Identification of borrelidin binding site on threonyl-tRNA synthetase

Borrelidin exhibits a wide spectrum of biological activities and has been considered as a non-competitive inhibitor of threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS). However, the detailed mechanisms of borrelidin against ThrRS, especially borrelidin binding site on ThrRS, are still unclear, which limits the development of novel borrelidin derivatives and rational design of structure-based ThrRS inhibitors. In this study, the binding site of borrelidin on Escherichia coli ThrRS was predicted by molecular docking. To validate our speculations, the ThrRS mutants of E. coli (P424K, E458Δ, and G459Δ) were constructed and their sensitivity to borrelidin was compared to that of the wild-type ThrRS by enzyme kinetics and stopped-flow fluorescence analysis. The docking results showed that borrelidin binds the pocket outside but adjacent to the active site of ThrRS, consisting of residue Y313, R363, R375, P424, E458, G459, and K465. Site-directed mutagenesis results showed that sensitivities of P424K, E458Δ, and G459Δ ThrRSs to borrelidin were reduced markedly. All the results showed that residue Y313, P424, E458, and G459 play vital roles in the binding of borrelidin to ThrRS. It indicated that borrelidin may induce the cleft closure, which blocks the release of Thr-AMP and PPi, to inhibit activity of ThrRS rather than inhibit the binding of ATP and threonine. This study provides new insight into inhibitory mechanisms of borrelidin against ThrRS.     

Threonyl-tRNA synthetase of archaea: importance of the discriminator base in the aminoacylation of threonine tRNA.

To investigate the contribution of the discriminator base of archaeal tRNA(Thr) in aminoacylation by threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS), cross-species aminoacylation between Escherichia coli and Haloferax volcanii, halophilic archaea, was studied. It was found that E. coli ThrRS threonylated the H. volcanii tRNA(Thr) but that E. coli threonine tRNA was not aminoacylated by H. volcanii ThrRS. Results of a threonylation experiment using in vitro mutants of E. coli threonine tRNA showed that only the mutant tRNA(Thr) having U73 was threonylated by H. volcanii ThrRS. These findings indicate that the discriminator base U73 of H. volcanii tRNA(Thr) is a strong determinant for the recognition by ThrRS.     

Molecular mimicry in translational control of E. coli threonyl-tRNA synthetase gene. Competitive inhibition in tRNA aminoacylation and operator-repressor recognition switch using tRNA identity rules.

We previously showed that: (i) E.coli threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS) binds to the leader of its mRNA and represses translation by preventing ribosome binding to its loading site; (ii) the translational operator shares sequence and structure similarities with tRNA(Thr); (iii) it is possible to switch the specificity of the translational control from ThrRS to methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS) by changing the CGU anticodon-like sequence to CAU, the tRNA(Met) anticodon. Here, we show that the wild type (CGU) and the mutated (CAU) operators act as competitive inhibitors of tRNA(Thr) and tRNA(fMet) for aminoacylation catalyzed by E.coli ThrRS and MetRS, respectively. The apparent Kd of the MetRS/CAU operator complex is one order magnitude higher than that of the ThrRS/CGU operator complex. Although ThrRS and MetRS shield the anticodon- and acceptor-like domains of their respective operators, the relative contribution of these two domains differs significantly. As in the threonine system, the interaction of MetRS with the CAU operator occludes ribosome binding to its loading site. The present data demonstrate that the anticodon-like sequence is one major determinant for the identity of the operator and the regulation specificity. It further shows that the tRNA-like operator obeys to tRNA identity rules.     

Novel Type of ADP-Forming Acetyl Coenzyme A Synthetase in Hyperthermophilic Archaea: Heterologous Expression and Characterization of Isoenzymes from the Sulfate Reducer Archaeoglobus fulgidus and the Methanogen Methanococcus jannaschii

