Assay for the enzymatic conversion of indoleacetic acid to 3-methylindole in a ruminal Lactobacillus species.

An assay to measure the rate of enzymatic formation of 3-methylindole (3MI) from indoleacetic acid (IAA) in Lactobacillus sp. strain 11201 was developed. The reaction mixture contained 50 micrograms of microbial protein per ml (range, 25 to 100 mg/ml), essential low-molecular-weight reaction ingredients, and radiolabeled IAA as substrate (range, 0 to 2 mM IAA). The reaction was anaerobic for 25 min at 39 degrees C. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constants were: Km, 0.14 mM IAA; and Vmax, 64 nmol 3MI.mg-1.min-1. The inhibitors avidin, aminopterin, and EDTA had no effect on the 3MI-forming enzyme. Dithionite stimulated the 3MI-forming enzyme. The product of the reaction, 3MI, acted as a noncompetitive inhibitor of the enzyme. Enzyme activity was associated with the cell wall fraction after sonication; treatment with the French press; or treatment with detergents, proteolytic enzymes, and EDTA.