Identification of the covalently bound flavin of dimethylglycine dehydrogenase and sarcosine dehydrogenase from rat liver mitochondria.

Dimethylglycine dehydrogenase (EC 1.5.99.2) and sarcosine dehydrogenase (EC 1.5.99.1) are the folate binding proteins of rat liver mitochondria. These two enzymes contain covalently bound flavin and catalyze similar oxidative demethylation reactions (Wittwer, A. J., and Wagner, C. (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 4102-4108). Flavin-peptides have been purified from these two enzymes after proteolytic digestion by trypsin and chymotrypsin. The spectral and chromatographic properties of these flavin peptides changed after treatment with nucleotide pyrophosphatase in a manner consistent with the conversion of an FAD-peptide to an FMN-peptide. The pKa for pH-dependent fluorescence quenching of the purified flavin-peptides was not affected by borohydride reduction which, in conjunction with the pKa values, indicated that the flavin was covalently linked via the 8 alpha position of the isoalloxazine ring to an imidazole N(3) of a histidine residue. Peptides from both enzymes showed histidylflavin at the N terminus. Amino acid composition and sequence analysis showed that the flavin-peptide from dimethylglycine dehydrogenase was His(flavin)-Ala-Ala-Gly-Leu. Amino acid composition and N-terminal analysis suggested the sequence of the flavin-peptide of sarcosine dehydrogenase was His(flavin)-(Ala, Gly,Thr)-Leu.