soluble Met than wild type and they overexpress CGS. The results suggest that the abnormalities associated with CGS and SAM synthetase silencing are due in part to a reduced ability to produce SAM, and that SAM may be a regulator of CGS expression.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.28 no.12
• /
• pp.2303-2309
• /
• 2007

Expressed protein ligation (EPL) technique, joining recombinantly expressed proteins to polypeptides, has been widely adopted for addressing various biological questions and for drug discovery. However, joining two recombinant proteins together is sometimes difficult when proteins are expressed insoluble and unrefoldable, because ligation-active proteins via intein-fusion are obtainable when they are folded correctly. We overcame this limitation coexpressing target protein with additional methionine aminopeptidase (MAP) which enhances removal of the initiation methionine of recombinantly expressed protein. Our approach demonstrated that two domains of 46 kDa 5-Enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase, a target of herbicide glyphosate, were successfully joined by native chemical ligation, although its C-terminal domain was expressed as an inclusion body. The intein-fused N-terminal fragment of EPSP synthase (EPSPSN, residues 1-237) was expressed and the ligation-active thioester tagged N-terminal fragment (EPSPSN-thioester) was purified using a chitin affinity chromatography and mercapto-ethanesulphonate (MESNA) as intein thiolysis reagent. Its Cterminal fragment (EPSPSC, residues Met237-238CYS-427), expressed as an inclusion body, was prepared from an additional MAP-expressing strain. Protein ligation was initiated by mixing ~1 mM of EPSPSN-thioester with ~2 mM of EPSPSCCYS (residues 238CYS-427). Also we found that addition of 2% thiophenol increased the ligation efficiency via thiol exchange. The ligation efficiency was ~85%. The ligated full-length EPSP synthase was dissolved in 6 M GdHCl and refolded. Circular dichroism (CD) and enzyme activity assay of the purified protein showed that the ligated enzyme has distinct secondary structure and ~115% specific activity compared to those of wild-type EPSP synthase. This work demonstrates rare example of EPL between two recombinantly expressed proteins and also provides hands-on protein engineering protocol for large proteins.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.558-563
• /
• 1992

Chlorobium liimicola f. thiosulfatophilum NCIB 8327 was grown on modified Pfennig's medium using ammonium chloride. glutamine. glutamate, or dinitrogen gas as nitrogen sources. Except for the case of dinitrogen gas. the extent of gro\\1h was almost the s~me. The specific activity of glutamine synthetase in crude extracts is the highest in the cells which were grown on the medium containing glutamate. hut that of glutamate synthase is uniform for all four nitrogen sources. When the concentration of ammonium ions increases in the reaction mixture. the specific activity of glutamine synthetase in crude extract from the cells grown on glutamate decreases. hut that of glutamate dehydrogenase increases. whereas that of glutamate synthase remains unchanged. When the concentration of methionine sulfoximine increases, the activity of glutamine synthetases decreases rapidly. On the other hand. when the concentration of ammonium ions increases in the reaction mixture gradually. the activity of glutamine synthetase from the cells grown on higher concentration of ammonium ions less decreases. In the presence of light. the activity of glutamine synthetase increases. hut in the dark it decreases gradually. The production of hydrogen in intact cells depends on light. It is inhihited by adding ammonium ions. hut restores immediately hy adding methionine sulfoximine. The produclion of hydrogen in this strain can he mediated by nitrogenase only. and regulated hy glutamine synthetase.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.1010-1017
• /
• 2007

