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The bacteriophage infection cycle is terminated at a predefined time to release the progeny virions via a robust lytic system composed of holin, endolysin, and spanin proteins. Holin is the timekeeper of this process. Pinholin S 21 is a prototype holin of phage Φ21, which determines the timing of host cell lysis through the coordinated efforts of pinholin and antipinholin. However, mutations in pinholin and antipinholin play a significant role in modulating the timing of lysis depending on adverse or favorable growth conditions. Earlier studies have shown that single point mutations of pinholin S 21 alter the cell lysis timing, a proxy for pinholin function as lysis is also dependent on other lytic proteins. In this study, continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (CW-EPR) power saturation and double electron-electron resonance (DEER) spectroscopic techniques were used to directly probe the effects of mutations on the structure and conformational changes of pinholin S 21 that correlate with pinholin function. DEER and CW-EPR power saturation data clearly demonstrate that increased hydrophilicity induced by residue mutations accelerate the externalization of antipinholin transmembrane domain 1 (TMD1), while increased hydrophobicity prevents the externalization of TMD1. This altered hydrophobicity is potentially accelerating or delaying the activation of pinholin S 21 . It was also found that mutations can influence intra- or intermolecular interactions in this system, which contribute to the activation of pinholin and modulate the cell lysis timing. This could be a novel approach to analyze the mutational effects on other holin systems, as well as any other membrane protein in which mutation directly leads to structural and conformational changes., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Bacteriophages have evolved with an efficient host cell lysis mechanism to terminate the infection cycle and release the new progeny virions at the optimum time, allowing adaptation with the changing host and environment. Among the lytic proteins, holin controls the first and rate-limiting step of host cell lysis by permeabilizing the inner membrane at an allele-specific time known as "holin triggering". Pinholin S 21 is a prototype holin of phage Φ21 which makes many nanoscale holes and destroys the proton motive force, which in turn activates the signal anchor release (SAR) endolysin system to degrade the peptidoglycan layer of the host cell and destruction of the outer membrane by the spanin complex. Like many others, phage Φ21 has two holin proteins: active pinholin and antipinholin. The antipinholin form differs only by three extra amino acids at the N-terminus; however, it has a different structural topology and conformation with respect to the membrane. Predefined combinations of active pinholin and antipinholin fine-tune the lysis timing through structural dynamics and conformational changes. Previously, the dynamics and topology of active pinholin and antipinholin were investigated (Ahammad et al. JPCB 2019, 2020 ) using continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (CW-EPR) spectroscopy. However, detailed structural studies and direct comparison of these two forms of pinholin S 21 are absent in the literature. In this study, the structural topology and conformations of active pinholin (S 21 68) and inactive antipinholin (S 21 68 IRS ) in DMPC (1,2-dimyristoyl- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine) proteoliposomes were investigated using the four-pulse double electron-electron resonance (DEER) EPR spectroscopic technique to measure distances between transmembrane domains 1 and 2 (TMD1 and TMD2). Five sets of interlabel distances were measured via DEER spectroscopy for both the active and inactive forms of pinholin S 21 . Structural models of the active pinholin and inactive antipinholin forms in DMPC proteoliposomes were obtained using the experimental DEER distances coupled with the simulated annealing software package Xplor-NIH. TMD2 of S 21 68 remains in the lipid bilayer, and TMD1 is partially externalized from the bilayer with some residues located on the surface. However, both TMDs remain incorporated in the lipid bilayer for the inactive S 21 68 IRS form. This study demonstrates, for the first time, clear structural topology and conformational differences between the two forms of pinholin S 21 . This work will pave the way for further studies of other holin systems using the DEER spectroscopic technique and will give structural insight into these biological clocks in molecular detail.

The bacteriophage infection cycle plays a crucial role in recycling the world's biomass. Bacteriophages devise various cell lysis systems to strictly control the length of the infection cycle for an efficient phage life cycle. Phages evolved with lysis protein systems, which can control and fine-tune the length of this infection cycle depending on the host and growing environment. Among these lysis proteins, holin controls the first and rate-limiting step of host cell lysis by permeabilizing the inner membrane at an allele-specific time and concentration hence known as the simplest molecular clock. Pinholin S 21 is the holin from phage Φ21, which defines the cell lysis time through a predefined ratio of active pinholin and antipinholin (inactive form of pinholin). Active pinholin and antipinholin fine-tune the lysis timing through structural dynamics and conformational changes. Previously we reported the structural dynamics and topology of active pinholin S 21 68. Currently, there is no detailed structural study of the antipinholin using biophysical techniques. In this study, the structural dynamics and topology of antipinholin S 21 68 IRS in DMPC proteoliposomes is investigated using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopic techniques. Continuous-wave (CW) EPR line shape analysis experiments of 35 different R1 side chains of S 21 68 IRS indicated restricted mobility of the transmembrane domains (TMDs), which were predicted to be inside the lipid bilayer when compared to the N- and C-termini R1 side chains. In addition, the R1 accessibility test performed on 24 residues using the CW-EPR power saturation experiment indicated that TMD1 and TMD2 of S 21 68 IRS were incorporated into the lipid bilayer where N- and C-termini were located outside of the lipid bilayer. Based on this study, a tentative model of S 21 68 IRS is proposed where both TMDs remain incorporated into the lipid bilayer and N- and C-termini are located outside of the lipid bilayer. This work will pave the way for the further studies of other holins using biophysical techniques and will give structural insights into these biological clocks in molecular detail.

