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Abstract
Bacteria stringently regulate the synthesis of their membrane phospholipids, but the responsible regulatory mechanisms are incompletely understood. In this issue of Developmental Cell, a study reports negative regulation of the transcription of several genes of fatty acid and phospholipid synthesis plus identification of the regulatory protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan S James
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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52
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Schujman GE, Choi KH, Altabe S, Rock CO, de Mendoza D. Response of Bacillus subtilis to cerulenin and acquisition of resistance. J Bacteriol 2001; 183:3032-40. [PMID: 11325930 PMCID: PMC95202 DOI: 10.1128/jb.183.10.3032-3040.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cerulenin is a fungal mycotoxin that potently inhibits fatty acid synthesis by covalent modification of the active site thiol of the chain-elongation subtypes of beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthases. The Bacillus subtilis fabF (yjaY) gene (fabF(b)) encodes an enzyme that catalyzes the condensation of malonyl-ACP with acyl-ACP to extend the growing acyl chain by two carbons. There were two mechanisms by which B. subtilis adapted to exposure to this antibiotic. First, reporter gene analysis demonstrated that transcription of the operon containing the fabF gene increased eightfold in response to a cerulenin challenge. This response was selective for the inhibition of fatty acid synthesis, since triclosan, an inhibitor of enoyl-ACP reductase, triggered an increase in fabF reporter gene expression while nalidixic acid did not. Second, spontaneous mutants arose that exhibited a 10-fold increase in the MIC of cerulenin. The mutation mapped at the B. subtilis fabF locus, and sequence analysis of the mutant fabF allele showed that a single base change resulted in the synthesis of FabF(b)[I108F]. The purified FabF(b) and FabF(b)[I108F] proteins had similar specific activities with myristoyl-ACP as the substrate. FabF(b) exhibited a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of cerulenin of 0.1 microM, whereas the IC(50) for FabF(b)[I108] was 50-fold higher (5 microM). These biochemical data explain the absence of an overt growth defect coupled with the cerulenin resistance phenotype of the mutant strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- G E Schujman
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR) and Departamento de Microbiologia, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531, 2000-Rosario, Argentina
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53
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Davis MS, Cronan JE. Inhibition of Escherichia coli acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase by acyl-acyl carrier protein. J Bacteriol 2001; 183:1499-503. [PMID: 11157970 PMCID: PMC95031 DOI: 10.1128/jb.183.4.1499-1503.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Escherichia coli acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC), the first enzyme of the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway, is inhibited by acylated derivatives of acyl carrier protein (ACP). ACP lacking an acyl moiety does not inhibit ACC. Acylated derivatives of ACP having chain lengths of 6 to 20 carbon atoms were similarly inhibitory at physiologically relevant concentrations. The observed feedback inhibition was specific to the protein moiety, as shown by the inability of the palmitoyl thioester of spinach ACP I to inhibit ACC.
