Effects of arginine and some analogues of the partial adenosine triphosphate-adenosine diphosphate exchange reaction catalysed by arginine kinase. Evolutionary divergence in the mechanism of action of a monomer and a dimer arginine kinase.

1. Both the monomer arginine kinase from lobster muscle and the dimer arginine kinase from Holothuria forskali catalyse the ATP-ADP partial exchange reaction at rates equal to 3 and 0.6% of the normal rate of transphosphorylation respectively. The Mg2+-nucleotide complex is the substrate for this as it is for the kinase reaction. 2. Analogues of arginine inhibit the exchange reaction of the lobster enzyme but enhance that of the Holothuria enzyme. 3. With the lobster enzyme NO3- has no effect on the exchange reaction alone and inhibit only slightly the apparent enhancement of the exchange reaction produced by the addition of arginine. This is compatible with previous findings for this enzyme that formation of the anion-stabilized dead-end complex, enzyme-arginine-MgADP-NO3-, does not occur to any marked degree. 4. About 80% of the ADP-ATP exchange reaction of the lobster enzyme remains after inhibition with iodoacetamide. This is further decreased to 65% by the addition of L-arginine, indicating that this substrate does bind to the thiolmodified enzyme. 5. It is concluded that the partial exchange reaction is a genuine phenomenon not mediated by trace amounts of arginine. From the effects of arginine and related compounds it would appear that during the normal kinase reaction the partial ATP-ADP exchange reaction is suppressed in the lobster enzyme but enhanced in the Holothuria enzyme. This reflects a remarkable evolutionary divergence of two homologous enzymes.