Skip to main content
PMC home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1970 Oct;67(2):1050–1056. doi: 10.1073/pnas.67.2.1050

Isolation of γ-L-Glutaminyl 4-Hydroxybenzene and γ-L-Glutaminyl 3,4-Benzoquinone: a Natural Sulfhydryl Reagent, from Sporulating Gill Tissue of the Mushroom Agaricus bisporus*

Robert F Weaver 1,2,3,4,†, K V Rajagopalan 1,2,3,4, Philip Handler 1,2,3,4, Peter Jeffs 1,2,3,4,‡, William L Byrne 1,2,3,4, David Rosenthal 1,2,3,4
PMCID: PMC283311  PMID: 5289001

Abstract

Early in the development of spores, there appears in gill tissue of the mushroom Agaricus bisporus a red pigment that inhibits mitochondrial respiration. The inhibitor and its immediate precursor were isolated from the mushroom and identified as γ-L-glutaminyl 3,4-benzoquinone (I) and γ-L-glutaminyl 4-hydroxybenzene (II), respectively, neither of which had previously been described. II was synthesized chemically and the synthetic material was identical with isolated II in all regards. An enzyme that oxidizes II to I was isolated concurrently. I reacts unusually rapidly, completely, and at low concentration with the sulfhydryl groups of various mitochondrial enzymes, accounting for its originally observed properties. It may also prove of value as a general inhibitor of sulfhydryl-dependent enzymes.

Full text

PDF
1055

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aleman V., Handler P. Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. I. General properties. J Biol Chem. 1967 Sep 25;242(18):4087–4096. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Jackson H., Kendal L. P. The oxidation of catechol and homocatechol by tyrosinase in the presence of amino-acids. Biochem J. 1949;44(4):477–487. doi: 10.1042/bj0440477. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES