A copper-containing amine oxidase from the latex of Euphorbia characias was purified to homogeneity and the copper-free enzyme obtained by a ligand-exchange procedure. The interactions of highly purified apo-and holoenzyme with several substrates, carbonyl reagents, and copper ligands were investigated by optical spectroscopy under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The extinction coefficients at 278 and 490 nm were determined as 3.78 ؋ 10 M ؊1 cm؊1 and 6000 M ؊1 cm ؊1 , respectively. Active-site titration of highly purified enzyme with substrates and carbonyl reagents showed the presence of one cofactor at each enzyme subunit. In anaerobiosis the native enzyme oxidized one equivalent substrate and released one equivalent aldehyde per enzyme subunit. The apoenzyme gave exactly the same 1:1:1 stoichiometry in anaerobiosis and in aerobiosis. These findings demonstrate unequivocally that copper-free amine oxidase can oxidize substrates with a single half-catalytic cycle. The DNA-derived protein sequence shows a characteristic hexapeptide present in most 6-hydroxydopa quinonecontaining amine oxidases. This hexapeptide contains the tyrosinyl residue that can be modified into the cofactor 6-hydroxydopa quinone.Copper-amine oxidases (amine oxygen oxidoreductase deaminating, copper containing; EC 1.4.3.6) are widespread enzymes oxidizing primary amines with the formation of the corresponding aldehyde, ammonia, and hydrogen peroxide: R-CH 2 -NH 2 ϩO 2 ϩH 2 O3 R-CHOϩNH 3 ϩH 2 O 2 .These enzymes are ubiquitous in nature, occurring in microorganisms (fungi and bacteria; Cooper et al., 1992), plants (Medda et al., 1995a), and mammals (McIntire and Hartmann, 1993). The crystal structures of copper-amine oxidases from Escherichia coli (Parson et al., 1995) and pea seedlings (Kumar et al., 1996) were recently determined. Amine oxidases are homodimers of 70-to 95-kD subunits. Each subunit contains a tightly bound Cu(II) center that is essential for the enzyme redox activity (Dooley et al., 1991;Medda et al., 1995b), and TPQ is formed by a posttranslational modification from a tyrosinyl residue in a copperdependent, autocatalytic reaction (Janes et al., 1990;

The reaction with substrates and carbonyl reagents of native lentil Cu-amine oxidase and its modified forms, i.e. Cu-fully-depleted, Cu-half-reconstituted, Cu-fully-reconstituted, Co-substituted, Ni-substituted and Zn-substituted, has been studied. Upon removal of only one of the two Cu ions, the enzyme loses 50% of its enzymatic activity. Using several substrates, Co-substituted lentil amine oxidase is shown to be active but the k(c) value is different from that of native or Cu-fully-reconstituted enzyme, while K(m) is similar. On the other hand, the Ni- and Zn-substituted forms are catalytically inactive. Enzymatic activity measurements and optical spectroscopy show that only in the Co-substituted enzyme is the organic cofactor 6-hydroxydopa quinone reactive and the enzyme catalytically competent, although less efficient. The Co-substituted amine oxidase does not form the semiquinone radical as an intermediate of the catalytic reaction. While devoid or reduced of catalytic activity, all the enzyme preparations are still able to oxidise two moles of substrate and to release two moles of aldehyde per mole of dimeric enzyme. The results obtained show that although Co-substituted amine oxidase is catalytically competent, copper is essential for the catalytic mechanism.

Abstract:We developed a rapid, practical and non-toxic salting-out method for the extraction of DNA from marine organisms, and tested it on two representative species of Porifera and Cnidaria, both living in association with symbiotic zooxanthellae. We tested the efficiency of the protocol by comparing the output of the method for fresh tissue, frozen tissue and tissue stored in ethanol. It proved to be effective for extracting DNA in the case of the methods of preservation considered here, and for obtaining quantities of DNA comparable to those obtained via the traditional approach. The DNA from both species was of good quality. The DNA obtained was amplified by PCR using specific primers for the large ribosomal subunit, allowing the identification of the presence of both the host and symbiont genomes.

The effect of guanidinium compounds on the catalytic mechanism of pig kidney and lentil seedling amine oxidases has been investigated by polarographic techniques and spectroscopy. Guanidine does not inhibit the lentil enzyme and is a weak inhibitor for pig kidney amine oxidase (K(i) =1 mM), whereas aminoguanidine is an irreversible inhibitor of both enzymes, with a K(i) value of 10(-6) M. 1,4-Diguanidino butane (arcaine) is a competitive inhibitor for both pig and lentil amine oxidases. Amiloride is a competitive inhibitor for pig enzyme, but upon prolonged incubation with this drug the enzyme gradually loses its activity in an irreversible manner.

A nucleotide pyrophosphatase (EC 3.6.1.9) was purified to homogeneity from lentil seedlings. The enzyme is a single polypeptide chain of 75 +/- 2 kDa that exhibits hydrolytic activities toward pyrophosphate linkages of several substrates. Reduced and oxidized forms of NAD(P) were shown to be hydrolyzed to nicotinamide mononucleotide and AMP. Other dinucleotides such as FAD and dinucleoside oligophosphates were hydrolyzed as well, but with lower efficiency. Pyrophosphatase activity was increased in the presence of divalent cations such as Ca2+, Mg2+, and Mn2+, whereas Cu2+, Zn2+, and Ni2+ ions inhibited this activity. The active site in the enzyme was not defined, but histidine residue(s) seemed to be crucial for the enzymatic activity.

Copper amine oxidase was shown to be able to catalyse the oxidative deamination of 2-, 3- and 4-Br-derivatives of benzylamine to the corresponding aldehydes, that all absorb at 250 nm. This change in the absorption spectrum made it possible to follow the enzyme reaction. 2-Br-benzylamine, 3-Br-benzylamine, and 4-Br-benzylamine showed K-m values similar to benzylamine, but 3-Br-benzylamine showed a slower k(C), which allows it to be a catalytically more efficient substrate. Under anaerobic conditions the native enzyme oxidised 1 equivalent of all Br-derivatives and released 1 equivalent of aldehyde per enzyme subunit. These findings demonstrate that, in anaerobic conditions, the enzyme can oxidise substrates with a single incomplete turnover. The possible involvement of the cofactor 6-hydroxydopa quinone and of a negatively charged residue in the oxidation of Br-benzylamines is discussed