Pinholins are a family of lytic membrane proteins responsible for the lysis of the cytosolic membrane in host cells of double stranded DNA bacteriophages. Protein-lipid interactions have been shown to influence membrane protein topology as well as its function. This work investigated the interactions of pinholin with the phospholipid bilayer while in active and inactive confirmations to elucidate the different interactions the two forms have with the bilayer. Pinholin incorporated into deuterated DMPC-d 54 lipid bilayers, along with 31 P and 2 H solid state NMR (SS-NMR) spectroscopy were used to probe the protein-lipid interactions with the phosphorus head group at the surface of the bilayer while interactions with the 2 H nuclei were used to study the hydrophobic core. A comparison of the 31 P chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) values of the active S 21 68 pinholin and inactive S 21 IRS pinholin indicated stronger head group interactions for the pinholin in its active form when compared to that of the inactive form supporting the model of a partially externalized peripheral transmembrane domain (TMD) of the active S 21 68 instead of complete externalized TMD1 as suggested by Ahammad et al. JPC B 2019. The 2 H quadrupolar splitting analysis showed a decrease in spectral width for both forms of the pinholin when compared to the empty bilayers at all temperatures. In this case the decrease in the spectral width of the inactive S 21 IRS form of the pinholin showed stronger interactions with the acyl chains of the bilayer. The presence of the inactive form's additional TMD within the membrane was supported by the loss of peak resolution observed in the 2 H NMR spectra., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pinholin S 21 68 is an essential part of the phage Φ21 lytic protein system to release the virus progeny at the end of the infection cycle. It is known as the simplest natural timing system for its precise control of hole formation in the inner cytoplasmic membrane. Pinholin S 21 68 is a 68 amino acid integral membrane protein consisting of two transmembrane domains (TMDs) called TMD1 and TMD2. Despite its biological importance, structural and dynamic information of the S 21 68 protein in a membrane environment is not well understood. Systematic site-directed spin labeling and continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (CW-EPR) spectroscopic studies of pinholin S 21 68 in 1,2-dimyristoyl- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) proteoliposomes are used to reveal the structural topology and dynamic properties in a native-like environment. CW-EPR spectral line-shape analysis of the R1 side chain for 39 residue positions of S 21 68 indicates that the TMDs have more restricted mobility when compared to the N- and C-termini. CW-EPR power saturation data indicate that TMD1 partially externalizes from the lipid bilayer and interacts with the membrane surface, whereas TMD2 remains buried in the lipid bilayer in the active conformation of pinholin S 21 68. A tentative structural topology model of pinholin S 21 68 is also suggested based on EPR spectroscopic data reported in this study.

The mechanism for the lysis pathway of double-stranded DNA bacteriophages involves a small hole-forming class of membrane proteins, the holins. This study focuses on a poorly characterized class of holins, the pinholin, of which the S 21 protein of phage ϕ21 is the prototype. Here we report the first in vitro synthesis of the wildtype form of the S 21 pinholin, S 21 68, and negative-dominant mutant form, S 21 IRS, both prepared using solid phase peptide synthesis and studied using biophysical techniques. Both forms of the pinholin were labeled with a nitroxide spin label and successfully incorporated into both bicelles and multilamellar vesicles which are membrane mimetic systems. Circular dichroism revealed the two forms were both >80% alpha helical, in agreement with the predictions based on the literature. The molar ellipticity ratio [θ] 222 /[θ] 208 for both forms of the pinholin was 1.4, suggesting a coiled-coil tertiary structure in the bilayer consistent with the proposed oligomerization step in models for the mechanism of hole formation. 31 P solid-state NMR spectroscopic data on pinholin indicate a strong interaction of both forms of the pinholin with the membrane headgroups. The 31 P NMR data has an axially symmetric line shape which is consistent with lamellar phase proteoliposomes lipid mimetics., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)