Bifunctional malic/malolactic enzyme provides a novel mechanism for NADPH balancing in microbes
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ABSTRACT: The redox cofactor NADPH is required as a reducing equivalent in about 100 anabolic reactions throughout metabolism. To ensure fitness in all conditions, the demand is fulfilled by a handful of dehydrogenases in central carbon metabolism that reduce NADP+ with electrons derived from catabolism of nutrients. In the case of Bacillus subtilis growing on glucose, quantitative flux analyses indicate that NADPH production largely exceed biosynthetic need, suggesting a hitherto unknown mechanism for NADPH balancing. We investigated the role of the four malic enzymes present in B. subtilis, which could bring about a metabolic cycle for transhydrogenation of NADPH into NADH. Using quantitative 13C metabolic flux analysis, we found that isoform YtsJ alone contributes to NADPH balancing in vivo and demonstrated relevant NADPH-oxidizing activity by YtsJ in vitro. To our surprise, we discovered that depending on NADPH, YtsJ switches activity from a pyruvate producing malic enzyme to a lactate generating malolactic enzyme. This switch in activity allows YtsJ to adaptively compensate cellular NADPH over- and underproduction upon demand. Finally, NADPH-dependent bifunctional activity was also detected in the YtsJ-homolog in Escherichia coli MaeB. Overall, our study extends the known redox cofactor balancing mechanisms, by providing for the first-time evidence that the type of catalyzed reaction by an enzyme depends on metabolite abundance.
ORGANISM(S): Bacillus subtilis
SUBMITTER: Hörl
PROVIDER: S-BSST566 | biostudies-other |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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