The
coupling between the binding of the substrate Fru-6-P and the
inhibitor phospho(enol)pyruvate (PEP) in phosphofructokinase
(PFK) from the extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus is much weaker than that seen in a PFK from Bacillus stearothermophilus. From the crystal structures of Bacillus stearothermophilus PFK (BsPFK) the residues at positions 59, 158, and 215 in BsPFK
are located on the path leading from the allosteric site to the nearest
active site and are part of the intricate hydrogen-bonding network
connecting the two sites. Substituting the corresponding residues
in Thermus thermophilus PFK (TtPFK) with the amino
acids found at these positions in BsPFK allowed us to enhance the
allosteric inhibition by PEP by nearly 3 kcal mol–1 (50-fold) to a value greater than or equal to the coupling observed
in BsPFK. Interestingly, each single variant N59D, A158T, and S215H
produced a roughly 1 kcal mol–1 increase in coupling
free energy of inhibition. The effects of these variants were essentially
additive in the three combinations of double variants N59D/A158T,
N59D/S215H, and A158T/S215H as well as in the triple variant N59D/A158T/S215H.
Consequently, while the hydrogen-bonding network identified is likely
involved in the inhibitory allosteric communication, a model requiring
a linked chain of interactions connecting the sites is not supported
by these data. Despite the fact that the allosteric activator of the
bacterial PFK, MgADP, binds at the same allosteric site, the substitutions
at positions 59, 158, and 215 do not have an equally dramatic effect
on the binding affinity and the allosteric activation by MgADP. The
effect of the S215H and N59D/A158T/S215H substitutions on the activation
by MgADP could not be determined because of a dramatic drop in MgADP
binding affinity that resulted from the S215H substitution. The single
variants N59D and A158T supported binding but showed little change
in the free energy of activation by MgADP compared to the wild type
TtPFK. These results support previous suggestions that heterotropic
inhibition and activation occur by different pathways prokaryotic
PFK.