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The SUPERFAMILY database in structural genomics.

The SUPERFAMILY hidden Markov model library representing all proteins of known structure predicts the domain architecture of protein sequences and classifies them at the SCOP superfamily level. This analysis has been carried out on all completely sequenced genomes. The ways in which the database can be useful to crystallographers is discussed, in particular with a view to high-throughput structure determination. The application of the SUPERFAMILY database to different target-selection strategies is suggested: novel folds, novel domain combinations and targeted attacks on genomes. Use of the database for more general inquiry in the context of structural studies is also explained. The database provides evolutionary relationships between target proteins and other proteins of known structure through the SCOP database, genome assignments and multiple sequence alignments.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Characterization of the extracellular lipase, LipA, of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus BD413 and sequence analysis of the cloned structural gene.

The extracellular lipase from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus BD413 was purified to homogeneity, via hydrophobic-interaction fast performance liquid chromatography (FPLC), from cultures grown in mineral medium with hexadecane as the sole carbon source. The enzyme has an apparent molecular mass of 32 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gels and hydrolyses long acyl chain p-nitrophenol (pNP) esters, like pNP palmitate (pNPP), with optimal activity between pH 7.8 and 8.8. Additionally, the enzyme shows activity towards triglycerides such as olive oil and tributyrin and towards egg-yolk emulsions. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the mature protein was determined, and via reverse genetics the structural lipase gene was cloned from a gene library of A. calcoaceticus DNA in Escherichia coli phage M13. Sequence analysis of a 2.1 kb chromosomal DNA fragment revealed one complete open reading frame, lipA, encoding a mature protein with a predicted molecular mass of 32.1 kDa. This protein shows high similarity to known lipases, especially Pseudomonas lipases, that are exported in a two-step secretion mechanism and require a lipase-specific chaperone. The identification of an export signal sequence at the N-terminus of the mature lipase suggests that the lipase of Acinetobacter is also exported via a two-step translocation mechanism. However, no chaperone-encoding gene was found downstream of lipA, unlike the situation in Pseudomonas. Analysis of an A. calcoaceticus mutant showing reduced lipase production revealed that a periplasmic disulphide oxidoreductase is involved in processing of the lipase. Via sequence alignments, based upon the crystal structure of the closely related Pseudomonas glumae lipase, a model has been made of the secondary-structure elements in AcLipA. The active site serine of AcLipA was changed to an alanine, via site-directed mutagenesis, resulting in production of an inactive extracellular lipase.

Acinetobacter calcoaceticus↗

Functional annotation of putative aminoglycoside antibiotic modifying proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.

The growing availability of sequences of bacterial genomes has revealed a number of open reading frames predicted by sequence alignment to encode antibiotic resistance proteins. The presence of these putative resistance genes within bacterial genomes raises important questions regarding potential reservoirs of resistance elements and their evolution. Here we examine four gene products encoding predicted aminoglycoside-aminocyclitol antibiotic modifying enzymes, two phosphotransferases and two acetyltransferases, derived from analysis of the genome sequence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv with the goal of assigning biochemical function by purification of each protein and characterization of their ability to modify aminoglycoside antibiotics. Only one of these enzymes, the previously characterized aminoglycoside acetyltransferase AAC(2')-Ic, displayed compelling aminoglycoside modifying activity. While the putative phosphotransferase encoded by the Rv3225c gene did display low levels of aminoglycoside kinase activity, the predicted kinase encoded by the Rv3817 gene lacked any such activity. A potential aminoglycoside 6'-acetyltransferase, encoded by the Rv1347c gene, did not show antibiotic acylation activity but did demonstrate selective thioesterase activity with numerous acyl-CoAs. This activity, together with the genomic environment of the Rv1347c gene in a likely polyketide synthesis cluster, suggests a role for this protein in secondary metabolism and not in antibiotic modification. It was thus shown that only one of four putative aminoglycosides modifying enzymes derived from the whole genome sequencing of M. tuberculosis H37Rv showed sufficient predicted enzyme activity to be annotated as an aminoglycoside resistance element. This study demonstrates the necessity of biochemical annotation methods as a follow up to in silico sequence alignment-based methods of assigning gene product function.

