Ligand binding properties of the N-terminal domain of riboflavin synthase from Escherichia coli

Riboflavin synthase from Escherichia coli is a homotrimer of 23.4 kDa subunits and catalyzes the formation of one molecule each of riboflavin and 5-amino-6-ribitylamino- 2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione by the transfer of a 4-carbon moiety between two molecules of the substrate, 6,7- dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. Each subunit comprises two closely similar folding domains. Recombinant expression of the N-terminal domain is known to provide a c(2)-symmetric homodimer. In this study, the binding properties of wild type as well as two mutated proteins of N-terminal domain of riboflavin synthase with various ligands were tested. The replacement of the amino acid residue A43, located in the second shell of riboflavin synthase active center, in the recombinant N-terminal domain dimer reduces the affinity for 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. The mutation of the amino acid residue C48 forming part of activity cavity of the enzyme causes significant (19)F NMR chemical shift modulation of trifluoromethyl derivatives of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine in complex with the protein, while substitution of A43 results in smaller chemical shift changes.     

Studies on the reaction mechanism of riboflavin synthase: X-ray crystal structure of a complex with 6-carboxyethyl-7-oxo-8-ribityllumazine

Riboflavin synthase catalyzes the disproportionation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine affording riboflavin and 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione. We have determined the structure of riboflavin synthase from Schizosaccharomyces pombe in complex with the substrate analog, 6-carboxyethyl-7-oxo-8-ribityllumazine at 2.1 A resolution. In contrast to the homotrimeric solution state of native riboflavin synthase, we found the enzyme to be monomeric in the crystal structure. Structural comparison of the riboflavin synthases of S. pombe and Escherichia coli suggests oligomer contact sites and delineates the catalytic site for dimerization of the substrate and subsequent fragmentation of the pentacyclic intermediate. The pentacyclic substrate dimer was modeled into the proposed active site, and its stereochemical features were determined. The model suggests that the substrate molecule at the C-terminal domain donates a four-carbon unit to the substrate molecule bound at the N-terminal domain of an adjacent subunit in the oligomer.     

The structure of the N-terminal domain of riboflavin synthase in complex with riboflavin at 2.6A resolution

Riboflavin synthase of Escherichia coli is a homotrimer with a molecular mass of 70 kDa. The enzyme catalyzes the dismutation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-(1'-D-ribityl)-lumazine, affording riboflavin and 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione. The N-terminal segment (residues 1-87) and the C-terminal segment (residues 98-187) form beta-barrels with similar fold and a high degree of sequence similarity. A recombinant peptide comprising amino acid residues 1-97 forms a dimer, which binds riboflavin with high affinity. Here, we report the structure of this construct in complex with riboflavin at 2.6A resolution. It is demonstrated that the complex can serve as a model for ligand-binding in the native enzyme. The structure and riboflavin-binding mode is in excellent agreement with structural information obtained from the native enzyme from Escherichia coli and riboflavin synthase from Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The implications for the binding specificity and the regiospecificity of the catalyzed reaction are discussed.     

Crystal structure of an archaeal pentameric riboflavin synthase in complex with a substrate analog inhibitor: stereochemical implications

Whereas eubacterial and eukaryotic riboflavin synthases form homotrimers, archaeal riboflavin synthases from Methanocaldococcus jannaschii and Methanothermobacter thermoautrophicus are homopentamers with sequence similarity to the 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase catalyzing the penultimate step in riboflavin biosynthesis. Recently it could be shown that the complex dismutation reaction catalyzed by the pentameric M. jannaschii riboflavin synthase generates riboflavin with the same regiochemistry as observed for trimeric riboflavin synthases. Here we present crystal structures of the pentameric riboflavin synthase from M. jannaschii and its complex with the substrate analog inhibitor, 6,7-dioxo-8-ribityllumazine. The complex structure shows five active sites located between adjacent monomers of the pentamer. Each active site can accommodate two substrate analog molecules in anti-parallel orientation. The topology of the two bound ligands at the active site is well in line with the known stereochemistry of a pentacyclic adduct of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine that has been shown to serve as a kinetically competent intermediate. The pentacyclic intermediates of trimeric and pentameric riboflavin synthases are diastereomers.     

