Presence Of Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Research Articles

The TonB-dependent uptake of pyrroloquinoline-quinone (PQQ) and secretion of gluconate by Escherichia coli K-12.

Glucose is taken up by Escherichia coli through the phosphotransferase system (PTS) as the preferred carbon source. PTS mutants grow with glucose as a carbon source only in the presence of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), which is needed as a redox cofactor for the glucose dehydrogenase Gcd. The membrane-anchored Gcd enzyme oxidises glucose to gluconolactone in the periplasm. For this reaction to occur, external supply of PQQ is required as E. coli is unable to produce PQQ de novo. Growth experiments show that PqqU (previously YncD) is the TonB-ExbBD-dependent transporter for PQQ through the outer membrane. PQQ protected the cells from the PqqU-dependent phage IsaakIselin (Bas10) by competition for the receptor protein. As a high affinity uptake system, PqqU allows E. coli to activate Gcd even at surrounding PQQ concentrations of about 1nmoL/L. At about 30-fold higher PQQ concentrations, the activation of Gcd gets PqqU independent. Due to its small size, Pqq may also pass the outer membrane through porins. The PQQ-dependent production of gluconate has been demonstrated in many plant growth-promoting bacteria that solubilise phosphate minerals in the soil by secreting this acid. Under phosphate limiting conditions also E. coli induces the glucose dehydrogenase and secretes gluconate, even in absence of PTS, that is, even when the bacterium is unable to grow on glucose without PQQ.

The Presence of Pyrrolo Quinoline Quinone (PQQ) in Eukaryotic Tissue Extracts

The Presence of Pyrrolo Quinoline Quinone (PQQ) in Eukaryotic Tissue Extracts

MopA, the Mn Oxidizing Protein From Erythrobacter sp. SD-21, Requires Heme and NAD+ for Mn(II) Oxidation.

Bacterial manganese (Mn) oxidation is catalyzed by a diverse group of microbes and can affect the fate of other elements in the environment. Yet, we understand little about the enzymes that catalyze this reaction. The Mn oxidizing protein MopA, from Erythrobacter sp. strain SD-21, is a heme peroxidase capable of Mn(II) oxidation. Unlike Mn oxidizing multicopper oxidase enzymes, an understanding of MopA is very limited. Sequence analysis indicates that MopA contains an N-terminal heme peroxidase domain and a C-terminal calcium binding domain. Heterologous expression and nickel affinity chromatography purification of the N-terminal peroxidase domain (MopA-hp) from Erythrobacter sp. strain SD-21 led to partial purification. MopA-hp is a heme binding protein that requires heme, NAD+, and calcium (Ca2+) for activity. Mn oxidation is also stimulated by the presence of pyrroloquinoline quinone. MopA-hp has a KM for Mn(II) of 154 ± 46 μM and kcat = 1.6 min−1. Although oxygen requiring MopA-hp is homologous to peroxidases based on sequence, addition of hydrogen peroxide and hydrogen peroxide scavengers had little effect on Mn oxidation, suggesting this is not the oxidizing agent. These studies provide insight into the mechanism by which MopA oxidizes Mn.

Quinoprotein dehydrogenase functions at the final oxidation step of lankacidin biosynthesis in Streptomyces rochei 7434AN4

Reinvestigation of the metabolite profile in a disruptant of the quinoprotein dehydrogenase (orf23) gene revealed that the Orf23 protein catalyzes dehydrogenation of the C23-C25 lactate moiety to pyruvate during lankacidin biosynthesis in Streptomyces rochei 7434AN4. The dehydrogenase activity was expressed and detected in a soluble fraction of the Streptomyces lividans recombinant harboring orf23. The Orf23 protein preferentially converts lankacidinol to lankacidin C in the presence of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ). Other lankacidinol derivatives, lankacidinol A and iso-lankacidinol, were also converted to the corresponding C-24 keto compounds, lankacidin A (=sedecamycin) and iso-lankacidin C. Addition of various divalent metal cations, especially Ca2+, enhanced the dehydrogenase activity, whereas EDTA completely inhibited. These findings confirmed that the quinoprotein dehydrogenase Orf23 functions at the final oxidation step of lankacidin biosynthesis.

Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Ethanol Dehydrogenase in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 Extends Lanthanide-Dependent Metabolism to Multicarbon Substrates.

ExaF is the most efficient PQQ-dependent ethanol dehydrogenase reported to date and, to our knowledge, the first non-XoxF-type alcohol oxidation system reported to use lanthanides as a cofactor, expanding the importance of lanthanides in biochemistry and bacterial metabolism beyond methanol dehydrogenases to multicarbon metabolism. These results support an earlier proposal that an aspartate residue near the catalytic aspartate residue may be an indicator of rare-earth element utilization by type I alcohol dehydrogenases.

Role of glutathione in augmenting the anticancer activity of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ)

Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), a bacterial redox co-factor and antioxidant, is highly reactive with nucleophilic compounds present in biological fluids. PQQ induced apoptosis in human promonocytic leukemia U937 cells and this was accompanied by depletion of the major cellular antioxidant glutathione and increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Treatment with glutathione (GSH) or N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) did not spare PQQ toxicity but resulted in a 2–5-fold increase in PQQ-induced apoptosis in U937 cells. Cellular GSH levels increased following treatment by NAC alone but were severely depleted by co-treatment with NAC and PQQ. This was accompanied by an increase in intracellular ROS. Alternatively, depletion of glutathione also resulted in increased PQQ cytotoxicity. However, the cells underwent necrosis as evidenced by dual labeling with annexin V and propidium iodide. PQQ-induced cytotoxicity is thus critically regulated by the cellular redox status. An increase in GSH can augment apoptosis and its depletion can switch the mode of cell death to necrosis in the presence of PQQ. Our data suggest that modulation of intracellular GSH can be used as an effective strategy to potentiate cytotoxicity of quinones like PQQ.

Involvement of a periplasmic protein kinase in DNA strand break repair and homologous recombination in Escherichia coli

The involvement of signal transduction in the repair of radiation-induced damage to DNA has been known in eukaryotes but remains understudied in bacteria. This article for the first time demonstrates a role for the periplasmic lipoprotein (YfgL) with protein kinase activity transducing a signal for DNA strand break repair in Escherichia coli. Purified YfgL protein showed physical as well as functional interaction with pyrroloquinoline-quinone in solution and the protein kinase activity of YfgL was strongly stimulated in the presence of pyrroloquinoline-quinone. Transgenic E. coli cells producing Deinococcus radiodurans pyrroloquinoline-quinone synthase showed nearly four log cycle improvement in UVC dark survival and 10-fold increases in gamma radiation resistance as compared with untransformed cells. Pyrroloquinoline-quinone enhanced the UV resistance of E. coli through the YfgL protein and required the active recombination repair proteins. The yfgL mutant showed higher sensitivity to UVC, mitomycin C and gamma radiation as compared with wild-type cells and showed a strong impairment in homologous DNA recombination. The mutant expressing an active YfgL in trans recovered the lost phenotypes to nearly wild-type levels. The results strongly suggest that the periplasmic phosphoquinolipoprotein kinase YfgL plays an important role in radiation-induced DNA strand break repair and homologous recombination in E. coli.

Pyrroloquinoline Quinone is a Potent Neuroprotective Nutrient Against 6-Hydroxydopamine-Induced Neurotoxicity

Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), which is an essential nutrient, has been shown to act as an antioxidant. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are thought to be responsible for neurotoxicity caused by the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). In this study, we investigated the ability of PQQ to protect against 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity using human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y. When SH-SY5Y cells were exposed to 6-OHDA in the presence of PQQ, PQQ prevented 6-OHDA-induced cell death and DNA fragmentation. Flow cytometry analysis using the ROS-sensitive fluorescence probe, dihydroethidium, revealed that PQQ reduced elevation of 6-OHDA-induced intracellular ROS. In contrast to PQQ, antioxidant vitamins, ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol, had no protective effect. Moreover, we showed that PQQ effectively scavenged superoxide, compared to the antioxidant vitamins. Therefore, our results suggest the protective effect of PQQ on 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity is involved, at least in part, in its function as a scavenger of ROS, especially superoxide.

