Structural constraints on the ternary complex of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from rotational-echo double-resonance NMR

The 46 kDa enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase catalyzes the condensation of shikimate-3-phosphate (S3P) and phosphoenolpyruvate to form EPSP. The reaction is inhibited by N-(phosphonomethyl)-glycine (Glp), which in the presence of S3P, binds to EPSP synthase to form a stable ternary complex. As part of a solid-state NMR characterization of this structure, 15N labels were introduced selectively into the lysine, arginine and histidine residues of EPSP synthase and distances to a 13C label in Glp and to the 31P in S3P and Glp were measured by rotational-echo double-resonance NMR. Three lysine and four arginine residues are in the proximity of the phosphate group of S3P and the carboxyl and phosphonate groups of Glp. A single histidine residue is in the vicinity of the binding site (closer to Glp than to S3P) but is more distant than the lysine and arginine residues.