The molybdoenzyme system of Drosophila melanogaster. I. Sulfite oxidase: identification and properties. Expression of the enzyme in maroon-like (mal), low-xanthine dehydrogenase (lxd), and cinnamon (cin) flies.

Sulfite oxidase (sulfite: ferricytochrome c oxidoreductase; EC 1.8.2.1) has been detected in Drosophila melanogaster and some of its properties have been studied. In most respects this enzyme resembles the mammalian sulfite oxidases except for its molecular weight (148,000), which is somewhat higher than that of rat sulfite oxidase (116,000). Cytochrome c, potassium-ferricyanide, and oxygen can serve as electron acceptors in the oxidation of sulfite by the enzyme. Although definite evidence can be obtained only through the analysis of the pure enzyme, experiments involving tungstate feeding suggest that Drosophila sulfite oxidase is most probably a molybdoenzyme. Extracts of mal flies show normal levels of sulfite oxidase, whereas lxd flies have only 5-10% of the activity of wild type, and in cin flies the enzyme is apparently absent. While it is possible that the lxd and cin mutations are at some level responsible for the defective synthesis of a molybdenum-containing cofactor (supposed to be present in most molybdoenzymes), the evidence accumulated so far by several authors and the results of the present investigation argue against the involvement of a Mo cofactor in the multiple enzyme deficiencies observed in mal flies.