Functional characterization of sll0659 from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 lacks a gene for the any known types of lycopene cyclase. Recently, we reported that Sll0659 (unknown for its function) from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 shows similarity in sequence to a lycopene cyclase gene-CruA from Chlorobium tepidum. To test, whether sll0659 encoded protein serves as lycopene cyclase, in this study, we investigated the carotenoids of the wild types and mutants. In the sll0659 deleted mutant, there is no blockage at the lycopene cyclization step. Our results demonstrate that sll0659 does not affect lycopene cycilzation. However, the ultrastructure of mutants suggests the involvement or necessity of sll0659 in the cell division.     

Distal end of 105-125 loop - A putative reductase binding domain of phthalate dioxygenase

The phthalate dioxygenase system consists of the dioxygenase, PDO, which contains a Rieske [2Fe-2S] center and a Fe(II)-mononuclear center, and the reductase, PDR. Involvement of the distal end of the 105-125 loop of PDO in its interaction with PDR was tested by substituting charged residues in the loop with alanines and by replacing the conserved tryptophan-94. Compared to wild-type PDO, all variants had lower catalytic activity and the Rieske centers were reduced more slowly by reduced PDR. The rates of oxidation of the Rieske centers by oxygen, which represent electron transfer between the Rieske and mononuclear centers, were essentially unaffected. These results suggest that positively charged residues of the distal end of the 105-125 loop are collectively involved in PDR binding with the PDO. Contrary to expectations, Trp94 variants were not directly involved in electron transfer between PDR and PDO. The tryptophan appears to have mainly a structural role, apparently preserving the hydrophilic environment of the Rieske center.     

Conserved Chloroplast Open-reading Frame ycf54 Is Required for Activity of the Magnesium Protoporphyrin Monomethylester Oxidative Cyclase in Synechocystis PCC 6803

The cyclase step in chlorophyll (Chl) biosynthesis has not been characterized biochemically, although there are some plausible candidates for cyclase subunits. Two of these, Sll1214 and Sll1874 from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803, were FLAG-tagged in vivo and used as bait in separate pulldown experiments. Mass spectrometry identified Ycf54 as an interaction partner in each case, and this interaction was confirmed by a reciprocal pulldown using FLAG-tagged Ycf54 as bait. Inactivation of the ycf54 gene (slr1780) in Synechocystis 6803 resulted in a strain that exhibited significantly reduced Chl levels. A detailed analysis of Chl precursors in the ycf54 mutant revealed accumulation of very high levels of Mg-protoporphyrin IX methyl ester and only traces of protochlorophyllide, the product of the cyclase, were detected. Western blotting demonstrated that levels of the cyclase component Sll1214 and the Chl biosynthesis enzymes Mg-protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase and protochlorophyllide reductase are significantly impaired in the ycf54 mutant. Ycf54 is, therefore, essential for the activity and stability of the oxidative cyclase. We discuss a possible role of Ycf54 as an auxiliary factor essential for the assembly of a cyclase complex or even a large multienzyme catalytic center.     

Conversion of the lycopene monocyclase of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Myxococcus xanthus</Emphasis> into a bicyclase

Depending on the cyclized hydrocarbon backbone ends, carotenoids can be acyclic, monocyclic, or bicyclic. Lycopene cyclases are the enzymes responsible for catalyzing the formation of cyclic carotenoids from acyclic lycopene. Myxococcus xanthus is a bacterium that accumulates monocyclic carotenoids such as a glycoside ester of myxobacton. We show here that this bacterium possesses a cyclase belonging to the group of the heterodimeric cyclases CrtYc and CrtYd. These two individual proteins are encoded by crtYc and crtYd, which are located in the carotenogenic carA operon of the carB-carA gene cluster, and the presence of both is essential for the cyclization of lycopene. CrtYc and CrtYd from M. xanthus form a heterodimeric cyclase with beta-monocyclic activity, which converts lycopene into monocyclic gamma-carotene, but not into bicyclic beta-carotene like most beta-cyclases. This is an unusual case where two different proteins constitute a lycopene cyclase enzyme with monocyclic activity. We were able to convert this lycopene monocyclase into a lycopene bicyclase enzyme producing beta-carotene, by fusing both proteins with an extra transmembrane domain. The chimeric protein appears to allow a proper membranal disposition of both CrtYc and CrtYd, to perform two cyclization reactions, while a hybrid without the extra transmembrane helix performs only one cyclization.     

