Crystal structure of YfiR, an unusual TetR/CamR-type putative transcriptional regulator from Bacillus subtilis.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Wayne F Anderson.
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The import of disaccharides by many bacteria is achieved through their simultaneous translocation and phosphorylation by the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PEP-PTS). The imported phospho-disaccharides are, in some cases, subsequently hydrolyzed by members of the unusual glycoside hydrolase family GH4. The GH4 enzymes, occasionally found also in bacteria such as Thermotoga maritima that do not utilise a PEP-PTS system, require both NAD(+) and Mn(2+) for catalysis. A further curiosity of this family is that closely related enzymes may show specificity for either alpha-d- or beta-d-glycosides. Here, we present, for the first time, the three-dimensional structure (using single-wavelength anomalous dispersion methods, harnessing extensive non-crystallographic symmetry) of the 6-phospho-beta-glycosidase, BglT, from T.maritima in native and complexed (NAD(+) and Glc6P) forms. Comparison of the active-center structure with that of the 6-phospho-alpha-glucosidase GlvA from Bacillus subtilis reveals a striking degree of structural similarity that, in light of previous kinetic isotope effect data, allows the postulation of a common reaction mechanism for both alpha and beta-glycosidases. Given that the "chemistry" occurs primarily on the glycone sugar and features no nucleophilic attack on the intact disaccharide substrate, modulation of anomeric specificity for alpha and beta-linkages is accommodated through comparatively minor structural changes.
YfiT, a 19-kDa polypeptide from Bacillus subtilis, belongs to a small sequence family with members predominantly from Gram positive bacteria. We have determined the crystal structure of YfiT in complex with Ni(2+) to a resolution of 1.7 A. YfiT exists as a dimer and binds Ni(2+) in a 1:1 stoichiometry. The protein has an unusual four-helix bundle topology and coordinates Ni(2+) in an octahedral geometry with three conserved histidines and three waters. Although there is no similarity in their overall structures, the coordination geometry of the metal and the residues that constitute the putative active site in YfiT are similar to those of metalloproteases such as thermolysin. Our structural analyses suggest that YfiT might function as a metal-dependent hydrolase.
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Among the numerous well-characterized families of glycosidases, family 4 appears to be the anomaly, requiring both catalytic NAD+ and a divalent metal for activity. The unusual cofactor requirement prompted the proposal of a mechanism involving key NAD+-mediated redox steps as well as elimination of the glycosidic oxygen. Primary kinetic isotope effects for the 2- and 3-deutero substrate analogues, isotopic exchange with solvent, and structural analysis of a 6-phospho-beta-glucosidase, BglT (E.C. 3.2.1.6), provided evidence in support of the proposed mechanism, which has striking resemblances to that of the sugar dehydratases. Furthermore, analysis of the stereochemical outcome indicated that family 4 enzymes are retaining glycosidases.
GlvA, a 6-phospho-alpha-glucosidase from Bacillus subtilis, catalyzes the hydrolysis of maltose-6'-phosphate and belongs to glycoside hydrolase family GH4. GH4 enzymes are unique in their requirement for NAD(H) and a divalent metal for activity. We have determined the crystal structure of GlvA in complex with its ligands to 2.05 A resolution. Analyses of the active site architecture, in conjunction with mechanistic studies and precedent from the nucleotide diphosphate hexose dehydratases and other systems, suggest a novel mechanism of glycoside hydrolysis by GlvA that involves both the NAD(H) and the metal.
The bacterial RecA protein has been the dominant model system for understanding homologous genetic recombination. Although a crystal structure of RecA was solved ten years ago, we still do not have a detailed understanding of how the helical filament formed by RecA on DNA catalyzes the recognition of homology and the exchange of strands between two DNA molecules. Recent structural and spectroscopic studies have suggested that subunits in the helical filament formed in the RecA crystal are rotated when compared to the active RecA-ATP-DNA filament. We examine RecA-DNA-ATP filaments complexed with LexA and RecX to shed more light on the active RecA filament. The LexA repressor and RecX, an inhibitor of RecA, both bind within the deep helical groove of the RecA filament. Residues on RecA that interact with LexA cannot be explained by the crystal filament, but can be properly positioned in an existing model for the active filament. We show that the strand exchange activity of RecA, which can be inhibited when RecX is present at very low stoichiometry, is due to RecX forming a block across the deep helical groove of the RecA filament, where strand exchange occurs. It has previously been shown that changes in the nucleotide bound to RecA are associated with large motions of RecA's C-terminal domain. Since RecX binds from the C-terminal domain of one subunit to the nucleotide-binding core of another subunit, a stabilization of RecA's C-terminal domain by RecX can likely explain the inhibition of RecA's ATPase activity by RecX.
High-throughput structural genomic efforts require software that is highly automated, distributive and requires minimal user intervention to determine protein structures. Preliminary experiments were set up to test whether automated scripts could utilize a minimum set of input parameters and produce a set of initial protein coordinates. From this starting point, a highly distributive system was developed that could determine macromolecular structures at a high throughput rate, warehouse and harvest the associated data. The system uses a web interface to obtain input data and display results. It utilizes a relational database to store the initial data needed to start the structure-determination process as well as generated data. A distributive program interface administers the crystallographic programs which determine protein structures. Using a test set of 19 protein targets, 79% were determined automatically.
S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent methyltransferases (MTs) are abundant, and highly conserved across phylogeny. These enzymes use the cofactor AdoMet to methylate a wide variety of molecular targets, thereby modulating important cellular and metabolic activities. Thermotoga maritima protein 0872 (TM0872) belongs to a large sequence family of predicted MTs, ranging phylogenetically from relatively simple bacteria to humans. The genes for many of the bacterial homologs are located within operons involved in cell wall synthesis and cell division. Despite preliminary biochemical studies in E. coli and B. subtilis, the substrate specificity of this group of more than 150 proteins is unknown. As part of the Midwest Center for Structural Genomics initiative (www.mcsg.anl.gov), we have determined the structure of TM0872 in complexes with AdoMet and with S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (AdoHcy). As predicted, TM0872 has a typical MT domain, and binds endogenous AdoMet, or co-crystallized AdoHcy, in a manner consistent with other known MT structures. In addition, TM0872 has a second domain that is novel among MTs in both its location in the sequence and its structure. The second domain likely acts in substrate recognition and binding, and there is a potential substrate-binding cleft spanning the two domains. This long and narrow cleft is lined with positively charged residues which are located opposite the S(+)-CH(3) bond, suggesting that a negatively charged molecule might be targeted for catalysis. However, AdoMet and AdoHcy are both buried, and access to the methyl group would presumably require structural rearrangement. These TM0872 crystal structures offer the first structural glimpses at this phylogenetically conserved sequence family.