In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the PUT1 and PUT2 genes are required for the conversion of proline to glutamate. The PUT1 gene encodes Put1p, a proline dehydrogenase (PRODH) enzyme localized in the mitochondrion. Put1p was expressed and purified from Escherichia coli and shown to have a UV-visible absorption spectrum that is typical of a bound flavin cofactor. A K(m) value of 36 mM proline and a k(cat)=27 s(-1) were determined for Put1p using an artificial electron acceptor. Put1p also exhibited high activity using ubiquinone-1 (CoQ(1)) as an electron acceptor with a k(cat)=9.6 s(-1) and a K(m) of 33 microM for CoQ(1). In addition, knockout strains of the electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF) homolog in S. cerevisiae were able to grow on proline as the sole nitrogen source demonstrating that ETF is not required for proline utilization in yeast.
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