Chemistry of the catalytic conversion of phthalate into its cis-dihydrodiol during the reaction of oxygen with the reduced form of phthalate dioxygenase

The phthalate dioxygenase system, a Rieske non-heme iron dioxygenase, catalyzes the dihydroxylation of phthalate to form the 4,5-dihydro-cis-dihydrodiol of phthalate (DHD). It has two components: phthalate dioxygenase (PDO), a multimer with one Rieske-type [2Fe-2S] and one mononuclear Fe(II) center per monomer, and a reductase (PDR) that contains flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and a plant-type ferredoxin [2Fe-2S] center. This work shows that product formation in steady-state reactions is tightly coupled to electron delivery, with 1 dihydrodiol (DHD) of phthalate formed for every 2 electrons delivered from NADH. However, in reactions of reduced PDO with O(2), only about 0.5 DHD is formed per Rieske center that becomes oxidized. Although the product forms rapidly, its release from PDO is slow in these reactions with oxygen that do not include reductase and NADH. EPR data show that, at the completion of the oxidation, iron in the mononuclear center remains in the ferrous state. In contrast, naphthalene dioxygenase (NDO) [Wolfe, M. D., Parales, J. V., Gibson, D. T., and Lipscomb, J. D. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 1945-1953] and benzoate dioxygenase (BZDO) [Wolfe, M. D., Altier, D. J., Stubna, A., Popescu, C. V., Munck, E., and Lipscomb, J. D. (2002) Biochemistry, 41, 9611-9626], related Rieske non-heme iron dioxygenases, form 1 DHD per Rieske center oxidized, and the mononuclear center iron ends up ferric. Thus, both electrons from reduced NDO and BZDO monomers are used to form the product, whereas only the reduced Rieske centers in PDO become oxidized during production of DHD. This emphasizes the importance of PDO subunit interaction in catalysis. Electron redistribution was practically unaffected by the presence of oxidized PDR. A scheme is presented that emphasizes some of the differences in the mechanisms involved in substrate hydroxylation employed by PDO and either NDO or BZDO.     

X-ray absorption spectroscopy of the [2Fe-2S] Rieske cluster in Pseudomonas cepacia phthalate dioxygenase. Determination of core dimensions and iron ligation

We have employed X-ray absorption spectroscopy to obtain structural information about the Rieske Fe/S center in the phthalate dioxygenase (PDO) from Pseudomonas cepacia. Native PDO contains a dinuclear Rieske Fe/S center and an additional mononuclear Fe site. In order to study selectively the Fe/S cluster, we measured data for samples in which the mononuclear site was either depleted of metal or reconstituted with Co or Zn. Our results demonstrate that the iron environment in the Rieske cluster is structurally indistinguishable from that found in other Fe/S clusters, thus strongly supporting the suggestion that the unusually high reduction potentials for Rieske clusters are due to electrostatic rather than structural effects. The average Fe-Fe distance is 2.68 (3) A for both oxidized and reduced Rieske clusters. The average Fe-S distance is 2.24 (2) A in the oxidized cluster and 2.28 (2) A in the reduced cluster. Careful analysis of the EXAFS Debye-Waller factors suggests that the bridging and terminal Fe-S distances for the oxidized cluster are 2.20 and 2.31 A, respectively. Taken together with recent ENDOR results, these studies provide a detailed structural model for the Rieske [2Fe-2S] centers.     

Histidine ligand protonation and redox potential in the rieske dioxygenases: role of a conserved aspartate in anthranilate 1,2-dioxygenase