Acetyltransferases↗

Characterization of a Drosophila melanogaster orthologue of muskelin.

Muskelin was identified in vertebrates as a novel, intracellular, kelch repeat protein that is needed in cell-spreading responses to the matrix adhesion molecule, thrombospondin-1. The identification and characterization of an orthologue of muskelin in Drosophila melanogaster is now reported. The Drosophila muskelin gene, located on chromosome 2R, is encoded in ten exons. Drosophila muskelin is expressed in embryos, larvae and adult flies. The protein has 45% sequence identity to vertebrate muskelins, with highest sequence identity in an amino-terminal domain and the six kelch repeats that form a beta-propeller structure. Multiple sequence alignment of human, mouse, rat and Drosophila muskelins and protein database searches revealed a novel highly conserved motif within the amino-terminal domain, lissencephaly homology motif (LisH) and C-terminal to LisH motifs in the central region of the molecule, and several conserved consensus motifs for phosphorylation by protein kinase C and casein kinase II. These findings provide new information on the modular structure of muskelin and indicate potential for conserved mechanisms of function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Porter: a new, accurate server for protein secondary structure prediction.

UNLABELLED: Porter is a new system for protein secondary structure prediction in three classes. Porter relies on bidirectional recurrent neural networks with shortcut connections, accurate coding of input profiles obtained from multiple sequence alignments, second stage filtering by recurrent neural networks, incorporation of long range information and large-scale ensembles of predictors. Porter's accuracy, tested by rigorous 5-fold cross-validation on a large set of proteins, exceeds 79%, significantly above a copy of the state-of-the-art SSpro server, better than any system published to date. AVAILABILITY: Porter is available as a public web server at http://distill.ucd.ie/porter/ CONTACT: gianluca.pollastri@ucd.ie.

Algorithms↗

Nucleotide sequence of arfB of Clostridium stercorarium, and prediction of catalytic residues of alpha-L-arabinofuranosidases based on local similarity with several families of glycosyl hydrolases.

The nucleotide sequence of the alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase gene arfB from Clostridium stercorarium was determined. The deduced protein has a molecular mass of 56.2 kDa with an amino terminus identical to the N-terminal sequence of the purified mature enzyme from C. stercorarium. Its sequence is homologous to arabinofuranosidases of glycosyl hydrolase family 51. Sequence alignment and cluster analysis reveal three new members of glycosyl hydrolase family 51, allowing for the definition of highly conserved regions. Two of these regions are remarkably similar to the most conserved regions within several other families of glycosyl hydrolases, which have in common a (beta/alpha)8-barrel as the core super-secondary structure, and allow to predict the acid/base catalyst and the nucleophile of the active site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The arrangement of the transmembrane helices in the secretin receptor family of G-protein-coupled receptors.

The members of the secretin receptor family of G-protein-coupled receptors share no significant sequence similarity to the more familiar rhodopsin-like family. However, multiple sequence alignment analysis reveals seven hydrophobic regions with significant alpha-helical periodicity. Residues that are likely to be buried on the interior of the helical bundle and others that are likely to contact the lipid bilayer are identified. A predicted arrangement of the helical bundle is described in which, by comparison with the arrangement in the rhodopsin family, helices 2 and 7 are more buried within the bundle while helix 3 is more exposed to the lipid bilayer.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Interactions underlying subunit association in cholinesterases.

