A yeast phosphofructokinase insensitive to the allosteric activator fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. Glycolysis/metabolic regulation/allosteric control

Abstract

In this work we used in vitro mutagenesis to modify the allosteric properties of the heterooctameric yeast phosphofructokinase. Specifically, we identified two amino acids involved in the binding of the most potent allosteric activator fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. Thus, Ser724 was replaced by an aspartate and His859 by a serine in each of the enzyme subunits. Whereas the substitutions had no drastic effects when introduced only in one of the two types of subunits, kinetic parameters were modified when both subunits carried the mutation. Thus, the enzyme with His859 --> Ser showed an increase in Ka for binding of the activator, whereas the one with Ser724 --> Asp failed to react to the addition of fructose 2, 6-bisphosphate, at all. The enzymes still responded to other allosteric activators, such as AMP. Stabilities of the mutant subunits were not significantly altered in vivo, as judged from Western blot analysis. Phenotypically, strains expressing the mutant PFK genes showed a pronounced effect on the level of intermediary metabolites after growth on glucose. Mutants not responding to the activator at all (Ser724 --> Asp) also displayed higher generation times on glucose medium. This could be suppressed by increasing the gene dosage of the mutant alleles. These results indicate that fructose 2,6-bisphosphate through its activation of phosphofructokinase plays an important role in regulation of the glycolytic flux.