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ATP-binding cassette transporters drive the transport of substrates across the membrane by the hydrolysis of ATP. They typically have a conserved domain structure with two membrane-spanning domains that form the transport channel and two cytosolic nucleotide-binding domains ( NBDs) that energize the transport reaction. Binding of ATP to the NBD monomer results in formation of a NBD dimer. Hydrolysis of the ATP drives the dissociation of the dimer. The thermodynamics of distinct steps in the ATPase cycle of GlcV, the NBD of the glucose ABC transporter of the extreme thermoacidophile Sulfolobus solfataricus, were studied by isothermal titration calorimetry using the wild-type protein and two mutants, which are arrested at different steps in the ATP hydrolytic cycle. The G144A mutant is unable to dimerize, while the E166A mutant is defective in dimer dissociation. The ATP, ADP, and AMP-PNP binding affinities, stoichiometries, and enthalpies of binding were determined at different temperatures. From these data, the thermodynamic parameters of nucleotide binding, NBD dimerization, and ATP hydrolysis were calculated. The data demonstrate that the ATP hydrolysis cycle of isolated NBDs consists of consecutive steps where only the final step of ADP release is energetically unfavorable.

The direct reaction field (DRF) approach has proven to be a useful tool to investigate the influence of solvents on the quantum/classical behaviour of solute molecules. In this paper, we report the latest extension of this DRF approach, which consists of the gradient of the completely classical energy expressions of this otherwise QM/MM method. They can be used in (completely classical) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and geometry optimizations, that can be followed by a number of single point QM/MM calculations on configurations obtained in these simulations/optimizations. We report all energy and gradient expressions, and results for a number of interesting (model) systems. They include geometry optimization of the benzene dimer as well as MD simulations of some solvents. The most stable configuration for the benzene dimer is shown to be the parallel-displaced form, which is slightly more stable (0.3 kcal/mol) than the T-shaped dimer.

Calpain is a Ca2+-regulated cytosolic protease. Mammals have 14 calpain genes, half of which are predominantly expressed in specific organ(s); the rest are expressed ubiquitously. A defect in calpains causes lethality/pathogenicity, indicating their physiological indispensability. nCL-2/calpain-8a was identified as a stomach-specific calpain, whose physiological functions are unclear. To elucidate these, we characterized nCL-2 in detail. Unexpectedly, nCL-2 was localized strictly to the surface mucus cells in the gastric epithelium and the mucus-secreting goblet cells in the duodenum. Yeast two-hybrid screening identified several nCL-2-intracting molecules. Of these, the -subunit of coatomer complex (-COP) occurs in the stomach pit cells and is proteolyzed by nCL-2 in vitro. Furthermore, -COP and nCL-2 co-expressed in COS7 cells co-localized in the Golgi, and Ca2+-ionophore stimulation caused the proteolysis of -COP near the linker region, resulting in the dissociation of -COP from the Golgi. These results strongly suggest novel functions for nCL-2 that involve the membrane trafficking of mucus cells via interactions with coat protein.

In 11 patients with a recessive congenital disorder, which we refer to as "the hypotonia-cystinuria syndrome," microdeletion of part of the SLC3A1 and PREPL genes on chromosome 2p21 was found. Patients present with generalized hypotonia at birth, nephrolithiasis, growth hormone deficiency, minor facial dysmorphism, and failure to thrive, followed by hyperphagia and rapid weight gain in late childhood. Since loss-of-function mutations in SLC3A1 are known to cause isolated cystinuria type I, and since the expression of the flanking genes, C2orf34 and PPM1B, was normal, the extended phenotype can be attributed to the deletion of PREPL. PREPL is localized in the cytosol and shows homology with prolyl endopeptidase and oligopeptidase B. Substitution of the predicted catalytic residues (Ser470, Asp556, and His601) by alanines resulted in loss of reactivity with a serine hydrolase-specific probe. In sharp contrast to prolyl oligopeptidase and oligopeptidase B, which require both aminoterminal and carboxyterminal sequences for activity, PREPL activity appears to depend only on the carboxyterminal domain. Taken together, these results suggest that PREPL is a novel oligopeptidase, with unique structural and functional characteristics, involved in hypotonia-cystinuria syndrome.

We have established that polyhydroxylated styrylquinolines are potent inhibitors of HIV-1 integrase (IN). Among them, we have identified (E)-8-hydroxy-2-[2-(4,5-dihydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-ethenyl]-7-quinoli-necarboxylic acid (1) as a promising lead. Previous molecular dynamics simulations and docking procedures have shown that the inhibitory activity involves one or two metal cations (Mg2+), which are present in the vicinity of the active center of the enzyme. However, such methods are generally based on a force-field approach and still remain not as reliable as ab initio calculations with extended basis sets on the whole system. To go further in this area, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive ability of the electron density and electrostatic properties in the structure-activity relationships of this class of HIV-1 antiviral drugs. The electron properties of the two chemical progenitors of 1 were derived from both high-resolution X-ray diffraction experiments and ab initio calculations. The twinning phenomenon and solvent disorder were observed during the crystal structure determination of 1. Molecule 1 exhibits a planar s-trans conformation, and a zwitterionic form in the crystalline state is obtained. This geometry was used for ab initio calculations, which were performed to characterize the electronic properties of 1. The electron densities, electrostatic potentials, and atomic charges of 1 and its progenitors are here compared and analyzed. The experimental and theoretical deformation density bond peaks are very comparable for the two progenitors. However, the experimental electrostatic potential is strongly affected by the crystal field and cannot straightforwardly be used as a predictive index. The weak difference in the theoretical electron densities between 1 and its progenitors reveals that each component of 1 conserves its intrinsic properties, an assumption reinforced by a C-13 NMR study. This is also shown through an excellent correlation of the atomic charges for the common fragments. The electrostatic potential minima in zwitterionic and nonzwitterionic forms of 1 are discussed in relation with the localization of possible metal chelation sites.

Bioactive polymeric scaffolds are a prerequisite for the ultimate formation of functional tissues. Here, we show that supramolecular polymers based on quadruple hydrogen bonding ureido- pyrimidinone ( UPy) moieties are eminently suitable for producing such bioactive materials owing to their low- temperature processability, favourable degradation and biocompatible behaviour. Particularly, the reversible nature of the hydrogen bonds allows for a modular approach to gaining control over cellular behaviour and activity both in vitro and in vivo. Bioactive materials are obtained by simply mixing UPy-functionalized polymers with UPy- modified biomolecules. Low- molecular- weight bis- UPy- oligocaprolactones with cell adhesion promoting UPy- Gly- Arg- Gly- Asp- Ser ( UPy-GRGDS) and the synergistic UPy- Pro- His- Ser- Arg- Asn ( UPy- PHSRN) peptide sequences are synthesized and studied. The in vitro results indicate strong and specific cell binding of fibroblasts to the UPy- functionalized bioactive materials containing both UPy- peptides. An even more striking effect is seen in vivo where the formation of single giant cells at the interface between bioactive material and tissue is triggered.

