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A Dharamsi

Publications and source records attributed to A Dharamsi.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Insights into ligand binding and catalysis of a central step in NAD+ synthesis: structures of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum NMN adenylyltransferase complexes.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (NMNATase) catalyzes the linking of NMN(+) or NaMN(+) with ATP, which in all organisms is one of the common step in the synthesis of the ubiquitous coenzyme NAD(+), via both de novo and salvage biosynthetic pathways. The structure of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum NMNATase determined using multiwavelength anomalous dispersion phasing revealed a nucleotide-binding fold common to nucleotidyltransferase proteins. An NAD(+) molecule and a sulfate ion were bound in the active site allowing the identification of residues involved in product binding. In addition, the role of the conserved (16)HXGH(19) active site motif in catalysis was probed by mutagenic, enzymatic and crystallographic techniques, including the characterization of an NMN(+)/SO4(2-) complex of mutant H19A NMNATase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Crystal structure of dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-hexulose 3,5-epimerase from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum complexed with dTDP.

Deoxythymidine diphosphate (dTDP)-4-keto-6-deoxy-d-hexulose 3, 5-epimerase (RmlC) is involved in the biosynthesis of dTDP-l-rhamnose, which is an essential component of the bacterial cell wall. The crystal structure of RmlC from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum was determined in the presence and absence of dTDP, a substrate analogue. RmlC is a homodimer comprising a central jelly roll motif, which extends in two directions into longer beta-sheets. Binding of dTDP is stabilized by ionic interactions to the phosphate group and by a combination of ionic and hydrophobic interactions with the base. The active site, which is located in the center of the jelly roll, is formed by residues that are conserved in all known RmlC sequence homologues. The conservation of the active site residues suggests that the mechanism of action is also conserved and that the RmlC structure may be useful in guiding the design of antibacterial drugs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

CBP1 associates with the Dictyostelium cytoskeleton and is important for normal cell aggregation under certain developmental conditions.

In cells of the eukaryotic microorganism Dictyostelium discoideum, at least eight small, four-EF-hand Ca(2+)-binding proteins of unknown function are expressed at specific times during development. One of these proteins, calcium-binding protein 1 (CBP1), first appears just prior to cell aggregation and then is present at relatively constant levels throughout development. To determine a role for CBP1 during development, the protein was used as bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen to reveal putative CBP1-interacting proteins. Two proteins identified in this screen were the actin-binding proteins, protovillin and EF-1alpha. Using an in vitro binding assay, both of these proteins were found to interact with CBP1 in the absence of Ca(2+), but the interaction of CBP1 with EF-1alpha was increased substantially by Ca(2+). CBP1 was also shown by fluorescence microscopy and by binding assays to associate with the actin cytoskeleton of Dictyostelium cells during development, and these interactions were partially Ca(2+)-dependent. cbpA-null cells grew normally, but under certain developmental conditions, cell aggregation was prolonged and irregular. This defect in aggregation appeared to be related to a general reduction in cell motility rather than to a decrease in the ability of the cells to respond to the chemoattractant cAMP. Together, these results suggest that CBP1 might function to help regulate the reorganization of the Dictyostelium actin cytoskeleton during cell aggregation.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Solution structure of the RNA polymerase subunit RPB5 from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum.

RPB5 is an essential subunit of eukaryotic and archaeal RNA polymerases. It is a proposed target for transcription activator proteins in eukaryotes, but the mechanism of interaction is not known. We have determined the solution structure of the RPB5 subunit from the thermophilic archeon, Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. MtRBP5 contains a four-stranded beta-sheet platform supporting two alpha-helices, one on each side of the beta-sheet, resulting in an overall mushroom shape that does not appear to have any structural homologues in the structural database. The position and conservation of charged surface residues suggests possible modes of interaction with other proteins, as well as a rationale for the thermal stability of this protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Characterization and hetereologous expression of cDNAs encoding two novel closely related Ca(2+)-binding proteins in Dictyostelium discoideum.

