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International audience; The b-D-glucans from the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae have shown in vitro affinity for zearalenone. For this reason, their utilization as dietary adsorbent, to reduce the bioavailability of zearalenone, is of practical interest. Our study used powerful devices to elucidate the spatial conformation and molecular sites of interaction between ZEN and b-D-glucans. In this respect, 1H NMR spectroscopy implicated the hydroxyl groups of the phenol moiety of zearalenone in the complexation by laminarin, a pure b-(1,3)-D-glucan. X-ray diffraction determined that laminarin displays the conformation of a single-helix with six b-D-glucopyranose residues per turn. At this stage, molecular modeling was useful to locate the interaction sites and to propose highly probable complexes of zearalenone with laminarin fragment. Interestingly, the b-(1,3)-D-glucan chain favors a very stable intra-helical association with zearalenone, nicely stabilized by b-(1,6)-D-glucans side chains. Both hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions were precisely identified in the complex and could thus be proposed as driving interactions to monitor the association between the two molecules

INRA, MIG, Domaine de Vilvert, F-78352 Jouy en Josas, France : depuis janvier 2015 : INRA, MaIAGE, Domaine de Vilvert, F-78352 Jouy en Josas, France; Iron is an essential element for bacterial growth and virulence. Because of its limited bioavailability in the host, bacteria have adapted several strategies to acquire iron during infection. In the human opportunistic bacteria Bacillus cereus, a surface protein IlsA is shown to be involved in iron acquisition from both ferritin and hemoproteins. IlsA has a modular structure consisting of a NEAT (Near Iron transporter) domain at the N-terminus, several LRR (Leucine Rich Repeat) motifs and a SLH (Surface Layer Homology) domain likely involved in anchoring the protein to the cell surface.METHODS:[b]BACKGROUND:[/b]Isothermal titration calorimetry, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, affinity chromatography and rapid kinetics stopped-flow measurements were employed to probe the binding and transfer of hemin between two different B. cereus surface proteins (IlsA and IsdC).[br/][b]RESULTS:[/b]IlsA binds hemin via the NEAT domain and is able to extract heme from hemoglobin whereas the LRR domain alone is not involved in these processes. A rapid hemin transfer from hemin-containing IlsA (holo-IlsA) to hemin-free IsdC (apo-IsdC) is demonstrated.[br/][b]CONCLUSIONS[/b]:For the first time, it is shown that two different B. cereus surface proteins (IlsA and IsdC) can interact and transfer heme suggesting their involvement in B. cereus heme acquisition.[br/][b]GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE:[/b]An important role for the complete Isd system in heme-associated bacterial growth is demonstrated and new insights into the interplay between an Isd NEAT surface protein and an IlsA-NEAT-LRR protein, both of which appear to be involved in heme-iron acquisition in B. cereus are revealed.

Alpha-amylases are widespread endo-enzymes involved in the hydrolysis of internal alpha-(1,4) glycosidic linkages of starch polymers. Molecular modeling of amylose-amylase interactions is a step toward enzymatic mechanism understanding and rational design of new enzymes. From the crystallographic complex of barley alpha-amylase AMY2-acarbose, the static aspects of amylose-amylase docking have been characterized with a model of maltododecaose (DP12) (G. André, A. Buléon, R. Haser, and V. Tran, Biopolymers 1999, Vol. 50, pp. 751-762; G. André and V. Tran, Special Publication no. 246 1999, The Royal Society of Chemistry, H. J. Gilbert, G. J. Davies, B. Henrissat, and B. Svensson, Eds., Cambridge, pp. 165-174). These studies, consistent with the experimental subsite mapping (K. Bak-Jensen, G. André, V. Tran, and B. Svensson, Journal of Biological Chemistry, to be published), propose a propagation scheme for an amylose chain in the active cleft of AMY2. The topographical overview of alpha-amylases identified loop 7 as a conserved segment flanking the active site. Since some crystallographic experiments suspected its high flexibility, its putative motion was explored through a robotic scheme, an alternate route to dynamics simulations that consume CPU time. The present article describes the characteristics of the flexibility of loop 7: location and motion in AMY2. A back-and-forth motion with a large amplitude of more than 0.6 nm was evaluated. This movement could be triggered by two hinge residues. It results in the loop flipping over the active site to enhance the docking of the native helical substrate through specific interactions, it positions the catalytic residues, it distorts the substrate towards its transition state geometry, and finally monitors the release of the products after hydrolysis. The residues involved in the process are now rational mutation points in the hands of molecular biologists.