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Journal of Bacteriology, November 2002, p. 5999-6006, Vol. 184, No. 21
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.21.5999-6006.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

L-Malyl-Coenzyme A Lyase/ß-Methylmalyl-Coenzyme A Lyase from Chloroflexus aurantiacus, a Bifunctional Enzyme Involved in Autotrophic CO₂ Fixation

Mikrobiologie, Institut für Biologie II, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany

Received 23 May 2002/ Accepted 16 August 2002

The 3-hydroxypropionate cycle is a bicyclic autotrophic CO₂ fixation pathway in the phototrophic Chloroflexus aurantiacus (Bacteria), and a similar pathway is operating in autotrophic members of the Sulfolobaceae (Archaea). The proposed pathway involves in a first cycle the conversion of acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) and two bicarbonates to L-malyl-CoA via 3-hydroxypropionate and propionyl-CoA; L-malyl-CoA is cleaved by L-malyl-CoA lyase into acetyl-CoA and glyoxylate. In a second cycle, glyoxylate and another molecule of propionyl-CoA (derived from acetyl-CoA and bicarbonate) are condensed by a putative ß-methylmalyl-CoA lyase to ß-methylmalyl-CoA, which is converted to acetyl-CoA and pyruvate. The putative L-malyl-CoA lyase gene of C. aurantiacus was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant enzyme was purified and studied. ß-Methylmalyl-CoA lyase was purified from cell extracts of C. aurantiacus and characterized. We show that these two enzymes are identical and that both enzymatic reactions are catalyzed by one single bifunctional enzyme, L-malyl-CoA lyase/ß-methylmalyl-CoA lyase. Interestingly, this enzyme works with two different substrates in two different directions: in the first cycle of CO₂ fixation, it cleaves L-malyl-CoA into acetyl-CoA and glyoxylate (lyase reaction), and in the second cycle it condenses glyoxylate with propionyl-CoA to ß-methylmalyl-CoA (condensation reaction). The combination of forward and reverse directions of a reversible enzymatic reaction, using two different substrates, is rather uncommon and reduces the number of enzymes required in the pathway. In summary, L-malyl-CoA lyase/ß-methylmalyl-CoA lyase catalyzes the interconversion of L-malyl-CoA plus propionyl-CoA to ß-methylmalyl-CoA plus acetyl-CoA.

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