Pyrroloquinoline Quinone-Dependent Dehydrogenases fromKetogulonicigenium vulgareCatalyze the Direct Conversion ofl-Sorbosone tol-Ascorbic Acid

A novel enzyme, L-sorbosone dehydrogenase 1 (SNDH1), which directly converts L-sorbosone to L-ascorbic acid (L-AA), was isolated from Ketogulonicigenium vulgare DSM 4025 and characterized. This enzyme was a homooligomer of 75-kDa subunits containing pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and heme c as the prosthetic groups. Two isozymes of SNDH, SNDH2 consisting of 75-kDa and 55-kDa subunits and SNDH3 consisting of 55-kDa subunits, were also purified from the bacterium. All of the SNDHs produced L-AA, as well as 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (2KGA), from L-sorbosone, suggesting that tautomerization of L-sorbosone causes the dual conversion by SNDHs. The sndH gene coding for SNDH1 was isolated and analyzed. The N-terminal four-fifths of the SNDH amino acid sequence exhibited 40% identity to the sequence of a soluble quinoprotein glucose dehydrogenase from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. The C-terminal one-fifth of the sequence exhibited similarity to a c-type cytochrome with a heme-binding motif. A lysate of Escherichia coli cells expressing sndH exhibited SNDH activity in the presence of PQQ and CaCl2. Gene disruption analysis of K. vulgare indicated that all of the SNDH proteins are encoded by the sndH gene. The 55-kDa subunit was derived from the 75-kDa subunit, as indicated by cleavage of the C-terminal domain in the bacterial cells.

Determination of thiols by capillary electrophoresis with amperometric detection at a coenzyme pyrroloquinoline quinone modified electrode.

A chemically modified electrode has been developed as a detector for the sensitive and selective determination of thiol-containing compounds following capillary electrophoresis separation. Electrodes were constructed by entrapment of the coenzyme pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) into a polypyrrole (PPy) matrix on a 245-microm graphite electrode during electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of PQQ. PQQ serves as an efficient biocatalyst to mediate the oxidation of thiols at a substantially reduced overpotential relative to an unmodified electrode. Furthermore, this design takes advantage of the pH-dependent reversible electrochemical properties of PQQ, which facilitates optimization of separation and detection conditions. The PQQ/PPy-modified electrode was incorporated as an end-column detector, and a separation of homocysteine, cysteine, N-acetylcysteine, and glutathione was developed. Detection limits for these four thiols were determined to be 11, 23, 104, and 134 nM, respectively, with mass detection limits ranging from 0.29 to 3.48 fmol. The PQQ/PPy electrode was also found to be very reproducible in run-to-run, day-to-day, and electrode-to-electrode comparisons. The utility of this electrode was demonstrated for the detection of cysteine in dietary supplements and human urine, resulting in excellent agreement with reported values.

Electrochemical detection of thiols with a coenzyme pyrroloquinoline quinone modified electrode.

A modified electrode sensor for the detection of thiols is described. The sensor was constructed by incorporation of the coenzyme pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) into a polypyrrole (PPy) film on a glassy carbon electrode substrate by the electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of PQQ. The electrochemical properties of entrapped PQQ in the PPy film were influenced by the applied potential during electropolymerization and by film thickness, both of which were optimized to yield a stable and reproducible response for entrapped PQQ. The PQQ/ PPy sensor was utilized for the amperometric detection of cysteine, homocysteine, penicillamine, N-acetylcysteine, and glutathione. The response for each thiol in pH 8.42 borate buffer was found to be linear with detection limits (S/N = 3) ranging from 13.2 microM for glutathione to 63.7 nM for cysteine with sensitivities of 0.023 nA/microM and 4.71 nA/microM, respectively. The response and detection limits were found to be sensitive to the nature of the thiol and the solution pH. Furthermore, in the presence of dopamine, ascorbic acid, or uric acid, the pH-dependent redox potential of the PQQ catalyst allows tuning of the detection potential to enhance the selectivity for thiols over these potential electroactive interferences.