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Affiliation(s)
- M S Davis
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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54
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Metzler DE, Metzler CM, Sauke DJ. Specific Aspects of Lipid Metabolism. Biochemistry 2001. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-012492543-4/50024-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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55
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Heath RJ, Su N, Murphy CK, Rock CO. The enoyl-[acyl-carrier-protein] reductases FabI and FabL from Bacillus subtilis. J Biol Chem 2000; 275:40128-33. [PMID: 11007778 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m005611200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 147] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Enoyl-[acyl-carrier-protein] (ACP) reductase is a key enzyme in type II fatty-acid synthases that catalyzes the last step in each elongation cycle. The FabI component of Bacillus subtilis (bsFabI) was identified in the genomic data base by homology to the Escherichia coli protein. bsFabI was cloned and purified and exhibited properties similar to those of E. coli FabI, including a marked preference for NADH over NADPH as a cofactor. Overexpression of the B. subtilis fabI gene complemented the temperature-sensitive growth phenotype of an E. coli fabI mutant. Triclosan was a slow-binding inhibitor of bsFabI and formed a stable bsFabI.NAD(+). triclosan ternary complex. Analysis of the B. subtilis genomic data base revealed a second open reading frame (ygaA) that was predicted to encode a protein with a relatively low overall similarity to FabI, but contained the Tyr-Xaa(6)-Lys enoyl-ACP reductase catalytic architecture. The purified YgaA protein catalyzed the NADPH-dependent reduction of trans-2-enoyl thioesters of both N-acetylcysteamine and ACP. YgaA was reversibly inhibited by triclosan, but did not form the stable ternary complex characteristic of the FabI proteins. Expression of YgaA complemented the fabI(ts) defect in E. coli and conferred complete triclosan resistance. Single knockouts of the ygaA or fabI gene in B. subtilis were viable, but double knockouts were not obtained. The fabI knockout was as sensitive as the wild-type strain to triclosan, whereas the ygaA knockout was 250-fold more sensitive to the drug. YgaA was renamed FabL to denote the discovery of a new family of proteins that carry out the enoyl-ACP reductase step in type II fatty-acid synthases.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Heath
- Department of Biochemistry, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and the Department of Biochemistry, University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee 38105-2794, USA
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56
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Davis MS, Solbiati J, Cronan JE. Overproduction of acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity increases the rate of fatty acid biosynthesis in Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem 2000; 275:28593-8. [PMID: 10893421 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m004756200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 324] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) catalyzes the first committed step of the fatty acid synthetic pathway. Although ACC has often been proposed to be a major rate-controlling enzyme of this pathway, no direct tests of this proposal in vivo have been reported. We have tested this proposal in Escherichia coli. The genes encoding the four subunits of E. coli ACC were cloned in a single plasmid under the control of a bacteriophage T7 promoter. Upon induction of gene expression, the four ACC subunits were overproduced in equimolar amounts. Overproduction of the proteins resulted in greatly increased ACC activity with a concomitant increase in the intracellular level of malonyl-CoA. The effects of ACC overexpression on the rate of fatty acid synthesis were examined in the presence of a thioesterase, which provided a metabolic sink for fatty acid overproduction. Under these conditions ACC overproduction resulted in a 6-fold increase in the rate of fatty acid synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- M S Davis
- Departments of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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57
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DiRusso CC, Black PN, Weimar JD. Molecular inroads into the regulation and metabolism of fatty acids, lessons from bacteria. Prog Lipid Res 1999; 38:129-97. [PMID: 10396600 DOI: 10.1016/s0163-7827(98)00022-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C C DiRusso
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Albany Medical College, New York, USA.
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58
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Subrahmanyam S, Cronan JE. Overproduction of a functional fatty acid biosynthetic enzyme blocks fatty acid synthesis in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol 1998; 180:4596-602. [PMID: 9721301 PMCID: PMC107473 DOI: 10.1128/jb.180.17.4596-4602.1998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
beta-Ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthetase II (KAS II) is one of three Escherichia coli isozymes that catalyze the elongation of growing fatty acid chains by condensation of acyl-ACP with malonyl-ACP. Overexpression of this enzyme has been found to be extremely toxic to E. coli, much more so than overproduction of either of the other KAS isozymes, KAS I or KAS III. The immediate effect of KAS II overproduction is the cessation of phospholipid synthesis, and this inhibition is specifically due to the blockage of fatty acid synthesis. To determine the cause of this inhibition, we examined the intracellular pools of ACP, coenzyme A (CoA), and their acyl thioesters. Although no significant changes were detected in the acyl-ACP pools, the CoA pools were dramatically altered by KAS II overproduction. Malonyl-CoA increased to about 40% of the total cellular CoA pool upon KAS II overproduction from a steady-state level of around 0.5% in the absence of KAS II overproduction. This finding indicated that the conversion of malonyl-CoA to fatty acids had been blocked and could be explained if either the conversion of malonyl-CoA to malonyl-ACP and/or the elongation reactions of fatty acid synthesis had been blocked. Overproduction of malonyl-CoA:ACP transacylase, the enzyme catalyzing the conversion of malonyl-CoA to malonyl-ACP, partially relieved the toxicity of KAS II overproduction, consistent with a model in which high levels of KAS II blocks access of the other KAS isozymes to malonyl-CoA:ACP transacylase.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Subrahmanyam
- Departments of Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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59
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Influence of cold shock on the fatty-acid composition of different lipid classes of the food-borne pathogenListeria monocytogenes. Food Microbiol 1998. [DOI: 10.1006/fmic.1997.0170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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60
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Affiliation(s)
- B J Rawlings
- Department of Chemistry, University of Leicester, UK.
