The remarkable power and specificity of enzyme catalysis rely on the dynamic alignment of the enzyme, substrates, and cofactors, yet the role of dynamics has usually been approached from the perspective of the protein. We have been using an underappreciated NMR technique, subtesla high-resolution field cycling 31P NMR relaxometry, to investigate the dynamics of the enzyme-bound substrates and cofactor on guanosine-5′-monophosphate reductase (GMPR). GMPR forms two dead end, yet catalytically competent, complexes that mimic distinct steps in the catalytic cycle: E·IMP·NADP+ undergoes a partial hydride transfer reaction, while E·GMP·NADP+ undergoes a partial deamination reaction. A different cofactor conformation is required for each partial reaction. Here we report the effects of mutations designed to perturb cofactor conformation and ammonia binding with the goal of identifying the structural features that contribute to the distinct dynamic signatures of the hydride transfer and deamination complexes. These experiments suggest that Asp129 is a central cog in a dynamic network required for both hydride transfer and deamination. In contrast, Lys77 modulates the conformation and mobility of substrates and cofactors in a reaction-specific manner. Thr105 and Tyr318 are part of a deamination-specific dynamic network that includes the 2′-OH of GMP. These residues have comparatively little effect on the dynamic properties of the hydride transfer complex. These results further illustrate the potential of high-resolution field cycling NMR relaxometry for the investigation of ligand dynamics. In addition, exchange experiments indicate that NH3/NH4 + has a high affinity for the deamination complex but a low affinity for the hydride transfer complex, suggesting that the movement of ammonia may gate the cofactor conformational change. Collectively, these experiments reinforce the view that the enzyme, substrates, and cofactor are linked in intricate, reaction-specific, dynamic networks and demonstrate that distal portions of the substrates and cofactors are critical features in these networks.

DNAzymes were previously identified by in vitro selection for a variety of chemical reactions, including several biologically relevant peptide modifications. However, finding DNAzymes for peptide lysine acylation is a substantial...

The reaction of guanosine monophosphate reductase (GMPR) includes two steps: (1) a deamination step that releases ammonia from GMP and forms the intermediate E‐XMP*; (2) a hydride transfer step that converts E‐XMP* to IMP utilizing NADPH as a cofactor. The hydride transfer step is the rate limiting step, yet we failed to observe a burst of ammonia release. This observation suggests that ammonia remains bound to the enzyme during the hydride transfer step. We identified a possible ammonia binding site by inspection of crystal structure of human GMPR type 2. Three candidate amino acids were selected and probed by site directed mutagenesis. The substitution of all 3 residues decreased intermediate production about 4 fold but decreased the reaction with ammonia by at least 100 fold. Therefore, these substitutions behave as expected for mutations at the ammonia binding site.