Cholinesterases occur in a family of molecular forms, both as homo-oligomers of catalytic subunits, which can be either soluble, amphiphilic or lipid-anchored to the membrane; and hetero-oligomers of catalytic subunits and structural subunits. The structural subunits afford a method for precise localization of cholinesterases for specific function. A number of mutagenesis studies suggest that the C-terminal region of one alternatively spliced form of cholinesterase is involved in association of catalytic subunits into tetramers and in the association of these tetramers with structural subunits, however, there is currently no structural information about this region. In addition, none of the mutagenesis studies have clearly defined the residues important in these interactions. Here, multiple sequence alignment, structure prediction techniques and analysis of three-dimensional structural data are combined with a re-examination of mutagenesis and biochemical data. Three-dimensional models for the C-terminal region and for soluble tetrameric cholinesterase are proposed, and a set of rules governing subunit association are formulated. The simple model for association of catalytic and structural subunits presented is consistent with data for all known cholinesterases from species as divergent as nematode and man.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Leishmania chagasi: a gene encoding a protein kinase with a catalytic domain structurally related to MAP kinase kinase.

The gene for a serine/threonine protein kinase was isolated from Leishmania chagasi. The deduced amino acid sequence encoded by this Leishmania protein kinase (LPK-1) gene possesses all of the 11 conserved subdomains found in most other serine/threonine protein kinase catalytic domains. Sequence alignment with other known protein kinases demonstrates that the 42-kDa LPK-1 is a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase family involved in the signal-transduction pathways in yeast and mammalian cells. The single copy gene for LPK-1 specifies a 3.1-kb mRNA that is expressed in both logarithmic and stationary phase promastigotes with a twofold higher steady-state level in the infective stationary phase promastigotes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Access of the substrate to the active site of squalene and oxidosqualene cyclases: comparative inhibition, site-directed mutagenesis and homology-modelling studies.

Substrate access to the active-site cavity of squalene-hopene cyclase from Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarious and lanosterol synthase [OSC (oxidosqualene cyclase)] from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied by an inhibition, mutagenesis and homology-modelling approach. Crystal structure and homology modelling indicate that both enzymes possess a narrow constriction that separates an entrance lipophilic channel from the active-site cavity. The role of the constriction as a mobile gate that permits substrate passage was investigated by experiments in which critically located Cys residues, either present in native protein or inserted by site-directed mutagenesis, were labelled with specifically designed thiol-reacting molecules. Some amino acid residues of the yeast enzyme, selected on the basis of sequence alignment and a homology model, were individually replaced by residues bearing side chains of different lengths, charges or hydrophobicities. In some of these mutants, substitution severely reduced enzymatic activity and thermal stability. Homology modelling revealed that in these mutants some critical stabilizing interactions could no longer occur. The possible critical role of entrance channel and constriction in specific substrate recognition by eukaryotic OSC is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Molecular modelling of steroidogenic cytochromes P450 from families CYP11, CYP17, CYP19 and CYP21 based on the CYP102 crystal structure.

The results of homology modelling of mammalian steroidogenic cytochromes P450 (CYP) from families CYP11, CYP17, CYP19 and CYP21 are reported, based on a novel protein sequence alignment with CYP102, a bacterial P450 of known crystal structure. The molecular models generated from the CYP102 crystal structure template are consistent with experimental information from site-directed mutagenesis studies, steroidal substrate specificity and active site inhibitor studies. Interactive docking studies with both substrates and inhibitors of these enzymes indicate key residue interactions with the putative active site regions of each isoform investigated, which point to potential determinants of substrate specificity within these related enzymes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

6-S-cysteinyl flavin mononucleotide-containing histamine dehydrogenase from Nocardioides simplex: molecular cloning, sequencing, overexpression, and characterization of redox centers of enzyme.

Histamine dehydrogenase from Nocardioides simplex is a homodimeric enzyme and catalyzes oxidative deamination of histamine. The gene encoding this enzyme has been sequenced and cloned by polymerase chain reactions and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The sequence of the complete open reading frame, 2073 bp coding for a protein of 690 amino acids, was determined on both strands. The amino acid sequence of histamine dehydrogenase is closely related to those of trimethylamine dehydrogenase and dimethylamine dehydrogenase containing an unusual covalently bound flavin mononucleotide, 6-S-cysteinyl-flavin mononucleotide, and one 4Fe-4S cluster as redox active cofactors in each subunit of the homodimer. The presence of the identical redox cofactors in histamine dehydrogenase has been confirmed by sequence alignment analysis, mass spectral analysis, UV-vis and EPR spectroscopy, and chemical analysis of iron and acid-labile sulfur. These results suggest that the structure of histamine dehydrogenase in the vicinity of the two redox centers is almost identical to that of trimethylamine dehydrogenase as a whole. The structure modeling study, however, demonstrated that a putative substrate-binding cavity in histamine dehydrogenase is quite distinct from that of trimethylamine dehydrogenase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

