1. Crucial role of conserved cysteine residues in the assembly of two iron-sulfur clusters on the CIA protein Nar1
- Author
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Eugen I. Urzica, Roland Lill, Antonio J. Pierik, and Ulrich Mühlenhoff
- Subjects
Iron-Sulfur Proteins ,Models, Molecular ,Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins ,Molecular model ,Cell Survival ,Saccharomyces cerevisiae ,Amino Acid Motifs ,Biology ,Biochemistry ,Conserved sequence ,Cytosol ,Hydrogenase ,Cysteine ,Protein maturation ,Conserved Sequence ,Mutagenesis ,Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy ,biology.organism_classification ,Yeast ,Recombinant Proteins ,Protein Structure, Tertiary ,Mutagenesis, Site-Directed - Abstract
Iron-sulfur (Fe/S) protein maturation in the eukaryotic cytosol and nucleus requires conserved components of the essential CIA machinery. The CIA protein Nar1 performs a specific function in transferring an Fe/S cluster that is assembled de novo on the Cfd1-Nbp35 scaffold to apoproteins. Here, we used systematic site-directed mutagenesis and a combination of in vitro and in vivo studies to show that Nar1 holds two Fe/S clusters at conserved N- and C-terminal cysteine motifs. A wealth of biochemical studies suggests that the assembly of these Fe/S clusters on Nar1 cannot be studied in Escherichia coli, as the recombinant protein does not contain the native Fe/S clusters. We therefore followed Fe/S cluster incorporation directly in yeast by a (55)Fe radiolabeling method in vivo, and we measured the functional consequences of Nar1 mutations in the assembly of cytosolic Fe/S proteins. We find that both Fe/S clusters are essential for Nar1 function and cell viability. Molecular modeling using a structurally but not functionally related bacterial iron-only hydrogenase as a template provided compelling structural explanations for our mutational data. The C-terminal Fe/S cluster is stably buried within Nar1, whereas the N-terminal one is exposed at the protein surface and hence may be more easily lost. Insertion of an Fe/S cluster into the C-terminal location depends on the N-terminal motif, suggesting the participation of the latter motif in the assembly process of the C-terminal cluster. The vicinity of the two Fe/S centers suggests a close functional cooperation during cytosolic Fe/S protein maturation.
- Published
- 2009