The ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase from Melainabacteria: a comparative study between photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic bacterial sources

Until recently, the cyanobacterial phylum only included oxygenic photosynthesizer members. The discovery of Melainabacteria as a group of supposed non-photosynthetic cyanobacteria asked to revisit such scenario. From metagenomic data, we were able to identify sequences encoding putative ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylases (ADP-GlcPPase) from free-living and intestinal Melainabacteria. The respective genes were de novo synthesized and over-expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant proteins from both Melainabacteria species were active as ADP-GlcPPases, exhibiting Vmax values of 2.3 (free-living) and 7.1 U/mg (intestinal). The enzymes showed similar S0.5 values (∼0.3 mM) for ATP, while the one from the intestinal source exhibited a 6-fold higher affinity toward glucose-1P. Both recombinant ADP-GlcPPases were sensitive to glucose-6P activation (A0.5 ∼0.3 mM) and Pi and ADP inhibition (I0.5 between 0.2 and 3 mM). Interestingly, the enzymes from Melainabacteria were insensitive to 3-phosphoglycerate, which is the principal activator of ADP-GlcPPases from photosynthetic cyanobacteria. As far as we know, this is the first biochemical characterization of an active enzyme from Melainabacteria. This work contributes to a better understanding of the evolution of allosteric regulation in the ADP-GlcPPase family, which is critical for synthesizing the main reserve polysaccharide in prokaryotes (glycogen) and plants (starch). In addition, our results offer further information to discussions regarding the phylogenetic position of Melainabacteria. •We identified genes related to glycogen metabolism in Melainabacteria.•ADP-GlcPPases from two Melainabacteria species were characterized.•Melainabacteria ADP-GlcPPases display distinctive regulatory properties.•Effector specificity suggests a heterotrophic metabolism in Melainabacteria.