Elucidating the role of conserved glutamates in H+- pyrophosphatase of Rhodospirillum rubrum

Abstract

H+-pyrophosphatase (H+-PPase) catalyzes pyrophosphate-driven proton transport against the electrochemical potential gradient in various biological membranes. All 50 of the known H +-PPase amino acid sequences contain four invariant glutamate residues. In this study, we use site-directed mutagenesis in conjunction with functional studies to determine the roles of the glutamate residues Glu 197, Glu202, Glu550, and Glu649 in the H+-PPase of Rhodospirillum rubrum (R-PPase). All residues were replaced with Asp and Ala. The resulting eight variant R-PPases were expressed in Escherichia coli and isolated as inner membrane vesicles. All substitutions, except E202A, generated enzymes capable of PPi hydrolysis and PP i-energized proton translocation, indicating that the negative charge of Glu202 is essential for R-PPase function. The hydrolytic activities of all other PPase variants were impaired at low Mg2+ concentrations but were only slightly affected at high Mg2+ concentrations, signifying that catalysis proceeds through a three-metal pathway in contrast to wild-type R-PPase, which employs both two- and three-metal pathways. Substitution of Glu197, Glu202, and Glu 649 resulted in decreased binding affinity for the substrate analogues aminomethylenediphosphonate and methylenediphosphonate, indicating that these residues are involved in substrate binding as ligands for bridging metal ions. Following the substitutions of Glu550 and Glu 649, R-PPase was more susceptible to inactivation by the sulfhydryl reagent mersalyl, highlighting a role of these residues in maintaining enzyme tertiary structure. None of the substitutions affected the coupling of PP i hydrolysis to proton transport.