The prosthetic group of citrate-lyase acyl-carrier protein

The acyl carrier protein of citrate lyase contains adenine, phosphate, sugar, cysteamine, beta-alanine and pantoic acid in a molar ratio of 1:2:2:1:1:1. Peptides containing these components in the same stoichiometric relationship were isolated after proteolytic digestion of acyl carrier protein. All components were linked together in a single prosthetic group. This was released from the peptide by mild alkaline hydrolysis. Under these conditions a phosphodiester bond is cleaved which links the prosthetic group to a serine residue of the peptide. Incubation of the prosthetic-group-containing peptide with phosphodiesterase I yielded 4'-phosphopantetheine and adenylic acid. The 5'-AMP was not free but was substituted by presumably an acidic sugar residue, which was released by mild acid hydrolysis yielding free 5'-AMP. It was concluded from these results that the prosthetic group of citrate lyase acyl carrier protein consists of a substituted isomeric dephospho-CoA. This is bound to the protein by the 5'-phosphate group of adenylic acid. The 4'-phosphopantetheine residue is bound by a phosphodiester linkage to the 2' or 3' position of ribose and the remaining hydroxyl group of ribose is substituted with presumably an acidic sugar residue. The structural similarities of this prothetic group and coenzyme A are discussed and related to the catalytic properties of citrate lyase.