Purification and Characterization of the Catabolic α-Acetolactate Synthase from Serratia marcescens

The catabolic -acetolactate synthase was purified to homogeneity from Serratia marcescens ATCC 25419 using ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sepharose, Phenyl-Sepharose, and Hydroxylapatite column chromatography. The native molecular weight of the enzyme was approximately 150 kDa and composed of two identical subunits with molecular weights of 64 kDa each. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme was determined to be Ala-Gln-Glu-Lys-Thr-Gly-Asn-Asp-Trp-Gln-His-Gly-Ala-Asp-Leu-Val-Val-Lys-Asn-Leu. It was not inhibited by the branched chain amino acids and sulfometuron methyl herbicide. The optimum pH of the enzyme was around pH 5.5 and the pI value was 6.1. The catabolic -acetolactate synthase showed weak immunological relationships with recombinant tobacco ALS, barley ALS, and the valine-sensitive ALS isozyme from Serratia marcescens.