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Do non-active-site residues participate in protein function in a more direct way than just by holding the static framework of the protein molecule? If so, how important are they? As a model to answer these questions, ATB17, which is a mutant of aspartate aminotransferase created by directed evolution, is an ideal system because it shows a 10(6)-fold increase in the catalytic efficiency for valine but most of its 17 mutated residues are non-active-site residues. To analyze the roles of the mutations in the altered function, we divided the mutations into four groups, namely, three clusters and the remainder, based on their locations in the three-dimensional structure. Mutants with various combinations of the clusters were constructed and analyzed, and the data were interpreted in the context of the structure-function relationship of this enzyme. Each cluster shows characteristic effects: for example, one cluster appears to enhance the catalytic efficiency by fixing the conformation of the enzyme to that of the substrate-bound form. The effects of the clusters are largely additive and independent of each other. The present results illustrate how a protein function is dramatically modified by the accumulation of many seemingly inert mutations of non-active-site residues.

Aspartate: 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase [EC 2.6.1.1] was purified and crystallized from bakers' yeast. The crystalline preparation gave a single band on polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. However, in the absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, the preparation gave one major band with two faint bands, all of which showed the same specific activity, molecular weight and serological properties. These faint bands appeared to be modified forms produced from the major band during the purification. The enzyme showed a molecular weight of 90,000 +/- 8,000 and 92,000 +/- 8,000 by gel filtration and sedimentation equilibrium analysis, respectively. The molecular weight of a subunit was estimated to be 45,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate slab gel electrophoresis. Each subunit bound approximately 1 mol of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. The bound pyridoxal 5'-phosphate showed an absorption maximum at 360 nm (epsilon M: 11,500) and 430 nm (epsilon M: 8,200) in alkaline and acidic conditions, respectively. Its proteolytic pK was pH 6.3. The enzyme showed an optimum pH of 8.0-9.0, and fairly high amino donor and acceptor specificities; aromatic amino acids and their corresponding 2-oxoacids were catalyzed at rates of 0.2-0.8% of those for aspartate and oxalacetate, respectively. Michaelis constants for various substrate were: L-aspartate (0.11 mM), L-glutamate (20.0 mM), oxalacetate (0.006 mM), and 2-oxoglutarate (0.16 mM). The antiserum against yeast aspartate aminotransferase did not form precipitin bands with homogeneous aspartate aminotransferases from pig heart cytosol, pig heart mitochondria or Escherichia coli B.

The branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase of Escherichia coli was crystallized in two crystal systems, monoclinic and tetragonal, from polyethylene glycol and ammonium sulfate solutions, pH 7.0, respectively. The crystals were of good quality, with diffractions extending beyond 2.8 A. The space group and unit cell dimensions of the monoclinic system crystals were determined from precession photographs to be C2, and a = 93.9, b = 143.6, c = 143.9 A and beta = 134.3 degrees. For the tetragonal system crystals, the possible space group P422 or P4122, and cell dimensions of a = b = 101 A and c = 249 A were determined. Three identical subunits exist per an asymmetric unit in both types of crystals.