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M Benziman

Publications and source records attributed to M Benziman.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

beta-Furfuryl-beta-glucoside. An endogenous activator of higher plant UDP-glucose: (1----3)-beta-glucan synthase.

We have recently established the existence of endogenous activators of higher plant UDP-glucose: (1----3)-beta-glucan synthase (Callaghan, T., Ross, P., Weinberger-Ohana, P., and Benziman, M. (1988) Plant Physiol. 86, 1099-1103). Here we report the purification and chemical analysis of the most abundant and specific compound, termed Activator I, isolated from Vigna radiata. This compound was extensively purified by a multistep procedure which yielded 0.1 mg of purified activator/g of fresh tissue. Enzyme digestion, neutral sugar analysis, GC/MS of permethylated derivatives, and NMR analysis of native Activator I indicated that the compound contains a single beta-linked glucosyl residue. High resolution FAB-MS indicated an elemental composition of C11H16O7 (Mr = 260), with a calculated Mr of 98 for the aglycone. 13C, DEPT, and COSY NMR spectra showed that the aglycone molecule is an oxygen heterocycle of 5 carbons, consistent with a structure of beta-furfuryl alcohol. Comparison of IR and GC/EI-MS spectra of authentic beta-furfuryl alcohol with native aglycone confirmed the conclusion that Activator I is beta-furfuryl-beta-glucoside. Chemically synthesized beta-furfuryl-beta-glucoside has identical chemical properties and biological activity when compared with the purified endogenous activator (Ka = 50 microM).

Enzyme Activation↗
PubMed1991

Polypeptide composition of bacterial cyclic diguanylic acid-dependent cellulose synthase and the occurrence of immunologically crossreacting proteins in higher plants.

To comprehend the catalytic and regulatory mechanism of the cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP)-dependent cellulose synthase of Acetobacter xylinum and its relatedness to similar enzymes in other organisms, the structure of this enzyme was analyzed at the polypeptide level. The enzyme, purified 350-fold by enzyme-product entrapment, contains three major peptides (90, 67, and 54 kDa), which, based on direct photoaffinity and immunochemical labeling and amino acid sequence analysis, are constituents of the native cellulose synthase. Labeling of purified synthase with either [32P]c-di-GMP or [alpha-32P]UDP-glucose indicates that activator- and substrate-specific binding sites are most closely associated with the 67- and 54-kDa peptides, respectively, whereas marginal photolabeling is detected in the 90-kDa peptide. However, antibodies raised against a protein derived from the cellulose synthase structural gene (bcsB) specifically label all three peptides. Further, the N-terminal amino acid sequences determined for the 90- and 67-kDa peptides share a high degree of homology with the amino acid sequence deduced from the gene. We suggest that the structurally related 67- and 54-kDa peptides are fragments proteolytically derived from the 90-kDa peptide encoded by bcsB. The anti-cellulose synthase antibodies crossreact with a similar set of peptides derived from other cellulose-producing microorganisms and plants such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Rhizobium leguminosarum, mung bean, peas, barley, and cotton. The occurrence of such cellulose synthase-like structures in plant species suggests that a common enzymatic mechanism for cellulose biogenesis is employed throughout nature.

Affinity Labels↗
PubMed1991

Evidence for a cyclic diguanylic acid-dependent cellulose synthase in plants.

Because numerous attempts to detect an activity for a cellulose synthase in plants have failed, we have taken a different approach toward detecting polypeptides involved in this process. The uniqueness of the structure and function of cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) as an activator of the cellulose synthase of the bacterium Acetobacter xylinum makes it an attractive probe to use in a search for a c-di-GMP receptor that might be involved in the process in plants. Direct photolabeling with 32P-c-di-GMP has been used, therefore, to identify in plants two membrane polypeptides of 83 and 48 kD derived from cotton fibers that possess properties consistent with their being components of a c-di-GMP-dependent cellulose synthase. Based upon several criteria, the 48-kD species is proposed to be derived by proteolytic cleavage of the 83-kD polypeptide. Both polypeptides bind c-di-GMP with high affinity and specificity and show antigenic relatedness to the bacterial cellulose synthase, and the N-terminal sequence of the 48-kD polypeptide also indicates relatedness to the bacterial synthase. Ability to detect both cotton fiber polypeptides by photolabeling increases markedly in extracts derived from fibers entering the active phase of secondary wall cellulose synthesis. These results provide a basis for future work aimed at identifying and characterizing genes involved in cellulose synthesis in plants.