Acetyl coenzyme A (CoA) synthetase (ADP forming) (ACD) represents a novel enzyme of acetate formation and energy conservation (acetyl-CoA + ADP + P(i) right harpoon over left harpoon acetate + ATP + CoA) in Archaea and eukaryotic protists. The only characterized ACD in archaea, two isoenzymes from the hyperthermophile Pyrococcus furiosus, constitute 145-kDa heterotetramers (alpha(2), beta(2)). The coding genes for the alpha and beta subunits are located at different sites in the P. furiosus chromosome. Based on significant sequence similarity of the P. furiosus genes, five open reading frames (ORFs) encoding putative ACD were identified in the genome of the hyperthermophilic sulfate-reducing archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus and one ORF was identified in the hyperthermophilic methanogen Methanococcus jannaschii. The ORFs constitute fusions of the homologous P. furiosus genes encoding the alpha and beta subunits. Two ORFs, AF1211 and AF1938, of A. fulgidus and ORF MJ0590 of M. jannaschii were cloned and functionally overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant proteins were characterized as distinctive isoenzymes of ACD with different substrate specificities. In contrast to the Pyrococcus ACD, the ACDs of Archaeoglobus and Methanococcus constitute homodimers of about 140 kDa composed of two identical 70-kDa subunits, which represent fusions of the homologous P. furiosus alpha and beta subunits in an alphabeta (AF1211 and MJ0590) or betaalpha (AF1938) orientation. The data indicate that A. fulgidus and M. jannaschii contains a novel type of ADP-forming acetyl-CoA synthetase in Archaea, in which the subunit polypeptides and their coding genes are fused.     

Threonyl-Transfer Ribonucleic Acid Synthetase from Escherichia coli: Subunit Structure and Genetic Analysis of the Structural Gene by Means of a Mutated Enzyme and of a Specialized Transducing Lambda Bacteriophage

Threonyl-transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase (ThrRS) has been purified from a strain of Escherichia coli that shows a ninefold overproduction of this enzyme. Determination of the molecular weight of the purified, native enzyme by gel chromatography and by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at different gel concentrations yielded apparent molecular weight values of 150,000 and 161,000, respectively. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate yields a single protein band of 76,000-dalton size. From these results an alpha(2) subunit structure can be inferred. A mutant with a structurally altered ThrRS, which had been obtained by selection for resistance against the antibiotic borrelidin, was used to map the position of the ThrRS structural gene (thrS) by P1 transductions. It was found that thrS is located in the immediate neighborhood of pheS and pheT, which are the structural genes for the alpha and beta subunits of phenylalanyl-transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) synthetase, the gene order being aroD-pheT-pheS-thrS. A lambda phage that was previously shown to specifically transduce pheS, pheT, and also the structural gene for the translation initiation factor IF3 can complement the defect of the altered ThrRS of the borrelidin-resistant strain. This phage also stimulates the synthesis of the 76,000, molecular-weight polypeptide of ThrRS in ultraviolet light-irradiated. E. coli cells. These results indicate that the genes for ThrRS, alpha and beta subunits of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase, and initiation factor IF3 are immediately adjacent on the E. coli chromosome.     

beta-Glutamate as a substrate for glutamine synthetase

The conversion of beta-glutamate to beta-glutamine by archaeal and bacterial glutamine synthetase (GS) enzymes has been examined. The GS from Methanohalophilus portucalensis (which was partially purified) is capable of catalyzing the amidation of this substrate with a rate sevenfold less than the rate obtained with alpha-glutamate. Recombinant GS from the archaea Methanococcus jannaschii and Archaeoglobus fulgidus were considerably more selective for alpha-glutamate than beta-glutamate as a substrate. All the archaeal enzymes were much less selective than the two bacterial GS (from Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis), whose specific activities towards beta-glutamate were much smaller than rates with the alpha-isomer. These results are discussed in light of the observation that beta-glutamate is accumulated as an osmolyte in many archaea while beta-glutamine (produced by glutamine synthetase) is used as an osmolyte only in M. portucalensis.     

