Studies on arginyl-tRNA synthetase from Escherichia coli B. Dual role of metals in enzyme catalysis.

Studies carried out in arginyl-tRNA synthetase from Escherichia coli indicate that metals may have two functional roles in the catalytic mechanism. Complete metal activation is observed when MgCl2, MnCl2, CoCl2, or FeCl2 is present at a concentration (5.0 mM) in excess of the total ATP concentration (2.0 mM). When CaCl2 is substituted for MgCl2, activity is not observed unless a small amount (0.1 mM) of MgCl2, MnCl2, CoCl2, FeCl2, or ZnCl2 (unable to produce activity alone at 5.0 mM) is added. A model, based on kinetic data, is proposed in which the enzyme possesses a site for free metal, which, when filled, lowers the Km for all three substrates (arginine, tRNAArg, and metal-ATP) and increases the Vmax of the reaction.