Understanding pyrimidine and aspartate metabolism in the growth and infectivity of leishmania donovani

Abstract

Dihydroorotase the third enzyme of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway of Leishmania donovani was cloned expressed and biochemically characterized in both directions of enzymatic reactions The data revealed a preference for biologically significant forward direction The forward direction enzymatic reaction shows acidic pH optimum in contrast to slightly alkaline pH optimum of reverse reaction Further the enzyme shows both tetrameric and dimeric structures in equilibrium Biotin su