Klebsiella pneumoniae 1,3-propanediol:NAD+ oxidoreductase

Fermentative utilization of glycerol, a more reduced carbohydrate than aldoses and ketoses, requires the disposal of the two extra hydrogen atoms. This is accomplished by sacrificing an equal quantity of glycerol via an auxiliary pathway initiated by glycerol dehydratase. The product, 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde, is then reduced by 1,3-propanediol NAD+:oxidoreductase (1,3-propanediol dehydrogenase; EC 1.1.1.202), resulting in the regeneration of NAD+ from NADH. The pathway for the assimilation of glycerol is initiated by an NAD-linked dehydrogenase. In Klebsiella pneumoniae the two pathways are encoded by the dha regulon which is inducible only anaerobically. In this study 1,3-propanediol:NAD+ oxidoreductase was purified from cells grown anaerobically on glycerol. The enzyme was immunochemically distinct from the NAD-linked glycerol dehydrogenase and was an octamer or hexamer of a polypeptide of 45,000 +/- 3,000 daltons. When tested as a dehydrogenase, only 1,3-propanediol served as a substrate; no activity was detected with ethanol, 1-propanol, 1,2-propanediol, glycerol, or 1,4-butanediol. The enzyme was inhibited by chelators of divalent cations. An enzyme preparation inhibited by alpha,alpha'-dipyridyl was reactivated by the addition of Fe2+ or Mn2+ after removal of the chelator by gel filtration. As for glycerol dehydrogenase, 1,3-propanediol oxidoreductase is apparently inactivated by oxidation during aerobic metabolism, under which condition the enzyme becomes superfluous.