Helicobacter pylori is a microaerophilic bacterium, associated with gastric inflammation and peptic ulcers. D-Amino acid dehydrogenase is a flavoenzyme that digests free neutral D-amino acids yielding corresponding 2-oxo acids and hydrogen. We sequenced the H. pylori NCTC 11637 D-amino acid dehydrogenase gene, dadA. The primary structure deduced from the gene showed low similarity with other bacterial D-amino acid dehydrogenases. We purified the enzyme to homogeneity from recombinant Escherichia coli cells by cloning dadA. The recombinant protein, DadA, with 44 kDa molecular mass, possessed FAD as cofactor, and showed the highest activity to D-proline. The enzyme mediated electron transport from D-proline to coenzyme Q(1), thus distinguishing it from D-amino acid oxidase. The apparent K(m) and V(max) values were 40.2 mM and 25.0 micromol min(-1) mg(-1), respectively, for dehydrogenation of D-proline, and were 8.2 microM and 12.3 micromol min(-1) mg(-1), respectively, for reduction of Q(1). The respective pH and temperature optima were 8.0 and 37 degrees C. Enzyme activity was inhibited markedly by benzoate, and moderately by SH reagents. DadA showed more similarity with mammalian D-amino acid oxidase than other bacterial D-amino acid dehydrogenases in some enzymatic characteristics. Electron transport from D-proline to a c-type cytochrome was suggested spectrophotometrically.

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Helicobacter pylori is a microaerophilic bacterium associated with gastric inflammation and peptic ulcers. Knowledge of how pathogenic organisms produce energy is important from a therapeutic point of view. We found D-amino acid dehydrogenase-mediated electron transport from D-proline or D-alanine to oxygen via the respiratory chain in H. pylori. Coupling of the electron transport to ATP synthesis was confirmed by using uncoupler reagents. We reconstituted the electron transport chain to demonstrate the electron flow from the D-amino acids to oxygen using the recombinant cytochrome bc 1 complex, cytochrome c-553, and the terminal oxidase cytochrome cbb 3 complex. Upon addition of the recombinant D-amino acid dehydrogenase and D-proline or D-alanine to the reconstituted electron transport system, reduction of cytochrome cbb 3 and oxygen consumption was revealed spectrophotometrically and polarographically, respectively. Among the constituents of H. pylori's electron transport chain, only the cytochrome bc 1 complex had been remained unpurified. Therefore, we cloned and sequenced the H. pylori NCTC 11637 cytochrome bc 1 gene clusters encoding Rieske Fe-S protein, cytochrome b, and cytochrome c 1 , with calculated molecular masses of 18 kDa, 47 kDa, and 32 kDa, respectively, and purified the recombinant monomeric protein complex with a molecular mass of 110 kDa by gel filtration. The absorption spectrum of the recombinant cytochrome bc 1 complex showed an ␣ peak at 561 nm with a shoulder at 552 nm.