During a yeast two hybrid screen of a Dictyostelium cDNA library using the Ca(2+)-binding protein CBP1 as bait, we isolated a full-length cDNA encoding a novel Ca(2+)-binding protein (termed CBP4a). The protein is composed of 162 amino acids and contains four consensus EF-hands. PCR amplification of Dictyostelium genomic DNA using primers specific for the cDNA sequence resulted in the isolation of a gene encoding a different Ca(2+)-binding protein of 162 amino acids (designated CBP4b) with 90% amino acid sequence identity to CBP4a. Southern blot analysis confirmed the presence of two closely related genes in the Dictyostelium genome. CBP4a and CBP4b mRNAs are expressed at the same stages of development as CBP1 mRNA. In addition, both novel proteins bind (45)Ca(2+) and interact with CBP1 in vitro in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Rapid fold and structure determination of the archaeal translation elongation factor 1beta from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum.

The tertiary fold of the elongation factor, aEF-1beta, from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum was determined in a high-throughput fashion using a minimal set of NMR experiments. NMR secondary structure prediction, deuterium exchange experiments and the analysis of chemical shift perturbations were combined to identify the protein fold as an alpha-beta sandwich typical of many RNA binding proteins including EF-G. Following resolution of the tertiary fold, a high resolution structure of aEF-1beta was determined using heteronuclear and homonuclear NMR experiments and a semi-automated NOESY assignment strategy. Analysis of the aEF-1beta structure revealed close similarity to its human analogue, eEF-1beta. In agreement with studies on EF-Ts and human EF-1beta, a functional mechanism for nucleotide exchange is proposed wherein Phe46 on an exposed loop acts as a lever to eject GDP from the associated elongation factor G-protein, aEF-1alpha. aEF-1beta was also found to bind calcium in the groove between helix alpha2 and strand beta4. This novel feature was not observed previously and may serve a structural function related to protein stability or may play a functional role in archaeal protein translation.

Archaeal Proteins↗
PubMed2000

Protein production: feeding the crystallographers and NMR spectroscopists.

Protein purification efforts for structural genomics will focus on automation for the readily-expressed proteins, and process development for the more difficult ones, such as membrane proteins. Thousands of proteins are expected to be produced in the next few years. The purified proteins will be valuable reagents for the entire research community.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Structural proteomics of an archaeon.

A set of 424 nonmembrane proteins from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum were cloned, expressed and purified for structural studies. Of these, approximately 20% were found to be suitable candidates for X-ray crystallographic or NMR spectroscopic analysis without further optimization of conditions, providing an estimate of the number of the most accessible structural targets in the proteome. A retrospective analysis of the experimental behavior of these proteins suggested some simple relations between sequence and solubility, implying that data bases of protein properties will be useful in optimizing high throughput strategies. Of the first 10 structures determined, several provided clues to biochemical functions that were not detectable from sequence analysis, and in many cases these putative functions could be readily confirmed by biochemical methods. This demonstrates that structural proteomics is feasible and can play a central role in functional genomics.

Cloning, Molecular↗
PubMed2000

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray study of orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase.

Orotidine-5'-monophosphate decarboxylase (ODCase) from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum has been crystallized with and without the inhibitor 6-azaUMP by the vapour-diffusion method. In the absence of the inhibitor, the protein crystallizes in space group P4(1)2(1)2 (unit-cell parameters a = b = 56.9, c = 124.5 A) with one molecule per asymmetric unit; the crystals diffract to 1.8 A resolution. In the presence of the inhibitor, the protein crystals are monoclinic, space group P2(1) (unit-cell parameters a = 73.0, b = 98.6, c = 73.3 A, gamma = 104.0 degrees ), with four molecules in the asymmetric unit; the crystals diffract to 1.5 A resolution.

Base Sequence↗