Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.2.1.23 (beta-galactosidase)
 14,648 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Two early and potential rate-limiting steps in the biosynthesis of isoquinoline alkaloids, such as morphine and codeine, in opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) involve decarboxylation of L-tyrosine and L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa) to yield tyramine and dopamine, respectively. A DNA fragment was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using degenerate primers designed to two highly conserved domains found in other aromatic amino acid decarboxylases. A poppy seedling cDNA library was screened with this PCR product and a cDNA (cTYDC1) for tyrosine/dopa decarboxylase (TYDC/DODC) was isolated. Two other independent cDNAs (cTYDC2 and cTYDC3) encoding TYDC/DODC were isolated by heterologous screening with a plant tryptophan decarboxylase (TDC) cDNA as probe. A poppy genomic library was screened with cTYDC1 and two intronless genomic clones (gTYDC1 and gTYDC4) were isolated. The deduced amino acid sequences of all poppy clones share extensive identity with other reported pyridoxal phosphate-dependent decarboxylases from both plants and animals. Based on sequence homology, members of the gene family were divided into two subsets (cTYDC1 and gTYDC4; cTYDC2 and cTYDC3) of proteins with predicted M(r) = 56,983 and 59,323, respectively. Within each subset the clones exhibit greater than 90% identity, whereas clones between subsets share less than 75% identity. Expression of gTYDC1 and cTYDC2 as beta-galactosidase fusion proteins in Escherichia coli resulted in catalytically active enzymes immunodetectable with TDC-specific polyclonal antibodies. Each enzyme showed marginally higher substrate specificity for L-dopa over L-tyrosine, but did not accept L-tryptophan and L-phenylalanine as substrates. Genomic DNA blot-hybridization analysis revealed 6 to 8 genes homologous to cTYDC1 and 4 to 6 genes homologous to cTYDC2 in the tetraploid poppy genome. A premature translation stop codon was found in the gTYDC4 clone suggesting that it may not encode a functional protein. RNA blot-hybridization with probes specific to the gTYDC1- or cTYDC2-like subsets showed that members of the TYDC gene family are differentially expressed in various plant tissues.
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PMID:Differential and tissue-specific expression of a gene family for tyrosine/dopa decarboxylase in opium poppy. 792 1

The ability of microorganisms to degrade L-tyrosine to phenol, pyruvate, and ammonia is catalyzed by the inducible enzyme L-tyrosine phenol lyase (EC 4.1.99.2). To investigate possible mechanisms for how the synthesis of this enzyme is regulated, a variety of biochemical and genetic procedures was used to analyze transcription from the tpl promoter of Citrobacter freundii ATCC 29063 (C. braakii). By computer analysis of the region upstream of the tpl structural gene, two segments of DNA bearing strong homology to the known operator targets of the TyrR protein of Escherichia coli were detected. A DNA fragment of 509 bp carrying these operator targets plus the presumptive tpl promoter was synthesized by PCR and used to construct a single-copy tpl-lacZ reporter system. The formation of beta-galactosidase in strains carrying this reporter system, which was measured in E. coli strains of various genotypes, was strongly dependent on the presence of a functional TyrR protein. In strains bearing deletions of the tyrR gene, the formation of beta-galactosidase was reduced by a factor of 10. Several mutationally altered forms of TyrR were deficient in their abilities to activate the tpl promoter. The pattern of loss of activation function was exactly parallel to the effects of the same tyrR mutations on the mtr promoter, which is known to be activated by the TyrR protein. When cells carrying the tpl-lacZ reporter system were grown on glycerol, the levels of beta-galactosidase were 10- to 20-fold higher than those observed in glucose-grown cells. The effect was the same whether or not TyrR-mediated stimulation of the tpl promoter was in effect. By deleting the cya gene, it was shown that the glycerol effect was attributable to stimulation of the tpl promoter by the cyclic AMP (cAMP)-cAMP reporter protein system. A presumptive binding site for this transcription factor was detected just upstream of the -35 recognition hexamer of the tpl promoter. The transcriptional start point of the tpl promoter was determined by chemical procedures. The precise locations of the TyrR binding sites, which were established by DNase I footprinting, agreed with the computer-predicted positions of these regulatory sites. The two TyrR operators, which were centered at coordinates -272.5 and -158.5 with respect to the transcriptional start point, were independently disabled by site-directed mutagenesis. When the upstream operator was altered, activation was completely abolished. When the downstream operator was altered, there was a fourfold reduction in reporter enzyme levels. The tpl system presents a number of intriguing features not previously encountered in TyrR-activated promoters. First among these is the question of how the TyrR protein, bound to widely separated operators, activates the tpl promoter which is also widely separated from the operators.
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PMID:The tpl promoter of Citrobacter freundii is activated by the TyrR protein. 929 52

