Proteolysis of acinetobacter citrate synthase by subtilisin

Citrate synthase from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus was subjected to proteolysis with subtilisin. Although the enzyme proved relatively resistant to inactivation by this treatment, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis clearly revealed breakdown of the citrate synthase to smaller fragments. The regulatory responses of the native enzyme to inhibition by NADH and re-activation by AMP were retained on proteolysis, indicating that the fragments bind tightly to each other and preserve the overall cooperative molecular interactions.