Biosynthesis of vitamin B2: diastereomeric reaction intermediates of archaeal and non-archaeal riboflavin synthases

The dismutation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine catalyzed by riboflavin synthase affords riboflavin and 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione. A pentacyclic adduct of two 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazines has been identified earlier as a catalytically competent reaction intermediate of the Escherichia coli enzyme. Acid quenching of reaction mixtures of riboflavin synthase of Methanococcus jannaschii, a paralog of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase devoid of similarity with riboflavin synthases of eubacteria and eukaryotes, afforded a compound whose optical absorption and NMR spectra resemble that of the pentacyclic E. coli riboflavin synthase intermediate, whereas the circular dichroism spectra of the two compounds have similar envelopes but opposite signs. Each of the compounds could serve as a catalytically competent intermediate for the enzyme by which it was produced, but not vice versa. All available data indicate that the respective pentacyclic intermediates of the M. jannaschii and E. coli enzymes are diastereomers.     

Pre-steady-state kinetic analysis of riboflavin synthase using a pentacyclic reaction intermediate as substrate

Riboflavin synthase catalyses a mechanistically complex dismutation affording riboflavin and 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H )-pyrimidinedione from 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. A pentacyclic adduct (compound 2 ) of two substrate molecules was used as substrate for pre-steady-state kinetic analysis. Whereas the wild-type enzyme catalyses the decomposition of compound 2 into a mixture of riboflavin and 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H )-pyrimidinedione, as well as into two equivalents of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine, a H102Q mutant enzyme predominantly catalyses the former reaction. Stopped-flow experiments with this mutant enzyme failed to identify a reaction intermediate between compound 2 and riboflavin. However, the apparent rate constants for the formation of riboflavin as observed by stopped-flow and quenched-flow experiments were significantly different, thus suggesting that the reaction proceeds via a significantly populated intermediate, the absorbance of which is similar to that of compound 2 . An F2A mutant enzyme converts compound 2 predominantly into 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. Stopped-flow experiments using compound 2 as substrate indicated a slight and rapid initial increase in absorbance at 310 nm, followed by a slower decrease. This finding, in conjunction with different apparent rates for the formation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine, suggests the involvement of a significantly populated intermediate in the transition between compound 2 and 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine, the optical spectrum of which is similar to that of compound 1.     

Evolution of vitamin B2 biosynthesis. A novel class of riboflavin synthase in Archaea

The open reading frame MJ1184 of Methanococcus jannaschii with similarity to riboflavin synthase of Methanothermobacter thermoautotrophicus was cloned into an expression vector but was poorly expressed in an Escherichia coli host strain. However, a synthetic open reading frame that was optimized for expression in E.coli directed the synthesis of abundant amounts of a protein with an apparent subunit mass of 17.5 kDa. The protein was purified to apparent homogeneity. Hydrodynamic studies indicated a relative mass of 88 kDa suggesting a homopentamer structure. The enzyme was shown to catalyze the formation of riboflavin from 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine at a rate of 24 nmol mg(-1) min(-1) at 40 degrees C. Divalent metal ions, preferably manganese or magnesium, are required for maximum activity. In contrast to pentameric archaeal type riboflavin synthases, orthologs from plants, fungi and eubacteria are trimeric proteins characterized by an internal sequence repeat with similar folding patterns. In these organisms the reaction is achieved by binding the two substrate molecules in an antiparallel orientation. With the enzyme of M.jannaschii, 13C NMR spectroscopy with 13C-labeled 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine samples as substrates showed that the regiochemistry of the dismutation reaction is the same as observed in eubacteria and eukaryotes, however, in a non-pseudo-c2 symmetric environment. Whereas the riboflavin synthases of M.jannaschii and M.thermoautotrophicus are devoid of similarity with those of eubacteria and eukaryotes, they have significant sequence similarity with 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthases catalyzing the penultimate step of riboflavin biosynthesis. 6,7-Dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase and the archaeal riboflavin synthase appear to have diverged early in the evolution of Archaea from a common ancestor. Some Archaea have eubacterial type riboflavin synthases which may have been acquired by lateral gene transfer.     