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61
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Kamst E, Spaink HP, Kafetzopoulos D. Biosynthesis and secretion of rhizobial lipochitin-oligosaccharide signal molecules. Subcell Biochem 1998; 29:29-71. [PMID: 9594644 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4899-1707-2_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- E Kamst
- Leiden University, Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, Clusius Laboratory, The Netherlands
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62
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Heath RJ, Goldfine H, Rock CO. A gene (plsD) from Clostridium butyricum that functionally substitutes for the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase gene (plsB) of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol 1997; 179:7257-63. [PMID: 9393688 PMCID: PMC179674 DOI: 10.1128/jb.179.23.7257-7263.1997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (plsB) of Escherichia coli is a key regulatory enzyme that catalyzes the first committed step in phospholipid biosynthesis. We report the initial characterization of a novel gene (termed plsD) from Clostridium butyricum, cloned based on its ability to complement the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate auxotrophic phenotype of a plsB mutant strain of E. coli. Unlike the 83-kDa PlsB acyltransferase from E. coli, the predicted plsD open reading frame encoded a protein of 26.5 kDa. Two regions of strong homology to other lipid acyltransferases, including PlsB and PlsC analogs from mammals, plants, yeast, and bacteria, were identified. PlsD was most closely related to the 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (plsC) gene family but did not complement the growth of plsC(Ts) mutants. An in vivo metabolic labeling experiment using a plsB plsX plsC(Ts) strain of E. coli confirmed that the plsD expression restored the ability of the cells to synthesize 1-acyl-glycerol-3-phosphate. However, glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase activity was not detected in vitro in assays using either acyl-acyl carrier protein or acyl coenzyme A as the substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Heath
- Department of Biochemistry, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38101, USA
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63
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Winter E, Brummel M, Schuch R, Spener F. Decarboxylation of malonyl-(acyl carrier protein) by 3-oxoacyl-(acyl carrier protein) synthases in plant fatty acid biosynthesis. Biochem J 1997; 321 ( Pt 2):313-8. [PMID: 9020860 PMCID: PMC1218070 DOI: 10.1042/bj3210313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
In order to identify regulatory steps in fatty acid biosynthesis, the influence of intermediate 3-oxoacyl-(acyl carrier proteins) (3-oxoacyl-ACPs) and end-product acyl-ACPs of the fatty acid synthase reaction on the condensation reaction was investigated in vitro, using total fatty acid synthase preparations and purified 3-oxoacyl-ACP synthases (KASs; EC 2.3.1.41) from Cuphea lanceolata seeds. KAS I and II in the fatty acid synthase preparations were assayed for the elongation of octanoyl- and hexadecanoyl-ACP respectively, and the accumulation of the corresponding condensation product 3-oxoacyl-ACP was studied by modulating the content of the reducing equivalentS NADH and NADPH. Complete omission of reducing equivalents resulted with either KAS in the abnormal synthesis of acetyl-ACP from malonyl-ACP by a decarboxylation reaction. Supplementation with NADPH or NADH, separately or in combination with recombinant 3-oxoacyl-ACP reductase (EC 1.1.1.100), led to a decrease in the amount of acetyl-ACP and a simultaneous increase in elongation products. This demonstrates that the accumulation of 3-oxoacyl-ACP inhibits the condensation reaction on the one hand, and induces the decarboxylation of malonyl-ACP on the other. By carrying out similar experiments with purified enzymes, this decarboxylation was attributed to the action of KAS. Our data point to a regulatory mechanism for the degradation of malonyl-ACP in plants which is activated by the accumulation of the fatty acid synthase intermediate 3-oxoacyl-ACP.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Winter
- Institut für Biochemie, Universität Münster, Germany
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64