The Rieske dioxygenase, anthranilate 1,2-dioxygenase, catalyzes the 1,2-dihydroxylation of anthranilate (2-aminobenzoate). As in all characterized Rieske dioxygenases, the catalytic conversion to the diol occurs within the dioxygenase component, AntAB, at a mononuclear iron site which accepts electrons from a proximal Rieske [2Fe-2S] center. In the related naphthalene dioxygenase (NDO), a conserved aspartate residue lies between the mononuclear and Rieske iron centers, and is hydrogen-bonded to a histidine ligand of the Rieske center. Engineered substitutions of this aspartate residue led to complete inactivation, which was proposed to arise from elimination of a productive intersite electron transfer pathway [Parales, R. E., Parales, J. V., and Gibson, D. T. (1999) J. Bacteriol. 181, 1831-1837]. Substitutions of the corresponding aspartate, D218, in AntAB with alanine, asparagine, or glutamate also resulted in enzymes that were completely inactive over a wide pH range despite retention of the hexameric quaternary structure and iron center occupancy. The Rieske center reduction potential of this variant was measured to be approximately 100 mV more negative than that for the wild-type enzyme at neutral pH. The wild-type AntAB became completely inactive at pH 9 and exhibited an altered Rieske center absorption spectrum which resembled that of the D218 variants at neutral pH. These results support a role for this aspartate in maintaining the protonated state and reduction potential of the Rieske center. Both the wild-type and D218A variant AntABs exhibited substrate-dependent rapid phases of Rieske center oxidations in stopped-flow time courses. This observation does not support a role for this aspartate in a facile intersite electron transfer pathway or in productive substrate gating of the Rieske center reduction potential. However, since the single turnovers resulted in anthranilate dihydroxylation by the wild-type enzyme but not by the D218A variant, this aspartate must also play a crucial role in substrate dihydroxylation at or near the mononuclear iron site.     

Rates of the phthalate dioxygenase reaction with oxygen are dramatically increased by interactions with phthalate and phthalate oxygenase reductase

The phthalate dioxygenase system, which catalyzes the dihydroxylation of phthalate to form its cis-dihydrodiol (DHD), has two components: phthalate dioxygenase (PDO), a multimer with one Rieske-type [2Fe-2S] and one Fe(II) center per monomer, and phthalate dioxygenase reductase (PDR), which contains flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and a plant-like ferredoxin [2Fe-2S] center. PDR is responsible for transferring electrons from NADH to the Rieske center of PDO, and the Rieske center supplies electrons to the mononuclear center for the oxygenation of substrate. Reduced PDO (PDO(red)) that lacks Fe(II) at the mononuclear metal site (PDO-APO) reacts slowly with O(2) (1.4 x 10(-3) s(-1) at 125 microM O(2) and 22 degrees C), presumably in a direct reaction with the Rieske center. Binding of phthalate and/or PDR(ox) to reduced PDO-APO increases the reactivity of the Rieske center with O(2). When no PDR or phthalate is present, the oxidation of the Rieske center in native PDO(red) [which contains Fe(II) at the mononuclear site] occurs in two phases (approximately 1 and 0.1 s(-1) at 125 mM O(2), 23 degrees C), both much faster than in the absence of Fe(II), presumably because in this case O(2) reacts at the mononuclear Fe(II). Addition of PDR(ox) to native PDO(red) resulted in a large fraction of the Rieske center being oxidized at 5 s(-1), and the addition of phthalate resulted in about 70% of the reaction proceeding at 42 s(-1). With both PDR(ox) and phthalate present, most of the PDO(red) (approximately 80-85%) oxidizes at 42 s(-1), with the remaining oxidizing at approximately 5 s(-1). Thus, the binding of phthalate or PDR(ox) to PDO(red) each results in greater reactivity of PDO with O(2). The presence of both the substrate and PDR was synergistic, making PDO fully catalytically active. A model that explains the observed effects is presented and discussed in terms of PDO subunit cooperativity. It is proposed that, during oxidation of reduced PDO, each of two Rieske centers on separate subunits transfers an electron to the Fe(II) mononuclear center on a third subunit. This explanation is consistent with the observed multiphasic kinetics of the oxidation of the Rieske center and is being further tested by product analysis experiments.     

