Two sulfhydryl groups near the active site of soybean beta-amylase.

The less reactive SH groups of soybean beta-amylase, SH4, SH5, and SH6, were modified with p-chloromercuribenzoic acid or N-ethylmaleimide, after the reactive SH groups, SH1, SH2, and SH3, were blocked with 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) and cyanide. The enzyme activity decreased, accompanied by the modification of SH4. alpha-Cyclodextrin protected SH4 from the modification more effectively than maltose. The SH4-modified enzyme still bound to glucose, maltose, and alpha-cyclodextrin. SH4 was concerned with neither the catalysis nor substrate binding but its large substituent affected the substrate binding site. The sequencing of the 5-(iodoacetoamidoethyl)-aminoaphthalene-1-sulfonate-labeled peptides showed that SH4, SH5, and SH6 are Cys343, Cys82, and Cys208, respectively. Comparison of the primary structure of beta-amylases also showed that the sequence around SH4 (Cys343), as well as SH2 (Cys95), is strongly conserved between higher plant and bacterial beta-amylases. These results agree with the structure model deduced from X-ray crystallography of soybean beta-amylase.