Studies on .ALPHA.-amino acid ester hydrolase of Xanthomonas citri. III. Kinetics of acyl transfer by .CHI.-amino acid ester hydrolase from Xanthomonas citri.

Abstract

Kinetics of the acyl transfer catalyzed by Xanthomonas α-amino acid ester hydrolase was studied. The enzyme hydrolyzed d-α-phenylglycine methyl ester (d-PG-OMe) to give equimolar amounts of d-α-phenylglycine and methanol. With d-PG-OMe as an acyl donor and 7-amino-3-deacetoxy-cephalosporanic acid (7-ADCA) as an acyl acceptor, the enzyme transferred the acyl group from d-PG-OMe to 7-ADCA in competition with water. The addition of amine nucleophiles (7-ADCA and 6-aminopenicillanic acid) decreased the molecular activity (ko) of the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of d-PG-OMe, whereas it did not alter the Michaelis constant (KM), and plots of l/ko against the initial concentration of a nucleophile (no) gave a straight line. These results support the assumptions that the overall process for hydrolysis and acyl transfer proceeds through a common acyl-enzyme intermediate, that the acylation step of the enzyme is rate-limiting, and that the transfer competes with the hydrolysis of the acyl donor.