Radical-mediated dehydration reactions in anaerobic bacteria

Most dehydratases catalyse the elimination of water from beta-hydroxy ketones, beta-hydroxy carboxylic acids or beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA. The electron-withdrawing carbonyl functionalities acidify the alpha-hydrogens to enable their removal by basic amino acid side chains. Anaerobic bacteria, however, ferment amino acids via alpha- or gamma-hydroxyacyl-CoA, dehydrations of which involve the abstraction of a beta-hydrogen, which is ostensibly non-acidic (pK ca. 40). Evidence is accumulating that beta-hydrogens are acidified via transient conversion of the CoA derivatives to enoxy radicals by one-electron transfers, which decrease the pK to 14. The dehydrations of (R)-2-hydroxyacyl-CoA to (E)-2-enoyl-CoA are catalysed by heterodimeric [4Fe-4S]-containing dehydratases, which require reductive activation by an ATP-dependent one-electron transfer mediated by a homodimeric protein with a [4Fe-4S] cluster between the two subunits. The electron is further transferred to the substrate, yielding a ketyl radical anion, which expels the hydroxyl group and forms an enoxy radical. The dehydration of 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA involves a similar mechanism, in which the ketyl radical anion is generated by one-electron oxidation. The structure of the FAD- and [4Fe-4S]-containing homotetrameric dehydratase is related to that of acyl-CoA dehydrogenases, suggesting a radical-based mechanism for both flavoproteins.     

Adenosine triphosphate-induced electron transfer in 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase from Acidaminococcus fermentans

2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase from Acidaminococcus fermentans catalyzes the chemical difficult elimination of water from (R)-2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA to glutaconyl-CoA. The enzyme consists of two oxygen-sensitive protein components, the homodimeric activator (A) with one [4Fe-4S]1+/2+ cluster and the heterodimeric dehydratase (D) with one nonreducible [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster and reduced riboflavin 5'-monophosphate (FMNH2). For activation, ATP, Mg2+, and a reduced flavodoxin (16 kDa) purified from A. fermentans are required. The [4Fe-4S](1+/2+) cluster of component A is exposed to the solvent since it is accessible to iron chelators. Upon exchange of the bound ADP by ATP, the chelation rate is 8-fold enhanced, indicating a large conformational change. Oxidized component A exhibits ATPase activity of 6 s(-1), which is completely abolished upon reduction by one electron. UV-visible spectroscopy revealed a spontaneous one-electron transfer from flavodoxin hydroquinone (E(0)' = -430 mV) to oxidized component A, whereby the [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster of component A became reduced. Combined kinetic, EPR, and M?ssbauer spectrocopic investigations exhibited an ATP-dependent oxidation of component A by component D. Whereas the [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster of component D remained in the oxidized state, a new EPR signal became visible attributed to a d1-metal species, probably Mo(V). Metal analysis with neutron activation and atomic absorption spectroscopy gave 0.07-0.2 Mo per component D. In summary, the data suggest that in the presence of ATP one electron is transferred from flavodoxin hydroquinone via the [4Fe-4S]1+/2+ cluster of component A to Mo(VI) of component D, which is thereby reduced to Mo(V). The latter may supply the electron necessary for transient charge reversal in the unusual dehydration.     

Unusual dehydrations in anaerobic bacteria

Abstract In amino acid fermenting anaerobic bacteria a set of unusual dehydratases is found which use 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA, 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA or 5-hydroxyvaleryl-CoA as substrates. The extremely oxygen-sensitive 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratases catalysing the elimination of water from ( R )-lactyl-CoA to acryloyl-CoA or from ( R )-2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA to glutaconyl-CoA contain iron-sulfur clusters as well as riboflavin and require additional activation by ATP. The dehydration of 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA to crotonyl-CoA is catalysed by a moderately oxygen-sensitive enzyme also containing an iron-sulfur cluster and FAD. In all these reactions a non-activated C-H-bond at C₃ has to be cleaved by mechanisms not yet elucidated. The dehydration of 5-hydroxyvaleryl-CoA to 4-pentenoyl-CoA, however, has been characterised as a redox process mediated by enzyme-bound FAD. Finally, an iron-sulfur cluster-containing but pyridoxal-phosphate-independent l -serine dehydratase is described.     