Acetobacter↗
PubMed1991

Cellulose biosynthesis and function in bacteria.

The current model of cellulose biogenesis in plants, as well as bacteria, holds that the membranous cellulose synthase complex polymerizes glucose moieties from UDP-Glc into beta-1,4-glucan chains which give rise to rigid crystalline fibrils upon extrusion at the outer surface of the cell. The distinct arrangement and degree of association of the polymerizing enzyme units presumably govern extracellular chain assembly in addition to the pattern and width of cellulose fibril deposition. Most evident for Acetobacter xylinum, polymerization and assembly appear to be tightly coupled. To date, only bacteria have been effectively studied at the biochemical and genetic levels. In A. xylinum, the cellulose synthase, composed of at least two structurally similar but functionally distinct subunits, is subject to a multicomponent regulatory system. Regulation is based on the novel nucleotide cyclic diguanylic acid, a positive allosteric effector, and the regulatory enzymes maintaining its intracellular turnover: diguanylate cyclase and Ca2(+)-sensitive bis-(3',5')-cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) phosphodiesterase. Four genes have been isolated from A. xylinum which constitute the operon for cellulose synthesis. The second gene encodes the catalytic subunit of cellulose synthase; the functions of the other three gene products are still unknown. Exclusively an extracellular product, bacterial cellulose appears to fulfill diverse biological roles within the natural habitat, conferring mechanical, chemical, and physiological protection in A. xylinum and Sarcina ventriculi or facilitating cell adhesion during symbiotic or infectious interactions in Rhizobium and Agrobacterium species. A. xylinum is proving to be most amenable for industrial purposes, allowing the unique features of bacterial cellulose to be exploited for novel product applications.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1990

The cyclic diguanylic acid regulatory system of cellulose synthesis in Acetobacter xylinum. Chemical synthesis and biological activity of cyclic nucleotide dimer, trimer, and phosphothioate derivatives.

An unusual compound, cyclic-bis(3'----5') diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP or cGpGp), is involved in the regulation of cellulose synthesis in the bacterium Acetobacter xylinum. This cyclic dinucleotide acts as an allosteric, positive effector of cellulose synthase activity in vitro (Ka = 0.31 microM) and is inactivated via degradation by a Ca2(+)-sensitive phosphodiesterase, PDE-A (Km = 0.25 microM). A series of 13 analogs cyclic dimer and trimer nucleotides were synthesized, employing a phosphotriester approach, and tested for the ability to mimick c-di-GMP as activators of cellulose synthase and as substrates for PDE-A. Seven of the synthetic compounds stimulate cellulose synthase activity and all of these activators undergo the Ca2(+)-inhibited degradation reaction. The order of affinities for synthase activators is cGpGp approximately cdGpGp approximately cGp(S)Gp (S-diastereomer) greater than cIpGp greater than cdGpdGp greater than cXpGp greater than cIpIp greater than cGp(S)Gp (R-diastereomer). Three cyclic dinucleotides of negligible affinity for either enzyme are cApAp, cUpUp, and cCpCp. This same order of affinities essentially pertains to the analogs as inhibitors of PDE-A activity, but at least one cyclic dinucleotide, cXpXp, which does not bind to cellulose synthase, is also a substrate for the degradation reaction, demonstrating that although the two enzymes share a similar, high degree of specificity for c-di-GMP, their cyclic dinucleotide binding sites are not identical. Phosphodiester bonds of activators in which an exocyclic oxygen is replaced with an atom of sulfur (cGp(S)Gp isomers) resist the action of PDE-A, and such derivatives may be prototypes for synthetic non-hydrolyzable c-di-GMP analogs.