High transposition rates of Osvaldo, a new Drosophila buzzatii retrotransposon.

Transposition of a new Drosophila retrotransposon was investigated. Total genomic Southern analysis and polytene in situ hybridizations in D. buzzatii strains and other related species using a 6 kb D. buzzatii clone (cDb314) showed a dispersed, repetitive DNA pattern, suggesting that this clone contains a transposable element (TE). We have sequenced the cDb314 clone and demonstrated that it contains all the conserved protein sequences and motifs typical of retrovirus-related sequences. Although cDb314 does not include the complete TE, the protein sequence alignment demonstrates that it includes a defective copy of a new long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposon, related to the gypsy family, which we have named Osvaldo. Using a D. buzzatii inbred line in which all insertion sites are known, we have measured Osvaldo transposition rates in hybrids between this D. buzzatii line and its sibling species D. koepferae. The results show that Osvaldo transposes in bursts at high rate, both in the D. buzzatii inbred line and in species hybrids.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Selection of oligonucleotide probes for protein coding sequences.

MOTIVATION: Large arrays of oligonucleotide probes have become popular tools for analyzing RNA expression. However to date most oligo collections contain poorly validated sequences or are biased toward untranslated regions (UTRs). Here we present a strategy for picking oligos for microarrays that focus on a design universe consisting exclusively of protein coding regions. We describe the constraints in oligo design that are imposed by this strategy, as well as a software tool that allows the strategy to be applied broadly. RESULT: In this work we sequentially apply a variety of simple filters to candidate sequences for oligo probes. The primary filter is a rejection of probes that contain contiguous identity with any other sequence in the sample universe that exceeds a pre-established threshold length. We find that rejection of oligos that contain 15 bases of perfect match with other sequences in the design universe is a feasible strategy for oligo selection for probe arrays designed to interrogate mammalian RNA populations. Filters to remove sequences with low complexity and predicted poor probe accessibility narrow the candidate probe space only slightly. Rejection based on global sequence alignment is performed as a secondary, rather than primary, test, leading to an algorithm that is computationally efficient. Splice isoforms pose unique challenges and we find that isoform prevalence will for the most part have to be determined by analysis of the patterns of hybridization of partially redundant oligonucleotides. AVAILABILITY: The oligo design program OligoPicker and its source code are freely available at our website.

Algorithms↗

Bayesian phylogenetic model selection using reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo.

A common problem in molecular phylogenetics is choosing a model of DNA substitution that does a good job of explaining the DNA sequence alignment without introducing superfluous parameters. A number of methods have been used to choose among a small set of candidate substitution models, such as the likelihood ratio test, the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), and Bayes factors. Current implementations of any of these criteria suffer from the limitation that only a small set of models are examined, or that the test does not allow easy comparison of non-nested models. In this article, we expand the pool of candidate substitution models to include all possible time-reversible models. This set includes seven models that have already been described. We show how Bayes factors can be calculated for these models using reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo, and apply the method to 16 DNA sequence alignments. For each data set, we compare the model with the best Bayes factor to the best models chosen using AIC and BIC. We find that the best model under any of these criteria is not necessarily the most complicated one; models with an intermediate number of substitution types typically do best. Moreover, almost all of the models that are chosen as best do not constrain a transition rate to be the same as a transversion rate, suggesting that it is the transition/transversion rate bias that plays the largest role in determining which models are selected. Importantly, the reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm described here allows estimation of phylogeny (and other phylogenetic model parameters) to be performed while accounting for uncertainty in the model of DNA substitution.

