The ntd operon in Bacillus subtilis is essential for biosynthesis of 3,3'-neotrehalosadiamine (NTD), an unusual nonreducing disaccharide reported to have antibiotic properties. It has been proposed that the three enzymes encoded within this operon, NtdA, NtdB, and NtdC, constitute a complete set of enzymes required for NTD synthesis, although their functions have never been demonstrated in vitro. We now report that these enzymes catalyze the biosynthesis of kanosamine from glucose-6-phosphate: NtdC is a glucose-6-phosphate 3-dehydrogenase, NtdA is a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent 3-oxo-glucose-6-phosphate:glutamate aminotransferase, and NtdB is a kanosamine-6-phosphate phosphatase. None of these enzymatic reactions have been reported before. This pathway represents an alternate route to the previously reported pathway from Amycolatopsis mediterranei which derives kanosamine from UDP-glucose.

The active site of myo-inositol dehydrogenase (IDH, EC 1.1.1.18) from Bacillus subtilis recognizes a variety of mono- and disaccharides, as well as 1l-4-O-substituted inositol derivatives. It catalyzes the NAD+-dependent oxidation of the axial alcohol of these substrates with comparable kinetic constants. We have found that 4-O-p-toluenesulfonyl-myo-inositol does not act as a substrate for IDH, in contrast to structurally similar compounds such as those bearing substituted benzyl substituents in the same position. X-ray crystallographic analysis of 4-O-p-toluenesulfonyl-myo-inositol and 4-O-(2-naphthyl)methyl-myo-inositol, which is a substrate for IDH, shows a distinct difference in the preferred conformation of the aryl substituent. Conformational analysis of known substrates of IDH suggests that this conformational difference may account for the difference in reactivity of 4-O-p-toluenesulfonyl-myo-inositol in the presence of IDH. A sequence alignment of IDH with the homologous glucose-fructose oxidoreductase allowed the construction of an homology model of inositol dehydrogenase, to which NADH and 4-O-benzyl-scyllo-inosose were docked and the active site energy minimized. The active site model is consistent with all experimental results and suggests that a conserved tyrosine-glycine-tyrosine motif forms the hydrophobic pocket adjoining the site of inositol recognition. Y233F and Y235F retain activity, while Y233R and Y235R do not. A histidine-aspartate pair, H176 and D172, are proposed to act as a dyad in which H176 is the active site acid/base. The enzyme is inactivated by diethyl pyrocarbonate, and the mutants H176A and D172N show a marked loss of activity. Kinetic isotope effect experiments with D172N indicate that chemistry is rate-determining for this mutant.

NtdA is a putative sugar aminotransferase that is required for the synthesis of 3,3 0 -neotrehalosadiamine. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity by means of Ni 2+ -affinity chromatography and was crystallized using the microbatch method. X-ray diffraction data were collected from a single crystal to 2.3 Å resolution at the Canadian Light Source (CLS). The crystals belonged to space group P2 1 , with unit-cell parameters a = 50.3, b = 106.7, c = 96.7 Å , = 96.2 , and contained two molecules per asymmetric unit.