Herbicide-Degrading α-Keto Acid-Dependent Enzyme TfdA: Metal Coordination Environment and Mechanistic Insights

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Abstract
TfdA is a non-heme iron enzyme which catalyzes the first step in the oxidative degradation of the widely used herbicide (2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetate (2,4-D). Like other α-keto acid-dependent enzymes, TfdA utilizes a mononuclear Fe(II) center to activate O2 and oxidize substrate concomitant with the oxidative decarboxylation of α-ketoglutarate (α-KG). Spectroscopic analyses of various Cu(II)-substituted and Fe(II)-reconstituted TfdA complexes via electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), electron spin−echo envelope modulation (ESEEM), and UV−vis spectroscopies have greatly expanded our knowledge of the enzyme's active site. The metal center is coordinated to two histidine residues as indicated by the presence of a five-line pattern in the Cu(II) EPR signal, for which superhyperfine splitting is attributed to two equivalent nitrogen donor atoms from two imidazoles. Furthermore, a comparison of the ESEEM spectra obtained in H2O and D2O demonstrates that the metal maintains several solvent-accessible sites, a conclusion corroborated by the increase in multiplicity in the EPR superhyperfine splitting observed in the presence of imidazole. Addition of α-KG to the Cu-containing enzyme leads to displacement of an equatorial water on copper, as determined by ESEEM analysis. Subsequent addition of 2,4-D leads to the loss of a second water molecule, with retention of a third, axially bound water. In contrast to these results, in Fe(II)-reconstituted TfdA, the cosubstrate α-KG chelates to the metal via a C-1 carboxylate oxygen and the α-keto oxygen as revealed by characteristic absorption features in the optical spectrum of Fe−TfdA. This binding mode is maintained in the presence of substrate, although the addition of 2,4-D does alter the metal coordination environment, perhaps by creating an O2-binding site via solvent displacement. Indeed, loss of solvent to generate an open binding site upon the addition of substrate has also been suggested for the α-keto acid-dependent enzyme clavaminate synthase 2 [Zhou et al. (1998) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 120, 13539−13540]. Nitrosyl adducts of various Fe−TfdA complexes have also been investigated by optical and EPR spectroscopy. Of special interest is the tightly bound NO complex of Fe−TfdA·(α-KG)·(2,4-D), which may represent an accurate model of the initial oxygen-bound species.