Biosynthesis of vitamin B2: Structure and mechanism of riboflavin synthase

The biosynthesis of one riboflavin molecule requires one molecule of GTP and two molecules of ribulose 5-phosphate as substrates. GTP is hydrolytically opened, converted into 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione by a sequence of deamination, side chain reduction and dephosphorylation. Condensation with 3,4-dihydroxy-2-butanone 4-phosphate obtained from ribulose 5-phosphate leads to 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. The final step in the biosynthesis of the vitamin involves the dismutation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine catalyzed by riboflavin synthase. The mechanistically unusual reaction involves the transfer of a four-carbon fragment between two identical substrate molecules. The second product, 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione, is recycled in the biosynthetic pathway by 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase. This article will review structures and reaction mechanisms of riboflavin synthases and related proteins up to 2007 and 122 references are cited.     

Evolution of vitamin B2 biosynthesis: riboflavin synthase of Arabidopsis thaliana and its inhibition by riboflavin

A synthetic gene specifying the catalytic domain of the Arabidopsis thaliana riboflavin synthase was expressed with high efficiency in a recombinant Escherichia coli strain. The recombinant pseudomature protein was shown to convert 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine into riboflavin at a rate of 0.027 s-1 at 25 degrees C. The protein sediments at a rate of 3.9 S. Sedimentation equilibrium analysis afforded a molecular mass of 67.5 kDa, indicating a homotrimeric structure, analogous to the riboflavin synthases of Eubacteria and fungi. The protein binds its product riboflavin with relatively high affinity (Kd =1.1 microM). Product inhibition results in a characteristic sigmoidal velocity versus substrate concentration relationship. Characterization of the enzyme/product complex by circular dichroism and UV absorbance spectroscopy revealed a shift of the absorption maxima of riboflavin from 370 and 445 to 399 and 465 nm, respectively. Complete or partial sequences for riboflavin synthase orthologs were analyzed from 11 plant species. In each case for which the complete plant gene sequence was available, the catalytic domain was preceded by a sequence of 1-72 amino acid residues believed to function as plastid targeting signals. Comparison of all available riboflavin synthase sequences indicates that hypothetical gene duplication conducive to the two-domain architecture occurred very early in evolution.     

Biosynthesis of riboflavin. 6,7-Dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine 5'-phosphate is not a substrate for riboflavin synthase.

Phosphotransferase from carrot is shown to catalyze the phosphorylation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine specifically at position 5' of the ribityl side chain. The lumazine 5'-phosphate is neither a substrate nor an inhibitor of riboflavin synthase from Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. It follows that the obligatory product of riboflavin synthase is riboflavin and not FMN.     

Presteady state kinetic analysis of riboflavin synthase

Riboflavin synthase catalyzes a mechanistically complex dismutation affording riboflavin and 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione from 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. The kinetics of the enzyme from Escherichia coli were studied under single turnover conditions. Stopped flow as well as quenched flow experiments documented the transient formation of a pentacyclic reaction intermediate. No other transient species were sufficiently populated to allow detection. The data are best described by a sequence of one second order and one first order reaction.     

Biosynthesis of riboflavin. Enzymatic formation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine by heavy riboflavin synthase from Bacillus subtilis

The beta subunits of heavy riboflavin synthase catalyze the formation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine from 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione and a carbohydrate phosphate, Compound X. 5-Amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione 5'-phosphate is not a substrate for the enzyme, although it is an established intermediate in the biosynthesis of riboflavin. It follows that this pyrimidine phosphate must be dephosphorylated prior to the formation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine.     

The structural basis of riboflavin binding to Schizosaccharomyces pombe 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase

Riboflavin is an essential cofactor in all organisms. Its direct biosynthetic precursor, 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine, is synthesised by the enzyme 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase. Recently, we have found that the enzyme from Schizosaccharomyces pombe binds riboflavin, the final product of the pathway with a relatively high affinity with a KD of 1.2 microM. Here, we report on the crystal structure of lumazine synthase from S. pombe with bound riboflavin and compare the binding mode with those of the substrate analogue inhibitor 5-nitro-6-(D-ribitylamino)-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione and of the product analogue 6-carboxyethyl-7-oxo-8-ribityllumazine. In all complexes the pyrimidinedione moieties of each respective ligand bind in a very similar orientation. Binding of riboflavin additionally involves a stacking interaction of the dimethylbenzene moiety with the side-chain of His94, a highly conserved residue in all lumazine synthases. The enzyme from Bacillus subtilis showed a KD of at least 1 mM whereas the very homologous enzyme from Saccharomyces cerevisiae had a comparable KD of 3.9 microM. Structural comparison of the S. cerevisiae, the S. pombe, and the mutant enzymes suggests that fine tuning of affinity is achieved by influencing this stacking interaction.     

