Regulatory properties of the ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides and from Rhodopseudomonas gelatinosa

The ADPglucose pyrophosphorylases from Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides and Rhodopseudomonas gelatinosa are activated by fructose-6-phosphate, pyruvate and fructose-1,6 biophosphate-P2. The effects of the activators are to increase significantly the Vmax of ADPglucose synthesis and to lower the S0.5 values (concentration of substrates giving 50% maximal velocity) for ATP and MgCl2. The R. sphaeroides enzyme is inhibited by Pi while the R. gelatinosa enzyme is inhibited by AMP as well as by Pi. The interaction between inhibitor and activator is complex. At very low concentrations of activator the enzyme is more sensitized to inhibition. However, at higher concentrations of activator there is a decrease in the sensitivity of the enzyme towards inhibition. The findings are discussed with respect to glycogen synthesis in these microorganisms and may be related to findings that indicate that Rhodopseudomonads have the ability to degrade sugars via the Entner-Duodoroff or Embden-Meyerhoff pathways.