Properties and chemical modification of D -amino acid oxidase from Trigonopsis variabilis

Abstract

The basic properties of purified d-amino acid oxidase from the yeast Trigonopsis variabilis were investigated. The pH optimum of activity was between pH 8.5 and 9.0, and the native molecular masses of holo- and apo-enzyme were determined to be 170 kDa; higher aggregates corresponded to molecular masses of 320 and 570 kDa. The apparent Vmax and Km values for different substrates varied between 3.7 to 185 U/mg and 0.2 to 17.3 mM, respectively. The reaction of d-amino acid oxidase with sulfite was followed by the typical spectral modifications of the FAD resembling the reduced enzyme; a Kd of 30 μM was calculated for the N(5)-adduct. The red anionic flavin radical of the enzyme was stable; benzoate had no influence on the spectral properties. A complete loss of enzyme activity was observed after chemical modification by the histidine-specific reagent diethyl pyrocarbonate. The inactivation showed pseudo-first-order kinetics, with a second-order rate constant of 13.6 M–1 min–1 at pH 6.0 and 20°C. The addition of a substrate under anoxic conditions led to a substantial protection from inactivation, which indicates a localization of the modified residues close to the active site. The pKa of the reacting group was determined to be 7.7, and the rate of inactivation reached a limiting value of 0.031 min–1.