12th International Symposium on Bioluminescence & Chemiluminescence

Symposium abstracts:

Inhibition mechanisms of a bioluminescent enzyme system NAD(P)H:FMN-oxidoreductase–luciferase by quinones

Vetrova, Elena¹, Kudryasheva, Nadezhda¹, Visser, Antonie² van Hoek, Arie²

1. Institute of Biophysics SB RAS, 660036 Krasnoyarsk, Russia

E-mail: lucifer@ibp.krasnoyarsk.su

2. MicroSpectroscopy Centre, Wageningen University, 6703 HA Wageningen, The Netherlands

Bioluminescent bacterial systems are used successfully for ecological monitoring. The mechanism of action of xenobiotics on bacterial bioluminescence is of interest. It is required to develop detection methods for xenobiotics. The bioluminescent coupled enzyme system NADH:FMN-oxidoreductase-luciferase was used as a test system. The influence of quinones on the bioluminescence has been investigated. A relationship between kinetic parameters of bioluminescence and concentration of the quinones has been found. Inhibition mechanisms of bioluminescent enzymes system such as the acceptance of energy from electronic excited states of the bioluminescent emitter, the influence of quinones on redox processes in the bioluminescent system and interaction of quinones with enzymes were discussed. Summarizing, three possible mechanisms of the effect of quinones on the bioluminescence of the coupled enzyme system have been compared. From these data it can be concluded that the main mechanism of inhibition by quinones is their competition with FMN in enzymatic NADH-dependent reductive processes in the coupled enzyme bioluminescent system.

This is a preprint of an article accepted for publication in Luminescence: Copyright 2001 John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd (Wiley website)