Effects of NAD(+) binding on the luminescence of tryptophans 84 and 310 of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus

The individual fluorescence and phosphorescence properties of W84 and W310 in Bacillus stearothermophilus glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase were identified through the construction of a single tryptophan mutant (W84F) and by comparison of the emission between mutant and wild-type enzymes. The results show that the luminescence of W310 is red-shifted and substantially quenched relative to that of W84. It displays an average subnanosecond fluorescence lifetime (tau(F)) and a very short, 50 mu s, room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) lifetime (tau(p)). The perturbation of W310 luminescence is believed to arise from a stacking interaction with Y283. In contrast, W84 exhibits a fluorescence lifetime tau(F) Of several nanoseconds and a long-lived phosphorescence lifetime tau(p), typical of buried, unperturbed Trp residues. NAD(+) binding to the tetrameric enzyme causes a 55% reduction of W310 fluorescence intensity together with a nearly complete quenching of its low-temperature phosphorescence. W84, which is located far from the nicotinamide moiety of NAD(+), is much less affected by the binding of the coenzyme; the reduction in fluorescence intensity is 35%, and its phosphorescence intensity is unchanged. Another consequence of NAD(+) binding is a significant decrease of the RTP lifetime tau(p) of W84, manifesting thereby a conformational change in the region of the coenzyme-binding domain. However, no change is observed in the RTP lifetime tau(p) Of W310 located in the catalytic domain. These findings and those obtained at partial coenzyme saturation support the conclusions derived from high-resolution crystallographic structures [Skarzynski, T., & Wonacott, A. J., (1988) J. Mol. Biol. 203, 1097-1118] that the NAD(+)-induced conformational change is sequential and that subtle rearrangement in the structure of unligated subunits might be responsible for the negative cooperative behavior of NAD(+) binding.