Purification, characterization, and crystallization of the components of the nitrobenzene and 2-nitrotoluene dioxygenase enzyme systems

The protein components of the 2-nitrotoluene (2NT) and nitrobenzene dioxygenase enzyme systems from Acidovorax sp. strain JS42 and Comamonas sp. strain JS765, respectively, were purified and characterized. These enzymes catalyze the initial step in the degradation of 2-nitrotoluene and nitrobenzene. The identical shared reductase and ferredoxin components were monomers of 35 and 11.5 kDa, respectively. The reductase component contained 1.86 g-atoms iron, 2.01 g-atoms sulfur, and one molecule of flavin adenine dinucleotide per monomer. Spectral properties of the reductase indicated the presence of a plant-type [2Fe-2S] center and a flavin. The reductase catalyzed the reduction of cytochrome c, ferricyanide, and 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol. The ferredoxin contained 2.20 g-atoms iron and 1.99 g-atoms sulfur per monomer and had spectral properties indicative of a Rieske [2Fe-2S] center. The ferredoxin component could be effectively replaced by the ferredoxin from the Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIB 9816-4 naphthalene dioxygenase system but not by that from the Burkholderia sp. strain LB400 biphenyl or Pseudomonas putida F1 toluene dioxygenase system. The oxygenases from the 2-nitrotoluene and nitrobenzene dioxygenase systems each had spectral properties indicating the presence of a Rieske [2Fe-2S] center, and the subunit composition of each oxygenase was an alpha(3)beta(3) hexamer. The apparent K(m) of 2-nitrotoluene dioxygenase for 2NT was 20 muM, and that for naphthalene was 121 muM. The specificity constants were 7.0 muM(-1) min(-1) for 2NT and 1.2 muM(-1) min(-1) for naphthalene, indicating that the enzyme is more efficient with 2NT as a substrate. Diffraction-quality crystals of the two oxygenases were obtained.     

Q-band ENDOR spectra of the Rieske protein from Rhodobactor capsulatus ubiquinol-cytochrome c oxidoreductase show two histidines coordinated to the [2Fe-2S] cluster.

Electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) experiments were performed on 14N (natural abundance) and 15N-enriched iron-sulfur Rieske protein in the ubiquinol-cytochrome c2 oxidoreductase from Rhodobactor capsulatus. The experiments proved that two distinct nitrogenous ligands, histidines, are undoubtedly ligated to the Rieske [2Fe-2S] center. The calculations of hyperfine tensors give values similar but not identical to those of the Rieske-type cluster in phthalate dioxygenase of Pseudomonas cepacia and suggest a slightly different geometry of the iron-sulfur cluster in the two proteins.     

Substitutions of the "bridging" aspartate 178 result in profound changes in the reactivity of the Rieske center of phthalate dioxygenase

Phthalate dioxygenase (PDO) and its reductase (PDR) are parts of a two-component Rieske oxygenase system that initiates the aerobic breakdown of phthalate by forming cis-4,5-dihydro-4,5-dihydroxyphthalate. Aspartate D178 in PDO, which lies between the Rieske [2Fe-2S] center of one subunit and the mononuclear center of the adjacent subunit, is highly conserved among the Rieske dioxygenases. The analogous aspartate has been implicated in electron transfer in naphthalene dioxygenase and in substrate binding and oxygen reactivity in anthranilate dioxygenase. Substitution of D178 with alanine or asparagine in PDO resulted in proteins with significantly increased Fe(II) dissociation constants. The rates of oxidation of the reduced Rieske centers in D178A and D178N were decreased by more than 10(4)-fold; only part of the loss of activity can be attributed to depletion of iron from the mononuclear centers. Reduction of PDO by reduced PDR was also slower in the D178A and D178N variants. Observed decreases in turnover rates of D178A and D178N compared to that of wild-type (WT) PDO (>10(2)-fold) can be ascribed to the cumulative effect of the low intrinsic iron content of the D178A and D178N mutants and the combination of the decreased rates of Rieske center reduction and oxidation. The coupling of dihydrodiol formation approached 100% in WT PDO but was only approximately 16% in D178A and approximately 7% in D178N. In single-turnover experiments, very small amounts of DHD were produced by D178A and D178N "as purified". The presence of saturating amounts of ferrous ion improved coupling to nearly 100% for the D178N variant but only slightly improved coupling for D178A. Thus, although hydroxylation is still possible in the variants, the reactions are largely uncoupled due to slow intramolecular electron transfer rates and the apparent weak binding of iron at the mononuclear centers.     