Escherichia coli Mutants Overproducing Phenylalanyl- and Threonyl-tRNA Synthetase

The structural genes for threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS) and phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (PheRS) are closely linked on the Escherichia coli chromosome. To study whether these enzymes share a common regulatory element, we have investigated their synthesis in mutants which were selected for overproduction of either ThrRS or PheRS. It was found that mutants isolated previously for overproduction of ThrRS as strains resistant to the antibiotic borrelidin (strains Bor Res 3 and Bor Res 15) did not show an elevated level of PheRS. PheRS-overproducing strains were then isolated as revertants of strains with structurally altered enzymes. Strain S1 is a temperature-resistant derivative of a temperature-sensitive PheRS mutant, and strain G118 is a prototrophic derivative of a PheRS mutant which shows phenylalanine auxotrophy as a consequence of an altered K(m) of this enzyme for the amino acid. In both kinds of revertants, S1 and G118, the concentration of PheRS and ThrRS was increased by factors of about 2.5 and 1.8, respectively, whereas the level of other aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases was not affected by the mutations. Genetic studies showed that the simultaneous overproduction of PheRS and ThrRS in revertants G118 and S1 is based upon gene amplification, since this property was easily lost after growing the cells in the absence of the selective stimulus, and since this loss could be prevented by the presence of the recA allele. By similar criteria, the four- and eightfold overproduction of ThrRS in strains Bor Res 3 and Bor Res 15, respectively, was very stable genetically, indicating that it is caused by a mutational event other than gene amplification. From these results, we conclude that the concomitant increase of PheRS and ThrRS in strains G118 and S1 is an expression of gene duplication and not of a joint regulation of these two aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. This conclusion is further supported by the result that, in mutant G118 as well as in its parental strain G1, growth in minimal medium lacking phenylalanine led to an additional twofold increase of their PheRS concentration. This increase was restricted to the PheRS, since the level of other aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, including the ThrRS, stayed unchanged.     

Genetic Validation of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases as Drug Targets in Trypanosoma brucei

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is an important public health threat in sub-Saharan Africa. Current drugs are unsatisfactory, and new drugs are being sought. Few validated enzyme targets are available to support drug discovery efforts, so our goal was to obtain essentiality data on genes with proven utility as drug targets. Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) are known drug targets for bacterial and fungal pathogens and are required for protein synthesis. Here we survey the essentiality of eight Trypanosoma brucei aaRSs by RNA interference (RNAi) gene expression knockdown, covering an enzyme from each major aaRS class: valyl-tRNA synthetase (ValRS) (class Ia), tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase (TrpRS-1) (class Ib), arginyl-tRNA synthetase (ArgRS) (class Ic), glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (GluRS) (class 1c), threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS) (class IIa), asparaginyl-tRNA synthetase (AsnRS) (class IIb), and phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (α and β) (PheRS) (class IIc). Knockdown of mRNA encoding these enzymes in T. brucei mammalian stage parasites showed that all were essential for parasite growth and survival in vitro. The reduced expression resulted in growth, morphological, cell cycle, and DNA content abnormalities. ThrRS was characterized in greater detail, showing that the purified recombinant enzyme displayed ThrRS activity and that the protein localized to both the cytosol and mitochondrion. Borrelidin, a known inhibitor of ThrRS, was an inhibitor of T. brucei ThrRS and showed antitrypanosomal activity. The data show that aaRSs are essential for T. brucei survival and are likely to be excellent targets for drug discovery efforts.     

Interaction between hydrogenase maturation factors HypA and HypB is required for [NiFe]-hydrogenase maturation

The active site of [NiFe]-hydrogenase contains nickel and iron coordinated by cysteine residues, cyanide and carbon monoxide. Metal chaperone proteins HypA and HypB are required for the nickel insertion step of [NiFe]-hydrogenase maturation. How HypA and HypB work together to deliver nickel to the catalytic core remains elusive. Here we demonstrated that HypA and HypB from Archaeoglobus fulgidus form 1:1 heterodimer in solution and HypA does not interact with HypB dimer preloaded with GMPPNP and Ni. Based on the crystal structure of A. fulgidus HypB, mutants were designed to map the HypA binding site on HypB. Our results showed that two conserved residues, Tyr-4 and Leu-6, of A. fulgidus HypB are required for the interaction with HypA. Consistent with this observation, we demonstrated that the corresponding residues, Leu-78 and Val-80, located at the N-terminus of the GTPase domain of Escherichia coli HypB were required for HypA/HypB interaction. We further showed that L78A and V80A mutants of HypB failed to reactivate hydrogenase in an E. coli ΔhypB strain. Our results suggest that the formation of the HypA/HypB complex is essential to the maturation process of hydrogenase. The HypA binding site is in proximity to the metal binding site of HypB, suggesting that the HypA/HypB interaction may facilitate nickel transfer between the two proteins.     