Electrochemical measurements of glucose dehydrogenase activity exhibited by Escherichia coli cells; effects of the additions of pyrroloquinoline quinone, magnesium or calcium ions and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

An electrode modified with immobilized Escherichia coli K12 cells produces a steady-state catalytic current originating from the glucose dehydrogenase activity (GDH) of the bacterial cells. Thus, the catalytic current provides a convenient means of measuring the bacterial GDH activity. E. coli K12 cells cultivated under ordinary conditions exhibit a GDH activity, the magnitude of which is about 15% of the full activity attained in the presence of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and magnesium ions. The E. coli K12 cells mostly lose the full GDH activity when treated with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and restore the activity by the additions of PQQ and magnesium or calcium ions. The rate and degree of the restoration of GDH activity strongly depend on the concentrations of PQQ and the divalent cations. The concentration dependence of the bacterial GDH activity is similar to that of the catalytic activity of purified apo-GDH except that the bacterial GDH activity is fully restored by calcium ion as well as magnesium ion, while catalytic activity of apo-GDH is only partially restored by calcium ion.

Assembling and evaluation of new dehydrogenase enzyme electrode probes obtained by electropolymerization of aminobenzene isomers and PQQ on gold, platinum and carbon electrodes

Pt, Au and graphite electrodes have been coated by electropolymerization of 1,2-, 1,3-, 1,4-diaminobenzene (DAB) and 4-aminobiphenyl in the presence of PQQ using cyclic voltammetry. The activity of the modified electrodes for the oxidation of paracetamol, ascorbic and uric acid was reduced by approximately 90% as compared to the bare electrodes. Polymerization in the presence 4,5-dihydro-4,5-dioxo-1H-pyrrolo(2,3-f)quinoline-2,7,9-tricarboxilic acid, pyrroloquinolinequinone (PQQ) led, after optimization, to electrodes capable of catalysing the electroxidation of β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, reduced form (NADH), in the range 10 −4–10 −2 mol/l with a detection limit of 5×10 −5 mol/l. Amperometric measurements of NADH have been carried out at +0·2 V and the efficiency of different electrodes based on different materials has been studied. By co-entrapment of dehydrogenase highly selective enzymes, electrodes for glucose, L-lactate and L-glutamate were obtained. Dehydrogenase substrates such as glucose, lactate and glutamate were measured in the range 5×10 −5–1×10 −2 mol/l, with detection limits of 10 −5,10 −5 and 5×10 −6 mol/l, respectively. Probe stability under non-dynamic conditions was evaluated over 2 months. All the probes showed a decrease of 10% over 1 month and a residual activity of 50% over 2 months.

Pyrroloquinoline quinone, a chemotactic attractant for Escherichia coli.

Escherichia coli is attracted by pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), and chemotaxis toward glucose is enhanced by the presence of PQQ. A ptsI mutant showed no chemotactic response to either glucose or PQQ alone but did show a chemotactic response to a mixture of glucose and PQQ. A strain lacking the methylated chemotaxis receptor protein Tar showed no response to PQQ.

Biodegradability of oxidized poly(vinyl alcohol).

Poly(vinyl alcohol) dehydrogenase (PVADH) purified from Pseudomonas sp. 113P3 catalyzed an oxidation of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in the presence of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) to give a beta-diketone structure on PVA. Although PVADH oxidized not only enzymatically oxidized PVA but also chemically oxidized PVA, PVA-degrading microorganisms, Pseudomonas sp. 113P3 and Arthrobacter tumescens sp. 52-1 grew on the enzymatically oxidized PVA, but not on the chemically oxidized PVA. This suggests that the growth of PVA-degrading microorganisms is affected by the structure of oxidized PVA.

Electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol with the assistance of formate dehydrogenase and methanol dehydrogenase as biocatalysts

Electrolysis at potentials between -0.7 and -0.9 V vs SCE of carbon dioxide-saturated phosphate buffer solutions (pH7) containing formate dehydrogenase (FDH) and either methyl viologen (MV[sup 2+]) or pyrroloquinolinequinone (PQQ) as an electron mediator yielded formate with current efficiencies as high as 90%. The enzyme was durable as long as the electrolysis was carried out in the dark. Electrolysis of phosphate buffer solutions containing sodium formate in the presence of methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) and MV[sup 2+] at -0.7 V vs SCE yielded formaldehyde if the concentration of the enzyme used was low, whereas both formaldehyde and methanol were produced for relatively high concentrations of the enzyme where the methanol production began to occur when the formaldehyde produced accumulated. The use of PQQ in place of MV[sup 2+] as the electron mediator exclusively produced methanol alone after some induction period in the electrolysis. On the basis of these results, successful attempts have been made to reduce carbon dioxide to methanol with cooperative assistance of FDH and MDH in the presence of PQQ as the electron mediator. The role of enzyme and mediator in these reduction processes is discussed in detail. 34 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.

Crystal Structure of a Free Radical Enzyme, Galactose Oxidase

The crystal structure of the copper-containing enzyme, galactose oxidase, has been solved by multiple isomorphous replacement and refined to a resolution of 1·7 Å. The X-ray structure reveals a unique polypeptide fold. The protein can be divided into three domains, all of which consist almost entirely of β-strands. The structure of the second domain is particularly striking, 28 β-strands arranged in a pseudo 7-fold symmetry. The copper site is on the surface of the protein and extremely rich in aromatic side-chains. The copper ion has two histidine, two tyrosines, and one external ligand in distorted square pyramidal coordination. The presence of pyrroloquinoline quinone as a covalently bound cofactor in GOase has been excluded. Instead, an unexpected covalent linkage between Tyr272 and Cys228 has been observed, whose functional role may relate to the presence of a tyrosine free radical at Tyr272. The tyrosine free radical could be stabilized by delocalization to Cys228 and stacking interactions with Trp290. A structural model for substrate binding is proposed that offers an explanation for the substrate specificity of the enzyme and many of the spectroscopic and enzymological data. Although the model lacks direct confirmation at present, it should provide a stimulus for further spectroscopic and crystallographic studies.

Isolation, phenotypic characterization, and complementation analysis of mutants of Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 unable to synthesize pyrroloquinoline quinone and sequences of pqqD, pqqG, and pqqC.

Aerobic gram-negative methylotrophs oxidize methanol to formaldehyde by using a methanol dehydrogenase that has pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) as a prosthetic group. Seventy-two mutants which are unable to grow on methanol unless the growth medium is supplemented with PQQ have been isolated in the facultative methanol utilizer Methylobacterium extorquens AM1. In addition, 12 previously isolated methanol oxidation mutants of M. extorquens AM1 were shown to be able to grow on methanol in the presence of PQQ. These putative PQQ biosynthesis mutants have been complemented by using previously isolated clones containing M. extorquens AM1 DNA, which were known to contain genes necessary for oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde (mox genes). Subcloning and transposon mutagenesis experiments have assigned these mutants to five complementation groups in two gene clusters. Representatives of each complementation group were shown to lack detectable PQQ in the growth medium and in cell extracts and to contain methanol dehydrogenase polypeptides that were inactive. Therefore, these mutants all appear to be defective in PQQ biosynthesis. PQQ biosynthesis mutants of Methylobacterium organophilum DSM 760 and M. organophilum XX were complemented by using M. extorquens AM1 subclones, and PQQ biosynthesis mutants of M. extorquens AM1 and M. organophilum XX were complemented by using M. organophilum DSM 760 subclones. This analysis suggested that a total of six PQQ biosynthesis complementation groups were present in M. extorquens AM1 and M. organophilum DSM 760. A 2-kb M. extorquens AM1 DNA fragment that complemented the MoxO class of PQQ biosynthesis mutants was sequenced and found to contain two complete open reading frames and the N-terminal sequence of a third. These genes designated pqqDGC, had predicted gene products with substantial similarity to the gene products of corresponding pqq genes in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. pqqD encodes a 29-amino-acid peptide which contains a tyrosine residue and glutamate residue that are conserved in the equivalent peptides of K. pneumoniae, PqqA (23 amino acids), and A. calcoaceticus, PqqIV (24 amino acids), and are thought to be the precursors for PQQ biosynthesis. The organizations of a cluster of five PQQ biosynthetic genes appear to be similiar in four different bacteria (M. extorquens AM1, M. organophilum DSM 760, K. pneumoniae, and A. calcoaceticus). Our results show that a total of seven pqq genes are present in M. extorquens AM1, and these have been designated pqqDGCBA and pqqEF.

