Flavin-oxygen derivatives involved in hydroxylation by p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase

Para-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (EC 1.14.13.2) from Pseudomonas fluorescens is one of a group of flavoproteins which insert molecular oxygen into aromatic rings to form phenols. To determine the mechanism of oxygen insertion by this enzyme, an extensive study was made of the reaction with O2 of reduced enzyme in complex with various aromatic molecules. Reactions were studied by following absorbance changes with time with a stopped-flow spectrophotometer. Analysis of multiphasic reactions led to the detection of a minimum of three transient intermediates with characteristic absorption spectra involved in the process of hydroxylation. The initial interaction of oxygen with the reduced enzyme characteristically produces a derivative of FAD (maximum absorbance 380 to 390 nm) which is probably C(4a) peroxyflavin. Depending on the aromatic compound bound to the enzyme, this intermediate decays either to oxidized, enzyme-bound flavin and H2O2 or transfers an atom of oxygen to the aromatic compound. The process of oxygen transfer forms a derivative of FAD of unknown structure (maximum absorbance 390 to 420 nm), which subsequently decays to the third intermediate observed (maximum absorbance 380 to 385 nm), which is probably C(4a) hydroxyflavin. The decay of this last intermediate results in the formation of oxidized enzyme, and the liberation of hydroxylated product and H2O. In an extension of substrate specificity studies it was found that p-aminobenzoate is a substrate and 5-hydroxypicolinate is an effector for p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase. The binding of aromatic compounds to the reduced enzyme was observed by following shifts in the absorption spectrum of enzyme bound FADH2, permitting the determination of dissociation constants and kinetics of binding.