Characterization and kinetic mechanism of mono- and bifunctional ornithine acetyltransferases from thermophilic microorganisms.

The argJ gene coding for N2-acetyl-L-ornithine: L-glutamate N-acetyltransferase, the key enzyme involved in the acetyl cycle of L-arginine biosynthesis, has been cloned from thermophilic procaryotes: the archaeon Methanoccocus jannaschii, and the bacteria Thermotoga neapolitana and Bacillus stearothermophilus. Archaeal argJ only complements an Escherichia coli argE mutant (deficient in acetylornithinase, which catalyzes the fifth step in the linear biosynthetic pathway), whereas bacterial genes additionally complement an argA mutant (deficient in N-acetylglutamate synthetase, the first enzyme of the pathway). In keeping with these in vivo data the purified His-tagged ArgJ enzyme of M. jannaschii only catalyzes N2-acetylornithine conversion to ornithine, whereas T. neapolitana and B. stearothermophilus ArgJ also catalyze the conversion of glutamate to N-acetylglutamate using acetylCoA as the acetyl donor. M. jannaschii ArgJ is therefore a monofunctional enzyme, whereas T. neapolitana and B. stearothermophilus encoded ArgJ are bifunctional. Kinetic data demonstrate that in all three thermophilic organisms ArgJ-mediated catalysis follows ping-pong bi-bi kinetic mechanism. Acetylated ArgJ intermediates were detected in semireactions using [14C]acetylCoA or [14C]N2-acetyl-L-glutamate as acetyl donors. In this catalysis L-ornithine acts as an inhibitor; this amino acid therefore appears to be a key regulatory molecule in the acetyl cycle of L-arginine synthesis. Thermophilic ArgJ are synthesized as protein precursors undergoing internal cleavage to generate alpha and beta subunits which appear to assemble to alpha2beta2 heterotetramers in E. coli. The cleavage occurs between alanine and threonine residues within the highly conserved PXM-ATML motif detected in all available ArgJ sequences.     

Conformational movements and cooperativity upon amino acid,ATP and tRNA binding in threonyl-tRNA synthetase

The crystal structures of threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS) from Staphylococcus aureus, with ATP and an analogue of threonyl adenylate, are described. Together with the previously determined structures of Escherichia coli ThrRS with different substrates, they allow a comprehensive analysis of the effect of binding of all the substrates: threonine, ATP and tRNA. The tRNA, by inserting its acceptor arm between the N-terminal domain and the catalytic domain, causes a large rotation of the former. Within the catalytic domain, four regions surrounding the active site display significant conformational changes upon binding of the different substrates. The binding of threonine induces the movement of as much as 50 consecutive amino acid residues. The binding of ATP triggers a displacement, as large as 8A at some C(alpha) positions, of a strand-loop-strand region of the core beta-sheet. Two other regions move in a cooperative way upon binding of threonine or ATP: the motif 2 loop, which plays an essential role in the first step of the aminoacylation reaction, and the ordering loop, which closes on the active site cavity when the substrates are in place. The tRNA interacts with all four mobile regions, several residues initially bound to threonine or ATP switching to a position in which they can contact the tRNA. Three such conformational switches could be identified, each of them in a different mobile region. The structural analysis suggests that, while the small substrates can bind in any order, they must be in place before productive tRNA binding can occur.     

Cysteinyl-tRNA(Cys) formation in Methanocaldococcus jannaschii: the mechanism is still unknown

