HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 283, Issue 3, 1411-1418, January 18, 2008

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data All Versions of this Article: 283/3/1411    most recent M702528200v1 Submit a Letter to Editor Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by van Grinsven, K. W. A. Articles by Henze, K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by van Grinsven, K. W. A. Articles by Henze, K. Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Acetate:Succinate CoA-transferase in the Hydrogenosomes of Trichomonas vaginalis

IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION^*

Koen W. A. van Grinsven¹, Silke Rosnowsky¹, Susanne W. H. van Weelden¹, Simone Pütz, Mark van der Giezen^¶, William Martin, Jaap J. van Hellemond^||, Aloysius G. M. Tielens^||, and Katrin Henze²

From the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 2, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands, the Institute of Botany III, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, the ^¶Centre for Eukaryotic Evolutionary Microbiology, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, United Kingdom, and the ^||Department of Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, ErasmusMC University Medical Center, Dr. Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Acetate:succinate CoA-transferases (ASCT) are acetate-producing enzymes in hydrogenosomes, anaerobically functioning mitochondria and in the aerobically functioning mitochondria of trypanosomatids. Although acetate is produced in the hydrogenosomes of a number of anaerobic microbial eukaryotes such as Trichomonas vaginalis, no acetate producing enzyme has ever been identified in these organelles. Acetate production is the last unidentified enzymatic reaction of hydrogenosomal carbohydrate metabolism. We identified a gene encoding an enzyme for acetate production in the genome of the hydrogenosome-containing protozoan parasite T. vaginalis. This gene shows high similarity to Saccharomyces cerevisiae acetyl-CoA hydrolase and Clostridium kluyveri succinyl-CoA:CoA-transferase. Here we demonstrate that this protein is expressed and is present in the hydrogenosomes where it functions as the T. vaginalis acetate:succinate CoA-transferase (TvASCT). Heterologous expression of TvASCT in CHO cells resulted in the expression of an active ASCT. Furthermore, homologous overexpression of the TvASCT gene in T. vaginalis resulted in an equivalent increase in ASCT activity. It was shown that the CoA transferase activity is succinate-dependent. These results demonstrate that this acetyl-CoA hydrolase/transferase homolog functions as the hydrogenosomal ASCT of T. vaginalis. This is the first hydrogenosomal acetate-producing enzyme to be identified. Interestingly, TvASCT does not share any similarity with the mitochondrial ASCT from Trypanosoma brucei, the only other eukaryotic succinate-dependent acetyl-CoA-transferase identified so far. The trichomonad enzyme clearly belongs to a distinct class of acetate:succinate CoA-transferases. Apparently, two completely different enzymes for succinate-dependent acetate production have evolved independently in ATP-generating organelles.

Received for publication, March 23, 2007 , and in revised form, October 25, 2007.

^* The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.jbc.org) contains supplemental Figs. S1-S5.

¹ These authors contributed equally to this research.

² To whom correspondence should be addressed: Institute of Botany III, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. Tel.: 49-211-8113983; Fax: 49-211-8113554; E-mail: katrin.henze{at}uni-duesseldorf.de.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Y. Lantsman, K. S. W. Tan, M. Morada, and N. Yarlett Biochemical characterization of a mitochondrial-like organelle from Blastocystis sp. subtype 7 Microbiology, September 1, 2008; 154(9): 2757 - 2766. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Mentel and W. Martin Energy metabolism among eukaryotic anaerobes in light of Proterozoic ocean chemistry Phil Trans R Soc B, August 27, 2008; 363(1504): 2717 - 2729. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. A. Mullins, J. A. Francois, and T. J. Kappock A Specialized Citric Acid Cycle Requiring Succinyl-Coenzyme A (CoA):Acetate CoA-Transferase (AarC) Confers Acetic Acid Resistance on the Acidophile Acetobacter aceti J. Bacteriol., July 15, 2008; 190(14): 4933 - 4940. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]