Structural studies on cutinase, a glycoprotein containing novel amino acids and glucuronic acid amide at the N terminus

Cutinase I and cutinase II, two extracellular enzymes produced by Fusarium solani pisi, were shown to be glycoproteins containing 4.3% and 5.1% carbohydrates, respectively. Upon treatment with alkali both enzymes generated chromophores which absorbed at 241 nm. Treatment of both proteins with alkaline NaB3H4 gave labeled protein and labeled monosaccharides. Hydrolysis of the labeled protein followed by chromatographic and enzymatic analyses of the products showed that alanine, 2-aminobutyrate, phenylalanine, tyrosine and L-gulonic acid accounted for nearly all of the 3H contained in the protein. The four labeled amino acids were shown to be 1:1 mixture of D and L isomers and 3H was nearly equally distributed between alpha and beta positions in each amino acid. The N-terminal amino group of cutinase I did not react with either phenylisothiocyanate of dansyl chloride. This amino group was suggested to be in amide linkage with glucuronic acid because upon treatment of the protein with neutral NaB3H4, gulonic acid attached to the protein became labeled and only gulonic acid was labeled when the protein was deglycosylated with HF prior to alkaline NaB3H4 treatment. Furthermore, N-gulonyglycine was isolated from the pronase digest of the labeled protein. Chromatographic identification and quantification of the labeled carbohydrates released from cutinase I by alkaline NaB3H4 showed that one mole of cutinase I has one mole each of mannose, arabinose, N-acetylglucosamine, and glucuronic acid O-glycosidically linked to serine, threonine, beta-hydroxyphenylalanine, and beta-hydroxytyrosine. In addition, the N-terminal glycine is in amide linkage with glucuronic acid. Since almost identical experimental results were obtained with cutinase II this protein is also suggested to have the same structural features as those suggested above for cutinase I.