Nitrite is converted to nitric oxide by haem or copper-containing enzymes in denitrifying bacteria during the process of denitrification. In designing an efficient biosensor, this enzymic turnover must be quantitatively assessed. The enzyme nitrite reductase from Alcaligenes faecalis contains a redox-active blue copper centre and a nonblue enzyme-active copper centre. It can be covalently tethered to modified gold-electrode surfaces in configurations in which direct electron transfer is possible. A surface cysteine mutant of the enzyme can be similarly immobilised on bare electroactive gold substrates. Under such circumstances, however, electron transfer cannot be effectively coupled with substrate catalytic turnover. In using either the natural redox partner, pseudoazurin, or ruthenium hexammine as an "electron-shuttle" or "conduit" between enzyme and a peptide-modified electrode surface, the coupling of electron transfer to catalysis can be utilised in the development of an amperometric nitrite sensor.

Heterologous proteins secreted by yeast and fungal expression hosts are occasionally degraded at basic amino acids. We cloned Pichia pastoris homologs of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae basic residue-specific endoproteases Kex2 and Yps1 to evaluate their involvement in the degradation of a secreted mammalian gelatin. Disruption of the P. pastoris KEX2 gene prevented proteolysis of the foreign protein at specific monoarginylic sites. The S. cerevisiae α-factor preproleader used to direct high-level gelatin secretion was correctly processed at its dibasic site in the absence of the prototypical proprotein convertase Kex2. Disruption of the YPS1 gene had no effect on gelatin degradation or processing of the α-factor propeptide. When both the KEX2 and YPS1 genes were disrupted, correct precursor maturation no longer occurred. The different substrate specificities of both proteases and their mutual redundancy for propeptide processing indicate that P. pastoris kex2 and yps1 single-gene disruptants can be used for the α-factor leader-directed secretion of heterologous proteins otherwise degraded at basic residues.

Halohydrin dehalogenase (HheC) from Agrobacterium radiobacter AD1 catalyzes the dehalogenation of vicinal haloalcohols by an intramolecular substitution reaction, resulting in the formation of the corresponding epoxide, a halide ion, and a proton. Halide release is rate-limiting during the catalytic cycle of the conversion of (R)-p-nitro-2-bromo-1-phenylethanol by the enzyme. The recent elucidation of the X-ray structure of HheC showed that hydrogen bonds between the OH group of Tyr187 and between the Odelta1 atom of Asn176 and Nepsilon1 atom of Trp249 could play a role in stabilizing the conformation of the halide-binding site. The possibility that these hydrogen bonds are important for halide binding and release was studied using site-directed mutagenesis. Steady-state kinetic studies revealed that mutant Y187F, which has lost both hydrogen bonds, has a higher catalytic activity (k(cat)) with two of the three tested substrates compared to the wild-type enzyme. Mutant W249F also shows an enhanced k(cat) value with these two substrates, as well as a remarkable increase in enantiopreference for (R)-p-nitro-2-bromo-1-phenylethanol. In case of a mutation at position 176 (N176A and N176D), a 1000-fold lower catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)) was obtained, which is mainly due to an increase of the K(m) value of the enzyme. Pre-steady-state kinetic studies showed that a burst of product formation precedes the steady state, indicating that halide release is still rate-limiting for mutants Y187F and W249F. Stopped-flow fluorescence experiments revealed that the rate of halide release is 5.6-fold higher for the Y187F mutant than for the wild-type enzyme and even higher for the W249F enzyme. Taken together, these results show that the disruption of two hydrogen bonds around the halide-binding site increases the rate of halide release and can enhance the overall catalytic activity of HheC.

The ene reaction of sulfur dioxide with enoxysilanes or with allylsilanes generates silyl sulfinates that can be brominated (Br(2) or NBS) or chlorinated (NCS or Cl(2)) to produce the corresponding sulfonyl halides. They react with primary and secondary amines or alcohols to give the corresponding sulfonamides and sulfonic esters, respectively. The hetero-Diels-Alder addition of sulfur dioxide to 1-oxy- or 1,3-dioxy-1,3-dienes generates zwitterions that add to enoxysilanes or allylsilanes giving silyl sulfinates that can be converted in situ into polyfunctional sulfonamides or sulfonic esters. This realizes quick access to libraries of complicated sulfonamides and sulfonic esters applying one-pot, three- and four-component methods.

The copper-containing nitrite reductase from Alcaligenes faecalis S-6 was found to catalyze the oxidation of nitric oxide to nitrite, the reverse of its physiological reaction. Thermodynamic and kinetic constants with the physiological electron donor pseudoazurin were determined for both directions of the catalyzed reaction in the pH range of 6-8. For this, nitric oxide was monitored by a Clark-type electrode, and the redox state of pseudoazurin was measured by optical spectroscopy. The equilibrium constant (K-eq) depends on the reduction potentials of pseudoazurin and nitrite/nitric oxide, both of which vary with pH. Above pH 6.2 the formation of NiR substrates (nitrite and reduced pseudoazurin) is favored over the products (NO and oxidized pseudoazurin). At pH 8 the K-eq amounts to 103. The results show that dissimilatory nitrite reductases catalyze an unfavorable reaction at physiological pH (pH = 7-8). Consequently, nitrous oxide production by copper-containing nitrite reductases is unlikely to occur in vivo with a native electron donor. With increasing pH, the rate and specificity constant of the forward reaction decrease and become lower than the rate of the reverse reaction. The opposite occurs for the rate of the reverse reaction; thus the catalytic bias for nitrite reduction decreases. At pH 6.0 the kat for nitrite reduction was determined to be 1.5 x 10(3) s(-1), and at pH 8 the rate of the reverse reaction is 125 s(-1).

The influence of peptide-protein interactions on the electrochemistry of copper-containing pseudoazurin from Alcaligenes faecalis strain S-6 has been investigated by covalently binding cysteine-containing hexapeptides to a gold electrode surface. The hexapeptides contain three cysteines in the same positions with the remaining amino acids varied to give mixed charge (lysine, threonine, alanine), positive (lysine), overall neutral (alanine), and negative (glutamate) chemically modified electrode surfaces. These systematic variations in the amino acid sequence lead to large variations in voltammetric behavior for the Cu(II) --> Cu(I) heterogeneous pseudoazurin redox process encompassing fully reversible and diffusional, transitionally adsorbed, or strongly adsorbed forms of voltammetry. The variations in voltammetric behavior may be related to electrostatic interactions between the charges from the hexapeptide electrode modifiers and surface charges of pseudoazurin. A possible description of the pseudoazurin-electrode surface interaction is given.

Atomistic QM/MM simulations have been carried out on the complete photocycle of Photoactive Yellow Protein, a bacterial photoreceptor, in which blue light triggers isomerization of a covalently bound chromophore. The "chemical role" of the protein cavity in the control of the photoisomerization step has been elucidated. Isomerization is facilitated due to preferential electrostatic stabilization of the chromophore's excited state by the guanidium group of Arg52, located just above the negatively charged chromophore ring. In vacuo isomerization does not occur. Isomerization of the double bond is enhanced relative to isomerization of a single bond due to the steric interactions between the phenyl ring of the chromophore and the side chains of Arg52 and Phe62. In the isomerized configuration (ground-state cis), a proton transfer from Glu46 to the chromophore is far more probable than in the initial configuration (ground-state trans). It is this proton transfer that initiates the conformational changes within the protein, which are believed to lead to signaling.

