Mechanism and stereochemical course at phosphorus of the reaction catalyzed by a bacterial phosphotriesterase. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • The reaction mechanism for the phosphotriesterase from Pseudomonas diminuta has been examined. When paraoxon (diethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate) is hydrolyzed by this enzyme in oxygen-18-labeled water, the oxygen-18 label is found exclusively in the diethyl phosphate product. The absolute configurations for the (+) and (-) enantiomers of O-ethyl phenylphosphonothioic acid have been determined by X-ray diffraction structural determination of the individual crystalline 1-phenylethylamine salts. The (+) enantiomer of the free acid corresponds to the RP configuration. The RP enantiomer of O-ethyl phenylphosphonothioic acid has been converted to the SP enantiomer of EPN [O-ethyl O-(4-nitrophenyl) phenylphosphonothioate]. (SP)-EPN is hydrolyzed by the phosphotriesterase to the SP enantiomer of O-ethyl phenylphosphonothioic acid. The enzymatic reaction therefore proceeds with inversion of configuration. These results have been interpreted as an indication of a single in-line displacement by an activated water molecule directly at the phosphorus center of the phosphotriester substrate. (RP)-EPN is not hydrolyzed by the enzyme at an appreciable rate.

published proceedings

  • Biochemistry

altmetric score

  • 6

author list (cited authors)

  • Lewis, V. E., Donarski, W. J., Wild, J. R., & Raushel, F. M.

citation count

  • 169

complete list of authors

  • Lewis, VE||Donarski, WJ||Wild, JR||Raushel, FM

publication date

  • March 1988