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A novel prokaryotic l-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase (CyrA; ) is involved in the biosynthesis of the polyketide-derived cytotoxin cylindrospermopsin in the cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii AWT250, and was previously characterized with regard to kinetic mechanism and substrate specificity [Muenchhoff J et al. (2010) FEBS J 277, 3844-3860]. In order to elucidate the structure-function-stability relationship of this enzyme, two residues in its active site were replaced with the residues that occur in the human l-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase (h-AGAT) at the corresponding positions (F245N and S247M), and a double variant carrying both substitutions was also created. In h-AGAT, both of these residues are critical for the function of this enzyme with regard to substrate binding, ligand-induced structural changes, and stability of the active site. In this study, we demonstrated that both single residue replacements resulted in a dramatic broadening of substrate specificity, but did not affect the kinetic mechanism. Experiments with substrate analogues indicate that donor substrates require a carboxylate group for binding. Evidence from initial velocity studies suggests that CyrA undergoes ligand-induced structural changes that involve Phe245. Stability parameters ( Topt and Tmax) of the CyrA variants differed from those of wild-type CyrA. Structural flexibilities of the wild type and all three variants were comparable on the basis of dynamic fluorescence quenching, indicating that changes in Topt are most likely attributable to localized effects within the active site. Overall, the results indicated that these two residues are essential for both stringent substrate specificity and the active site stability and flexibility of this unique cyanobacterial enzyme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the first characterization of anl-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase from a prokaryote. The enzyme, CyrA, is involved in the pathway for biosynthesis of the polyketide-derived hepatotoxin cylindrospermopsin from Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii AWT205. CyrA is phylogenetically distinct from other amidinotransferases, and structural alignment shows differences between the active site residues of CyrA and the well-characterized humanl-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase (AGAT). Overexpression of recombinant CyrA in Escherichia coli enabled biochemical characterization of the enzyme, and we confirmed the predicted function of CyrA as anl-arginine:glycine amidinotransferase by 1H NMR. As compared with AGAT, CyrA showed narrow substrate specificity when presented with substrate analogs, and deviated from regular Michaelis–Menten kinetics in the presence of the non-natural substrate hydroxylamine. Studies of initial reaction velocities and product inhibition, and identification of intermediate reaction products, were used to probe the kinetic mechanism of CyrA, which is best described as a hybrid of ping-pong and sequential mechanisms. Differences in the active site residues of CyrA and AGAT are discussed in relation to the different properties of both enzymes. The enzyme had maximum activity and maximum stability at pH 8.5 and 6.5, respectively, and an optimum temperature of 32 °C. Investigations into the stability of the enzyme revealed that an inactivated form of this enzyme retained an appreciable amount of secondary structure elements even on heating to 94 °C, but lost its tertiary structure at low temperature ( Tmax of 44.5 °C), resulting in a state reminiscent of a molten globule. CyrA represents a novel group of prokaryotic amidinotransferases that utilize arginine and glycine as substrates with a complex kinetic mechanism and substrate specificity that differs from that of the eukaryoticl-arginine:glycine amidinotransferases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxic cyanobacterial blooms cause economic losses and pose significant public health threats on a global scale. Characterization of the gene cluster for the biosynthesis of the cyanobacterial toxin cylindrospermopsin (cyr) in Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii AWT205 is described, and the complete biosynthetic pathway is proposed. The cyr gene cluster spans 43 kb and is comprised of 15 open reading frames containing genes required for the biosynthesis, regulation, and export of the toxin. Biosynthesis is initiated via an amidinotransfer onto glycine followed by five polyketide extensions and subsequent reductions, and rings are formed via Michael additions in a stepwise manner. The uracil ring is formed by a novel pyrimidine biosynthesis mechanism and tailoring reactions, including sulfation and hydroxylation that complete biosynthesis. These findings enable the design of toxic strain-specific probes and allow the future study of the regulation and biological role of cylindrospermopsin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]