Distances between active site probes in glutamine synthetase from Escherichia coli: fluorescence energy transfer in free and in stacked dodecamers.

Probes for fluorescence energy transfer measurements were introduced into active sites of dodecameric glutamine synthetase from Escherichia coli by substituting appropriate ATP analogues for ATP in the autoinactivation reaction of this enzyme with L-Met-(S)-sulfoximine and Mn2+ [Maurizi, M. R., & Ginsburg, A. (1986) Biochemistry (preceding paper in this issue)]. Two fluorescent donors, 8-mercapto-ATP alkylated with either 5-[[[(iodoacetyl)amino]ethyl]amino]naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (AEDANS-ATP) or 1,N6-etheno-2-aza-ATP (aza-epsilon-ATP), and two acceptors, 6-mercaptopurine ribonucleotide triphosphate or 8-mercapto-ATP alkylated with the chromophore 4'-[[4-(dimethylamino)-phenyl]azo]-2-iodoacetanilide (6-Y- or 8-Y-ATP), were used. Fluorescence emissions of enzyme derivatives with 1 or 2 equiv of fluorescent donor per dodecamer and either an acceptor (Y) or ADP at the remaining active sites were compared at pH 7.0. The results, together with the known geometry of the enzyme, indicate that active site probes in the dodecamer are widely separated and that energy transfer occurs from a single donor to two or three acceptors on adjacent subunits. The calculated distance between equidistant active site probes on heterologously bonded subunits within the same hexagonal ring is 56-60 A. Probes on isologously bonded subunits are no closer than 60 A and may be as far apart as 78 A. Thus, active sites are away from the 6-fold axis of symmetry toward the outer edges of the dodecamer and are located greater than or equal to 30 A from the plane separating the hexagonal rings. During Zn2+-induced stacking of the same enzyme derivatives along the 6-fold axes of symmetry, additional quenches of fluorescent probes were dependent on the presence of acceptors on separate dodecamers. The Zn2+-induced face to face aggregation of dodecamers in the presence of 46 microM ZnCl2 and 9 mM MgCl2 at pH 7.0 had an Arrhenius activation energy of 22.3 +/- 0.2 kcal/mol and a second-order rate constant at 25 degrees C of approximately 10(5) M-1 s-1 at early stages. Time-dependent fluorescence quenches correlated well with the degree of linear polymer formation and reached maximum values of 47-70% quench when the average n-mer was six dodecamers. After correction for unquenched polymer ends, a fluorescent donor and an acceptor probe in layered dodecamers were estimated to be approximately 36 A apart--an average value if there is some twisting of single strands.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)