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. 2004 Feb 1;377(Pt 3):757–762. doi: 10.1042/BJ20031389

Dihydrodipicolinate synthase is not inhibited by its substrate, (S)-aspartate beta-semialdehyde.

Renwick C J Dobson 1, Juliet A Gerrard 1, F Grant Pearce 1
PMCID: PMC1223910  PMID: 14580236

Abstract

DHDPS (dihydrodipicolinate synthase; EC 4.2.1.52) is the enzyme that catalyses the first unique step of lysine biosynthesis in plants and micro-organisms. As such, it has attracted much attention as a target for herbicide and anti-microbial action. DHDPS has two substrates: pyruvate and ( S )-aspartate beta-semialdehyde [( S )-ASA]. There are various literature reports that suggest that high levels of ( S )-ASA inhibit the enzyme [Karsten (1997) Biochemistry 36, 1730-1739; Stahly (1969) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 191, 439-451], whereas others have not observed this phenomenon. We have resolved this long-running literature debate and shown unequivocally that this difference in reported behaviour can be attributed to differences in the preparation of ( S )-ASA used by each researcher. DHDPS is not inhibited by its substrate; rather, the inhibition is due to an, as yet, unidentified inhibitor in preparations of the substrate generated by ozonolysis. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ( R )-ASA is neither an inhibitor nor a substrate of DHDPS from Escherichia coli.

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Selected References

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