Merohedral twinning is a crystal-growth disorder that seriously hinders the determination of macromolecular crystal structures by isomorphous replacement. The strategies used in the structures solved so far are discussed. Several methods can be used to determine the extent of twinning, the twin fraction and to detwin the data. Accurate determination of the twin fraction by analysing heavy-atom refinement statistics is possible, but only influences the resulting phases slightly. It seems more crucial to restrict the variation in twin fractions between data sets, either by making the twin fractions of some data sets artificially higher or by screening crystals to obtain data with a low twin fraction.

The ABC-ATPase GlcV from Sulfolobus solfataricus energizes an ABC transporter mediating glucose uptake. In ABC transporters, two ABC-ATPases are believed to form a head-to-tail dimer, with both monomers contributing conserved residues to each of the two productive active sites. In contrast, isolated GicV, although active, behaves apparently as a monomer in the presence of ATP-Mg2+, AMPPNP-Mg2+ or ATP alone. To resolve the oligomeric state of the active form of GlcV, we analysed the effects of changing the putative catalytic base, residue E166, into glutamine or alanine. Both mutants are, to different extents, defective in ATP hydrolysis, and gel-filtration experiments revealed their dimerization in the presence of ATP-Mg2+. Mutant E166Q forms dimers also in the presence of ATP alone, without Mg2+, whereas dimerization of mutant E166A requires both ATP and Mg2+. These results confirm earlier reports for other ABC-ATPases, but for the first time suggest the occurrence of a fast equilibrium between ATP-bound monomers and ATP-bound dimers. We further mutated two highly conserved residues of the ABC signature motif, S142 and 6144, into alanine. The G144A mutant is completely inactive and fails to dimerize, indicating an essential role of this residue in stabilizing the productive dimeric state. Mutant S142A retained considerable activity, and was able to dimerize, thus implying that the interaction of the serine with ATP is not essential for dimerization and catalysis. Furthermore, although the E166A and G144A mutants each alone are inactive, they produce an active heterodimer, showing that disruption of one active site can be tolerated. Our data suggest that ABC-ATPases with partially degenerated catalytic machineries, as they occur in vivo, can still form productive dimers to drive transport. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Penicillin acylase catalyses the hydrolysis and synthesis of semisynthetic beta-lactam antibiotics via formation of a covalent acyl-enzyme intermediate. The kinetic and mechanistic aspects of these reactions were studied. Stopped-flow experiments with the penicillin and ampicillin analogues 2-nitro-5-phenylacetoxy-benzoic acid (NIPAOB) and D-2-nitro-5-[(phenylglycyl)amino]-benzoic acid (NIPGB) showed that the rate-limiting step in the conversion of penicillin G and ampicillin is the formation of the acylenzyme. The phenylacetyl- and phenylglycyl-enzymes are hydrolysed with rate constants of at least 1000 s(-1) and 75 s(-1), respectively. A normal solvent deuterium kinetic isotope effect (KIE) of 2 on the hydrolysis of 2-nitro-5[(phenylacetyl) amino]-benzoic acid (NIPAB), NIPGB and NIPAOB indicated that the formation of the acyl-enzyme proceeds via a general acid-base mechanism. In agreement with such a mechanism, the proton inventory of the k(cat) for NIPAB showed that one proton, with a fractionation factor of 0.5, is transferred in the transition state of the rate-limiting step. The overall KIE of 2 for the k(cat) of NIPAOB resulted from an inverse isotope effect at low concentrations of D2O, which is overridden by a large normal isotope effect at large molar fractions of D2O. Rate measurements in the presence of glycerol indicated that the inverse isotope effect originated from the higher viscosity of D2O compared to H2O. Deacylation of the acyl-enzyme was studied by nucleophile competition and inhibition experiments. The beta-lactam compound 7-aminodesacetoxycephalosporanic acid (7-ADCA) was a better nucleophile than 6-aminopenicillanic acid, caused by a higher affinity of the enzyme for 7-ADCA and complete suppression of hydrolysis of the acyl-enzyme upon binding of 7-ADCA. By combining the results of the steady-state, presteady state and nucleophile binding experiments, values for the relevant kinetic constants for the synthesis and hydrolysis of beta-lactam antibiotics were obtained.

Epoxides are attractive intermediates for producing chiral compounds. Important biocatalytic reactions involving epoxides include epoxide hydrolase mediated kinetic resolution, leading to the formation of diols and enantiopure remaining substrates, and enantioconvergent enzymatic hydrolysis, which gives high yields of a single enantiomer from racemic mixtures. Epoxides can also be converted by non-hydrolytic enantioselective ring opening, using alternative anionic nucleophiles; these reactions can be catalysed by haloalcohol dehalogenases. The differences in scope of these enzymatic conversions is related to their different catalytic mechanisms, which involve, respectively, covalent catalysis with an aspartate carboxylate as the nucleophile and non-covalent catalysis with a tyrosine that acts as a general acid-base. The emerging new possibilities for enantioselective biocatalytic conversion of epoxides suggests that their importance in green chemistry will grow.