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Bergler H, Fuchsbichler S, Högenauer G, Turnowsky F. The enoyl-[acyl-carrier-protein] reductase (FabI) of Escherichia coli, which catalyzes a key regulatory step in fatty acid biosynthesis, accepts NADH and NADPH as cofactors and is inhibited by palmitoyl-CoA. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY 1996; 242:689-94. [PMID: 9022698 DOI: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1996.0689r.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Reduction of enoyl-acyl-carrier-protein (ACP) substrates by enoyl-ACP reductase is a key regulatory step in fatty acid elongation of Escherichia coli. Two enoyl-ACP reductase activities have been described in E. coli, one specific for NADH, the other for NADPH as cofactor. Because of their distinct enzymatic properties, these activities were ascribed to two different proteins. The NADH-dependent enoyl-ACP reductase of E. coli has previously been identified as the FabI protein, which is the target of a group of antibacterial compounds, the diazaborines. We now demonstrate that both enoyl-ACP reductase activities reside in FabI. In crude cell extracts of FabI-overproducing strains, both NADH-dependent and NADPH-dependent enoyl-ACP reductase activities are increased. Mutations in the fabI gene that lead either to temperature-sensitive growth or diazaborine resistance result in the reduction of both activities. When FabI is purified in pH 6.5 buffers, the protein exhibits NADH-dependent and NADPH-dependent reductase activities. Both enzymatic activities are inhibited by diazaborine. The NADPH-dependent enoyl-ACP reductase activity, however, turned out to be approximately eight times more resistant to diazaborine. The difference in sensitivity indicates that binding of either NADPH or NADH to FabI results in distinct changes in the configuration of the protein or, alternatively, it is different due to the different charge of the cofactors. These effects might be responsible for the differences in the enzymatic properties. Both reductase activities of the FabI protein are inhibited by physiologically relevant concentrations of palmitoyl-CoA, which might be important in regulating endogenous fatty acid biosynthesis in E. coli in the presence of exogenous fatty acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Bergler
- Institut für Mikrobiologie, Universität Graz, Austria
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65
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Rock CO, Cronan JE. Escherichia coli as a model for the regulation of dissociable (type II) fatty acid biosynthesis. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA 1996; 1302:1-16. [PMID: 8695652 DOI: 10.1016/0005-2760(96)00056-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 252] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- C O Rock
- Department of Biochemistry, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38101, USA.
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66
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Heath RJ, Rock CO. Inhibition of beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase III (FabH) by acyl-acyl carrier protein in Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem 1996; 271:10996-1000. [PMID: 8631920 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.271.18.10996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 163] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
beta-Ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthase III (the fabH gene product) condenses acetyl-CoA with malonyl-ACP to initiate fatty acid biosynthesis in the dissociated, type II fatty acid synthase systems typified by Escherichia coli. The accumulation of malonyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) following the inhibition of a reconstituted fatty acid synthase system by acyl-ACP implicated synthase III (FabH) as a target for acyl-ACP regulation (Heath, R. J., and Rock, C. O. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 1833-1836); therefore, the FabH protein was purified and its biochemical and regulatory properties examined. FabH exhibited a Km of 40 microM for acetyl-CoA and 5 microM for malonyl-ACP. FabH also accepted other acyl-CoAs as primers with the rank order of activity being acetyl-CoA approximately propionyl-CoA >> butyryl-CoA. FabH utilized neither hexanoyl-CoA nor octanoyl-CoA. Acyl-ACPs suppressed Fabh activity, and their potency increased with increasing acyl chain length between 12 and 20 carbon atoms. Nonesterified ACP was not an inhibitor. Acyl-ACP inhibition kinetics were mixed with respect to acetyl-CoA, but were competitive with malonyl-ACP, indicating that acyl-ACPs decrease FabH activity by binding to either the free enzyme or the acyl-enzyme intermediate. These data support the concept that the inhibition of chain initiation at the beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthase III step contributes to the attenuation of fatty acid biosynthesis by acyl-ACP.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Heath
