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The radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine tryptophan lyase NosL converts L-tryptophan into 3-methylindolic acid, which is a precursor in the synthesis of the thiopeptide antibiotic nosiheptide. Using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and multiple L-tryptophan isotopologues, we trapped and characterized radical intermediates that indicate a carboxyl fragment migration mechanism for NosL. This is in contrast to a proposed fragmentation-recombination mechanism that implied Cα-Cβ bond cleavage of L-tryptophan. Although NosL resembles related tyrosine lyases, subtle substrate motions in its active site are responsible for a fine-tuned radical chemistry, which selects the Cα-C bond for disruption. This mechanism highlights evolutionary adaptation to structural constraints in proteins as a route to alternative enzyme function., (Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.)

The synthesis and assembly of the active site [FeFe] unit of [FeFe]-hydrogenases require at least three maturases. The radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine HydG, the best characterized of these proteins, is responsible for the synthesis of the hydrogenase CO and CN(-) ligands from tyrosine-derived dehydroglycine (DHG). We speculated that CN(-) and the CO precursor (-):CO2H may be generated through an elimination reaction. We tested this hypothesis with both wild type and HydG variants defective in second iron-sulfur cluster coordination by measuring the in vitro production of CO, CN(-), and (-):CO2H-derived formate. We indeed observed formate production under these conditions. We conclude that HydG is a multifunctional enzyme that produces DHG, CN(-), and CO at three well-differentiated catalytic sites. We also speculate that homocysteine, cysteine, or a related ligand could be involved in Fe(CO)x(CN)y transfer to the HydF carrier/scaffold.

The structure of the radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) [FeFe]-hydrogenase maturase HydG involved in CN(-) /CO synthesis is characterized by two internal tunnels connecting its tyrosine-binding pocket with the external medium and the C-terminal Fe4 S4 cluster-containing region. A comparison with a tryptophan-bound NosL structure suggests that substrate binding causes the closing of the first tunnel and, along with mutagenesis studies, that tyrosine binds to HydG with its amino group well positioned for H-abstraction by SAM. In this orientation the dehydroglycine (DHG) fragment caused by tyrosine Cα-Cβ bond scission can readily migrate through the second tunnel towards the C-terminal domain where both CN(-) and CO are synthesized. Our HydG structure appears to be in a relaxed state with its C-terminal cluster CysX2 CysX22 Cys motif exposed to solvent. A rotation of this domain coupled to Fe4 S4 cluster assembly would bury its putatively reactive unique Fe ion thereby allowing it to interact with DHG., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Streptomyces actuosus tryptophan lyase (NosL) is a radical SAM enzyme which catalyzes the synthesis of 3-methyl-2-indolic acid, a precursor in the synthesis of the promising antibiotic nosiheptide. The reaction involves cleavage of the tryptophan Cα-Cβ bond and recombination of the amino-acid-derived -COOH fragment at the indole ring. Reported herein is the 1.8 Å resolution crystal structure of NosL complexed with its substrate. Unexpectedly, only one of the tryptophan amino hydrogen atoms is optimally placed for H abstraction by the SAM-derived 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical. This orientation, in turn, rules out the previously proposed delocalized indole radical as the species which undergoes Cα-Cβ bond cleavage. Instead, stereochemical considerations indicate that the reactive intermediate is a (·)NH tryptophanyl radical. A structure-based amino acid sequence comparison of NosL with the tyrosine lyases ThiH and HydG strongly suggests that an equivalent (·)NH radical operates in the latter enzymes., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

L-Cysteine desulfurase IscS and scaffold IscU proteins are universally involved in Fe/S cluster synthesis. The Archaeoglobus fulgidus (Af) genome encodes proteins having a high degree of primary structure similarity to IscS and IscU from other organisms. However, AfIscS is unusual because it lacks the active site lysine residue that normally forms an internal Schiff base with pyridoxal-phosphate (PLP) and serves as a base during catalysis. Our as-isolated recombinant AfIscS contains pyridoxamine phosphate (PMP) instead of the expected PLP and lacks desulfurase activity. We have solved its structure to 1.43 Å resolution and found that PMP binds non-covalently at the PLP site of the enzyme and displays significant disorder. However, the previously reported structure of recombinant Af(IscU-D35A-IscS)(2) contains an in vivo generated [Fe(2)S(2)] species within AfIscU and the question arises as to how its sulfides were generated. Here, we report that adding PLP to AfIscS produces an enzyme that displays in vitro L-cysteine desulfurase activity mediating the synthesis of a stable holo Af(IscU-D35A-IscS) complex.

Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster-containing proteins are essential components of cells. In eukaryotes, Fe-S clusters are synthesized by the mitochondrial iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) machinery and the cytosolic iron-sulfur assembly (CIA) system. In the mammalian ISC machinery, preassembly of the Fe-S cluster on the scaffold protein (ISCU) involves a cysteine desulfurase complex (NFS1/ISD11) and frataxin (FXN), the protein deficient in Friedreich's ataxia. Here, by comparing the biochemical and spectroscopic properties of quaternary (ISCU/NFS1/ISD11/FXN) and ternary (ISCU/NFS1/ISD11) complexes, we show that FXN stabilizes the quaternary complex and controls iron entry to the complex through activation of cysteine desulfurization. Furthermore, we show for the first time that in the presence of iron and L-cysteine, an [Fe(4)S(4)] cluster is formed within the quaternary complex that can be transferred to mammalian aconitase (mACO2) to generate an active enzyme. In the absence of FXN, although the ternary complex can assemble an Fe-S cluster, the cluster is inefficiently transferred to ACO2. Taken together, these data help to unravel further the Fe-S cluster assembly process and the molecular basis of Friedreich's ataxia.

Escherichia coli require nickel for the synthesis of [NiFe] hydrogenases under anaerobic growth conditions. Nickel import depends on the specific ABC-transporter NikABCDE encoded by the nik operon, which deletion causes the complete abolition of hydrogenase activity. We have previously postulated that the periplasmic binding protein NikA binds a natural metallophore containing three carboxylate functions that coordinate a Ni(II) ion, the fourth ligand being His416, the only direct metal-protein contact, completing a square-planar coordination for the metal. The crystal structure of the H416I mutant showed no electron density corresponding to a metal-chelator complex. In vivo experiments indicate that the mutation causes a significant decrease in nickel uptake and hydrogenase activity. These results confirm the essential role of His416 in nickel transport by NikA., (Copyright © 2011 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)