The ABC-ATPase GlcV energizes a binding protein-dependent ABC transporter that mediates glucose uptake in Sulfolobus solfataricus. Here, we report high-resolution crystal structures of GlcV in different states along its catalytic cycle: distinct monomeric nucleotide-free states and monomeric complexes with ADP-Mg2+ as a product-bound state, and with AMPPNP-Mg2+ as an ATP-like bound state. The structure of GlcV consists of a typical ABC-ATPase domain, comprising two subdomains, connected by a linker region to a C-terminal domain of unknown function. Comparisons of the nucleotide-free and nucleotide-bound structures of GlcV reveal re-orientations of the ABCalpha subdomain and the C-terminal domain relative to the ABCalpha/beta subdomain, and switch-like rearrangements in the P-loop and Q-loop regions. Additionally, large conformational differences are observed between the GlcV structures and those of other ABC-ATPases, further emphasizing the inherent flexibility of these proteins. Notably, a comparison of the monomeric AMPPNP-Mg2+-bound GlcV structure with that of the,dimeric ATP-Na+-bound LoID-EI71Q mutant reveals a +/-20degrees rigid body re-orientation of theABCalpha subdomain relative to the ABCalpha/beta subdomain, accompanied by a local conformational difference in the Q-loop. We propose that these differences represent conformational changes that may have a role in the mechanism of energy-transduction and/or allosteric control of the ABC-ATPase activity in bacterial importers. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oxidation of flavonoids with a catechol structural motif in their B ring leads to formation of flavonoid quinone/quinone methides, which rapidly react with GSH to give reversible glutathionyl flavonoid adducts. Results of the present study demonstrate that as a thiol-scavenging agent for this reaction Cys is preferred over GSH and N-acetyleysteine. The preferential scavenging by Cys over GSH reported in the present study appeared not to provide a basis for detection of thiol-based flavonoid conjugates in biological systems. This is because physiological concentrations of GSH are substantially higher than those of Cys, which was shown to shift the balance of thiol conjugate formation in favor of glutathionyl adduct formation. Furthermore, the cysteinyl quercetin adducts, although not showing the reversible nature of the glutathionyl conjugates, appeared nevertheless to be unstable. Thus, as a biomarker for formation of reactive quercetin quinone/quinone methides in biological systems, detection of the glutathionyl conjugates or the N-acetyleysteinyl conjugates derived from them should still be the method of choice. At GSH levels that dominate the level of other cellular thiol groups, covalent addition of the quinone to other cellular thiol groups may be efficiently prevented. However, various tissues are known to contain higher levels of protein-bound sulfhydryl moieties than of nonprotein sulfhydryl groups, the latter consisting of especially GSH. Thus, the results of the present study indicate that in biological systems covalent addition of quercetin quinone methide to tissue protein sulfhydryl groups can be expected. The transient nature of these adducts, as shown for all three types of thiol quercetin adducts in the present study, will, however, also result in a transient nature of the protein-bound quercetin adducts to be expected. Because stability of the various thiol quercetin adducts appeared a matter of minutes to hours instead of days, this rapid transient nature of possible quercetin quinone methide adducts may also restrict the ultimate toxicity to be expected from the quercetin quinone/quinone methides.

In the present study, the inhibition of human glutathione S-transferase P1-1 (GSTP1-1) by the flavonoid quercetin has been investigated. The results show a time- and concentration-dependent inhibition of GSTP1-1 by quercetin. GSTP1-1 activity is completely inhibited upon I h incubation with 100 muM quercetin or 2 h incubation with 25 muM quercetin, whereas 1 and 10 muM quercetin inhibit GSTP1-1 activity to a significant extent reaching a maximum of 25 and 42% inhibition respectively after 2 h. Co-incubation with tyrosinase greatly enhances the rate of inactivation, whereas co-incubation with ascorbic acid or glutathione prevents this inhibition. Addition of glutathione upon complete inactivation of GSTP1-1 partially restores the activity. Inhibition studies with the GSTP1-1 mutants C47S, C101S and the double mutant C47S/C101S showed that cysteine 47 is the key residue in the interaction between quercetin and GSTP1-1. HPLC and LGMS analysis of trypsin digested GSTP1-1 inhibited by quercetin did not show formation of a covalent bond between Cys 47 residue of the peptide fragment 45-54 and quercetin. It was demonstrated that the inability to detect the covalent quercetin-peptide adduct using LGMS is due to the reversible nature of the adduct-formation in combination with rapid and preferential dimerization of the peptide fragment once liberated from the protein. Nevertheless, the results of the present study indicate that quinone-type oxidation products of quercetin likely act as specific active site inhibitors of GSTP1-1 by binding to cysteine 47. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The reaction of [Fe2(CO)6(μ-toluene-3, 4-benzenedithiolate)] 1 and bidentate diphosphine, 1, 1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene (dppf) has been studied. New complexes obtained have been characterized by various spectroscopic techniques as bioinspired models of the iron hydrogenase active site. The crystal structure of [Fe2(CO)5(κ 1-dppfO)(μ-toluene-3, 4-benzenedithiolate)] 4 is reported.

Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus are important causative agents of hospital-acquired infections and bacteremia, likely due to their ability to form biofilms. The production of a dense exopolysaccharide (EPS) matrix enclosing the cells slows the penetration of antibiotic down, resulting in therapy failure. The EPS depolymerase (Dpo7) derived from bacteriophage vB_SepiS-phiIPLA7, was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and characterized. A dose dependent but time independent response was observed after treatment of staphylococcal 24 h-biofilms with Dpo7. Maximum removal (>90%) of biofilm-attached cells was obtained with 0.15 μM of Dpo7 in all polysaccharide producer strains but Dpo7 failed to eliminate polysaccharide-independent biofilm formed by S. aureus V329. Moreover, the pre-treatment of polystyrene surfaces with Dpo7 reduced the biofilm biomass by 53-85% in the 67% of the tested strains. This study supports the use of phage-encoded EPS depolymerases to prevent and disperse staphylococcal biofilms, thereby making bacteria more susceptible to the action of antimicrobials., This research study was supported by grants AGL2012-40194-C02-01 (Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain), GRUPIN14-139 (Program of Science, Technology and Innovation 2013–2017 and FEDER EU funds, Principado de Asturias, Spain) and bacteriophage network FAGOMA. DG is a fellow of the Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain. PG, BM, RL, and AR are members of the FWO Vlaanderen funded “Phagebiotics” research community (WO.016.14).

The enzyme human aromatase (HA) catalyzes the conversion of androgens to estrogens via two hydroxylation reactions and a final unique aromatization step. Despite the great interest of HA as a drug target against breast cancer detailed structural and spectroscopic information on this enzyme became available only in the past few years. As such, the enigmatic mechanism of the final aromatization step is still a matter of debate. Here, we investigated the final step of the HA enzymatic cycle via hybrid quantum-classical (QM/MM) metadynamics and blue-moon ensemble simulations. Our results show that the rate-determining step of the aromatization process is the nucleophilic attack of the distal oxygen of a peroxo-ferric species on the formyl carbon of the enol-19-oxo-androstenedione, which occurs with a free energy barrier (Delta F-#) of similar to 16.7 +/- 1.9 kcal/mol, in good agreement with experimental data. This reaction is followed by a water mediated 1 beta-hydrogen abstraction (Delta F-# = 7.9 +/- 0.8 kcal/mol) and by the formation of a hydroxo-ferric moiety. This latter may be finally protonated by a hydrogen delivery channel involving Asp309 and Thr310, both residues pointed out as crucial for HA activity. In the absence of the catalytic water in the active site the substrate does not assume a position suitable to undergo the nucleophilic attack. Our data not only reveal a novel possible mechanism for the aromatization process consistent with some of the spectroscopic and kinetic data available in the literature, complementing current knowledge on the mechanism of this enzyme, but also point out a remarkable influence of the level of theory used on the calculated free energy barriers. The structural information obtained in this study may be used for the rational structure-based drug design of HA inhibitors to be employed in breast cancer therapy.

Molecular tunnels in enzyme systems possess variable architecture and are therefore difficult to predict. In this work, we design and apply an algorithm to resolve the pathway followed by ammonia using the bifunctional enzyme formylglycinamide ribonucleotide amidotransferase (FGAR-AT) as a model system. Though its crystal structure has been determined, an ammonia pathway connecting the glutaminase domain to the 30 angstrom distal FGAR/ATP binding site remains elusive. Crystallography suggested two purported paths: an N-terminal-adjacent path (path 1) and an auxiliary ADP-adjacent path (path 2). The algorithm presented here, RismPath, which enables fast and accurate determination of solvent distribution inside a protein channel, predicted path 2 as the preferred mode of ammonia transfer. Supporting experimental studies validate the identity of the path, and results lead to the conclusion that the residues in the middle of the channel do not partake in catalytic coupling and serve only as channel walls facilitating ammonia transfer.