Molecular characterization of phenyllactate dehydratase and its initiator from Clostridium sporogenes

The heterotrimeric phenyllactate dehydratase from Clostridium sporogenes, FldABC, catalyses the reversible dehydration of (R)-phenyllactate to (E)-cinnamate in two steps: (i) CoA-transfer from the cofactor cinnamoyl-CoA to phenyllactate to yield phenyllactyl-CoA and the product cinnamate mediated by FldA, a (R)-phenyllactate CoA-transferase; followed by (ii) dehydration of phenyllactyl-CoA to cinnamoyl-CoA mediated by heterodimeric FldBC, a phenyllactyl-CoA dehydratase. Phenyllactate dehydratase requires initiation by ATP, MgCl2 and a reducing agent such as dithionite mediated by an extremely oxygen-sensitive initiator protein (FldI) present in the cell-free extract. All four genes coding for these proteins were cloned and shown to be clustered in the order fldAIBC, which shares over 95% sequence identity of nucleotide and protein levels with a gene cluster detected in the genome of the closely related Clostridium botulinum Hall strain A. FldA shows sequence similarities to a new family of CoA-transferases, which apparently do not form covalent enzyme CoA-ester intermediates. An N-terminal Strep II-Tag containing enzymatically active FldI was overproduced and purified from Escherichia coli. FldI was characterized as a homodimeric protein, which contains one [4Fe-4S]1+/2+ cluster with an electron spin S = 3/2 in the reduced form. The amino acid sequence as well as the chemical and EPR-properties of the pure protein are very similar to those of component A of 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase from Acidaminococcus fermentans (HgdC), which was able to replace FldI in the activation of phenyllactate dehydratase. Only in the oxidized state, FldI and component A exhibit significant ATPase activity, which appears to be essential for unidirectional electron transfer. Both subunits of phenyllactyl-CoA dehydratase (FldBC) show significant sequence similarities to both subunits of 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase (HgdAB). The fldAIBC gene cluster resembles the hadAIBC gene cluster in the genome of Clostridium difficile and the hadABC,I genes in C. botulinum. The four subunits of these deduced 2-hydroxyacid dehydratases (65-81% amino acid sequence identity between the had genes) probably code for a 2-hydroxyisocaproate dehydratase involved in leucine fermentation. This enzyme could be the target for metronidazole in the treatment of pseudomembranous enterocolitis caused by C. difficile.     

On the ATP-Dependent Activation of the Radical Enzyme (R)-2-Hydroxyisocaproyl-CoA Dehydratase

Members of the 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratase enzyme family catalyze the β,α-dehydration of various CoA-esters in the fermentation of amino acids by clostridia. Abstraction of the nonacidic β-proton of the 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA compounds is achieved by the reductive generation of ketyl radicals on the substrate, which is initiated by the transfer of an electron at low redox potentials. The highly energetic electron needed on the dehydratase is donated by a [4Fe-4S] cluster containing ATPase, termed activator. We investigated the activator of the 2-hydroxyisocaproyl-CoA dehydratase from Clostridium difficile. The activator is a homodimeric protein structurally related to acetate and sugar kinases, Hsc70 and actin, and has a [4Fe-4S] cluster bound in the dimer interface. The crystal structures of the Mg-ADP, Mg-ADPNP, and nucleotide-free states of the reduced activator have been solved at 1.6-3.0 ? resolution, allowing us to define the position of Mg(2+) and water molecules in the vicinity of the nucleotides and the [4Fe-4S] cluster. The structures reveal redox- and nucleotide dependent changes agreeing with the modulation of the reduction potential of the [4Fe-4S] cluster by conformational changes. We also investigated the propensity of the activator to form a complex with its cognate dehydratase in the presence of Mg-ADP and Mg-ADPNP and together with the structural data present a refined mechanistic scheme for the ATP-dependent electron transfer between activator and dehydratase.     

