Abstract
The time-of-flight neutron Laue technique has been used to determine the location of hydrogen atoms in the enzyme D-xylose isomerase (XI). The neutron structure of crystalline XI with bound product, D-xylulose, shows, unexpectedly, that O5 of D-xylulose is not protonated but is hydrogen-bonded to doubly protonated His54. Also, Lys289, which is neutral in native XI, is protonated (positively charged), while the catalytic water in native XI has become activated to a hydroxyl anion which is in the proximity of C1 and C2, the molecular site of isomerization of xylose. These findings impact our understanding of the reaction mechanism.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 7595-7597 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Biochemistry |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 29 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 22 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |