Kinetics and regulation of the salt-dependent aspartate transcarbamylase of Halobacterium cutirubrum.

Properties of the aspartate transcarbamylase of the extremly halophilic bacterium Halobacterium cutirubrum, an enzyme that needs high salt concentrations for activity and regulation, were studied in cell-free extracts. The enzyme was stable on prolonged incubation at 4 C in concentrated extracts (50 mg of protein per ml) but not in diluted extracts. Mg(2+) ions and beta-mercaptoethanol stabilized enzyme activity. At salt concentrations below the maximum for activity (3.5 m), the enzyme was rapidly inactivated. Carbamyl phosphate stabilized the enzyme under these conditions; aspartate had a smaller effect. The enzyme was most stable at 0 C; raising or lowering the temperature from this point increased the rate of inactivation. On exposure to lowered salt concentrations, enzyme activity was more sensitive than feedback inhibition. Hyperbolic substrate saturation curves were found for carbamyl phosphate. The K(m) obtained varied with the salt concentration used. With aspartate, sigmoidal curves were found when extracts were assayed immediately after preparation, but hyperbolic curves were obtained with extracts allowed to stand 1 to 2 hr. The presence of cytidine triphosphate (CTP) decreased the V(max) but did not change the K(m); this is thus a V-type enzyme. Low concentrations of succinate activated the enzyme, in the presence and absence of CTP; higher concentrations did not affect its activity. CTP increased the activation energy of the enzyme in 3.5 m salt but decreased it in 2.0 m salt. At both salt concentrations, the sensitivity of the enzyme to feedback inhibition diminished with increasing temperatures. Gel chromatography suggested that the enzyme in crude extracts had a molecular weight of 160,000. Precipitating the enzyme with polyethylene glycol decreased the molecular weight to 34,000, and this activity was no longer sensitive to CTP. The presence of either substrate of the enzyme during polyethylene glycol treatment prevented dissociation of the enzyme and loss of feedback inhibition. Thus, as with other aspartate transcarbamylases, association of subunits seems to be required for regulation of activity by end product.