2-Hydroxyisocaproyl-CoA dehydratase and its activator from Clostridium difficile

The hadBC and hadI genes from Clostridium difficile were functionally expressed in Escherichia coli and shown to encode the novel 2-hydroxyisocaproyl-CoA dehydratase HadBC and its activator HadI. The activated enzyme catalyses the dehydration of (R)-2-hydroxyisocaproyl-CoA to isocaprenoyl-CoA in the pathway of leucine fermentation. The extremely oxygen-sensitive homodimeric activator as well as the heterodimeric dehydratase, contain iron and inorganic sulfur; besides varying amounts of zinc, other metal ions, particularly molybdenum, were not detected in the dehydratase. The reduced activator transfers one electron to the dehydratase concomitant with hydrolysis of ATP, a process similar to that observed with the unrelated nitrogenase. The thus activated dehydratase was separated from the activator and ATP; it catalyzed about 10(4) dehydration turnovers until the enzyme became inactive. Adding activator, ATP, MgCl(2), dithionite and dithioerythritol reactivated the enzyme. This is the first demonstration with a 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratase that the catalytic electron is recycled after each turnover. In agreement with this observation, only substoichiometric amounts of activator (dehydratase/activator = 10 mol/mol) were required to generate full activity.     

ATP-driven electron transfer in enzymatic radical reactions

A novel method to generate organic radicals in enzymatic reactions is described, which is similar to electron transfer in nitrogenase. Component A of 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase contains a [4Fe-4S] cluster located at the interface between its two identical subunits. The cluster is reduced by one electron derived from ferredoxin or flavodoxin. Hydrolysis of two ATP bound to component A, one to each subunit, enhances the reductive power of the electron and transfers it to component D, the actual dehydratase, where a low potential [4Fe-4S](2+) cluster is probably reduced. Further transfer to the substrate (R)-2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA probably generates a substrate-derived ketyl radical anion, which expels the adjacent hydroxyl group. The resulting enoxy radical is deprotonated to a product-related ketyl radical anion. Finally the electron is removed by the next incoming substrate leading to the product glutaconyl-CoA and starting a new turnover. A similar, but stoichiometric rather than catalytic electron transfer has been established for the related benzoyl-CoA reductase.     

Crystal structure of the Acidaminococcus fermentans 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase component A

Acidaminococcus fermentans degrades glutamate via the hydroxyglutarate pathway, which involves the syn-elimination of water from (R)-2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA in a key reaction of the pathway. This anaerobic process is catalyzed by 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase, an enzyme with two components (A and D) that reversibly associate during reaction cycles. Component A (CompA), a homodimeric protein of 2x27 kDa, contains a single, bridging [4Fe-4S] cluster and uses the hydrolysis of ATP to deliver an electron to the dehydratase component (CompD), where the electron is used catalytically. The structure of the extremely oxygen-sensitive CompA protein was solved by X-ray crystallography to 3 A resolution. The protein was found to be a member of the actin fold family, revealing a similar architecture and nucleotide-binding site. The key differences between CompA and other members of the actin fold family are: (i) the presence of a cluster binding segment, the "cluster helix"; (ii) the [4Fe-4S] cluster; and (iii) the location of the homodimer interface, which involves the bridging cluster. Possible reaction mechanisms are discussed in light of the close structural similarity to members of the actin-fold family and the functional similarity to the nitrogenase Fe- protein.     

2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase from Clostridium symbiosum.

Component D (HgdAB) of 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase from Clostridium symbiosum was purified to homogeneity. It is able to use component A from Acidaminococcus fermentans (HgdC) to initiate catalysis together with ATP, Mg2+ and a strong reducing agent such as Ti(III)citrate. Component D from C. symbiosum has a 6 x higher specific activity compared with that from A. fermentans and contains a second [4Fe-4S] cluster but the same amount of riboflavin 5'-phosphate (1.0 per heterodimeric enzyme, m = 100 kDa). M?ssbauer spectroscopy revealed symmetric cube-type structures of the two [4Fe-4S]2+ clusters. EPR spectroscopy showed the resistance of the clusters to reducing agents, but detected a sharp signal at g = 2. 004 probably due to a stabilized flavin semiquinone. Three genes from C. symbiosum coding for components D (hgdA and hgdB) and A (hgdC) were cloned and sequenced. Primer extension experiments indicated that the genes are transcribed in the order hgdCAB from an operon only half the size of that from A. fermentans. Sequence comparisons detected a close relationship to the dehydratase system from A. fermentans and HgdA from Fusobacterium nucleatum, as well as to putative proteins of unknown function from Archaeoglobus fulgidus. Lower, but significant, identities were found with putative enzymes from several methanogenic Archaea and Escherichia coli, as well as with the mechanistically related benzoyl-CoA reductases from the Proteobacteria Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Thauera aromatica.     