Structure of lumazine protein, an optical transponder of luminescent bacteria

The intensely fluorescent lumazine protein is believed to be involved in the bioluminescence of certain marine bacteria. The sequence of the catalytically inactive protein resembles that of the enzyme riboflavin synthase. Its non-covalently bound fluorophore, 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine, is the substrate of this enzyme and also the committed precursor of vitamin B₂. An extensive crystallization screen was performed using numerous single-site mutants of the lumazine protein from Photobacterium leiognathi in complex with its fluorophore and with riboflavin, respectively. Only the L49N mutant in complex with riboflavin yielded suitable crystals, allowing X-ray structure determination to a resolution of 2.5 Å. The monomeric protein folds into two closely similar domains that are structurally related by pseudo-C₂ symmetry, whereby the entire domain topology resembles that of riboflavin synthase. Riboflavin is bound to a shallow cavity in the N-terminal domain of lumazine protein, whereas the C-terminal domain lacks a ligand.     

Lumazine proteins from photobacteria: localization of the single ligand binding site to the N-terminal domain

Lumazine protein is believed to serve as an optical transponder in bioluminescence emission by certain marine bacteria. Sequence arguments suggest that the protein comprises two similarly folded riboflavin synthase-type domains, but earlier work also suggested that only one domain binds 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine (DMRL). We show that the replacement of serine-48 or threonine-50 in the N-terminal domain of lumazine protein of Photobacterium leiognathi modulates the absorbance and fluorescence properties of bound DMRL or riboflavin. Moreover, the replacement of these amino acids is accompanied by reduced ligand affinity. Replacement of serine-48 by tryptophan shifts the (13)C NMR signal of the 6-methyl group in bound DMRL upfield by 2.9 ppm as compared to the wild-type protein complex. Replacement of threonine-50 causes a downfield shift of approximately 20 ppm for the (15)N NMR signal of N-5, as well as an upfield shift of 3 ppm for the (13)C NMR signal of C-7 in bound DMRL, respectively. The replacement of the topologically equivalent serine-144 and proline-146 in the C-terminal domain had no significant impact on optical properties, chemical shifts and apparent binding constants of bound DMRL. These data show that the N-terminal domain is the unique site for ligand binding in lumazine protein.     

Biosynthesis of riboflavin: 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase of Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

A cDNA sequence from Schizosaccharomyces pombe with similarity to 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine synthase was expressed in a recombinant Escherichia coli strain. The recombinant protein is a homopentamer of 17-kDa subunits with an apparent molecular mass of 87 kDa as determined by sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation (it sediments at an apparent velocity of 5.0 S at 20 degrees C). The protein has been crystallized in space group C2221. The crystals diffract to a resolution of 2.4 A. The enzyme catalyses the formation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine from 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione and 3,4-dihydroxy- 2-butanone 4-phosphate. Steady-state kinetic analysis afforded a vmax value of 13 000 nmol.mg-1.h-1 and Km values of 5 and 67 microm for 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione and 3,4-dihydroxy-2-butanone 4-phosphate, respectively. The enzyme binds riboflavin with a Kd of 1.2 microm. The fluorescence quantum yield of enzyme-bound riboflavin is < 2% as compared with that of free riboflavin. The protein/riboflavin complex displays an optical transition centered around 530 nm as shown by absorbance and CD spectrometry which may indicate a charge transfer complex. Replacement of tryptophan 27 by tyrosine or phenylalanine had only minor effects on the kinetic properties, but complexes of the mutant proteins did not show the anomalous long wavelength absorbance of the wild-type protein. The replacement of tryptophan 27 by aliphatic amino acids substantially reduced the affinity of the enzyme for riboflavin and for the substrate, 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione.     