Two alternative pathways for methionine biosynthesis are known in Corynebacterium glutamicum: one involving transsulfuration (mediated by metB and metC) and the other involving direct sulfhydrylation (mediated by metY). In this study, MetB (cystathionine ${\gamma}-synthase$) and MetY (O-acetylhomoserine sulfhydrylase) from C. glutamicum were purified to homogeneity and the biochemical parameters were compared to assess the functional and evolutionary importance of each pathway. The molecular masses of the native MetB and MetY proteins were measured to be approximately 170 and 280 kDa, respectively, showing that MetB was a homotetramer of 40-kDa subunits and MetY was a homohexamer of 45-kDa subunits. The $K_m$ values for the O-acetylhomoserine catalysis effected by MetB and MetY were 3.9 and 6.4 mM, and the maximum catalysis rates were $7.4\;(k_{cat}=21\;S^{-1})\;and\;6.0\;(k_{cat}=28\;S^{-1})\;{\mu}mol\;mg^{-1}\;min^{-1}$, respectively. This suggests that both MetB and MetY can be comparably active in vivo. Nevertheless, the $K_m$ value for sulfide ions by MetY was 8.6mM, which was too high, considering the physiological condition. Moreover, MetB was active at a broad range of temperatures $(30\;and\;65^{\circ}C)$ and pH (6.5 and 10.0), as compared with MetY, which was active in a range from 30 to $45^{\circ}C$ and at pH values from 7.0 to 8.5. In addition, MetY was inhibited by methionine, but MetB was not. These biochemical data may provide insight on the role of the parallel pathways of methionine biosynthesis in C. glutamicum with regard to cell physiology and evolution.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.51 no.6
• /
• pp.383-388
• /
• 2007

It has been reported that sulfur-containing intermediates or products in the transsulfuration pathway including S-adenosylmethionine, 5'-methylthioadenosine, glutathione and taurine can prevent liver injury mediated by inflammation response induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. The present study examines the modulation of hepatic metabolism of sulfur amino acid in a model of acute sepsis induced by LPS treatment (5 mg/kg, iv). Serum TNF-alpha and hepatotoxic parameters were significantly increased in rats treated with LPS, indicating that LPS results in sepsis at the doses used in this study. LPS also induced oxidative stress determined by increases in malondialdehyde levels and decreases in total oxy-radical scavenging capacities. Hepatic methionine and glutathione concentrations were decreased, but S-adenosylho-mocysteine, cystathionine, cysteine, hypotaurine and taurine concentrations were increased. Hepatic protein expression of methionine adenosyltransferase, cystathionine beta-synthase and cysteine dioxygenase were induced, but gamma-glutamylcysteine ligase catalytic subunit levels were decreased. The results show that sepsis activates transsulfuration pathway from methionine to cysteine, suggesting an increased requirement for methionine during sepsis.

• Nutritional Sciences
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.256-258
• /
• 2002

• Proceedings of the Korean Nutrition Society Conference
• /
• 2002.11a
• /
• pp.108-108
• /
• 2002

• Nutritional Sciences
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.106-111
• /
• 2006

Chronic alcohol consumption is associated with perturbation of hepatic metabolism of sulphur-containing amino acid. The goal of present study was to evaluate the influence of dietary supplementation of methionine or folate to chronically ethanol-fed mts on the metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids and one-carbon metabolism. Sprague-Dawley male mts were fed Lieber-Decarli liquid diet with 0% ethanol (control), 36% ethanol (E), 36% ethanol combined with methionine supplement (EM) or folate supplement (EF) for 8 weeks. Hepatic S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), plasma folate and homocysteine (Hcy), urinary excretion of folate and formiminoglutamate were investigated after feeding experimental diets. Growth was retarded by 36% ethanol consupmtion (E, EM and EF) (p<0.01). Liver total fat (p<0.05) and plasma ALT (P<0.01) were increased by methionine supplementation (EM), implicating fatty liver and liver injury. Liver folate was increased slightly by folate supplementation (EF) (p=0.077). Urinary folate loss was increased 2.3 fold by ethanol consumption (E) and 17.2 fold by folate supplementation (EF), while decreased by methionine supplementation (EM) (p<0.000l). Plasma Hcy was increased 1.9 fold by methionine supplementation (EM) in ethanol-fed mts (p<0.05), which was related with decreased methionine synthase activity (p<0.05). Hepatic SAM/SAH ratio was depressed by methionine supplementation in ethanol-fed mts (EM) (p<0.05). Urinary formininoglutamate (Figlu) excretion after histidine loading was increased by ethanol ingestion and reduced by methionine supplementation (p<0.00l). Based on these data, methionine supplementation appears to accelerate histidine oxidation. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of methionine to ethanol-fed mts exacerbates alcoholic liver injury possibly by complicating sulphur-containing amino acid metabolism, as while it may have beneficial effects on folate and histidine metabolism.