Substitution of histidine for arginine-101 of dinitrogenase reductase disrupts electron transfer to dinitrogenase

Dinitrogenase reductase from Klebsiella pneumoniae strain UN1041 has a histidine residue substituted for arginine at position 101. The mutant dinitrogenase reductase was purified and characterized in order to determine the importance of arginine-101 in the interaction between dinitrogenase and dinitrogenase reductase during electron transfer. Purified dinitrogenase reductase from UN1041 is a dimer of 67 kDa, contains a functional 4Fe-4S cluster, undergoes a MgATP-dependent conformational change, and is competent for ATP hydrolysis uncoupled from substrate reduction in the presence of dinitrogenase. However, the mutant protein is unable to support the reduction of protons or acetylene by dinitrogenase. A 100-fold molar excess of Kp2 from UN1041 does not inhibit electron transfer from wild-type dinitrogenase reductase to dinitrogenase. It is concluded that the interaction of dinitrogenase reductase with dinitrogenase during reductant-independent ATP hydrolysis is different than the interaction between the two proteins during electron transfer; the substitution of histidine for arginine at position 101 disrupts only the latter interaction. The same conclusions are reached using wild-type dinitrogenase reductase which has been ADP-ribosylated at arginine-101.     

Purification of 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase from Acidaminococcus fermentans. An iron-sulfur protein

1. The (R)-2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase system from Acidaminococcus fermentans was separated by chromatography of cell-free extracts on Q-Sepharose into two components, an activator and the actual dehydratase. The latter enzyme was further purified to homogeneity by chromatography on blue-Sepharose. It is an iron-sulfur protein (Mr 210,000) consisting of two different polypeptides (alpha, Mr 55,000, and beta, Mr 42,000) in an alpha 2 beta 2 structure with probably two [4Fe-4S] centers. After activation this purified enzyme catalysed the dehydration of (R)-2-hydroxyglutarate only in the presence of acetyl-CoA and glutaconate CoA-transferase, demonstrating that the thiol ester and not the free acid is the substrate of the dehydration. The result led to a modification of the hydroxyglutarate pathway of glutamate fermentation. 2. The activation of the dehydratase by the flow-through from Q-Sepharose concentrated by ultrafiltration required NADH, MgCl2, ATP and strict anaerobic conditions. This fraction was designated as Ao. Later when the concentration was performed by chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose, an NADH-independent form of the activator, designated as A*, was obtained. This enzyme, which required only ATP for activation of the dehydratase, was purified further by affinity chromatography on ATP-agarose. It contains neither iron nor inorganic sulfur. A*, as well as the activated dehydratase, were irreversibly inactivated by exposure to air within less than 15 min. The activated dehydratase but not A* was also inactivated by 1 mM hydroxylamine or by 0.1 mM 2,4-dinitrophenol. 3. The (R)-2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase system is closely related the that of (R)-lactoyl-CoA dehydratase from Clostridium propionicum as described by R. D. Kuchta and R. H. Abeles [(1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 13,181-13,189].     

Characterization of four mammalian 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratases involved in very long-chain fatty acid synthesis

Very long-chain fatty acids are produced through a four-step cycle. However, the 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratase catalyzing the third step in mammals has remained unidentified. Mammals have four candidates, HACD1-4, based on sequence similarities to the recently identified yeast Phs1, although HACD3 and HACD4 share relatively weak similarity. We demonstrate that all four of these human proteins are indeed 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratases, in growth suppression experiments using a PHS1-shut off yeast strain and/or in vitro 3-hydroxypalmitoyl-CoA dehydratase assays. HACD proteins exhibit distinct tissue-expression patterns. We also establish that HACD proteins interact with the condensation enzymes ELOVL1-7, with some preferences.     

The involvement of coenzyme A esters in the dehydration of (R)-phenyllactate to (E)-cinnamate by Clostridium sporogenes.

