Beta-Ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthases I and II of Escherichia coli were purified and characterized. Synthase I was shown to have a molecular weight of 80,000 +/- 5,000 and to be composed of two similarly sized subunits. Synthase II had a molecular weight of 85,000 +/- 5,000 and also was apparently homodimeric. Gel electrophoresis of partial proteolytic digests demonstrated that synthases I and II share few if any common peptides. Synthases I and II also were shown to be unrelated by immunological criteria. An improved assay for beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase activity gave kinetic parameters for synthases I and II at both 27 degrees C and 37 degrees C using five long chain acyl-acyl carrier protein substrates. The properties of synthase II are consistent with the proposed role of this enzyme in the modulation of fatty acid synthesis by temperature. fabF mutants of E. coli lack synthase II. The fabF locus was mapped at min 24.5 of the E. coli genetic map and the clockwise map order was found to be pyrC, fabD, fabF, purB.

• AI 15650/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States