Colorimetric Detection of the Adenylation Activity in Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetases

Nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are multifunctional enzymes consisting of catalytic domains. The substrate specificities of adenylation (A) domains determine the amino-acid building blocks to be incorporated during nonribosomal peptide biosynthesis. The A-domains mediate ATP-dependent activation of amino-acid substrates as aminoacyl-O-AMP with pyrophosphate (PPi) release. Traditionally, the enzymatic activity of the A-domains has been measured by radioactive ATP-[(32)P]-PPi exchange assays with the detection of (32)P-labeled ATP. Recently, we developed a colorimetric assay for the direct detection of PPi as a yellow 18-molybdopyrophosphate anion ([(P2O7)Mo18O54](4-)). [(P2O7)Mo18O54](4-) was further reduced by ascorbic acid to give a more readily distinguishable blue coloration. Here we demonstrate the lab protocols for the colorimetric assay of PPi released in A-domain reactions.