Most organisms form Cys-tRNA(Cys), an essential component for protein synthesis, through the action of cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase (CysRS). However, the genomes of Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus, and Methanopyrus kandleri do not contain a recognizable cysS gene encoding CysRS. It was reported that M. jannaschii prolyl-tRNA synthetase (C. Stathopoulos, T. Li, R. Longman, U. C. Vothknecht, H. D. Becker, M. Ibba, and D. S?ll, Science 287:479-482, 2000; R. S. Lipman, K. R. Sowers, and Y. M. Hou, Biochemistry 39:7792-7798, 2000) or the M. jannaschii MJ1477 protein (C. Fabrega, M. A. Farrow, B. Mukhopadhyay, V. de Crécy-Lagard, A. R. Ortiz, and P. Schimmel, Nature 411:110-114, 2001) provides the "missing" CysRS activity for in vivo Cys-tRNA(Cys) formation. These conclusions were supported by complementation of temperature-sensitive Escherichia coli cysS(Ts) strain UQ818 with archaeal proS genes (encoding prolyl-tRNA synthetase) or with the Deinococcus radiodurans DR0705 gene, the ortholog of the MJ1477 gene. Here we show that E. coli UQ818 harbors a mutation (V27E) in CysRS; the largest differences compared to the wild-type enzyme are a fourfold increase in the K(m) for cysteine and a ninefold reduction in the k(cat) for ATP. While transformants of E. coli UQ818 with archaeal and bacterial cysS genes grew at a nonpermissive temperature, growth was also supported by elevated intracellular cysteine levels, e.g., by transformation with an E. coli cysE allele (encoding serine acetyltransferase) or by the addition of cysteine to the culture medium. An E. coli cysS deletion strain permitted a stringent complementation test; growth could be supported only by archaeal or bacterial cysS genes and not by archaeal proS genes or the D. radiodurans DR0705 gene. Construction of a D. radiodurans DR0705 deletion strain showed this gene to be dispensable. However, attempts to delete D. radiodurans cysS failed, suggesting that this is an essential Deinococcus gene. These results imply that it is not established that proS or MJ1477 gene products catalyze Cys-tRNA(Cys) synthesis in M. jannaschii. Thus, the mechanism of Cys-tRNA(Cys) formation in M. jannaschii still remains to be discovered.     

Inhibition of isoleucyl-transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase in Echerichia coli by pseudomonic acid

The mode of action of the antibiotic pseudomonic acid has been studied in Escherichia coli. Pseudomonic acid strongly inhibits protein and RNA synthesis in vivo. The antibiotic had no effect on highly purified DNA-dependent RNA polymerase and showed only a weak inhibitory effect on a poly(U)-directed polyphenylalanine-forming ribosomal preparation. Chloramphenicol reversed inhibition of RNA synthesis in vivo. Pseudomonic acid had little effect on RNA synthesis in a regulatory mutant, E. coli B AS19 RC(rel), whereas protein synthesis was strongly inhibited. In pseudomonic acid-treated cells, increased concentrations of ppGpp, pppGpp and ATP were observed, but the GTP pool size decreased, suggesting that inhibition of RNA synthesis is a consequence of the stringent control mechanism imposed by pseudomonic acid-induced deprivation of an amino acid. Of the 20 common amino acids, only isoleucine reversed the inhibitory effect in vivo. The antibiotic was found to be a powerful inhibitor of isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase both in vivo and in vitro. Of seven other tRNA synthetases assayed, only a weak inhibitory effect on phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase was observed; this presumably accounted for the weak effect on polyphenylalanine formation in a ribosomal preparation. Pseudomonic acid also significantly de-repressed threonine deaminase and transaminase B activity, but not dihydroxyacid dehydratase (isoleucine-biosynthetic enzymes) by decreasing the supply of aminoacylated tRNA(Ile). Pseudomonic acid is the second naturally occurring inhibitor of bacterial isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase to be discovered, furanomycin being the first.     

Iron-sulfur flavoprotein (Isf) from Methanosarcina thermophila is the prototype of a widely distributed family

A total of 35 homologs of the iron-sulfur flavoprotein (Isf) from Methanosarcina thermophila were identified in databases. All three domains were represented, and multiple homologs were present in several species. An unusually compact cysteine motif ligating the 4Fe-4S cluster in Isf is conserved in all of the homologs except two, in which either an aspartate or a histidine has replaced the second cysteine in the motif. A phylogenetic analysis of Isf homologs identified four subgroups, two of which were supported by bootstrap data. Three homologs from metabolically and phylogenetically diverse species in the Bacteria and Archaea domains (Af3 from Archaeoglobus fulgidus, Cd1 from Clostridium difficile, and Mj2 from Methanococcus jannaschii) were overproduced in Escherichia coli. Each homolog purified as a homodimer, and the UV-visible absorption spectra were nearly identical to that of Isf. After reconstitution with iron, sulfide, and flavin mononucleotide (FMN) the homologs contained six to eight nonheme iron atoms and 1.6 to 1.7 FMN molecules per dimer, suggesting that two 4Fe-4S or 3Fe-4S clusters and two FMN cofactors were bound to each dimer, which is consistent with Isf data. Homologs Af3 and Mj2 were reduced by CO in reactions catalyzed by cell extract of acetate-grown M. thermophila, but Cd1 was not. Homologs Af3 and Mj2 were reduced by CO in reactions catalyzed by A. fulgidus and M. jannaschii cell extracts. Cell extract of Clostridium thermoaceticum catalyzed CO reduction of Cd1. Our database sequence analyses and biochemical characterizations indicate that Isf is the prototype of a family of iron-sulfur flavoproteins that occur in members of all three domains.     

