A strongly conserved threonine residue in the I-helix of cytochrome P450 en
zymes participates in a proton delivery system for binding and cleavage of
dioxygen molecules. 6-Deoxyerythronolide B hydroxylase (P450eryF) is unusua
l in that the conserved threonine residue is replaced by alanine in this en
zyme. On the basis of crystal structures of substrate-bound P450eryF it has
been proposed that the C-5 hydroxyl group of the substrate and serine-246
of the enzyme form hydrogen bonds with water molecules 519 and 564, respect
ively. This hydrogen bonding network constitutes the proton delivery system
whereby P450eryF maintains its catalytic activity in the absence of a thre
onine hydroxyl group in the conserved position. To further assess the role
in the proton delivery system of hydroxyl groups around the active site, th
ree mutant forms of P450eryF (A245S, S246A, and A245S/S246A) were construct
ed and characterized. In each case, decreased catalytic activity and increa
sed uncoupling could be correlated with changes in the hydrogen bonding env
ironment. These results suggest that Ser-246 does indeed participate in the
proton shuttling pathway, and also support our previous hypothesis that th
e C-5 hydroxyl group of the substrate participates in the acid-catalyzed di
oxygen bond cleavage reaction. (C) 2000 Academic Press.