Quinoprotein alcohol dehydrogenases are redox enzymes that participate in distinctive catabolic pathways that enable bacteria to grow on various alcohols as the sole source of carbon and energy. The x-ray structure of the quinohemoprotein alcohol dehydrogenase from Comamonas testosteroni has been determined at 1.44 Angstrom resolution. It comprises two domains. The N-terminal domain has a beta-propeller fold and binds one pyrrolo-quinoliue quinone cofactor and one calcium ion in the active site. A tetrahydrofuran-2-carboxylic acid molecule is present in the substrate-binding cleft. The position of this oxidation product provides valuable information on the amino acid residues involved in the reaction mechanism and their function. The C-terminal domain is an a-helical type I cytochrome c with His(608) and Met(647) as heme-iron ligands. This is the first reported structure of an electron transfer system between a quinoprotein alcohol dehydrogenase and cytochrome c. The shortest distance between pyrroloquinoline quinone and heme c is 12.9 Angstrom, one of the longest physiological edge-to-edge distances yet determined between two redox centers. A highly unusual disulfide bond between two adjacent cysteines bridges the redox centers. It appears essential for electron transfer. A water channel delineates a possible pathway for proton transfer from the active site to the solvent.

The unique architecture of the active site of Thermobifida fusca truncated hemoglobin (Tf-trHb) and other globins belonging to the same family has stimulated extensive studies aimed at understanding the interplay between iron-bound ligands and distal amino acids. The behavior of the heme-bound hydroxyl, in particular, has generated much interest in view of the relationships between the spin-state equilibrium of the ferric iron atom and hydrogen-bonding capabilities (as either acceptor or donor) of the OH− group itself. The present investigation offers a detailed molecular dynamics and spectroscopic picture of the hydroxyl complexes of the WT protein and a combinatorial set of mutants, in which the distal polar residues, TrpG8, TyrCD1, and TyrB10, have been singly, doubly, or triply replaced by a Phe residue. Each mutant is characterized by a complex interplay of interactions in which the hydroxyl ligand may act both as a H-bond donor or acceptor. The resonance Raman stretching frequencies of the Fe−OH moiety, together with electron paramagnetic resonance spectra and MD simulations on each mutant, have enabled the identification of specific contributions to the unique ligand-inclusive H-bond network typical of this globin family. Fil: Nicoletti, Francesco P.. Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze; Italia Fil: Bustamante, Juan Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina Fil: Droghetti, Enrica. Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze; Italia Fil: Howes, Barry D.. Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze; Italia Fil: Fittipaldi, Maria. Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze; Italia Fil: Bonamore, Alessandra. Universita Di Roma; Italia Fil: Baiocco, Paola. Italian Institute of Technology; Italia Fil: Feis, Alessandro. Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze; Italia Fil: Boffi, Alberto. Universita Di Roma; Italia Fil: Estrin, Dario Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina Fil: Smulevich, Giulietta. Universita Degli Studi Di Firenze; Italia

Most bacterial membranes contain one or two type I signal peptidases (SPases) for the removal of signal peptides from export proteins. For Streptomyces lividans, four different type I SPases (denoted SipW, SipX, SipY, and SipZ) were previously described. In this communication, we report the experimental determination of the membrane topology of these SPases. A protease protection assay of SPase tendamistat fusions confirmed the presence of the N- as well as the C-terminal transmembrane anchor for SipY. SipX and SipZ have a predicted topology similar to that of SipY. These three S. lividans SPases are currently the only known prokaryotic-type type I SPases of gram-positive bacteria with a C-terminal transmembrane anchor, thereby establishing a new subclass of type I SPases. In contrast, S. lividans SipW contains only the N-terminal transmembrane segment, similar to most type I SPases of gram-positive bacteria. Functional analysis showed that the C-terminal transmembrane anchor of SipY is important to enhance the processing activity, both in vitro as well as in vivo. Moreover, for the S. lividans SPases, a relation seems to exist between the presence or absence of the C-terminal anchor and the relative contributions to the total SPase processing activity in the cell. SipY and SipZ, two SPases with a C-terminal anchor, were shown to be of major importance to the cell. Accordingly, for SipW, missing the C-terminal anchor, a minor role in preprotein processing was found.

The processing of secretory preproteins by signal peptidases (SPases) is essential for cell viability. As previously shown for Bacillus subtilis, only certain SPases of organisms containing multiple paralogous SPases are essential. This allows a distinction between SPases that are of major and minor importance for cell viability. Notably, the functional difference between major and minor SPases is not reflected clearly in sequence alignments. Here, we have successfully used molecular phylogeny to predict major and minor SPases, The results were verified with SPases from various bacilli, As predicted, the latter enzymes behaved as major or minor SPases when expressed in B. subtilis. Strikingly, molecular modeling indicated that the active site geometry is not a critical parameter for the classification of major and minor Bacillus SPases, Even though the substrate binding site of the minor SPase SipV is smaller than that of other known SPases, SipV could be converted into a major SPase without changing this site. Instead, replacement of amino-terminal residues of SipV with corresponding residues of the major SPase SipS was sufficient for conversion of SipV into a major SPase, This suggests that differences between major and minor SPases are based on activities other than substrate cleavage site selection.

Vanillyl-alcohol oxidase (VAO) is member of a newly recognized flavoprotein family of structurally related oxidoreductases. The enzyme contains a covalently linked FAD cofactor. To study the mechanism of flavinylation we have created a design point mutation (His-61 --> Thr). In the mutant enzyme the covalent His-C8 alpha -flavin linkage is not formed, while the enzyme is still able to bind FAD and perform catalysis. The H61T mutant displays a similar affinity for FAD and ADP (K-d = 1.8 and 2.1 muM, respectively) but does not interact with FMN. H61T is about 10-fold less active with 4-(methoxymethyl)phenol) (k(cat) = 0.24 s(-1), K-m = 40 muM) than the wild-type enzyme. The crystal structures of both the hole and apo form of H61T are highly similar to the structure of wild-type VAO, indicating that binding of FAD to the apoprotein does not require major structural rearrangements. These results show that covalent flavinylation is an autocatalytical process in which His-BI plays a crucial role by activating His-422. Furthermore, our studies clearly demonstrate that in VAO, the FAD binds via a typical lock-and-key approach to a preorganized binding site.

