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B Vennesland

Publications and source records attributed to B Vennesland.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1982

Effect of reduced pyridine nucleotides and tungstate on the in vitro insertion of molybdenum into demolybdo-nitrate reductase of Chlorella vulgaris.

Demolybdo-nitrate reductase (cytochrome c reductase) (NADH: acceptor oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.99.3) of Chlorella vulgaris can be activated in vitro to nitrate reductase by insertion of Mo from molybdate into the apoprotein. Evidence is here presented that reduction of the enzyme by reduced pyridine nucleotides inhibits the process of molybdenum insertion. This report also describes the effect of molybdate and tungstate concentration on the activation process. The activation is sigmoidally related to molybdate concentration with a calculated Hill coefficient of NH = 3. At suboptimal molybdate concentrations, tungstate stimulates enzyme activation by molybdate; but at saturating molybdate concentrations, tungstate is inhibitory. These facts are regarded as an indication that molybdate and tungstate are both positive effectors of molybdenum incorporation, but that they are competitors for the active Mo center.

Apoproteins↗
PubMed1981

Purification and characterization of demolybdo nitrate reductase (NADH-cytochrome c oxidoreductase) of Chlorella vulgaris.

Chlorella vulgaris was cultured on an ammonia-mineral salts medium until the nitrate reductase content reached a minimal level. These ammonia-grown cells were then induced by nitrate in the absence of molybdenum and of tungsten. A demolybdo nitrate reductase developed and reached high levels. This protein contained very little nitrate-reducing capacity, but had the full cytochrome c-reducing capacity of normal nitrate reductase. It was purified to homogeneity by the same procedures previously developed for the purification of nitrate reductase. The purified enzyme contained 1 molecule of heme and 1 molecule of FAD/subunit, but no detectable molybdenum or tungsten. This cytochrome c reductase was completely inhibited by antibodies raised against purified nitrate reductase of Chlorella. Mixtures prepared from normal nitrate reductase and the demolybdoenzyme could not be resolved by disc gel electrophoresis or by centrifugation in a density gradient. By a two-step enzyme induction (1, incubation with nitrate in absence of Mo; 2, incubation with Mo in absence of nitrate) the process of nitrate reductase synthesis could be cleanly separated from growth into two steps: Step 1, induction of cytochrome c reductase, was completely inhibited by cycloheximide. Step 2 was unaffected by cycloheximide, and most of the nitrate reductase synthesized accumulated in the form of the reversibly inactivated HCN complex of the enzyme.

Chlorella↗
PubMed1981

Molybdenum insertion in vitro in demolybdo nitrate reductase of Chlorella vulgaris.

Demolybdo nitrate reductase (also called cyt c reductase) of Chlorella vulgaris has been converted to active nitrate reductase by insertion of Mo from Na2MoO4 in vitro. A procedure is described which consistently gives about 0.3 unit of nitrate reductase from about 6 units of cyt c reductase, a yield of 30% of the maximum expected, if we calculate on a basis of a ratio of 6 to 1 for the cyt c reductase/nitrate reductase of purified normal enzyme. The demolybdoenzyme is incubated for 30 s at 31 degrees C with molybdate and reduced glutathione (GSH) at pH 4.8, and the pH is then raised to 7, and the incubation continued for 20 min. At the acid pH, there must be a partial denaturation or unfolding which permits Mo insertion, with a refolding to active enzyme at the higher pH. The GSH is not essential for activation, but in its absence the yield of active enzyme was about 50% lower. Experiments with labeled GSH showed that no GSH was incorporated into the protein during the activation procedure. Although the enzyme activity measurements suggested that only 30% of the enzyme was activated, measurements with 99Mo showed that there was one Mo incorporated per subunit weight of 90,000. The Km for nitrate of the activated nitrate reductase was identical with the Km for nitrate of the normal enzyme. On gradient centrifugation, activated nitrate reductase, cyt c reductase, and normal nitrate reductase all behaved identically.

Chlorella↗
PubMed1980

The formation of hydrogen cyanide from histidine in the presence of amino acid oxidase and peroxidase.

Conditions were sought to increase the yield of HCN from L-histidine incubated with L-amino acid oxidase (L-amino acid:oxygen oxidoreductase (deaminating), EC 1.4.3.2) from snake venom, and horseradish peroxidase (donor:hydrogen-peroxide oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.7). Small amounts of histidine and high buffer concentrations favored high HCN yields, which reached a maximum of 72%. Imidazole 4-aldehyde and imidazole 4-carboxylic acid were identified among the reaction products, together with CO2, NH3, H2O2 and imidazole acetic acid. The CO2 formed was equal to the histidine oxidized, and to the sum of NH3 plus HCN formed. The production of HCN was associated with an increased O2 uptake, which was established from the beginning of the reaction, with no apparent lag and ranged from 1.2 to 1.6 mumol extra O2 taken up/mumol HCN formed. The system was inhibited by catalase, but added superoxide dismutase caused a small stimulation of both HCN production and O2 consumption, and a larger stimulation of H2O2 accumulation. Added hydroxylamine was cooxidized to nitrite in an amount equimolar with the HCN formed. This nitrite formation was inhibited by superoxide dismutase. The facts could be interpreted in terms of superoxide anion formation during the HCN-producing reaction. cytochrome c, heme, or ferricyanide could be substituted for peroxidase, but were less effective. The initial rates of HCN formation from phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan were higher, but the eventual yields of HCN from these amino acids were lower than those from histidine.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1979

The dark respiration of Anacystis nidulans. Production of HCN from histidine and oxidation of basic amino acids.