Phenyllactate dehydratase from Clostridium sporogenes grown anaerobically on L-phenylalanine catalyses the reversible syn-dehydration of (R)-phenyllactate to (E)-cinnamate. Purification yielded a heterotrimeric enzyme complex (130 +/- 15 kDa) composed of FldA (46 kDa), FldB (43 kDa) and FldC (40 kDa). By re-chromatography on Q-Sepharose, the major part of FldA could be separated and identified as oxygen insensitive cinnamoyl-CoA:phenyllactate CoA-transferase, whereas the transferase depleted trimeric complex retained oxygen sensitive phenyllactate dehydratase activity and contained about one [4Fe-4S] cluster. The dehydratase activity required 10 microM FAD, 0.4 mM ATP, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 0.1 mM NADH, 5 microM cinnamoyl-CoA and small amounts of cell-free extract (10 microg protein per mL) similar to that known for 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase from Acidaminococcus fermentans. The N-terminus of the homogenous FldA (39 amino acids) is homologous to that of CaiB (39% sequence identity) involved in carnitine metabolism in Escherichia coli. Both enzymes are members of an emerging group of CoA-transferases which exhibit high substrate specificity but apparently do not form enzyme CoA-ester intermediates. It is concluded that dehydration of (R)-phenyllactate to (E)-cinnamate proceeds in two steps, a CoA-transfer from cinnamoyl-CoA to phenyllactate, catalysed by FldA, followed by the dehydration of phenyllactyl-CoA, catalysed by FldB and FldC, whereby the noncovalently bound prosthetic group cinnamoyl-CoA is regenerated. This demonstrates the necessity of a 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA intermediate in the dehydration of 2-hydroxyacids. The transient CoA-ester formation during the dehydration of phenyllactate resembles that during citrate cleavage catalysed by bacterial citrate lyase, which contain a derivative of acetyl-CoA covalently bound to an acyl-carrier-protein (ACP).     

Cloning and expression of the two genes coding for L-serine dehydratase from Peptostreptococcus asaccharolyticus: relationship of the iron-sulfur protein to both L-serine dehydratases from Escherichia coli.

The structural genes sdhA and sdhB, coding for the alpha- and beta-subunits of the [4Fe-4S] cluster containing L-serine dehydratase from Peptostreptococcus asaccharolyticus, have been cloned and sequenced. Expression of modified sdhB together with sdhA in Escherichia coli led to overproduction of active His6-tagged L-serine dehydratase. E. coli MEW22, deficient in the L-serine dehydratase L-SD1, was complemented by this sdhBA construct. The derived amino acid sequence of SdhBA shares similarities with both monomeric L-serine dehydratases, L-SD1 and L-SD2, from E. coli and with a putative L-serine dehydratase from Haemophilus influenzae, which suggests that these three enzymes are also iron-sulfur proteins.     

Characterisation of PduS, the pdu metabolosome corrin reductase, and evidence of substructural organisation within the bacterial microcompartment

PduS is a corrin reductase and is required for the reactivation of the cobalamin-dependent diol dehydratase. It is one component encoded within the large propanediol utilisation (pdu) operon, which is responsible for the catabolism of 1,2-propanediol within a self-assembled proteinaceous bacterial microcompartment. The enzyme is responsible for the reactivation of the cobalamin coenzyme required by the diol dehydratase. The gene for the cobalamin reductase from Citrobacter freundii (pduS) has been cloned to allow the protein to be overproduced recombinantly in E. coli with an N-terminal His-tag. Purified recombinant PduS is shown to be a flavoprotein with a non-covalently bound FMN that also contains two coupled [4Fe-4S] centres. It is an NADH-dependent flavin reductase that is able to mediate the one-electron reductions of cob(III)alamin to cob(II)alamin and cob(II)alamin to cob(I)alamin. The [4Fe-4S] centres are labile to oxygen and their presence affects the midpoint redox potential of flavin. Evidence is presented that PduS is able to bind cobalamin, which is inconsistent with the view that PduS is merely a flavin reductase. PduS is also shown to interact with one of the shell proteins of the metabolosome, PduT, which is also thought to contain an [Fe-S] cluster. PduS is shown to act as a corrin reductase and its interaction with a shell protein could allow for electron passage out of the bacterial microcompartment.     