A lipase from Pseudomonas sp. MIS38 (PML) is a member of the lipase family I.3. We analyzed the roles of the five histidine residues (His(30), His(274), His(291), His(313), and His(365)) and five acidic amino acid residues (Glu(253), Asp(255), Asp(262), Asp(275), and Asp(290)), which are fully conserved in the amino acid sequences of family I.3 lipases, by site-directed mutagenesis. We showed that the mutation of His(313) or Asp(255) to Ala almost fully inactivated the enzyme, whereas the mutations of other residues to Ala did not seriously affect the enzymatic activity. Measurement of the far- and near-UV circular dichroism spectra suggests that inactivation by the mutation of His(313) or Asp(255) is not due to marked changes in the tertiary structure. We propose that His(313) and Asp(255), together with Ser(207), form a catalytic triad in PML.

The members of the M4 peptidase family are involved in processes as diverse as pathogenicity and industrial applications. For the first time a number of M4 family members, also known as thermolysin-like proteases, has been characterized with an identical substrate set and a uniform set of assay conditions. Characterization with peptide substrates as well as high performance liquid chromatography analysis of p-casein digests shows that the M4 family is a homogeneous family in terms of catalysis, even though there is a significant degree of amino acid sequence variation. The results of this study show that differences in substrate specificity within the M4 family do not correlate with overall sequence differences but depend on a small number of identifiable amino acids. Indeed, molecular modeling followed by site-directed mutagenesis of one of the substrate binding pocket residues of the thermolysin-like proteases of Bacillus stearothermophilus converted the catalytic characteristics of this variant into that of thermolysin.

The functional and three-dimensional structural features of Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase coded by the Salmonella typhimurium sodCI gene, have been characterized. Measurements of the catalytic rate indicate that this enzyme is the most efficient superoxide dismutase analyzed so far, a feature that may be related to the exclusive association of the sodCI gene with the most pathogenic Salmonella serotypes. The enzyme active-site copper ion is highly accessible to external probes, as indicated by quenching of the water proton relaxation rate upon addition of iodide. The shape of the electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum is dependent on the frozen or liquid state of the enzyme solution, suggesting relative flexibility of the copper ion environment. The crystal structure (R-factor 22.6%, at 2.3 Angstrom resolution) indicates that the dimeric enzyme adopts the quaternary assembly typical of prokaryotic Cu,Zn superoxide dismutases. However, when compared to the structures of the homologous enzymes from Photobacterium leiognathi and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the subunit interface of Salmonella Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase shows substitution of 11 out of 19 interface residues. As a consequence, the network of structural water molecules that fill the dimer interface cavity is structured differently from the other dimeric bacterial enzymes. The crystallographic and functional characterization of this Salmonella Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase indicates that structural variability and catalytic efficiency are higher in prokaryotic than in the eukaryotic homologous enzymes. (C) 2000 Academic Press.

Escherichia coli outer membrane phospholipase A (OMPLA) is an integral membrane enzyme. OMPLA is active as a homodimer and requires calcium as a cofactor. The crystal structures of the monomeric and the inhibited dimeric enzymes were recently determined [Snijder, H. J., et al. (1999) Nature 401, 717-721] and revealed that OMPLA monomers are folded into a 12-stranded antiparallel beta-barrel. The active site consists of previously identified essential residues Ser144 and His142 in an arrangement resembling the corresponding residues of serine hydrolase catalytic triad. However, instead of an Asp or Glu that normally is present in the triad of serine hydrolases, a neutral asparagine (Asn156) was found in OMPLA. In this paper, the importance of the catalytic Asn156 is addressed by site-directed mutagenesis studies. All variants were purified at a 30 mg scale, and were shown to be properly folded using SDS-PAGE and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Using chemical cross-linking, it was shown that all variants were not affected in their calcium-dependent dimerization properties. The Asn156Asp variant exhibited a 2-fold lower activity than wild-type OMPLA at neutral pH. Interestingly, the activity of the variant is 1 order of magnitude higher than that of the wild type at pH >10. Modest residual activities (5 and 2.5%, respectively) were obtained for the Asn156Ala and Asn156Gln mutants, showing that the active site of OMPLA is more tolerant toward replacements of this third residue of the catalytic triad than other serine hydrolases, and that the serine and histidine residues are minimally required for catalysis. In the X-ray structure of dimeric OMPLA, the cofactor calcium is coordinating the putative oxyanion via two water molecules. We propose that this may lessen the importance for the asparagine in the catalytic triad of OMPLA.

On the basis of crystal structures of the pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) dependent enzymes methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) and soluble glucose dehydrogenase (s-GDH), different catalytic mechanisms have been proposed. However, several lines of biochemical and kinetic evidence are strikingly similar for both enzymes. To resolve this discrepancy, we have compared the structures of these enzymes in complex with their natural substrates in an attempt to bring them in line with a single reaction mechanism, In both proteins, PQQ is located in the center of the molecule near the axis of pseudo-symmetry. In spire of the absence of significant sequence homology, the overall binding of PQQ in the respective active sites is similar. Hydrogen bonding interactions are made with polar protein side chains in the plane of the cofactor, whereas hydrophobic stacking interactions are important below and above PQQ One Arg side chain and one calcium ion an ligated to the ortho-quinone group of PQQ in an identical fashion in either active site, in agreement with their proposed catalytic function of polarizing the PQQ C5-O5 bond. The substrates are bound in a similar position above PQQ and within hydrogen bond distance of the putative general bases Asp297 (MDH) and His 144 (s-GDH). On the basis of these similarities, we propose that MDH and s-GDH react with their substrates through an identical mechanism, comprising general base-catalyzed hydride transfer from the substrate to PQQ and subsequent tautomerization of the PQQ intermediate to reduced PQQ.

The genes involved in isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) utilization in Rhodococcus sp. strain AD45 were cloned and characterized. Sequence analysis of an 8.5-kb DNA fragment showed the presence of 10 genes of which 2 encoded enzymes which were previously found to be involved in isoprene degradation: a glutathione S -transferase with activity towards 1,2-epoxy-2-methyl-3-butene ( isoI ) and a 1-hydroxy-2-glutathionyl-2-methyl-3-butene dehydrogenase ( isoH ). Furthermore, a gene encoding a second glutathione S -transferase was identified ( isoJ ). The isoJ gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and was found to have activity with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and 3,4-dichloro-1-nitrobenzene but not with 1,2-epoxy-2-methyl-3-butene. Downstream of isoJ , six genes ( isoABCDEF ) were found; these genes encoded a putative alkene monooxygenase that showed high similarity to components of the alkene monooxygenase from Xanthobacter sp. strain Py2 and other multicomponent monooxygenases. The deduced amino acid sequence encoded by an additional gene ( isoG ) showed significant similarity with that of α-methylacyl-coenzyme A racemase. The results are in agreement with a catabolic route for isoprene involving epoxidation by a monooxygenase, conjugation to glutathione, and oxidation of the hydroxyl group to a carboxylate. Metabolism may proceed by fatty acid oxidation after removal of glutathione by a still-unknown mechanism.

Many biochemical processes exploit the extraordinary versatility of flavoenzymes and their flavin cofactors. Flavoproteins are now known to have a variety of folding topologies but a careful examination of their structures suggests that there are recurrent features in their catalytic apparatus. The flavoenzymes that catalyse dehydrogenation reactions share a few invariant features in the hydrogen-bond interactions between their protein and flavin constituents. Similarly, the positioning of the reactive part of the substrate with respect to the cofactor is generally conserved. Modulation of substrate and cofactor reactivity and exact positioning of the substrate are key elements in the mode of action of these enzymes.

