Point mutations in Candida glabrata 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (CgHMGR) decrease enzymatic activity and substrate/inhibitor affinity

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) is a crucial enzyme in the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway. The aim of this study was to obtain, purify, characterize, and overexpress five point mutations in highly conserved regions of the catalytic domain of Candida glabrata HMGR (CgHMGR) to explore the function of key amino acid residues in enzymatic activity. Glutamic acid (Glu) was substituted by glutamine in the E680Q mutant (at the dimerization site), Glu by glutamine in E711Q (at the substrate binding site), aspartic acid by alanine in D805A, and methionine by arginine in M807R (the latter two at the cofactor binding site). A double mutation, E680Q-M807R, was included. Regarding recombinant and wild-type CgHMGR, in vitro enzymatic activity was significantly lower for the former, as was the in silico binding energy of simvastatin, alpha-asarone and the HMG-CoA substrate. E711Q displayed the lowest enzymatic activity and binding energy, suggesting the importance of Glu⁷¹¹ (in the substrate binding site). The double mutant CgHMGR E680Q-M807R exhibited the second lowest enzymatic activity. Based on the values of the kinetic parameters K_M and V_max, the mutated amino acids appear to participate in binding. The current findings provide insights into the role of residues in the catalytic site of CgHMGR.