Production of ␣-isopropylmalate (␣-IPM) is critical for leucine biosynthesis and for the global control of metabolism. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two paralogous genes, LEU4 and LEU9, that encode ␣-IPM synthase (␣-IPMS) isozymes.Little is known about the biochemical differences between these two ␣-IPMS isoenzymes. Here, we show that the Leu4 homodimer is a leucine-sensitive isoform, while the Leu9 homodimer is resistant to such feedback inhibition. The leu4⌬ mutant, which expresses only the feedback-resistant Leu9 homodimer, grows slowly with either glucose or ethanol and accumulates elevated pools of leucine; this phenotype is alleviated by the addition of leucine. Transformation of the leu4⌬ mutant with a centromeric plasmid carrying LEU4 restored the wild-type phenotype. Bimolecular fluorescent complementation analysis showed that Leu4-Leu9 heterodimeric isozymes are formed in vivo. Purification and kinetic analysis showed that the hetero-oligomeric isozyme has a distinct leucine sensitivity behavior. Determination of ␣-IPMS activity in ethanol-grown cultures showed that ␣-IPM biosynthesis and growth under these respiratory conditions depend on the feedback-sensitive Leu4 homodimer. We conclude that retention and further diversification of two yeast ␣-IPMSs have resulted in a specific regulatory system that controls the leucine-␣-IPM biosynthetic pathway by selective feedback sensitivity of homomeric and heterodimeric isoforms.
The Leu4 and Leu9 ␣-isopropylmalate synthases (␣-IPMSs), paralogous isozymes from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, catalyze the first committed step of leucine biosynthesis: the synthesis of ␣-isopropylmalate (␣-IPM) from acetyl coenzyme A (acetylCoA) and ␣-ketoisovalerate (␣-KIV). This reaction is carried out in the mitochondria (1-8), and ␣-IPM is then transported from the mitochondria to the cytosol by the yeast oxaloacetate/sulfate carrier Oac1 (9). The concerted action of Leu1 and Leu2 converts ␣-IPM to ␣-ketoisocaproate, the immediate precursor of leucine; these reactions are performed in the cytoplasm (8). The last step in leucine biosynthesis is carried out on both the mitochondria and the cytoplasm through the action of the differentially localized Bat1 or Bat2 aminotransferase (10) (Fig. 1). Most of the ␣-IPMS activity in wild-type S. cerevisiae cells is provided by the mitochondrially localized LEU4-encoded isozyme and not by the Leu4 (Leu4 s) isoform, which naturally lacks the mitochondrial import sequence and is thus localized in the cytosol (1, 2).Leu4 enzymatic activity is inhibited by leucine and CoA, and the amino acid residues responsible for this property have been identified (7). Although no detailed biochemical characterization of the LEU9-encoded isozyme has been performed, it has been shown that it is less sensitive to leucine inhibition than Leu4 is (3).It is noteworthy that the leucine biosynthesis intermediate ␣-IPM plays a dual cellular role. On the one hand, it acts as an intermediate in leucine biosynthesis (5, 6), and on the other, it acts as t...