Aspartate 205 in the catalytic domain of naphthalene dioxygenase is essential for activity

The naphthalene dioxygenase enzyme system carries out the first step in the aerobic degradation of naphthalene by Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIB 9816-4. The crystal structure of naphthalene dioxygenase (B. Kauppi, K. Lee, E. Carredano, R. E. Parales, D. T. Gibson, H. Eklund, and S. Ramaswamy, Structure 6:571-586, 1998) indicates that aspartate 205 may provide the most direct route of electron transfer between the Rieske [2Fe-2S] center of one alpha subunit and mononuclear iron in the adjacent alpha subunit. In this study, we constructed four site-directed mutations that changed aspartate 205 to alanine, glutamate, asparagine, or glutamine to test whether this residue is essential for naphthalene dioxygenase activity. The mutant proteins were very inefficient in oxidizing naphthalene to cis-naphthalene dihydrodiol, and oxygen uptake in the presence of naphthalene was below detectable levels. The purified mutant protein with glutamine in place of aspartate 205 had identical spectral properties to wild-type naphthalene dioxygenase and was reduced by NADH in the presence of catalytic amounts of ferredoxinNAP and reductaseNAP. Benzene, an effective uncoupler of oxygen consumption in purified naphthalene dioxygenase, did not elicit oxygen uptake by the mutant protein. These results indicate that electron transfer from NADH to the Rieske center in the mutant oxygenase is intact, a finding consistent with the proposal that aspartate 205 is a necessary residue in the major pathway of electron transfer to mononuclear iron at the active site.     

Synechocystis strain PCC 6803 cya2, a prokaryotic gene that encodes a guanylyl cyclase

Synechocystis strain PCC 6803 exhibits similar levels of cyclic AMP (cAMP) and cyclic GMP (cGMP). A thorough analysis of its genome showed that Cya2 (Sll0646) has all the sequence determinants required in terms of activity and purine specificity for being a guanylyl cyclase. Insertional mutagenesis of cya2 caused a marked reduction in cGMP content without altering the cAMP content. Thus, Cya2 represents the first example of a prokaryotic guanylyl cyclase.     

The "bridging" aspartate 178 in phthalate dioxygenase facilitates interactions between the Rieske center and the iron(II)--mononuclear center

Phthalate dioxygenase (PDO) and its reductase are parts of a two-component Rieske dioxygenase system that initiates the aerobic breakdown of phthalate by forming cis-4,5-dihydro-4,5-dihydroxyphthalate (DHD). Aspartate D178 in PDO, located near its ferrous mononuclear center, is highly conserved among Rieske dioxygenases. The analogous aspartate has been implicated in electron transfer between the mononuclear iron and Rieske center in naphthalene dioxygenase [Parales et al. (1999) J. Bacteriol. 181, 1831-1837] and in substrate binding and oxygen reactivity in anthranilate dioxygenase [Beharry et al. (2003) Biochemistry 42, 13625-13636]. The effects of substituting D178 in PDO with alanine or asparagine on the reactivity of the Rieske centers, phthalate hydroxylation, and coupling of Rieske center oxidation to DHD formation were studied previously [Pinto et al. (2006) Biochemistry 45, 9032-9041]. This work describes effects that D178N and D178A substitutions have on the interactions between the Rieske and mononuclear centers in PDO. The mutations affected protonation of the Rieske center histidine and conformation of subunits within the PDO multimer to create a more open structure with more solvent-accessible Rieske centers. When the Rieske centers in PDO were oxidized, D178N and D178A substitutions disrupted communication between the Rieske and Fe-mononuclear centers. This was shown by the lack of perturbations of the UV-vis spectra on phthalate binding to the D178N and D178A variants, as opposed to that observed in WT PDO. However, when the Rieske center was in the reduced state, communication between the centers was not disrupted. Phthalate binding similarly affected the rates of oxidation of the reduced Rieske center in both WT and mutant PDO. Nitric oxide binding at the Fe(II)-mononuclear center, as detected by EPR spectrometry of the Fe(II) nitrosyl complex, was regulated by the redox state of the Rieske center. When the Rieske center was oxidized in either WT or D178N PDO, NO bound to the mononuclear iron in the presence or absence of phthalate. However, when the Rieske center was reduced, NO bound only when phthalate was present. These findings are discussed in terms of the "communication functions" performed by the bridging Asp-178.     

The number of Fe atoms in the iron-sulphur centers of the respiratory chain.

