Purification and properties of the pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase from Dictyoglomus thermophilum Rt46 B.1

The distribution of phosphofructokinase phosphoryl donor subtypes (ATP-, ADP-, and pyrophosphate) in the deeply rooted phylogenetic lineages of thermophiles is of interest with regard to the evolution of phosphofructokinase activity and of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway. In this article we present the first biochemical description of a thermostable pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Dictyoglomus thermophilum. The enzyme was not allosterically controlled by traditional modulators of phosphofructokinases and has significant activity with tripolyphosphate and polyphosphate. Kinetic parameters of the enzyme suggest it plays primarily a glycolytic role. The enzyme required Mg2+ for optimal activity, was partially activated by some monovalent and divalent cations, and was strongly inhibited by CU2+. The sequence of the 21 N-terminal residues suggests that the enzyme is most similar to the pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinases from Amycolatopsis methanolica and the hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon Thermoproteus tenax, enzymes which have been suggested to represent an ancient lineage of phosphofructokinases (Siebers et al. 1998). The unexpected finding of a pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase in Dictyoglomus thermophilum, which is phylogenetically related to Thermotoga maritima, previously shown to possess an ATP-dependent phosphofructokinase activity, is discussed.