Kinetics of the oxidoreductase involved in the conversion of O-methylsterigmatocystin to aflatoxin B1.

Among the enzymatic steps in the aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway, the conversion of O-methylsterigmatocystin (OMST) to the potent environmental carcinogen aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), has been proposed to be catalysed by an oxidoreductase (OR) that requires a cytochrome P-450 type of oxidoreductase activity. This enzyme displays relative specificity towards OMST homologues in fungal whole cells. These studies were extended to the action of a cell-free enzyme system (CFES), on five OMST homologues, with a view to establish the kinetics. In the current study a CFES, containing an oxidoreductase, was derived from a blocked mutant of Aspergillus parasiticus (Wh1-11-105). The key experimental steps involved rapid concentration and efficient dialysis by membrane filtration to remove small biomolecules (MW<10,000), co-factors, primary and secondary metabolites. The kinetic parameters of the enzyme-substrate reactions indicated that the reaction follows a Michealis-Menten kinetics and OR activity decreased in the order: O-butylsterigmatocystin>O-propylsterigmatocystin>O-ethylsterigmatocystin>O-methylsterigmatocystin>O-acetylsterigmatocystin>O-benzoylsterigmatocystin. The 7-O-alkyl homologues were the best substrate for the CFES, thereby substantially supporting that the 7-O-methyl group of OMST is preferred for OR catalytic activity in the absence of any other alkylating groups in vitro. The Km was calculated as 5.65 microM for this CFES and varied marginally among the OMST homologues studied.