Kinetic and Structural Insight into the Mechanism of BphD, a C−C Bond Hydrolase from the Biphenyl Degradation Pathway

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Abstract
Kinetic and structural analyses of 2-hydroxy-6-oxo-6-phenylhexa-2,4-dienoic acid (HOPDA) hydrolase from Burkholderia xenovorans LB400 (BphDLB400) provide insight into the catalytic mechanism of this unusual serine hydrolase. Single turnover stopped-flow analysis at 25 °C showed that the enzyme rapidly (1/τ1 ∼ 500 s-1) transforms HOPDA (λmax = 434 nm) into a species with electronic absorption maxima at 473 and 492 nm. The absorbance of this enzyme-bound species (E:S) decayed in a biphasic manner (1/τ2 = 54 s-1, 1/τ3 = 6 s-1 ∼kcat) with simultaneous biphasic appearance (48 and 8 s-1) of an absorbance band at 270 nm characteristic of one of the products, 2-hydroxypenta-2,4-dienoic acid (HPD). Increasing solution viscosity with glycerol slowed 1/τ1 and 1/τ2 but affected neither 1/τ3 nor kcat, suggesting that 1/τ2 may reflect diffusive HPD dissociation, and 1/τ3 represents an intramolecular event. Product inhibition studies suggested that the other product, benzoate, is released after HPD. Contrary to studies in a related hydrolase, we found no evidence that ketonized HOPDA is partially released prior to hydrolysis, and, therefore, postulate that the biphasic kinetics reflect one of two mechanisms, pending assignment of E:S (λmax = 492 nm). The crystal structures of the wild type, the S112C variant, and S112C incubated with HOPDA were each determined to 1.6 Å resolution. The latter reveals interactions between conserved active site residues and the dienoate moiety of the substrate. Most notably, the catalytic residue His265 is hydrogen-bonded to the 2-hydroxy/oxo substituent of HOPDA, consistent with a role in catalyzing ketonization. The data are more consistent with an acyl−enzyme mechanism than with the formation of a gem-diol intermediate.