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'Dopamine-first' mechanism enables the rational engineering of the norcoclaurine synthase aldehyde activity profile.

Lichman, BR; Gershater, MC; Lamming, ED; Pesnot, T; Sula, A; Keep, NH; Hailes, HC; (2015) 'Dopamine-first' mechanism enables the rational engineering of the norcoclaurine synthase aldehyde activity profile. FEBS J , 282 (6) 1137 - 1151. 10.1111/febs.13208. Green open access

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Abstract

Norcoclaurine synthase (NCS) (EC 4.2.1.78) catalyzes the Pictet-Spengler condensation of dopamine and an aldehyde, forming a substituted (S)-tetrahydroisoquinoline, a pharmaceutically important moiety. This unique activity has led to NCS being used for both in vitro biocatalysis and in vivo recombinant metabolism. Future engineering of NCS activity to enable the synthesis of diverse tetrahydroisoquinolines is dependent on an understanding of the NCS mechanism and kinetics. We assess two proposed mechanisms for NCS activity: (a) one based on the holo X-ray crystal structure and (b) the 'dopamine-first' mechanism based on computational docking. Thalictrum flavum NCS variant activities support the dopamine-first mechanism. Suppression of the non-enzymatic background reaction reveals novel kinetic parameters for NCS, showing it to act with low catalytic efficiency. This kinetic behaviour can account for the ineffectiveness of recombinant NCS in in vivo systems, and also suggests NCS may have an in planta role as a metabolic gatekeeper. The amino acid substitution L76A, situated in the proposed aldehyde binding site, results in the alteration of the enzyme's aldehyde activity profile. This both verifies the dopamine-first mechanism and demonstrates the potential for the rational engineering of NCS activity.

Type: Article
Title: 'Dopamine-first' mechanism enables the rational engineering of the norcoclaurine synthase aldehyde activity profile.
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/febs.13208
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/febs.13208
Language: English
Additional information: © 2015 The Authors. FEBS Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of FEBS. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: alkaloid biosynthesis, biocatalysis, enzyme engineering, enzyme kinetics, enzyme mechanism
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Structural and Molecular Biology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Biochemical Engineering
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1467758
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