Pseudomonas aeruginosa exoenzyme S: an adenosine diphosphate ribosyltransferase distinct from toxin A

Pseudomonas aeruginosa exoenzyme S is an adenosine diphosphate ribosyltransferase distinct from Pseudomonas toxin A. Exoenzyme S catalyzes the transfer of radioactivity from all portions of radiolabeled NAD+ except nicotinamide. Digestion of the radiolabeled product(s) formed in the presence of [adenine-14C]NAD+ and exoenzyme S with snake venom phosphodiesterase yields only AMP, suggesting that ADP-ribose is present as monomers and not as poly(ADP-ribose). Exoenzyme S does not catalyze the transfer of ADP-ribose from NAD+ to elongation factor 2, as do toxin A and diphtheria toxin, but to one or more other proteins present in crude extracts of wheat germ or rabbit reticulocytes and in partially purified preparations of elongation factor I. The ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of exoenzyme S is distinct from toxin A by several tests: it is not neutralized by toxin A antibody, it is destroyed rather than potentiated by pretreatment with urea, and it is more heat stable. These latter observations and the substrate specificity suggest that exoenzyme S is different from any previously described prokaryotic ADP-ribosyltransferase.