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The flavoprotein methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) from Escherichia coli catalyzes a ping-pong reaction with NADH and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (CH 2 -H 4 folate) to produce NAD + and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (CH 3 -H 4 folate). This work focuses on the function of the invariant, active-site aminoacyl residue Gln183. X-ray structures of the enzyme complexes E red (wild-type)•NADH and E ox (Glu28Gln)•CH 3 -H 4 folate indicate that Gln183 makes key hydrogen-bonding interactions with both NADH and folate in their respective half-reactions, suggesting roles in binding each substrate. We propose that the polarity of Gln183 may also aid in stabilizing the proposed 5-iminium cation intermediate during catalysis in the oxidative half-reaction with folate. We have prepared mutants Gln183Ala and Gln183Glu, which we hypothesize to have altered charge/polarity and hydrogen bonding properties. We have examined the enzymes by steady-state and stopped-flow kinetics and by measurement of the flavin redox potentials. In the reductive half-reaction, NADH binding affinity and the rate of flavin reduction have not been hindered by either mutation. By contrast, our results support a minor role for Gln183 in the oxidative half-reaction. The Gln183Ala variant exhibited a 6-10 fold lower rate of folate reduction and bound CH 2 -H 4 folate with 7-fold lower affinity, whereas the Gln183Glu mutant displayed catalytic constants within 3-fold of the wild-type enzyme., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Intracellular zinc homeostasis is regulated by an extensive network of transporters, ligands and transcription factors. The zinc detoxification functions of three transporters and a periplasmic protein regulated by the BaeSR two-component system were explored in this work by evaluating the effect of single gene knockouts in the BaeSR regulon on the cell growth rate, free zinc, total zinc and total copper after zinc shock. Two exporters, MdtABC and MdtD, and the periplasmic protein, Spy, are involved in zinc detoxification based on the growth defects at high cell density and increases in free (>1000-fold) and total zinc/copper (>2-fold) that were observed in the single knockout strains upon exposure to zinc. These proteins complement the ATP-driven zinc export mediated by ZntA in E. coli to limit zinc toxicity. These results highlight the functions of the BaeSR regulon in metal homeostasis.

In E. coli, ZitB and ZntA are important metal exporters that enhance cell viability under high environmental zinc. To understand their functions in maintaining zinc homeostasis, we applied a novel genetically-encoded fluorescent zinc sensor to monitor the intracellular free zinc changes in wild type, ∆zitB and ∆zntA E. coli cells upon sudden exposure to toxic levels of zinc ("zinc shock"). The intracellular readily exchangeable zinc concentration (or "free" zinc) increases transiently from picomolar to nanomolar levels, accelerating zinc-activated gene transcription. After zinc shock, the zitB mRNA level is constant while the zntA mRNA increases substantially in a zinc-dependent manner. In the ∆zitB E. coli strain the free zinc concentration rises more rapidly after zinc shock compared to wild type cells while a prolonged accumulation of free zinc is observed in the ∆zntA strain. Based on these results, we propose that ZitB functions as a constitutive, first-line defense against toxic zinc influx, while ZntA is up-regulated to efficiently lower the free zinc concentration. Furthermore, the ZntR-mediated transcription of zntA exhibits an apparent K(1/2) for zinc activation in the nanomolar range in vivo, significantly higher than the femtomolar affinity for zinc binding and transcription activation previously measured in vitro. A kinetically-controlled transcription model is sufficient to explain the observed regulation of intracellular free zinc concentration by ZntR and ZntA after zinc shock., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)