Many biochemical processes exploit the extraordinary versatility of flavoenzymes and their flavin cofactors, Flavoproteins are now known to have a variety of folding topologies but a careful examination of their structures suggests that there are recurrent features in their catalytic apparatus. The flavoenzymes that catalyse dehydrogenation reactions share a few invariant features in the hydrogen-bond interactions between their protein and flavin constituents. Similarly, the positioning of the reactive part of the substrate with respect to the cofactor is generally conserved. Modulation of substrate and cofactor reactivity and exact positioning of the substrate are key elements in the mode of action of these enzymes.

We demonstrate that myeloperoxidase (MPO) and Coprinus cinereus peroxidase (CiP) catalyze the enantioselective epoxidation of styrene and a number of substituted derivatives with a reasonable enantiomeric excess (up to 80%) and in a moderate yield. Three major differences with respect to the chloroperoxidase from Caldariomyces fumago (CPO) are observed in the reactivity of MPO and CiP toward styrene derivatives. First, in contrast to CPO, MPO and CiP produced the (S)-isomers of the epoxides in enantiomeric excess. Second, for MPO and CiP the H2O2 had to be added very slowly (10 eq in 16 h) to prevent accumulation of catalytically inactive enzyme intermediates. Under these conditions, CPO hardly showed any epoxidizing activity; only with a high influx of H2O2 (300 eq in 1.6 h) was epoxidation observed. Third, both MPO and CiP formed significant amounts of (substituted) benzaldehydes as side products as a consequence of C-alpha-C-beta bond cleavage of the styrene derivatives, whereas for CPO and cytochrome c peroxidase this activity is not observed. C-alpha-C-beta cleavage was the most prominent reaction catalyzed by CiP, whereas with MPO the relative amount of epoxide formed was higher. This is the first report of peroxidases catalyzing both epoxidation reactions and carbon-carbon bond cleavage. The results are discussed in terms of mechanisms involving ferryl oxygen transfer and electron transfer, respectively.

The L-2-haloacid dehalogenase from the 1,2-dichloroethane-degrading bacterium Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 catalyzes the hydrolytic dehalogenation of small L-2-haloalkanoates to their corresponding D-2-hydroxyalkanoates, with inversion of the configuration at the C(2) atom. The structure of the apoenzyme at pH 8 was refined at 1.5-A resolution. By lowering the pH, the catalytic activity of the enzyme was considerably reduced, allowing the crystal structure determination of the complexes with L-2-monochloropropionate and monochloroacetate at 1.7 and 2.1 A resolution, respectively. Both complexes showed unambiguous electron density extending from the nucleophile Asp(8) to the C(2) atom of the dechlorinated substrates corresponding to a covalent enzyme-ester reaction intermediate. The halide ion that is cleaved off is found in line with the Asp(8) Odelta1-C(2) bond in a halide-stabilizing cradle made up of Arg(39), Asn(115), and Phe(175). In both complexes, the Asp(8) Odelta2 carbonyl oxygen atom interacts with Thr(12), Ser(171), and Asn(173), which possibly constitute the oxyanion hole in the hydrolysis of the ester bond. The carboxyl moiety of the substrate is held in position by interactions with Ser(114), Lys(147), and main chain NH groups. The L-2-monochloropropionate CH(3) group is located in a small pocket formed by side chain atoms of Lys(147), Asn(173), Phe(175), and Asp(176). The size and position of the pocket explain the stereospecificity and the limited substrate specificity of the enzyme. These crystallographic results demonstrate that the reaction of the enzyme proceeds via the formation of a covalent enzyme-ester intermediate at the nucleophile Asp(8).

Soluble glucose dehydrogenase (s-GDH; EC 1.1.99.17) is a classical quinoprotein which requires the cofactor pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) to oxidize glucose to gluconolactone. The reaction mechanism of PQQ-dependent enzymes has remained controversial due to the absence of comprehensive structural data. We have determined the X-ray structure of s-GDH with the cofactor at 2.2 Angstrom resolution, and of a complex with reduced PQQ and glucose at 1.9 Angstrom resolution. These structures reveal the active site of s-GDH, and show for the first time how a functionally bound substrate interacts with the cofactor in a PQQ-dependent enzyme. Twenty years after the discovery of PQQ, our results finally provide conclusive evidence for a reaction mechanism comprising general base-catalyzed hydride transfer, rather than the generally accepted covalent addition-elimination mechanism. Thus, PQQ-dependent enzymes use a mechanism similar to that of nicotinamide- and flavin-dependent oxidoreductases.

Haloalkane dehalogenase (DhlA) converts haloalkanes to their corresponding alcohols and halide ions. The rate-limiting step in the reaction of DhlA is the release of the halide ion. The kinetics of halide release have been analyzed by measuring halide binding with stopped-flow fluorescence experiments. At high halide concentrations, halide import occurs predominantly via the rapid formation of a weak initial collision complex, followed by transport of the ion to the active site. To obtain more insight in this collision complex, we determined the X-ray structure of DhlA in the presence of bromide and investigated the kinetics of mutants that were constructed on the basis of this structure. The X-ray structure revealed one bromide ion firmly bound in the active site and two bromide ions weakly bound on the surface of the enzyme. One of the weakly bound ions is close to Thr197 and Phe294, near the entrance of the earlier proposed tunnel for substrate import. Kinetic analysis of bromide import by the Thr197Ala and Phe294Ala mutants of DhlA at high halide concentration showed that the rate constants for halide binding no longer displayed a wild-type-like parabolic increase with increasing bromide concentrations. This is in agreement with an elimination or a decrease in affinity of the surface-located halide-binding site. Likewise, chloride binding kinetics of the mutants indicated significant differences with wild-type enzyme. The results indicate that Thr197 and Phe294 are involved in the formation of an initial collision complex for halide import in DhlA and provide experimental evidence for the role of the tunnel in substrate and product transport.

Crystals of the 35 kDa protein haloalkane dehalogenase from Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 diffract to 1.15 Å resolution at cryogenic temperature using synchrotron radiation. Blocked anisotropic least-squares refinement with SHELXL gave a final conventional R factor of 10.51% for all reflections in the 15–1.15 Å resolution range. The estimated r.m.s. errors of the model are 0.026 and 0.038 Å for protein atoms and all atoms, respectively. The structure comprises all 310 amino acids, with 28 side chains and two peptide bonds in multiple conformations, two covalently linked Pb atoms, 601 water molecules, seven glycerol molecules, one sulfate ion and two chloride ions. Water molecules accounting for alternative solvent structure are modelled with a fixed occupancy of 0.5. The structure is described in detail and compared with previously reported dehalogenase structures refined at 1.9–2.3 Å resolution. An analysis of the protein's geometry and stereochemistry reveals eight mean values of bond lengths and angles which deviate significantly from the Engh & Huber parameters, a wide spread in the main-chain ω torsion angle around its ideal value of 180 (6)° and a role for C—H\cdotsO interactions in satisfying the hydrogen-bond acceptor capacity of main-chain carbonyl O atoms in the central β-sheet.

