binding of the bisubstrate analogue N-phosphonacetyl-L-aspartate to the aspartate transcarbamoylase subunit inhibits the activity of the distal dihydroorotase subunit
aspartate transcarbamoylase and dihydroorotase, enzymes that catalyze the second and third step in de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis, are associated in dodecameric complexes in Aquifex aeolicus and many other organisms, intersubunit communication in the dihydroorotase-aspartate transcarbamoylase complex of Aquifex aeolicus, overview. The architecture of the dodecamer is ideally suited to channel the intermediate, carbamoyl aspartate from its site of synthesis on the ATC subunit to the active site of dihydroorotase, which catalyzes the next step in the pathway, because both reactions occur within a large, internal solvent-filled cavity. The apparent second-order rate constant (kcat/Km) of ATC is 7.0fold greater than that of dihydroorotase
the dihydroorotase loop A that binds between the two ATC domains is an allosteric or noncompletive ATC inhibitor with Ki 5 of 0.022 mM, loop A is an important component of the functional linkage between the enzymes. modeling, overview
CAD enzyme complex including the aspartate transcarbamoylase. The Aquifex aeolicus DHO-ATC dodecameric complex consists of two trimeric ATC subunits and three DHO dimers. ATC is a trimer consisting of a carbamoyl phosphate binding domain and an aspartate binding domain
noncovalent hexamer of dihydroorotase and ATCase, to 2.3 A resolution. The structure has citrate, bound to the active sites of both enzymes.Six DHO and six ATC chains form a hollow dodecamer, in which the 12 active sites face an internal reaction chamber that is approximately 60 A in diameter and connected to the cytosol by narrow tunnels. The entrances and the interior of the chamber are both electropositive, which suggests that the architecture of this nanoreactor modifies the kinetics of the bisynthase, not only by steric channeling but also by preferential escape of the product, dihydroorotase
Aquifex aeolicus aspartate transcarbamoylase, an enzyme specialized for the efficient utilization of unstable carbamoyl phosphate at elevated temperature
Dihydroorotase from the hyperthermophile Aquifex aeolicus is activated by stoichiometric association with aspartate transcarbamoylase and forms a one-pot reactor for pyrimidine biosynthesis