Pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase. Conservation of protein sequence between the alpha- and beta-subunits and with the ATP-dependent phosphofructokinase

Full-length cDNA clones for the alpha- and beta-subunits of pyrophosphate-fructose 6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase have been isolated from a cDNA expression library derived from potato tuber poly(A)+ RNA. The nucleotide sequences indicate that the alpha- and beta-subunits are related with about 40% of amino acid residues being identical. A comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of both subunits of this enzyme with that of the major ATP-dependent fructose 6-phosphate 1-phosphotransferase from Escherichia coli (Shirakihara, Y., and Evans, P. R. (1988) J. Mol. Biol. 204, 973-994) showed little homology between the proteins except for regions involved in the binding of fructose 6-phosphate/fructose, 1,6-bisphosphate and possibly between regions binding pyrophosphate and the beta- and gamma-phosphates of ADP/ATP. A comparison of the derived secondary structures of the two subunits of the PPi-dependent enzyme with the known secondary structure of the E. coli ATP-dependent enzyme indicated that the overall structure of these enzymes is similar. These data suggest that catalytic activity resides on the beta-subunit of the pyrophosphate-dependent enzyme.