- Department of Biochemistry, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38101, USA
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67
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Heath RJ, Rock CO. Regulation of fatty acid elongation and initiation by acyl-acyl carrier protein in Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem 1996; 271:1833-6. [PMID: 8567624 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.271.4.1833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Long chain acyl-acyl carrier protein (acyl-ACP) has been implicated as a physiological inhibitor of fatty acid biosynthesis since acyl-ACP degradation by thioesterase overexpression leads to constitutive, unregulated fatty acid production. The biochemical targets for acyl-ACP inhibition were unknown, and this work identified two biosynthetic enzymes that were sensitive to acyl-ACP feedback inhibition. Palmitoyl-ACP inhibited the incorporation of [14C]malonyl-CoA into long chain fatty acids in cell-free extracts of Escherichia coli. A short chain acyl-ACP species with the electrophoretic properties of beta-hydroxybutyryl-ACP accumulated concomitant with the overall decrease in the amount of [14C]malonyl-CoA incorporation, indicating that the first elongation cycle was targeted by acyl-ACP. All of the proteins required to catalyze the first round of fatty acid synthesis from acetyl-CoA plus malonyl-CoA in vitro were isolated, and the first fatty acid elongation cycle was reconstituted with these purified components. Analysis of the individual enzymes and the pattern of intermediate accumulation in the reconstituted system identified initiation of fatty acid synthesis by beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthase III (fabH) and enoyl-ACP reductase (fabI) in the elongation cycle as two steps attenuated by long chain acyl-ACP.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Heath
- Department of Biochemistry, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38101, USA
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68
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Heath RJ, Rock CO. Enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase (fabI) plays a determinant role in completing cycles of fatty acid elongation in Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem 1995; 270:26538-42. [PMID: 7592873 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.270.44.26538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 286] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of enoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase (E.C. 1.3.1.9), the product of the fabI gene, was investigated in the type II, dissociated, fatty acid synthase system of Escherichia coli. All of the proteins required to catalyze one cycle of fatty acid synthesis from acetyl-CoA plus malonyl-CoA to butyryl-ACP in vitro were purified. These proteins were malonyl-CoA:ACP transacylase (fabD), beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthase III (fabH), beta-ketoacyl-ACP reductase (fabG), beta-hydroxydecanoyl-ACP dehydrase (fabA), and enoyl-ACP reductase (fabI). Unlike the other enzymes in the cycle, FabA did not efficiently convert its substrate beta-hydroxybutyryl-ACP to crotonyl-ACP, but rather the equilibrium favored formation of beta-hydroxybutyryl-ACP over crotonyl-ACP by a ratio of 9:1. The amount of butyryl-ACP formed depended on the amount of FabI protein added to the assay. Extracts from fabI(Ts) mutants accumulated beta-hydroxybutyryl-ACP, and the addition of FabI protein to the fabI(Ts) extract restored both butyryl-ACP and long-chain acyl-ACP synthesis. FabI was verified to be the only enoyl-ACP reductase required for the synthesis of fatty acids by demonstrating that purified FabI was required for the elongation of both long-chain saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. These results were corroborated by analysis of the intracellular ACP pool composition in fabI(Ts) mutants that showed beta-hydroxybutyryl-ACP and crotonyl-ACP accumulated at the nonpermissive temperature in the same ratio found in the fabI(Ts) extracts and in the in vitro reconstruction experiments that lacked FabI. We conclude that FabI is the only enoyl-ACP reductase involved in fatty acid synthesis in E. coli and that the activity of this enzyme plays a determinant role in completing cycles of fatty acid biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Heath
- Department of Biochemistry, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38101, USA
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