A two [4Fe-4S]-cluster-containing ferredoxin as an alternative electron donor for 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase from<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Acidaminococcus fermentans</Emphasis>

The key step in the fermentation of glutamate by Acidaminococcus fermentans is a reversible syn-elimination of water from (R)-2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA to (E)-glutaconyl-CoA catalyzed by 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase, a two-component enzyme system. The actual dehydration is mediated by component D, which contains 1.0 [4Fe-4S]²⁺ cluster, 1.0 reduced riboflavin-5′-phosphate and about 0.1 molybdenum (VI) per heterodimer. The enzyme has to be activated by the extremely oxygen-sensitive [4Fe-4S]^1+/2+-cluster-containing homodimeric component A, which generates Mo(V) by an ATP/Mg²⁺-induced one-electron transfer. Previous experiments established that the hydroquinone state of a flavodoxin (m=14.6 kDa) isolated from A. fermentans served as one-electron donor of component A, whereby the blue semiquinone is formed. Here we describe the isolation and characterization of an alternative electron donor from the same organism, a two [4Fe-4S]^1+/2+-cluster-containing ferredoxin (m=5.6 kDa) closely related to that from Clostridium acidiurici. The protein was purified to homogeneity and almost completely sequenced; the magnetically interacting [4Fe-4S] clusters were characterized by EPR and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The redox potentials of the ferredoxin were determined as ?405 mV and ?340 mV. Growth experiments with A. fermentans in the presence of different iron concentrations in the medium (7–45 μM) showed that flavodoxin is the dominant electron donor protein under iron-limiting conditions. Its concentration continuously decreased from 3.5 μmol/g protein at 7 μM Fe to 0.02 μmol/g at 45 μM Fe. In contrast, the concentration of ferredoxin increased stepwise from about 0.2 μmol/g at 7–13 μM Fe to 1.1±0.1 μmol/g at 17–45 μM Fe.     

EPR and Mössbauer studies of benzoyl-CoA reductase

Benzoyl-CoA reductase catalyzes the two-electron transfer from a reduced ferredoxin to the aromatic ring of benzoyl-CoA; this reaction is coupled to stoichiometrical ATP hydrolysis. A very low reduction potential (less than -1 V) is required for the first electron transfer to the aromatic ring. In this work the nature of the redox centers of purified benzoyl-CoA reductase from Thauera aromatica was studied by EPR and M?ssbauer spectroscopy. The results obtained indicated the presence of three [4Fe-4S] clusters. Redox titration studies revealed that the reduction potentials of all three clusters were below -500 mV. The previously reported S = 7/2 state of the enzyme during benzoyl-CoA-independent ATPase activity (Boll, M., Albracht, S. J. P., and Fuchs, G. (1997) Eur. J. Biochem. 244, 840-851) was confirmed by M?ssbauer spectroscopy. Inactivation by oxygen was associated with the irreversible conversion of part of the [4Fe-4S] clusters to [3Fe-4S] clusters. Acetylene stimulated the benzoyl-CoA-independent ATPase activity and induced novel EPR signals with g(av) >2. The presence of simple cubane clusters in benzoyl-CoA reductase as the sole redox-active metal centers demonstrates novel aspects of [4Fe-4S] clusters since they adopt the role of elemental sodium or lithium which are used as electron donors in the analogous chemical Birch reduction of aromatic rings.     

The iron-sulfur clusters in 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase from Acidaminococcus fermentans. Biochemical and spectroscopic investigations.