Allosteric Regulation↗
PubMed1990

Genetic organization of the cellulose synthase operon in Acetobacter xylinum.

An operon encoding four proteins required for bacterial cellulose biosynthesis (bcs) in Acetobacter xylinum was isolated via genetic complementation with strains lacking cellulose synthase activity. Nucleotide sequence analysis indicated that the cellulose synthase operon is 9217 base pairs long and consists of four genes. The four genes--bcsA, bcsB, bcsC, and bcsD--appear to be translationally coupled and transcribed as a polycistronic mRNA with an initiation site 97 bases upstream of the coding region of the first gene (bcsA) in the operon. Results from genetic complementation tests and gene disruption analyses demonstrate that all four genes in the operon are required for maximal bacterial cellulose synthesis in A. xylinum. The calculated molecular masses of the proteins encoded by bcsA, bcsB, bcsC, and bcsD are 84.4, 85.3, 141.0, and 17.3 kDa, respectively. The second gene in the operon (bcsB) encodes the catalytic subunit of cellulose synthase. The functions of the bcsA, bcsC, and bcsD gene products are unknown. Bacterial strains mutated in the bcsA locus were found to be deficient in cellulose synthesis due to the lack of cellulose synthase and diguanylate cyclase activities. Mutants in the bcsC and bcsD genes were impaired in cellulose production in vivo, even though they had the capacity to make all the necessary metabolic precursors and cyclic diguanylic acid, the activator of cellulose synthase, and exhibit cellulose synthase activity in vitro. When the entire operon was present on a multicopy plasmid in the bacterial cell, both cellulose synthase activity and cellulose biosynthesis increased. When the promoter of the cellulose synthase operon was replaced on the chromosome by E. coli tac or lac promoters, cellulose production was reduced in parallel with decreased cellulose synthase activity. These observations suggest that the expression of the bcs operon is rate-limiting for cellulose synthesis in A. xylinum.

Arabidopsis Proteins↗
PubMed1989

Cloning of a gene involved in cellulose biosynthesis in Acetobacter xylinum: complementation of cellulose-negative mutants by the UDPG pyrophosphorylase structural gene.

Three cellulose-negative (Cel-) mutants of Acetobacter xylinum strain ATCC 23768 were complemented by a cloned 2.8 kb DNA fragment from the wild type. Biochemical analysis of the mutants showed that they were deficient in the enzyme uridine 5'-diphosphoglucose (UDPG) pyrophosphorylase. The analysis also showed that the mutants could synthesize beta(1-4)-glucan in vitro from UDPG, but not in vivo from glucose. This result was expected, since UDPG is known to be the precursor for cellulose synthesis in A. xylinum. In order to analyze the function of the cloned gene in more detail, its biological activity in Escherichia coli was studied. These experiments showed that the cloned fragment could be used to complement an E. coli mutant deficient in the structural gene for UDPG pyrophosphorylase. It is therefore clear that the cloned fragment must contain this gene from A. xylinum. This is to our knowledge the first example of the cloning of a gene with a known function in cellulose biosynthesis from any organism, and we suggest the gene be designated celA.

Cellulose↗
PubMed1989

Cyclic diguanylic acid and cellulose synthesis in Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

The occurrence of the novel regulatory nucleotide bis(3',5')-cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) and its relation to cellulose biogenesis in the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens was studied. c-di-GMP was detected in acid extracts of 32P-labeled cells grown in various media, and an enzyme responsible for its formation from GTP was found to be present in cell-free preparations. Cellulose synthesis in vivo was quantitatively assessed with [14C]glucose as a tracer. The organism produced cellulose during growth in the absence of plant cells, and this capacity was retained in resting cells. Synthesis of a cellulosic product from UDP-glucose in vitro with membrane preparations was markedly stimulated by c-di-GMP and its precursor GTP and was further enhanced by Ca2+. The calcium effect was attributed to inhibition of a c-di-GMP-degrading enzyme shown to be present in the cellulose synthase-containing membranes.