The basic amino acids, L-arginine, L-lysine, LO-irnithine, and to a lesser extent L-histidine, strongly stimulate the O2 uptake of cell suspensions of the blue-green alga or cyanobacterium anacystis nidulans. In the case of L-histidine, the extra O2 consumption is associated with the formation in vivo of small amounts of HCN, particularly in an atmosphere of O2. The enzyme responsible for both the stimulated O2 uptake with the basic amino acids and the formation of HCN from histidine has been isolated and identified as an L-amino acid oxidase specific for the basic amino acids. The purification (15 000-fold) of this enzyme is described. The isolated enzyme is inhibited by o-phenanthroline, which has a similar inhibitory effect on the O2 uptake of cell suspensions with (and without) added amino acids. The basic amino acid oxidase, which is not inhibited by HCN, can be regarded as an 'alternate' oxidase in A. nidulans. An oxidase sensitive to HCN is apparently also operative. At high concentrations of lysine or arginine added HCN can almost double the initial rate of O2 consumption of cell suspensions. This can be attributed to the inhibition of catalase by HCN. At low concentrations of the amino acids, and with more prolonged incubation time, HCN becomes inhibitory. One interpretation could be that the HCN-sensitive terminal oxidase is also involved in the extra O2 uptake elicited by the basic amino acids, but other interpretations are possible. The extra O2 uptake elicited by histidine is almost completely inhibited by HCN, which is consistent with the finding that histidine is a relatively poor substrate for the basic amino acid oxidase.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1977

Cyanide formation from histidine in Chlorella. A general reaction of aromatic amino acids catalyzed by amino acid oxidase systems.

The formation of HCN from D-histidine in Chlorella vulgaris extracts is shown to be due to the combined action of a soluble protein and a particulate component. Either horse-radish peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7) or a metal ion with redox properties can be substituted for the particulate component. Ions of manganese and vanadium are especially effective, as are o-phenanthroline complexes of iron. Cobalt ions are less active. The D-amino acid oxidase (EC 1.4.3.3) from kidney and the L-amino acid oxidase (EC 1.4.3.2) from snake venom likewise cause HCN production from histidine when supplemented with the particulate preparation from Chlorella or with peroxidase or with a redox metal ion. The stereospecificity of the amino acid oxidase determines which of the two stereoisomers of histidine is active as an HCN precursor. Though histidine is the best substrate for HCN production, other naturally occurring aromatic amino acids (viz. tyrosine, phenylalanine and tryptophan) can also serve as HCN precursors with these enzyme systems. The relative effectiveness of each substrate varies with the amino acid oxidase enzyme and with the supplement. With respect to this latter property, the particulate preparation from Chlorella behaves more like a metal ion than like peroxidase.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1972

Nitrate Reductase and Chlorate Toxicity in Chlorella vulgaris Beijerinck.

A study of the growth-inhibiting effect of chlorate on the Berlin strain of Chlorella vulgaris Beijerinck provided complete confirmation of the theory of chlorate toxicity first proposed by Aberg in 1947. Chlorate was toxic to the cells growing on nitrate, and relatively nontoxic to the cells growing on ammonium. The latter cells contained only 0.01 as much NADH-nitrate reductase as the nitrate-grown cells. Chlorate could substitute for nitrate as a substrate of the purified nitrate reductase with Km = 1.2 mm, and V(max) = 0.9V(max) for nitrate. Bromate, and to a much smaller extent, iodate, also served as alternate substrates. Nitrate is a reversible competitive inhibitor of chlorate reduction, which accounts for the partial reversal, by high nitrate concentrations, of the observed inhibition of cell growth by chlorate. During the reduction of chlorate by NADH in the presence of purified nitrate reductase, there was a progressive, irreversible inhibition of the enzyme activity, presumably brought about by the reduction product, chlorite. Both the NADH-nitrate reductase activity and the associated NADH-cytochrome c reductase activity were inactivated to the same extent by added chlorite. The spectral properties of the cytochrome b(557) associated with the purified enzyme were not affected by chlorite. The inactivation of the nitrate reductase by chlorite could account for the toxicity of chlorate to cells grown on nitrate, though the destruction of other cell components by chlorite or its decomposition products cannot be excluded.

Journal Article↗