1. From the 57Fe hyperfine interaction in EPR spectra of reduced submitochondrial particles from the yeast Candida utilis, grown with 57Fe, it is concluded that all Fe-S centers in these particles detectable in spectra at 35-80 K are [2Fe-2S]2-(2-; 3-) centers. These are the centers 1 of NADH and succinate dehydrogenase, the Rieske Fe-S center and possibly center 2 of succinate dehydrogenase. 2. The signals of the reduced particles detectable only at temperatures below 20 K are [4Fe-4S]2-(2-; 3-) clusters. These are the centers 2,3 and 4 of NADH dehydrogenase. 3. EPR spectra of the [2Fe-2S]3- centers of Complex I and II, but not that of Complex III, display a great inequality of the Fe nuclei in the effective hyperfine interaction in the x-y direction.     

Purification, Characterization, and Crystallization of the Components of the Nitrobenzene and 2-Nitrotoluene Dioxygenase Enzyme Systems

The protein components of the 2-nitrotoluene (2NT) and nitrobenzene dioxygenase enzyme systems from Acidovorax sp. strain JS42 and Comamonas sp. strain JS765, respectively, were purified and characterized. These enzymes catalyze the initial step in the degradation of 2-nitrotoluene and nitrobenzene. The identical shared reductase and ferredoxin components were monomers of 35 and 11.5 kDa, respectively. The reductase component contained 1.86 g-atoms iron, 2.01 g-atoms sulfur, and one molecule of flavin adenine dinucleotide per monomer. Spectral properties of the reductase indicated the presence of a plant-type [2Fe-2S] center and a flavin. The reductase catalyzed the reduction of cytochrome c, ferricyanide, and 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol. The ferredoxin contained 2.20 g-atoms iron and 1.99 g-atoms sulfur per monomer and had spectral properties indicative of a Rieske [2Fe-2S] center. The ferredoxin component could be effectively replaced by the ferredoxin from the Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIB 9816-4 naphthalene dioxygenase system but not by that from the Burkholderia sp. strain LB400 biphenyl or Pseudomonas putida F1 toluene dioxygenase system. The oxygenases from the 2-nitrotoluene and nitrobenzene dioxygenase systems each had spectral properties indicating the presence of a Rieske [2Fe-2S] center, and the subunit composition of each oxygenase was an α₃β₃ hexamer. The apparent K_m of 2-nitrotoluene dioxygenase for 2NT was 20 μM, and that for naphthalene was 121 μM. The specificity constants were 7.0 μM⁻¹ min⁻¹ for 2NT and 1.2 μM⁻¹ min⁻¹ for naphthalene, indicating that the enzyme is more efficient with 2NT as a substrate. Diffraction-quality crystals of the two oxygenases were obtained.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements of the ferrous mononuclear site of phthalate dioxygenase substituted with alternate divalent metal ions: direct evidence for ligation of two histidines in the copper(II)-reconstituted protein.

The metalloenzyme phthalate dioxygenase (PDO) contains two iron-based sites. A Rieske-type [2Fe-2S] cluster serves as an electron-transferring cofactor, and a mononuclear iron site is the putative site of substrate oxygenation. A reductase, which contains FMN and a plant-type [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin domain, transfers electrons from NADH to the Rieske center. Any of the metal ions, Fe(II), Cu(II), Co(II), Mn(II), and Zn(II), can be used to populate the mononuclear site, but only Fe(II) is competent for effecting hydroxylation. Nevertheless, studies of how these metal ions affect both the EPR spectra of the reduced Rieske site and the kinetics of electron transfer in the PDO system indicated that each of these metal ions binds tightly and affects the protein similarly. In this study, EPR spectra were obtained from samples in which iron of the mononuclear site was replaced with Cu(II). The use of (63)Cu(II), in combination with PDO obtained from cultures grown on media enriched in (15)N [using ((15)NH(4))(2)SO(4) as a sole nitrogen source], [delta,epsilon-(15)N]histidine, as well as natural abundance sources of nitrogen, enabled detailed spectral analysis of the superhyperfine structure of the Cu(II) EPR lines. These studies clearly show that two histidines are coordinated to the mononuclear site. Coupled with previous studies [Bertini, I., Luchinat, C., Mincione, G., Parigi, G., Gassner G. T., and Ballou, D. P. (1996) J. Bioinorg. Chem. 1, 468-475] that show the presence of one or two water molecules coordinated to the iron, it is suggested that the mononuclear site is similar to several other mononuclear nonheme iron proteins, including naphthalene dioxygenase, for which crystal structures are available. The lack of observable EPR interaction signals between Cu(II) in the mononuclear site and the reduced Rieske center of PDO suggest that the two sites are at least 12 A apart, which is similar to that found in the naphthalene dioxygenase crystal structure.     

