Comparative phosphorescence and optically detected magnetic resonance studies of pig and yeast glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

A comparative optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) investigation has been made of the tryptophan (Trp) residues of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPD) from pig and yeast. We find that pig GAPD emits phosphorescence from only two of the three distinct Trp sites, while yeast GAPD exhibits resolved 0,0-bands from all three Trps. Heavy atom effects observed in the CH3Hg(II)-sulfhydryl complex of pig GAPD resemble closely those reported earlier for the analogous rabbit GAPD-CH3Hg(II) complex. Trp-310, with a 0,0-band at 416 nm, undergoes a selective heavy atom perturbation as a result of CH3Hg(II) binding to the nearby Cys-281. The 416-nm peak in yeast GAPD is assigned to Trp-310 on the basis of ODMR, but no heavy atom effect of CH3Hg(II)-sulfhydryl complexing is observed because of the absence of Cys-281 in yeast, thus supporting this assignment. The 406-nm 0,0-bands of pig and rabbit GAPD and the 409-nm band of yeast GAPD are assigned to Trp-193, located in a subunit contact region. This residue is solvent exposed in the yeast enzyme but appears to be buried in a polar environment in the mammalian GAPD. These differences may be related to variations in subunit co-operativity between species. Trp-84 appears to be quenched in pig and rabbit GAPD, most likely by His-108. In yeast GAPD, on the other hand, Trp-84 is not quenched, probably because His-108 is further removed. The Trp-84 0,0-band of the yeast enzyme peaks at 420 nm, making it the most red-shifted Trp origin reported thus far.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)