The crystal structure of the xenobiotic acetyltransferase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA103 (PaXAT) has been determined, as well as that of its complex with the substrate chloramphenicol and the cofactor analogue desulfo-coenzyme A. PaXAT is a member of the large hexapeptide acyltransferase family of enzymes that display tandem repeated copies of a six-residue hexapeptide repeat sequence motif encoding a left-handed parallel beta helix (L betaH) structural domain. The xenobiotic acetyltransferase class of hexapeptide acyltransferases is composed of microbial enzymes that utilize acetyl-CoA to acylate a variety of hydroxyl-bearing acceptors. The active site of trimeric PaXAT is a short tunnel into which chloramphenicol and the cofactor analogue desulfo-CoA project from opposite ends. This tunnel is formed by the flat parallel beta sheets of two separate L betaH domains and an extended 39-residue loop. His 79 of the extended loop forms hydrogen bonds from its imidazole NE2 atom to the 3-hydroxyl group of chloramphenicol and from its ND1 group to the peptide oxygen of Thr 86. The interactions of this histidine residue are similar to those found in the structurally unrelated type III chloramphenicol acetyltransferase and suggest that His 79 of PaXAT may be similarly positioned and tautomerically stabilized to serve as a general base catalyst.

The conversion of tetrahydrodipicolinate and succinyl-CoA to N-succinyltetrahydrodipicolinate and CoA is catalyzed by tetrahydrodipicolinate N-succinyltransferase and is the committed step in the succinylase pathway by which bacteria synthesize L-lysine and meso-diaminopimelate, a component of peptidoglycan. The X-ray crystal structure of THDP succinyltransferase has been determined to 2.2 A resolution and has been refined to a crystallographic R-factor of 17.0%. The enzyme is trimeric and displays the left-handed parallel beta-helix (L beta H) structural motif encoded by the "hexapeptide repeat" amino acid sequence motif [Raetz, C.R.H., & Roderick, S.L. (1995) Science 270, 997-1000]. The approximate location of the active site of THDP succinyltransferase is suggested by the proximity of binding sites for two inhibitors: p-(chloromercuri)benzenesulfonic acid and cobalt ion, both of which bind to the L beta H domain.

11S seed storage proteins are synthesized as precursors that are cleaved post-translationally in storage vacuoles by an asparaginyl endopeptidase. To study the specificity of the reaction catalyzed by this asparaginyl endopeptidase, we prepared a series of octapeptides and mutant legumin B and G4 glycinin subunits. These contained amino acid mutations in the region surrounding the cleavage site. The endopeptidase had an absolute specificity for Asn on the N-terminal side of the severed peptide bond but exhibited little specificity for amino acids on the C-terminal side. The ability of unmodified and modified subunits to assemble into hexamers after post-translational modification was evaluated. Cleavage of subunits in trimers is required for hexamer assembly in vitro. Products from a mutant gene encoding a noncleavable prolegumin subunit (LeBDeltaN281) accumulated as trimers in seed of transgenic tobacco, but products from the unmodified prolegumin B gene accumulated as hexamers. Therefore, the asparaginyl endopeptidase is required for hexamer assembly.