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A Pingoud

Publications and source records attributed to A Pingoud.

133 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Ternary complex formation between elongation factor Tu, GTP and aminoacyl-tRNA: an equilibrium study.

The equilibria between the elongation factor Tu-GTP complex (EF-Tu-GTP) from Escherichia coli and tyrosyl-tRNATyr from E. coli as well as phenylalanyl-tRNAPhe and seryl-tRNASer from yeast were studied using a novel procedure, which takes advantage of the protective effect of ternary complex formation on the stability of theaminoacyl bond against non-enzymatic hydrolysis. At 25 degrees C and at pH 7.4 tyrosyl-tRNATyr, phenylalanyl-tRNAPhe and seryl-tRNASer are bound with binding constants of 0.7 X 10(7) M-1, 5.0 X 10(7) M-1 and 0.5 X 10(7) M-1 respectively. The binding of aminoacyl-tRNA to EF-Tu-GTP has a negative deltaH of the order of 10 kcal/mol (42 kJ/mol). Complex formation is dependent on ionic strength: with 0.1 M KCl Kass = 0.8 X 10(7) M-1, with 0.5 M KCl Kass = 0.2 X 10(7) M-1 was determined for the binding of Tyr-tRNATyr.

Calorimetry↗

Distinct steps in the specific binding of tRNA to aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase. Temperature-jump studies on the serine-specific system from yeast and the tyrosine-specific system from Escherichia coli.

The kinetics of the interaction of tRNASer and seryl-tRNA synthetase from yeast as well as of tRNATyr and tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase from Escherichia coli have been investigated by temperature-jump experiments. It could be shown that complex formation proceeds in two distinct steps. This was demonstrated for both the first and the second binding site. The two-step mechanism was deduced from the characteristic concentration dependence of the relaxation times. Seryl-tRNA synthetase recombines with the first tRNA to form an intermediate complex (kI12, kI21), which is transformed in a fast reaction to the final 1:1 complex (kI23, kI32). At pH 7.2 with 0.1 M KCl the rate constants are: kI12 = 2.7 X 10(8) M-1 S-1; kI23, kI32). At pH 7.2 with 0.1 M KCl the rate constants are: kI12 = 2.7 x 10(8) M-1 S-1; kI21 = 220 S-1; kI23 = 760 S-1; kI32 = 330 S-1. The 1:1 complex can bind a second tRNA. At pH 7.2 without added salt the rate constants are: KII2 = 0.9 X 10(8) M-1 S-1; kII21 = 270 S-1; kII23 = 120 S-1; kII32 = 1250 S-1. The tyrosine-specific system behaves very similarly to the serine-specific system. Data are given for pH 7.2 (pH 6.0) for the binding of the second tRNA: kII12 = 1 X 10(8) (2.5 X 10(8)) M-1 S-1; kII21 = 470 (170) S-1; kII23 = 150 (530) S-1; kII32 = 1540 (720) S-1. The kinetic results are discussed in terms of their relevance to the recognition process and their relation to the anticooperative binding behaviour of tRNA to synthetase.

Amino Acyl-tRNA Synthetases↗

Equivalent and non-equivalent binding sites for tRNA on aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases.

Complexes between tRNAPhe (yeast), tRNASer (yeast) and tRNATyr (Escherichia coli) and their cognate aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases have been studied by sedimentation velocity runs in an analytical ultracentrifuge. The amount of complex formation was determined by the absorption and the sedimentation coefficients of the fast-moving boundary in the presence of excess tRNA or excess synthetase respectively. The same method has been applied to unspecific combinations of tRNAs and synthetases. Inactive material of tRNA or synthetase does not influence the results. 1. Two moles of tRNAPhe can be bound to one mole of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase with a binding constant greater than 10(6) M-1. The binding constants for both tRNAs are very similar; the binding sites are independent of each other. Omission of Mg2+ does not prevent binding. 2. Two moles of tRNASer can be bound to one mole of Seryl-tRNA synthetase; the binding of the first and second tRNA is non-equivalent, K1 greater than 10(6) M-1, K2 is determined to be 1.3 X 10(5) M-1 at pH 7.2. Omission of Mg2+ prevents complex formation. 3. Tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase behaves very similarly to seryl-tRNA synthetase. The binding constant for the weakly bound tRNA is 2.3 X 10(5) M-1 at pH 7.2, and 2.5 X 10(6) M-1 at pH 6.0. No complexes are observed in the absence of Mg2+. 4. Unspecific binding was only obtained with phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase. It binds tRNASer (yeast), tRNAAla (yeast) and tRNATyr (E. coli) with a binding constant about 100 times lower compared to its cognate tRNA. The binding data are discussed with respect to the tertiary structure of the tRNAs, the subunit structure of the synthetases and the possible physical basis for the non-equivalence of binding sites.

Amino Acyl-tRNA Synthetases↗

How many EF-Tu molecules participate in aminoacyl-tRNA binding?

The stoichiometry of the EF-Tu-GTP-aminoacyl-tRNA complex has been re-determined by a variety of methods, viz gel filtrations, fluorescence titrations, as well as hydrolysis and RNase protection experiments. The results of these experiments clearly demonstrate that one aminoacyl-tRNA interacts with only one EF-Tu-GTP molecule, in agreement with the established view and in contrast to the recently published results by Ehrenberg et al [6].

Binding Sites↗

The mechanism of DNA cleavage by the type II restriction enzyme EcoRV: Asp36 is not directly involved in DNA cleavage but serves to couple indirect readout to catalysis.

Three different mechanisms have been proposed to describe DNA cleavage by the type II restriction endonuclease EcoRV, which differ in the number and function of metal ions directly involved in catalysis and the different roles assigned to amino acid residues in the active sites and a phosphate group of the substrate. There are only four acidic amino acid residues close to the scissile bond: the essential Asp74 and Asp90, the non-essential Glu45, and Asp36. We show here that Asp36 can be exchanged for alanine, with only minor effects on the cleavage rate of the nearby phosphodiester bond, excluding that Asp36 could be directly involved in catalysis. Hence, the two versions of the two-metal-ion mechanism are not compatible with the experimental data, because too few ligands for two metal ions are present near the active site of EcoRV. Our result, thus, supports the one-metal-ion mechanism for EcoRV. We suggest that Asp36 has an allosteric effect by which specific contacts between one strand of the DNA and one subunit of the enzyme trigger the activation of one catalytic center. Given the similar structures of the active sites of EcoRV, EcoRI, BamHI, PvuII and FokI, as well as the occurrence of a characteristic catalytic motif in several other restriction enzymes, we conclude that these enzymes most likely share a similar mechanism of DNA cleavage, whose characteristic feature is the involvement of only one Mg2+ ion in catalysis.

Aspartic Acid↗