Abstract
Site-directed mutagenesis has been used to characterize the functions of key amino acid residues in the catalytic site of the 'nudix' hydrolase, (asymmetrical) diadenosine 5',5"'-P1,P4-tetraphosphate (Ap4A) hydrolase (EC 3.6.1.17) from Lupinus angustifolius, the three-dimensional solution structure of which has recently been solved. Residues within the nudix motif, Gly-(Xaa)5-Glu-(Xaa)7-Arg-Glu-Uaa-Xaa-(Glu)2-Xaa-Gly (where Xaa represents unspecified amino acids and Uaa represents the bulky aliphatic amino acids Ile, Leu or Val) conserved in 'nudix enzymes', and residues important for catalysis from elsewhere in the molecule, were mutated and the expressed proteins characterized. The results reveal a high degree of functional conservation between lupin asymmetric Ap4A hydrolase and the 8-oxo-dGTP hydrolase from Escherichia coli. Charged residues in positions equivalent to those that ligate an enzyme-bound metal ion in the E. coli 8-oxo-dGTP hydrolase [Harris, Wu, Massiah and Mildvan (2000) Biochemistry 39, 1655-1674] were shown to contribute to catalysis to similar extents in the lupin enzyme. Mutations E55Q, E59Q and E125Q all reduced kcat markedly, whereas mutations R54Q, E58Q and E122Q had smaller effects. None of the mutations produced a substantial change in the Km)for Ap4A, but several extensively modified the pH-dependence and fluoride-sensitivities of the hydrolase. It was concluded that the precisely positioned glutamate residues Glu-55, Glu-59 and Glu-125 are conserved as functionally significant components of the hydrolytic mechanism in both of these members of the nudix family of hydrolases.