The reversible dehydration of (R)-2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA to (E)-glutaconyl-CoA is catalysed by the combined action of two oxygen-sensitive enzymes from Acidaminococcus fermentans, the homodimeric component A (2 x 27 kDa) and the heterodimeric component D (45 and 50 kDa). Component A was purified to homogeneity (specific activity 25-30 s-1) using streptavidin-tag affinity chromatography. In the presence of 5 mM MgCl2 and 1 mM ADP or ATP, component A could be stabilized and stored for 4-5 days at 4 degrees C without loss of activity. The purification of component D from A. fermentans was also improved as indicated by the 1.5-fold higher specific activity (15 s-1). The content of 1.0 riboflavin 5'-phosphate (FMN) per heterodimer could be confirmed, whereas in contrast to an earlier report only trace amounts of riboflavin (< 0.1) could be detected. Each active component contains an oxygen sensitive diamagnetic [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster as revealed by UV-visible, EPR and M?ssbauer spectroscopy. Reduction of the [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster in component A with dithionite yields a paramagnetic [4Fe-4S]1+ cluster with the unusual electron spin ground state S = 3/2 as indicated by strong absorption type EPR signals at high g values, g = 4-6. Spin-Hamiltonian simulations of the EPR spectra and of magnetic M?ssbauer spectra were performed to determine the zero field splitting (ZFS) parameters of the cluster and the 57Fe hyperfine interaction parameters. The electronic properties of the [4Fe-4S]2+, 1+ clusters of component A are similar to those of the nitrogenase iron protein in which a [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster bridges the two subunits of the homodimeric protein. Under air component A looses its activity within seconds due to irreversible degradation of its [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster to a [2Fe-2S]2+ cluster. The [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster of component D could not be reduced to a [4Fe-4S]1+ cluster, even with excess of Ti(III)citrate or dithionite. Exposure to oxic conditions slowly converts the diamagnetic [4Fe-4S]2+ cluster of component D to a paramagnetic [3Fe-4S]+ cluster concomitant with loss of activity (30% within 24 h at 4 degrees C).     

Silver(I), mercury(II), cadmium(II), and zinc(II) target exposed enzymic iron-sulfur clusters when they toxify Escherichia coli

The toxicity of soft metals is of broad interest to microbiologists, both because such metals influence the community structures in natural environments and because several metals are used as antimicrobial agents. Their potency roughly parallels their thiophilicity, suggesting that their primary biological targets are likely to be enzymes that contain key sulfhydryl moieties. A recent study determined that copper poisons Escherichia coli in part by attacking the exposed [4Fe-4S] clusters of dehydratases. The present investigation sought to test whether other soft metals also target these enzymes. In vitro experiments revealed that low-micromolar concentrations of Ag(I) and Hg(II) directly inactivated purified fumarase A, a member of the dehydratase family. The enzyme was also poisoned by higher levels of Cd(II) and Zn(II), but it was unaffected by even millimolar concentrations of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and Pb(II). Electron paramagnetic resonance analysis and measurements of released iron confirmed that damage was associated with destruction of the [4Fe-4S] cluster, and indeed, the reconstruction of the cluster fully restored activity. Growth studies were then performed to test whether dehydratase damage might underlie toxicity in vivo. Barely toxic doses of Ag(I), Hg(II), Cd(II), and Zn(II) inactivated all tested members of the [4Fe-4S] dehydratase family. Again, activity was recovered when the clusters were rebuilt. The metals did not diminish the activities of other sampled enzymes, including NADH dehydrogenase I, an iron-sulfur protein whose clusters are shielded by polypeptide. Thus, the data indicate that dehydratases are damaged by the concentrations of metals that initiate bacteriostasis.     

Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase in pea (Pisum sativum L.). Identification of an unusual metal-binding domain in the plant enzyme

Aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA dehydratase) catalyzes the second step of tetrapyrrole synthesis leading to the formation of heme and chlorophyll in higher plant cells. Antibodies elicited against spinach leaf ALA dehydratase were used to immunoscreen lambda gt11 cDNA libraries constructed from etiolated pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaf poly(A)+ RNAs. A set of overlapping cDNAs was characterized that encode the pea enzyme. The predicted amino acid sequence of the pea ALA dehydratase is similar to those reported for other eukaryotic and prokaryotic ALA dehydratases. The pea enzyme has an active site domain centered on lysine that is highly conserved in comparison to other known ALA dehydratases. Consistent with the previously reported requirement of Mg2+ for catalytic activity by plant ALA dehydratases, the pea enzyme lacks the characteristic Zn(2+)-binding domain present in other eukaryotic ALA dehydratases, but contains a distinctive metal ligand-binding domain based upon aspartate. Northern blot analyses demonstrated that ALA dehydratase mRNA is present in leaves, stems, and to a lesser extent in roots. Steady state levels of mRNA encoding ALA dehydratase exhibit little or no change during light-induced greening.