The role of formylmethanofuran: tetrahydromethanopterin formyltransferase in methanogenesis from carbon dioxide

Formylmethanofuran: tetrahydromethanopterin formyltransferase was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from cells of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. The enzyme is a tetramer of similar or identical subunits (Mr = 41,000). The equilibrium favors transfer of the formyl group to tetrahydrometh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of biological chemistry 1986-12, Vol.261 (35), p.16653-16659
Main Authors: Donnelly, M I, Wolfe, R S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteriology
Biological and medical sciences
Carbon Dioxide - metabolism
Euryarchaeota - enzymology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Furans - metabolism
Hydroxymethyl and Formyl Transferases
Kinetics
Macromolecular Substances
Metabolism. Enzymes
Microbiology
Molecular Weight
Transferases - isolation & purification
Transferases - metabolism
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Summary:Formylmethanofuran: tetrahydromethanopterin formyltransferase was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from cells of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. The enzyme is a tetramer of similar or identical subunits (Mr = 41,000). The equilibrium favors transfer of the formyl group to tetrahydromethanopterin (H4MPT) at physiological pH. The product of formyl transfer by the purified enzyme was shown by a number of criteria to be 5-formyl-H4MPT, as opposed to 10-formyl-H4MPT or 5,10-methenyl-H4MPT. Reconstitution of a portion of the methanogenic C1 cycle was effected by combining purified formyltransferase, methenyl-H4MPT cyclohydrolase, formylmethanofuran, and H4MPT to give methenyl-H4MPT. Additional reconstitution experiments established that the formyltransferase is an essential enzyme for the conversion of carbon dioxide to methane. In conjunction with previously published data (Donnelly, M.I., Escalante-Semerena, J.C., Rinehart, K. L., Jr., and Wolfe, R.S. (1985) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 242, 430-439), these data substantiate the role of 5-formyl-H4MPT as an intermediate of methanogenesis.
ISSN:0021-9258
1083-351X
DOI:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)66615-3