PMID: 8790347

Authors:

Fonne-Pfister R, Chemla P, Ward E, Girardet M, Kreuz KE, Honzatko RB, Fromm HJ, Schar HP, Grutter MG, Cowan-Jacob SW

Title:

The mode of action and the structure of a herbicide in complex with its target: binding of activated hydantocidin to the feedback regulation site of adenylosuccinate synthetase.

Journal:

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Sep 3;93(18):9431-6.

Abstract:

(+)-Hydantocidin, a recently discovered natural spironucleoside with potent herbicidal activity, is shown to be a proherbicide that, after phosphorylation at the 5' position, inhibits adenylosuccinate synthetase, an enzyme involved in de novo purine synthesis. The mode of binding of hydantocidin 5'-monophosphate to the target enzyme was analyzed by determining the crystal structure of the enzyme-inhibitor complex at 2.6-A resolution. It was found that adenylosuccinate synthetase binds the phosphorylated compound in the same fashion as it does adenosine 5'-monophosphate, the natural feedback regulator of this enzyme. This work provides the first crystal structure of a herbicide-target complex reported to date.