Translational regulation of the Escherichia coli threonyl-tRNA synthetase gene: Structural and functional importance of the thrS operator domains

Previous work showed that E coli threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS) binds to the leader region of its own mRNA and represses its translation by blocking ribosome binding. The operator consists of four distinct domains, one of them (domain 2) sharing structural analogies with the anticodon arm of the E coli tRNA^Thr. The regulation specificity can be switched by using tRNA identity rules, suggesting that the operator could be recognized by ThrRS as a tRNA-like structure. In the present paper, we investigated the relative contribution of the four domains to the regulation process by using deletions and point mutations. This was achieved by testing the effects of the mutations on RNA conformation (by probing experiments), on ThrRS recognition (by footprinting experiments and measure of the competition with tRNA^Thr for aminoacylation), on ribosome binding and ribosome/ThrRS competition (by toeprinting experiments). It turns out that: i) the four domains are structurally and functionally independent; ii) domain 2 is essential for regulation and contains the major structural determinants for ThrRS binding; iii) domain 4 is involved in control and ThrRS recognition, but to a lesser degree than domain 2. However, the previously described analogies with the acceptor-like stem are not functionally significant. How it is recognized by ThrRS reamins to be resolved; iv) domain 1, which contains the ribosome loading site, is not involved in ThrRS recognition. The binding of ThrRS probably masks the ribosome binding site by steric hindrance and not by direct contacts. This is only achieved when ThrRS interacts with both domains 2 and 4; and v) the unpaired domain 3, which connects domains 2 and 4, is not directly involved in ThrRS recognition. It should serve as an articulation to provide an appropriate spacing between domains 2 and 4. Furthermore, it is possibly involved in ribosome binding.     

Genetics of borrelidin resistant mutants of Saccharomyces cerivisiae and properties of their threonyl-tRNA-synthetase

Summary Twenty-two borrelidin resistant mutants of Saccharomyces cerivisiae were isolated, studied genetically and their threonyl-tRNA-synthetase was investigated. The borrelidin resistant mutants are classified into four groups. In the first group borrelidin resistance is coupled to the gene HOM3 coding for aspartokinase, in the second group to the gene LEU1. The borrelidin resistance in group three and four is not coupled to anyone of the genetic markers tested. Borrelidin resistance exhibited dominant behavior in all mutants except in the mutant of group 4. The properties of the ThrRS of the mutants of group one, two and four was found to be like the ones of the wild types. However the mutants of group three exhibit a structurally altered ThrRS, which is no longer inhibited by borrelidin.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of the phosphate-binding consensus sequence in Escherichia coli adenylosuccinate synthetase.