Arabidopsis Proteins↗
PubMed1978

Purification and regulatory properties of the oxaloacetate decarboxylase of Acetobacter xylinum.

The oxaloacetate (OAA) decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.3) activity of Acetobacter xylinum cells grown on glucose or glycerol is the same as that of cells grown on intermediates of the citrate cycle. The enzyme was purified 92-fold from extracts, and its molecular weight was determined to be 100,000 by gel filtration. Initial velocity studies revealed marked positive cooperativity for OAA (Hill coefficient [n(H)] = 1.8; S(0.5) = 21 mM). The affinity of the enzyme for OAA was markedly increased upon addition of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), NAD phosphate (NADP), and some other pyridine nucleotides. S(0.5(OAA)) decreased to 1 mM but n(H) and V(max) were unchanged. Saturation kinetics for the pyridine nucleotides were hyperbolic, and a half-maximal effect was obtained with 8 muM NAD and 30 muM NADP. The enzyme also catalyzed the exchange of (14)CO(2) into OAA but not the net carboxylation of pyruvate. Exchange activity, too, exhibited sigmoidal kinetics for OAA and was strongly stimulated by NAD at low substrate concentrations. The enzyme was inhibited by acetate competitively with respect to OAA. The K(I) for acetate (12 mM) was well within the physiological range of this compound inside the cell. The regulatory properties of the decarboxylase with respect to OAA cooperativity, NAD activation, and acetate inhibition were retained in situ within permeabilized cells. These properties seem to provide for a control mechanism which could insure the maintenance of OAA and the citrate cycle during growth of cells on glucose and, conversely, the required supply of pyruvate during growth on intermediates of the citrate cycle.

Carbon Dioxide↗
PubMed1977

Alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex of Acetobacter xylinum. Purification and regulatory properties.

The alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex of Acetobacter xylinum was purified to homogeneity. It consists of three main polypeptide chains with a total molecular weight of about 2.4 X 10(6). It catalyzes the overall Mg2+ and thiamin pyrophosphate-dependent, NAD+- and CoA-linked oxidative decarboxylation of alpha-ketoglutarate, as well as the partial reactions characteristic of the three enzyme components described for the complex from other sources. Initial velocity studies revealed marked positive cooperativity for the substrate alpha-ketoglutarate (Hill coefficient (nH) = 2.0; concentration of ligand at half-maximum effect (S0.5) = 8 mM). The sigmoidal [alpha-ketoglutarate]-velocity relationship became hyperbolic upon addition of AMP or 3-acetylpyridine adenine dinucleotide (AcPyAD) or in the presence of high concentrations of NAD. S0.5 (alpha-ketoglutarate) decreased to 1 mM, but Vmax was unchanged. Saturation curves for NAD and AMP are sigmoidal (nH = 2) at low alpha-ketoglutarate concentrations and become hyperbolic at high alpha-ketoglutarate concentrations. As judged by S0.5, the relative efficiency of the allosteric effectors is AcPyAD greater than AMP greater than alpha-ketoglutarate- greater than NAD+. Half-maximal changes in nH, S0.5, and activation by AMP occur at a pH significantly different from that of half-maximal activity. A model for the allosteric behavior of the complex is proposed in which the first enzyme component of the complex (E1) is the site for the allosteric interactions and AMP is the primary positive modifier, whereas NAD and AcPyAD act as AMP analogues. The overall reaction is competitively inhibited by NADH with respect to NAD (K1 = 20 micronM) and by succinyl-CoA with respect of CoA (K1 = 3 micronM). The properties of the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex of A. xylinum appear to provide for appropriate partitioning of alpha-ketoglutarate carbon between competing pathways in response to the energy state of the cells.

Adenosine Monophosphate↗
PubMed1976

Factors affecting the activity of citrate synthase of Acetobacter xylinum and its possible regulatory role.

