LAUSR

As a ubiquitous enzyme, succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase contributes significantly in many pathways including the tricarboxylic acid cycle and other metabolic processes such as detoxifying the accumulated succinic semialdehyde and surviving in nutrient-limiting conditions. Here the cce4228 gene encoding succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase from Cyanothece sp. ATCC51142 was cloned and the homogenous recombinant cce4228 protein was obtained by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. Biochemical characterization revealed that cce4228 protein displayed optimal activity at presence of metal ions in basic condition. Although the binding affinity of cce4228 protein with NAD+ was about 50-fold lower than that of cce4228 with NADP+, the catalytic efficiency of cce4228 protein towards succinic semialdehyde with saturated concentration of NADP+ is same as that with saturated concentration of NAD+ as its cofactors. Meanwhile, the catalytic activity of cce4228 was competitively inhibited by succinic semialdehyde substrate. Kinetic and structural analysis demonstrated that the conserved Cys262 and Glu228 residues were crucial for the catalytic activity of cce4228 protein and the Ser157 and Lys154 residues were determinants of cofactor preference.