| Abstract
| - Mutation of Asp402 in nitroalkane oxidase to Asn or Ala inactivates the enzyme with neutral nitroethane as substrate, but the activity can be rescued with the nitroethane anion. The V/K values of the D402N and D402A enzymes with the nitroethane anion are independent of pH, whereas the V/K values of the wild-type and D402E enzymes are pH dependent with both the protonated and the deprotonated forms of nitroethane. Moreover, although the V/K value of the D402E enzyme with neutral nitroethane is 20-fold less than that of the wild-type enzyme, there is only a 2-fold difference in the V/K values with the nitroethane anion. These results are fully consistent with a primary role for Asp402 as the active site base in nitroalkane oxidase which abstracts the substrate α-proton.
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