The structures of the mono-, bis-, and tris(glycinato)copper(II) complexes in aqueous solution have been determined by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Four solutions with different complex ratios have been examined, and the species concentrations have been determined on the basis of complex stability constants. An advanced data analysis including multiple-scattering effects and multielectron excitation processes produced quantitative information on the Cu(II)−glycinate complexes present in aqueous solution. The structure of the bis(glycinato)copper(II) complex, which has a low solubility in water, has been determined for the first time. It has been found to have a distorted octahedral geometry with two bidentate glycine ligands coordinating to the Cu2+ ion in the equatorial plane and with the axial sites occupied by two additional water molecules at 2.40 ± 0.06 A. Analysis of the X-ray absorption data allowed a detailed description of the structures of the mono- and tris(glycinato)copper(II) species. The f...

Three-dimensional structures of seven short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases show that these enzymes share common structural features. Sequence alignment studies of Drosophila alcohol dehydrogenase (DADH), with an unknown 3D-structure, and four short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases with known X-ray structures suggest that DADH shares the same structural features. However, the substrate binding regions, which are located in the C-terminal region of these enzymes, share little sequence homology, because of the wide variety of substrates used. X-ray structures of short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases indicate that conformational changes occur in a loop, in the C-terminal region, upon substrate binding. This substrate-binding loop is located between a strand and a helix and may contain a one or two small helices. Secondary structure predictions and modeling studies of this substrate-binding loop in DADH predict that the two helices may also be present in this enzyme. The naturally occurring variants of Drosophila melanogaster alleloenzymes ADH-S and ADH-F differ in a replacement of threonine by lysine at position 192, which is located at a central position in the substrate-binding loop. The positive charge of lysine may move significantly on substrate binding, resulting in a direct charge interaction with NAD(+) in the enzyme-substrate complex, explaining a very strong influence of pH on the binding of ADH-S for the NAD(+) analogue Cibacron Blue. This indicates that the ADH S/F polymorphism has a direct influence on the catalytic properties of the enzyme.

A general question in biochemistry is the interplay between the chemical properties of cofactors and the surrounding protein matrix. Here, the functions of NADP(+) and FAD are explored by investigation of a representative monooxygenase reconstituted with chemically modified cofactor analogues. Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, the enzyme active site juxtaposes the flavin and nicotinamide rings, harnessing their H-bonding and steric properties to finely construct an oxygen-reacting center that restrains the flavin peroxide intermediate in a catalytically competent orientation. Strikingly, the regio- and stereoselectivities of the reaction are essentially unaffected by cofactor modifications. These observations indicate a remarkable robustness of this complex multicofactor active site, which has implications for enzyme design based on cofactor engineering approaches.

Plants perceive microbial invaders using pattern recognition receptors that recognize microbe-associated molecular patterns. In this study, we identified RESPONSIVENESS TO BOTRYTIS POLYGALACTURONASES1 (RBPG1), an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein, AtRLP42, that recognizes fungal endopolygalacturonases (PGs) and acts as a novel microbe-associated molecular pattern receptor. RBPG1 recognizes several PGs from the plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea as well as one from the saprotroph Aspergillus niger. Infiltration of B. cinerea PGs into Arabidopsis accession Columbia induced a necrotic response, whereas accession Brno (Br-0) showed no symptoms. A map-based cloning strategy, combined with comparative and functional genomics, led to the identification of the Columbia RBPG1 gene and showed that this gene is essential for the responsiveness of Arabidopsis to the PGs. Transformation of RBPG1 into accession Br-0 resulted in a gain of PG responsiveness. Transgenic Br-0 plants expressing RBPG1 were equally susceptible as the recipient Br-0 to the necrotroph B. cinerea and to the biotroph Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis. Pretreating leaves of the transgenic plants with a PG resulted in increased resistance to H. arabidopsidis. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that RBPG1 and PG form a complex in Nicotiana benthamiana, which also involves the Arabidopsis leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein SOBIR1 (for SUPPRESSOR OF BIR1). sobir1 mutant plants did not induce necrosis in response to PGs and were compromised in PG-induced resistance to H. arabidopsidis.

Nuclease A (NucA) is an extracellular nuclease secreted from S. agalactiae and is required for full virulence during infection. Crystal structures and biochemical characterization of NucA mutants reveal possible roles for surface residues in DNA substrate binding and catalysis. These results may serve as a foundation for the design of targeted antibacterial therapeutic compounds., The group B pathogen Streptococcus agalactiae commonly populates the human gut and urogenital tract, and is a major cause of infection-based mortality in neonatal infants and in elderly or immunocompromised adults. Nuclease A (GBS_NucA), a secreted DNA/RNA nuclease, serves as a virulence factor for S. agalactiae, facilitating bacterial evasion of the human innate immune response. GBS_NucA efficiently degrades the DNA matrix component of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which attempt to kill and clear invading bacteria during the early stages of infection. In order to better understand the mechanisms of DNA substrate binding and catalysis of GBS_NucA, the high-resolution structure of a catalytically inactive mutant (H148G) was solved by X-ray crystallography. Several mutants on the surface of GBS_NucA which might influence DNA substrate binding and catalysis were generated and evaluated using an imidazole chemical rescue technique. While several of these mutants severely inhibited nuclease activity, two mutants (K146R and Q183A) exhibited significantly increased activity. These structural and biochemical studies have greatly increased our understanding of the mechanism of action of GBS_NucA in bacterial virulence and may serve as a foundation for the structure-based drug design of antibacterial compounds targeted to S. agalactiae.

Acetate kinase (ACK) (EC no: 2.7.2.1) interconverts acetyl-phosphate and acetate to either catabolize or synthesize acetyl-CoA dependent on the metabolic requirement. Among all ACK entries available in UniProt, we found that around 45% are multiple ACKs in some organisms including more than 300 species but surprisingly, little work has been done to clarify whether this has any significance. In an attempt to gain further insight we have studied the two ACKs (AckA1, AckA2) encoded by two neighboring genes conserved in Lactococcus lactis (L. lactis) by analyzing protein sequences, characterizing transcription structure, determining enzyme characteristics and effect on growth physiology. The results show that the two ACKs are most likely individually transcribed. AckA1 has a much higher turnover number and AckA2 has a much higher affinity for acetate in vitro. Consistently, growth experiments of mutant strains reveal that AckA1 has a higher capacity for acetate production which allows faster growth in an environment with high acetate concentration. Meanwhile, AckA2 is important for fast acetate-dependent growth at low concentration of acetate. The results demonstrate that the two ACKs have complementary physiological roles in L. lactis to maintain a robust acetate metabolism for fast growth at different extracellular acetate concentrations. The existence of ACK isozymes may reflect a common evolutionary strategy in bacteria in an environment with varying concentrations of acetate.