Allosteric regulation of menaquinone (vitamin K) biosynthesis in the human pathogen .

Menaquinone (vitamin K) plays a vital role in energy generation and environmental adaptation in many bacteria, including the human pathogen (). Although menaquinone levels are known to be tightly linked to the cellular redox/energy status of the cell, the regulatory mechanisms underpinning this phenomenon are unclear. The first committed step in menaquinone biosynthesis is catalyzed by MenD, a thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzyme comprising three domains.

A revised biosynthetic pathway for the cofactor F in prokaryotes.

Cofactor F plays critical roles in primary and secondary metabolism in a range of bacteria and archaea as a low-potential hydride transfer agent. It mediates a variety of important redox transformations involved in bacterial persistence, antibiotic biosynthesis, pro-drug activation and methanogenesis. However, the biosynthetic pathway for F has not been fully elucidated: neither the enzyme that generates the putative intermediate 2-phospho-L-lactate, nor the function of the FMN-binding C-terminal domain of the γ-glutamyl ligase (FbiB) in bacteria are known.

Structural Views along the Mycobacterium tuberculosis MenD Reaction Pathway Illuminate Key Aspects of Thiamin Diphosphate-Dependent Enzyme Mechanisms.

Menaquinone (MQ) is an essential component of the respiratory chains of many pathogenic organisms, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). The first committed step in MQ biosynthesis is catalyzed by 2-succinyl-5-enolpyruvyl-6-hydroxy-3-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxylate synthase (MenD), a thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzyme. Catalysis proceeds through two covalent intermediates as the substrates 2-oxoglutarate and isochorismate are successively added to the cofactor before final cleavage of the product.

Structure and inhibition of subunit I of the anthranilate synthase complex of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and expression of the active complex.

The tryptophan-biosynthesis pathway is essential for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to cause disease, but not all of the enzymes that catalyse this pathway in this organism have been identified. The structure and function of the enzyme complex that catalyses the first committed step in the pathway, the anthranilate synthase (AS) complex, have been analysed. It is shown that the open reading frames Rv1609 (trpE) and Rv0013 (trpG) encode the chorismate-utilizing (AS-I) and glutamine amidotransferase (AS-II) subunits of the AS complex, respectively.