Algorithms↗

Direct binding of nuclear membrane protein MAN1 to emerin in vitro and two modes of binding to barrier-to-autointegration factor.

MAN1 is a vertebrate nuclear inner membrane protein that inhibits Smad signaling downstream of transforming growth factor beta. MAN1 has an exposed LEM domain-containing N-terminal region ("MAN1-N"), two transmembrane domains, and an exposed C-terminal domain ("MAN1-C"). Many regions of human MAN1 are homologous to emerin, a LEM domain nuclear protein, loss of which causes Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD). To test the hypothesis that MAN1 function might overlap with emerin, we tested different polypeptide fragments of MAN1 for binding to selected partners of emerin. Our findings support this hypothesis. Blot overlay assays and co-immunoprecipitation studies showed that MAN1-C binds the transcription regulators GCL, Btf, and barrier-to-autointegration factor (BAF). BAF binding to this region, which has no LEM domain, was notable. Sequence alignments identified a potential BAF-binding motif, characterized by the conserved residues Ser-Arg-Val, in MAN1-C and two other BAF-binding proteins. The other region, MAN1-N, bound directly to BAF, lamin A, and lamin B1, supporting functional overlap with emerin. Unexpectedly, three independent assays showed that MAN1-N also bound directly to emerin. Proposed MAN1-emerin complexes are discussed in the context of EDMD disease mechanisms and potential in vivo functions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A comparative method for identification of gene structures and alternatively spliced variants.

MOTIVATION: Alternative splicing (AS) serves as a mechanism to create diversity among functional proteins. Increasing evidence indicates that a large portion of genes have AS forms. Hence AS variants should be considered while analyzing gene structures. RESULTS: A new cross-species gene identification and AS analysis system, PSEP, has been developed. The system is based on expressed sequence tag (EST)-to-genome and genome-to-genome comparisons and is implemented in two steps: sequence alignment and a series of post-alignment processes, including progressive signal extraction and patching. For gene identification, these post-alignment processes serve as noise filters and enable PSEP to eliminate approximately 88% of potential overprediction. The overall accuracy of PSEP is better than or comparable to that of other well-known cross-species gene prediction programs, including the ROSETTA program, TWINSCAN, SGP-1/-2 and SLAM, when tested on three benchmark datasets (the ELN gene region, the HoxA cluster and the ROSETTA set). In addition, 76.2 and 76.0% of multiple-exon genes in the ROSETTA dataset and human chromosome 20, respectively, are found to have AS forms. Approximately 23% of the 210 elementary alternatives identified in the ROSETTA dataset are not conserved between the human and mouse genomes, and none of the 210 transcripts is found in the RefSeq annotation. With its dual functions in cross-species conserved sequence analysis and AS analysis, PSEP is highly suitable for studying the evolution of AS patterns and for finding unidentified gene expression features.

Algorithms↗

Crystal structures that suggest late development of genetic code components for differentiating aromatic side chains.

Early forms of the genetic code likely generated "statistical" proteins, with similar side chains occupying the same sequence positions at different ratios. In this scenario, groups of related side chains were treated by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases as a single molecular species until a discrimination mechanism developed that could separate them. The aromatic amino acids tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine likely constituted one of these groups. A crystal structure of human tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase was solved at 2.1 A with a tryptophanyl-adenylate bound at the active site. A cocrystal structure of an active fragment of human tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase with its cognate amino acid analog was also solved at 1.6 A. The two structures enabled active site identifications and provided the information for structure-based sequence alignments of approximately 45 orthologs of each enzyme. Two critical positions shared by all tyrosyl-tRNA synthetases and tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetases for amino acid discrimination were identified. The variations at these two positions and phylogenetic analyses based on the structural information suggest that, in contrast to many other amino acids, discrimination of tyrosine from tryptophan occurred late in the development of the genetic code.

Adenosine Monophosphate↗