Cysteine-S-conjugate beta-lyase activity and pyridoxal phosphate binding site of onion alliin lyase.

Purification of onion alliin lyase gave two fractions by cation exchange chromatography. Both fractions showed the comparable high catalytic activity of cysteine-S-conjugate beta-lyase with that of alliin lyase using S-(2-chloro-6-nitrophenyl)-L-cysteine and alliin, S-allyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide as substrates. All the active substrates tested with onion alliin lyase were also active to the cysteine-S-conjugate beta-lyase of Mucor javanicus, but the catalytic activity of the Mucor enzyme was lower for all the substrates. The pyridoxal phosphate binding site of the onion alliin lyase was identified as Lys 285 in the amino acid sequence deduced from cDNA which has been reported. This lysine was conserved in all the sequences from the alliin lyase cDNAs, while similarity was not found between the sequences around pyridoxal phosphate binding sites of both the onion alliin lyase and the Mucor cysteine-S-conjugate beta-lyase.