Catalytic domain of vertebrate phospholipase D6 and similar proteins
Catalytic domain of vertebrate phospholipase D6 (PLD6, EC 3.1.4.4), a homolog of the EDTA-resistant nuclease Nuc from Salmonella typhimurium, and similar proteins. PLD6 can selectively hydrolyze the terminal phosphodiester bond of phosphatidylcholine (PC) with the formation of phosphatidic acid and alcohols. Phosphatidic acid is an essential compound involved in signal transduction. It also catalyzes the transphosphatidylation of phospholipids to acceptor alcohols, by which various phospholipids can be synthesized. PLD6 belongs to the phospholipase D (PLD) superfamily. Its monomer contains a short conserved sequence motif, H-x-K-x(4)-D (where x represents any amino acid residue), termed the HKD motif, which is essential in catalysis. PLD6 is more closely related to the nuclease Nuc than to other vertebrate phospholipases, which have two copies of the HKD motif in a single polypeptide chain. Like Nuc, PLD6 may utilize a two-step mechanism to cleave phosphodiester bonds: Upon substrate binding, the bond is first attacked by a histidine residue from the HKD motif of one subunit to form a covalent phosphohistidine intermediate, which is then hydrolyzed by water with the aid of a second histidine residue from the other HKD motif in the opposite subunit.