Conversion of acetyl-coenzyme A into 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A in radish seedlings. Evidence of a single monomeric protein catalyzing a Fe II/quinone-stimulated double condensation reaction

We solubilized from radish membranes and purified to apparent homogeneity a monomeric protein (55.5 kDa) capable of catalyzing the two-step conversion of acetyl-CoA into 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl(HMG)-CoA. Unlike the situation described for other eukaryotes (yeast, animals), both enzyme activities needed for HMG-CoA synthesis (acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase, AACT and HMG-CoA synthase, HMGS) appear to be localized on a single polypeptide. Thus, the enzyme system is further referred to as AACT/HMGS. The reaction as catalyzed by purified AACT/HMGS is strongly stimulated in vitro in presence of Fe II-chelates (namely EDTA) and of quinone cofactors with pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) being by far the most effective one studied so far. Whereas the Fe II stimulation is apparently due to a V max effect, PQQ increases the affinity of the enzyme system towards acetyl-CoA (1.9 μM vs. 5.9 μM, at 50 μM Fe II, 100 μM EDTA, 20 μM PQQ). Stimulation by naphthoquinone (NQ) can be overcome in the presence of halogenated NQ-derivatives, while activation by PQQ remains unaffected, possibly indicating a much more specific-binding of the latter cofactor. Gel filtration experiments of enzyme after preincubation in presence of PQQ indicate that there is no covalent-binding of the quinone cofactor to the enzyme. As is also shown with partially purified enzyme from maize membranes, phenylhydrazine, known to react with PQQ as the prosthetic group of quinoproteins (see van der Meer et al. (1987) FEBS Lett. 221, 299–304), efficiently inhibits the reaction. The data lead us to suggest a reaction mechanism that involves radical formation by the redox couple Fe II/PQQ, thereby possibly facilitating the energetically unfavorable Claisen condensation as catalyzed during the first partial (AACT) reaction.

Isolation and phenotypic characterization of methanol oxidation mutants of the restricted facultative methylotroph Methylophaga marina

Methanol oxidation in Methylophaga marina appears to be organized in a way similar to that in other Gram-negative methylotrophs, involving a quinoprotein methanol dehydrogenase (MDH; EC 1.1.99.8) and two soluble cytochromes. The MDH is composed of two different subunits, most probably arranged in an α2β2 structure. The two cytochromes are of the c-type and differ in size (molecular mass 19.5 and 12.5 kDa) and isoelectric point (pI 4.6 and 9.2). The one with the lowest isoelectric point, commonly designated as cytochrome c L, is able to oxidize reduced MDH. Taking advantage of the ability of M. marina, a restricted facultative methylotroph, to utilize fructose as a growth substrate, mutants impaired in methanol utilization were isolated after application of optimal concentrations of ethylmethane sulphonate. Three classes of methanol oxidation mutants were obtained. Class I mutants were affected in a global regulation of the synthesis of both apo-methanol-dehydrogenase and cytochrome c L as well as PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone). Class II mutants did not produce an active MDH, but instead a comparable amount of a 65 kDa protein was found in the cell-free extract upon SDS-PAGE. This mutant protein was purified and compared to wild-type MDH. It was located in the periplasm, but unlike MDH it was composed of only two identical large subunits. Each of these subunits was able to bind one molecule of PQQ. An antiserum raised against wild-type MDH did not react with the mutant protein. Conversely, an antiserum raised against mutant protein weakly cross-reacted with wild-type MDH, suggesting that the presence of the β-subunit in MDH dramatically changes its immunochemical behaviour. Three of the class II mutants did not produce PQQ. In the presence of PQQ, partial revertants able to grow on methanol medium were obtained (class III). Class III mutants produced a stable apo-MDH consisting of α- and β-subunits and showing a normal reaction with the anti-MDH serum. Although this apo-MDH can bind PQQ, enzymic activity was not restored in vitro. This suggests that, in addition to apo-MDH and PQQ, other factors are required for the assembly of an enzymically active MDH.