Biosynthesis of riboflavin in Bacillus subtilis: origin of the four-carbon moiety.

We studied the incorporation of [1-13C]ribose and [1,3-13C2]glycerol into the riboflavin precursor 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine, using a riboflavin-deficient mutant of Bacillus subtilis. The formation of the pyrazine ring requires the addition of a four-carbon moiety to a pyrimidine precursor. The results show that C-6 alpha, C-6, C-7, and C-7 alpha of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine were biosynthetically equivalent to C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-5 of a pentose phosphate. C-4 of the pentose precursor was lost through an intramolecular skeletal rearrangement. Thus, the last steps in the biosynthesis of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine apparently involve the same mechanism in bacteria as in fungi.     

Biosynthesis of riboflavin. Enzymatic formation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine from pentose phosphates

The xylene ring of riboflavin originates by dismutation of the precursor, 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. The formation of the latter compound requires a 4-carbon unit as the precursor of carbon atoms 6 alpha, 6, 7, and 7 alpha of the pyrazine ring. The formation of riboflavin from GTP and ribose phosphate by cell extract from Candida guilliermondii has been observed by Logvinenko et al. (Logvinenko, E. M., Shavlovsky, G. M., Zakal'sky, A. E., and Zakhodylo, I. V. (1982) Biokhimiya 47, 931-936). We have studied this enzyme reaction in closer detail using carbohydrate phosphates as substrates and synthetic 5-amino-6-ribitylamino-2,4-(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione or its 5'-phosphate as cosubstrates. Several pentose phosphates and pentulose phosphates can serve as substrate for the formation of riboflavin with similar efficiency. The reaction requires Mg2+. Various samples of ribulose phosphate labeled with 14C or 13C have been prepared and used as enzyme substrates. Radioactivity was efficiently incorporated into riboflavin from [1-14C]ribulose phosphate, [3,5-14C]ribulose phosphate, and [5-14C]ribulose phosphate, but not from [4-14C]ribulose phosphate. Label from [1-13C]ribose 5-phosphate was incorporated into C6 and C8 alpha of riboflavin. [2,3,5-13C]Ribose 5-phosphate yielded riboflavin containing two contiguously labeled segments of three carbon atoms, namely 5a, 9a, 9 and 8, 7, 7 alpha. 5-Amino-6-[1'-14C] ribitylamino-2,4 (1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione transferred radioactivity exclusively to the ribityl side chain of riboflavin in the enzymatic reaction. It follows that the 4-carbon unit used for the biosynthesis of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine consists of the pentose carbon atoms 1, 2, 3, and 5 in agreement with earlier in vivo studies.     

Biochemical functions of RIB5 and RIB6 gene products participating in riboflavin biosynthesis in the yeast Pichia guilliermondii

The biosynthesis of riboflavin precursor 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine was studied in extracts of Pichia guilliermondii yeast mutants of rib5 and rib6 genotypes with impaired synthesis of proteins P1 and P2, respectively. It was shown that synthesis of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine took place in extracts of rib5 mutant (active P1 protein) in the presence of 2,4-dihydroxy-5-amino-6-ribitylaminopyrimidine and the compound formed from ribose-5-phosphate by extracts of rib6 mutant (active P2 protein). No lumazine was formed in extracts of rib6 mutant from pyrimidine substrate and ribose-5-phosphate preincubated with extracts of rib5 mutant. Hence, P1 protein (the product of RIB5 gene) participates in the biosynthesis of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine from 2,4-dihydroxy-5-amino-6-ribitylaminopyrimidine and aliphatic intermediate which is formed from ribose-5-phosphate, under the action of P2 protein (the product of RIB6 gene).     

Biosynthesis of riboflavin 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine 5′-phosphate is not a substrate for riboflavin synthase

Phosphotransferase from carrot is shown to catalyze the phosphorylation of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine specifically at position 5′ of the ribityl side chain. The lumazine 5′-phosphate is neither a substrate nor an inhibitor of riboflavin synthase from Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. It follows that the obligatory product of riboflavin synthase is riboflavin and not FMN.