Adenylosuccinate synthetases from different sources contain an N-terminal glycine-rich sequence GDEGKGK, which is homologous to the conserved sequence GXXXXGK found in many other guanine nucleotide-binding proteins or enzymes. To determine the role of this sequence in the structure and function of Escherichia coli adenylosuccinate synthetase, site-directed mutagenesis was performed to generate five mutant enzymes: G12V (Gly12----Val), G15V (Gly15----Val), G17V (Gly17----Val), K18R (Lys18----Arg), and I19T (Ile19----Thr). Comparison of the kinetic properties of the wild-type enzyme and those of the mutant enzymes revealed that the sequence is critical for enzyme activity. Replacement of Gly12, Gly15, or Gly17 with Val, or replacement of Lys18 with Arg, resulted in significant decreases in the kcat/Km values of the enzyme. Because the consensus sequence GXXXXGK(T/S) has been found in many GTP-binding proteins, isoleucine at position 19 in the E. coli adenylosuccinate synthetase was changed to threonine to produce the sequence GDEGKGKT. This mutation, which more closely resembles the consensus sequence, resulted in a 160-fold increase in the Km value for substrate GTP; however, there were no great changes for the other two substrates, IMP and aspartate. Based on these data, we suggest that the N-terminal glycinerich sequence in E. coli adenylosuccinate synthetase plays a more important role in enzyme catalysis than in substrate binding. In addition, a hydrophobic amino acid residue such as isoleucine, leucine, or valine, rather than threonine, may play a critical role in GTP binding in adenosuccinate synthetase. These findings suggest that the glycine-rich sequence in adenylosuccinate synthetase functions differently relative to those in other GTP binding proteins or enzymes.     

Functional identification of the SecB homologue in Methanococcus jannaschii and direct interaction of SecB with trigger factor

In this study Mj0357 protein, a hypothetical protein from Methanococcus jannaschii which shows an 18% sequence identity with SecB from E. coli, has been identified as a functional homologue of SecB in M. jannaschii through a number of biochemical and biophysical examinations. It is composed mostly of beta-strands and exists as a homotetramer in solution. Mj0357 protein exhibits in vitro chaperone-like activity, suppressing thermal aggregation of citrate synthase and binding to partially folded maltose-binding protein. Upon binding to a peptide ligand, the protein undergoes a conformational change to expose a hydrophobic patch on the protein surface. All these physicochemical properties are highly similar to those of E. coli SecB. In addition, E. coli trigger factor (TF) has been shown here for the first time to bind E. coli SecB and Mj0357 protein with low micromolar affinities, indicating that the TF could interact directly along the SecB-dependent translocation pathway. These results indicate that the translocation pathway is conserved and functionally homologous in at least one of the archaeal organisms.     

Structural basis of translational control by Escherichia coli threonyl tRNA synthetase

Escherichia coli threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS) represses the translation of its own messenger RNA by binding to an operator located upstream of the initiation codon. The crystal structure of the complex between the core of ThrRS and the essential domain of the operator shows that the mRNA uses the recognition mode of the tRNA anticodon loop to initiate binding. The final positioning of the operator, upon which the control mechanism is based, relies on a characteristic RNA motif adapted to the enzyme surface. The finding of other thrS operators that have this conserved motif leads to a generalization of this regulatory mechanism to a subset of Gram-negative bacteria.     

Structure of the metal-dependent deacetylase LpxC from Yersinia enterocolitica complexed with the potent inhibitor CHIR-090

The first committed step of lipid A biosynthesis is catalyzed by UDP-(3-O-((R)-3-hydroxymyristoyl))-N-acetylglucosamine deacetylase, a metal-dependent deacetylase also known as LpxC. Because lipid A is essential for bacterial viability, the inhibition of LpxC is an appealing therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections. Here we report the 1.79 ? resolution X-ray crystal structure of LpxC from Yersinia enterocolitica (YeLpxC) complexed with the potent hydroxamate inhibitor CHIR-090. This enzyme is a nearly identical orthologue of LpxC from Yersinia pestis (99.7% sequence identity), the pathogen that causes bubonic plague. Similar to the inhibition of LpxC from Escherichia coli, CHIR-090 inhibits YeLpxC via a two-step slow, tight-binding mechanism with an apparent K(i) of 0.54 ± 0.14 nM followed by conversion of the E·I to E·I* species with a rate constant of 0.11 ± 0.01 min(-1). The structure of the LpxC complex with CHIR-090 shows that the inhibitor hydroxamate group chelates the active site zinc ion, and the "tail" of the inhibitor binds in the hydrophobic tunnel in the active site. This hydrophobic tunnel is framed by a βαβ subdomain that exhibits significant conformational flexibility as it accommodates inhibitor binding. CHIR-090 displays a 27 mm zone of inhibition against Y. enterocolitica in a Kirby-Bauer antibiotic assay, which is comparable to its reported activity against other Gram-negative species including E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This study demonstrates that the inhibition of LpxC should be explored as a potential therapeutic and/or prophylatic response to infection by weaponized Yersinia species.