Coenzyme F 420 -Dependent Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase-Coupled Polyglutamylation of Coenzyme F 420 in Mycobacteria

Coenzyme F420 -dependent reactions ofMycobacterium tuberculosis , which causes tuberculosis, potentially contributes to the virulence of this bacterium. The coenzyme carries a glutamic acid-derived tail, the length of which influences the metabolism ofM. tuberculosis . Mutations that eliminate the production of F420 with longer tails makeM. tuberculosis resistant to two new tuberculosis drugs. This report describes that the synthesis of longer glutamyl tails of F420 requires concerted actions of two enzymes, one of which reduces the coenzyme prior to the action of the other, which catalyzes polyglutamylation. This knowledge will help to develop more effective tuberculosis (TB) drugs. Remarkably, the introduction of multiple glutamate residues into the sidechain of folate (vitamin B9 ) requires similar concerted actions, where one enzyme reduces the vitamin to tetrahydrofolate and the other catalyzes polyglutamylation; folate is required for DNA and amino acid synthesis. Thus, the reported research has also revealed a key similarity between two important cellular systems.