Overexpression and reconstitution of a Rieske iron-sulfur protein from the higher plant

The iron-sulfur protein subunit, known as the Rieske protein, is one of the central components of the cytochrome b(6)f complex residing in chloroplast and cyanobacterial thylakoid membranes. We have constructed plasmids for overexpression in Escherichia coli of full-length and truncated Rieske (PetC) proteins from the Spinacia oleracea fused to MalE. Overexpressed fusion proteins were predominantly found (from 55 to 70%) in cytoplasm in a soluble form. The single affinity chromatography step (amylose resine) was used to purify about 15mg of protein from 1 liter of E. coli culture. The isolated proteins were electrophoretically pure and could be used for further experiments. The NifS-like protein IscS from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 mediates the incorporation of 2Fe-2S clusters into apoferredoxin and cyanobacterial Rieske apoprotein in vitro. Here, we used the recombinant IscS protein for the enzymatic reconstitution of the iron-sulfur cluster into full-length Rieske fusion and truncated Rieske fused proteins. Characterization by EPR spectroscopy of the reconstituted proteins demonstrated the presence of a 2Fe-2S cluster in both full-length and truncated Rieske fusion proteins.     

X-ray crystal structure of benzoate 1,2-dioxygenase reductase from Acinetobacter sp. strain ADP1

One of the major processes for aerobic biodegradation of aromatic compounds is initiated by Rieske dioxygenases. Benzoate dioxygenase contains a reductase component, BenC, that is responsible for the two-electron transfer from NADH via FAD and an iron-sulfur cluster to the terminal oxygenase component. Here, we present the structure of BenC from Acinetobacter sp. strain ADP1 at 1.5 A resolution. BenC contains three domains, each binding a redox cofactor: iron-sulfur, FAD and NADH, respectively. The [2Fe-2S] domain is similar to that of plant ferredoxins, and the FAD and NADH domains are similar to members of the ferredoxin:NADPH reductase superfamily. In phthalate dioxygenase reductase, the only other Rieske dioxygenase reductase for which a crystal structure is available, the ferredoxin-like and flavin binding domains are sequentially reversed compared to BenC. The BenC structure shows significant differences in the location of the ferredoxin domain relative to the other domains, compared to phthalate dioxygenase reductase and other known systems containing these three domains. In BenC, the ferredoxin domain interacts with both the flavin and NAD(P)H domains. The iron-sulfur center and the flavin are about 9 A apart, which allows a fast electron transfer. The BenC structure is the first determined for a reductase from the class IB Rieske dioxygenases, whose reductases transfer electrons directly to their oxygenase components. Based on sequence similarities, a very similar structure was modeled for the class III naphthalene dioxygenase reductase, which transfers electrons to an intermediary ferredoxin, rather than the oxygenase component.     

集胞藻PCC6803中S2P同源蛋白Slr0643及Sll0862 金属蛋白酶活性的体外鉴定

【目的】金属蛋白酶S2P在细菌中通过在膜切割转录调控因子、释放δ因子参与胁迫响应是跨膜信号转导的保守机制,但蓝细菌中S2P的功能还未被鉴定,故我们考察集胞藻PCC6803中的S2P同源蛋白Slr0643及Sll0862的金属蛋白酶活性。【方法】以pET-30b(+)为载体,分别构建重组质粒pF0643和pF0862,在大肠杆菌BL21(CE3)中诱导表达并纯化Slr0643及Sll0862蛋白,以β-酪蛋白为底物检测重组蛋白的酶活性。【结果】体外酶活实验显示重组表达的Slr0643及Sll0862蛋白有内切蛋白酶活性,且其活性受金属螯合剂o-phenanthroline的抑制。体外酶活的鉴定结果为进一步研究Slr0643和Sll0862的体内酶活和生物学功能奠定了基础。【结论】集胞藻PCC6803中的S2P同源蛋白Slr0643及Sll0862具有金属蛋白酶活性。