The role of symmetry in the regulation of bacterial carboxyltransferase

Carboxyltransferase is one component of the multifunctional enzyme acetyl-CoA carboxylase which catalyzes the first committed step in fatty acid biosynthesis. Carboxyltransferase is an α2β2 heterotetramer and possesses two distinct but integrated functions. One function catalyzes the transfer of carbon dioxide from biotin to acetyl-CoA, whereas the other involves binding to the mRNA encoding both subunits. When carboxyltransferase binds to the mRNA both enzymatic activity and translation of the mRNA are inhibited. However, the substrate acetyl-CoA competes with mRNA for binding. Thus, mRNA binding by carboxyltransferase provides an effective mechanism for regulating enzymatic activity and gene expression. This conceptual review takes the position that regulation of enzymatic activity and gene expression of carboxyltransferase by binding to its own mRNA is at its most fundamental level the result of the symmetry in the chemical reaction catalyzed by the enzyme. The chemical reaction is symmetrical in that both substrates generate enolate anions during the course of catalysis. The chemical symmetry led to a structural symmetry in the enzyme where both the α and β subunits contain oxyanion holes that stabilize the enolate anions. Then the region of the mRNA that codes for the oxyanion holes provided the binding sites for carboxyltransferase. Thus, the symmetry of the chemical reaction formed the foundation for the evolution of the mechanism for regulation of carboxyltransferase.