The citrate synthase activity of Acetobacter xylinum cells grown on glucose was the same as of cells grown on intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The activity of citrate synthase in extracts is compatible with the overall rate of acetate oxidation in vivo. The enzyme was purified 47-fold from sonic extracts and its molecular weight was determined to be 280000 by gel filtration. It has an optimum activity at pH 8.4. Reaction rates with the purified enzyme were hyperbolic functions of both acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate. The Km for acetyl-CoA is 18 mum and that for oxaloacetate 8.7 mum. The enzyme is inhibited by ATP according to classical kinetic patterns. This inhibition is competitive with respect to acetyl-CoA (Ki = 0.9 mM) and non-competitive with respect to oxaloacetate. It is not affected by changes in pH and ionic strength and is not relieved by an excess of Mg2+ ions. Unlike other Gram-negative bacteria, the A. xylinum enzyme is not inhibited by NADH, but is inhibited by high concentrations of NADPH. The activity of the enzyme varies with energy charge in a manner consistent with its role in energy metabolism. It is suggested that the flux through the tricarboxylic acid cycle in A. xylinum is regulated by modulation of citrate synthase activity in response to the energy state of the cells.

Acetyl Coenzyme A↗
PubMed1976

Activities of citrate synthase and other enzymes of Acetobacter xylinum in situ and in vitro.

The activities of a number of enzymes, extracted from Acetobacter xylinum, that are involved in carbohydrate metabolism may be accounted for in situ in permeabilized cells. The kinetic properties of citrate synthase and glycerokinase observed in vitro are also retained in situ. So is the regulatory sensitivity of these enzymes. Both in vitro and in situ, (a) citrate synthase, in contrast with the enzyme for other Gram-negative bacteria, is inhibited by ATP and is insensitive to NADH, and (b) glycerokinase is inhibited by fructose diphosphate and the ratio of its activities towards glycerol and dihydroxyacetone is the same.

Cell Membrane Permeability↗
PubMed1976

Phosphorylation of glycerol and dihydroxyacetone in Acetobacter xylinum and its possible regulatory role.

Extracts of Acetobacter xylinum catalyze the phosphorylation of glycerol and dihydroxyacetone (DHA) by adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) to form, respectively, L-alpha-glycerophosphate and DHA phosphate. The ability to promote phosphorylation of glycerol and DHA was higher in glycerol-grown cells than in glucose- or succinate-grown cells. The activity of glycerol kinase in extracts is compatible with the overall rate of glycerol oxidation in vivo. The glycerol-DHA kinase has been purified 210-fold from extracts, and its molecular weight was determined to be 50,000 by gel filtration. The glycerol kinase to DHA kinase activity ratio remained essentially constant at 1.6 at all stages of purification. The optimal pH for both reactions was 8.4 to 9.2. Reaction rates with the purified enzyme were hyperbolic functions of glycerol, DHA, and ATP. The Km for glycerol is 0.5 mM and that for DHA is 5 mM; both are independent of the ATP concentration. The Km for ATP in both kinase reactions is 0.5 mM and is independent of glycerol and DHA concentrations. Glycerol and DHA are competitive substrates with Ki values equal to their respective Km values as substrates. D-Glyceraldehyde and l-Glyceraldehyde were not phosphorylated and did not inhibit the enzyme. Among the nucleotide triphosphates tested, only ATP was active as the phosphoryl group donor. Fructose diphosphate (FDP) inhibited both kinase activities competitively with respect to ATP (Ki= 0.02 mM) and noncompetitively with respect to glycerol and DHA. Adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) inhibited both enzymic activities competitively with respect to ATP (Ki (ADP) = 0.4 mM; Ki (AMP) =0.25 mM). A. xylinum cells with a high FDP content did not grow on glycerol. Depletion of cellular FDP by starvation enabled rapid growth on glycerol. It is concluded that a single enzyme from A. xylinum is responsible for the phosphorylation of both glycerol and DHA. This as well as the sensitivity of the enzyme to inhibition by FDP and AMP suggest that it has a regulatory role in glycerol metabolism.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