OPEN Mannosylglucosylglycerate biosynthesis SUBJECT AREAS: in the deep-branching phylum WATER MICROBIOLOGY MARINE MICROBIOLOGY Planctomycetes: characterization of the HOMEOSTASIS MULTIENZYME COMPLEXES uncommon enzymes from Rhodopirellula Received baltica 13 March 2013 Sofia Cunha1, Ana Filipa d’Avo´1, Ana Mingote2, Pedro Lamosa3, Milton S. da Costa1,4 & Joana Costa1,4 Accepted 23 July 2013 1Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal, 2Instituto de Tecnologia Quı´mica Published e Biolo´gica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal, 3Centro de Ressonaˆncia Magne´tica Anto´nio Xavier, 7 August 2013 Instituto de Tecnologia Quı´mica e Biolo´gica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal, 4Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Apartado 3046, 3001-401 Coimbra, Portugal. Correspondence and The biosynthetic pathway for the rare compatible solute mannosylglucosylglycerate (MGG) accumulated by requests for materials Rhodopirellula baltica, a marine member of the phylum Planctomycetes, has been elucidated. Like one of the should be addressed to pathways used in the thermophilic bacterium Petrotoga mobilis, it has genes coding for J.C. (
[email protected].) glucosyl-3-phosphoglycerate synthase (GpgS) and mannosylglucosyl-3-phosphoglycerate (MGPG) synthase (MggA). However, unlike Ptg. mobilis, the mesophilic R. baltica uses a novel and very specific MGPG phosphatase (MggB). It also lacks a key enzyme of the alternative pathway in Ptg. mobilis – the mannosylglucosylglycerate synthase (MggS) that catalyses the condensation of glucosylglycerate with GDP-mannose to produce MGG. The R. baltica enzymes GpgS, MggA, and MggB were expressed in E. coli and characterized in terms of kinetic parameters, substrate specificity, temperature and pH dependence.