The mechanism of uptake of 4-hydroxyphenylacetate (4-HPA) by Escherichia coli W was investigated. The 4-HPA uptake was induced by 4-HPA, 3-hydroxyphenylacetate (3-HPA) or phenylacetate (PA) and showed saturation kinetics with apparent Kt and Vmax values of 25 microM and 3 nmol/min per 10(9) cells, respectively. Transport of 4-HPA was resistant to N,N'-dimethylcarbodiimide (DCCD), but was completely inhibited by cyanide and 4-nitrophenol, and, to a lower extent, by arsenate and azide, suggesting that energy is required for the uptake process. Competition studies showed that 4-HPA uptake was inhibited by 3-HPA or 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetate (3,4-DHPA) but not by 2-hydroxyphenylacetate (2-HPA), L-tyrosine or other structural analogues, indicating a narrow specificity of the transport system. We have demonstrated, using two experimental approaches, that the hpaX gene of the 4-HPA catabolic cluster, which encodes a protein of the superfamily of transmembrane facilitators, is responsible for 4-HPA transport. Aside from the aromatic amino acid transport systems, hpaX is the first transport gene for an aromatic compound of enteric bacteria that has been characterized. A highly sensitive cellular biosensor has been constructed by coupling the 4-HPA transport system to a regulatory circuit that controls the production of beta-galactosidase. This biosensor has allowed us to demonstrate that the transport system performs efficiently at very low external concentrations of 4-HPA, similar to levels that would be expected to occur in natural environments.
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PMID:Identification of the 4-hydroxyphenylacetate transport gene of Escherichia coli W: construction of a highly sensitive cellular biosensor. 931 5

We have previously reported that 4-methylumbelliferyl 6'-O-benzyl-beta-lactoside (2) is a useful substrate for a fluorometric assay of ceramide glycanase (CGase) (L.-X. Wang, N. V. Pavlova, S.-C. Li, Y.-T. Li and Y. C. Lee, Glycoconjugate J., 13 (1996) 359-365). The introduction of a 6-O-benzyl group at the terminal Gal efficiently protected the substrate from its hydrolysis by exo-galactosidase, permitting the assay of CGase in crude biological materials. However, a drawback of this substrate is its low water-solubility and relatively high Km (at a mM level). Introduction of a sulfate group into 4-methylumbelliferyl beta-lactoside (1) led to the formation of 4-methylumbelliferyl 3'-O-sulfo-beta-lactoside (3), which was found to be a more effective substrate than 2. Moreover, the presence of a 3'-O-sulfate group not only increases the water solubility tremendously, but also protects the substrate from cleavage by exo-beta-galactosidase as the 6'-O-benzyl group in 2 does. In addition to the fluorogenic substrate (3), two sulfated chromogenic substrates, N-tetradecanoyl-4-O(3'-sulfo-beta-lactosyl)-3-nitro-L-tyrosine methyl ester (9) and 2-N-(tetradecanoylamino)-4-nitro-phenyl 3'-sulfo-beta-lactoside (12), were synthesized and their suitability for a photometric assay of CGase was evaluated. Substrates 9 and 12, with a long fatty acid chain attached to the aglycon part, have a Km value close to that of the natural substrate GM1 (at a microM level).
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PMID:Synthesis of aryl 3'-sulfo-beta-lactosides as fluorogenic and chromogenic substrates for ceramide glycanases. 964 44

We designed and synthesized polyhydroxylated pyrrolidines 1-12 from L-tyrosine, L-phenylalanine, and D-tyrosine through iodine-mediated intramolecular cyclization followed by Woodward-Prevost reaction. The synthetic polyhydroxylated pyrrolidines were identified with structure-based inhibitory activity and selective inhibitory activity against alpha-rhamnosidase. (2S,3S,4R)-deacetyl anisomycin 7 was the best inhibitor among the 12 polyhydroxylated pyrrolidines because it possesses the same stereoconfiguration at C1, C2, C3 as alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside. An investigation into the nature of the inhibition showed that the synthetic pyrrolidines are competitive inhibitors. They also did not have remarkable inhibitory activity against seven glycosidases (alpha-glucosidase, alpha-mannosidase, alpha-amylase, beta-glucosidase, beta-galactosidase, beta-amylase, and invertase).
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PMID:Alpha-rhamnosidase inhibitory activities of polyhydroxylated pyrrolidine. 1603 52

A Gram-negative, nonmotile and rod-shaped bacterial strain was isolated from the rhizosphere of Platycodon grandiflorum in a study of bacterial diversity, and its taxonomic position was investigated by a genotypic and phenotypic analysis. This isolate, designated as DR-f4, grew at 4-30 degrees C (optimally at 20-25 degrees C) and in the presence of 0-1% (w/v) NaCl. It contained MK-7 as the predominant menaquinone. The isolate had activities of catalase, oxidase and beta-galactosidase and hydrolyzed aesculin, casein, carboxymethyl-cellulose, starch and L-tyrosine. The major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C(16:1)omega7c and/or iso-C(15:0) 2OH) and iso-C(15:0). The DNA G+C content was 42.6 mol%. This isolate belonged to the genus Mucilaginibacter based on phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequences. The nearest phylogenetic neighbors of strain DR-f4(T) were Mucilaginibacter lappiensis ANJL12(T) and Mucilaginibacter rigui WPCB133(T), with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity levels of 96.9% and 96.4%, respectively. The genotypic and phenotypic evidence suggests that strain DR-f4(T) should be classified as a novel species, for which the name Mucilaginibacter dorajii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain for the novel species is DR-f4(T) (=KACC 14556(T)=JCM 16601(T)).
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PMID:Mucilaginibacter dorajii sp. nov., isolated from the rhizosphere of Platycodon grandiflorum. 2057 70