The Biosynthesis of Flavin Cofactors in Listeria monocytogenes

Listeria monocytogenes is riboflavin auxotrophic, but it has two genes envisaged to transform riboflavin into FMN and FAD after its uptaked by specialized transporters. One encodes a bifunctional type I FAD synthase (FADS, herein LmFADS-1), while the other produces a protein similar to type I at the FMN:ATP adenylyltransferase (FMNAT) site but with a shorter C-terminal that lacks any riboflavin kinase (RFK) motif. This second protein is rare among bacteria and has been named FADS type II (LmFADS-2). Here we present a biochemical and biophysical study of LmFADS-1 and LmFADS-2 by integrating kinetic and thermodynamic data together with sequence and structural prediction methods to evaluate their occurrence in Listeria, as well as their function and molecular properties. Despite LmFADS-1 similarities to other type I FADSs, (i) its RFK activity has not riboflavin substrate inhibition and occurs under reducing and oxidizing conditions, (ii) its FMNAT activity requires strong reducing environment, and (iii) binding of reaction products, but not substrates, favors binding of the second ligand. LmFADS-2 produces FAD under oxidizing and reducing environments, but its C-terminus module function remains unknown. Listeria species conserve both FADSs, being sequence identity high within L. monocytogenes strains. Our data exemplify alternative strategies for FMN and FAD biosynthesis and homeostasis, envisaging that in Listeria two FADSs might be required to fulfill the supply of flavin cofactors under niches that can go from saprophytism to virulence. As FADSs are attractive antimicrobial targets, understanding of FADSs traits in different species is essential to help in the discovery of specific antimicrobials.     

蝶呤型钼辅因子生物合成、运输及组装——潜在的药物靶标

钼辅因子作为氧化还原反应中的重要分子,参与硫、氮、碳的氧化还原代谢.钼辅因子主要分为两类:以铁硫簇为基础的铁钼辅因子和以亚钼蝶呤为基础的钼辅因子.钼-二-亚钼蝶呤-鸟苷二核苷钼辅因子(Mo-bis-MGD)是蝶呤型钼辅因子的重要成员之一,是硝酸盐还原酶的重要辅因子.膜结合硝酸盐还原酶介导的硝酸盐还原为细菌提供了氮源和能...     

红霉素生物合成的生物化学和基因学

从基因重组技术问世以来,对红霉素(大环内酯类抗生素)生物合成的生物化学和基因学的研究到目前已经累积了大量的研究结果。就这2个领域中对红霉素生物合成的研究历史、研究现状和研究前景(组合生物合成)作以简要的介绍。     

The Biosynthesis of Thiol- and Thioether-containing Cofactors and Secondary Metabolites Catalyzed by Radical S-Adenosylmethionine Enzymes

Sulfur atoms are present as thiol and thioether functional groups in amino acids, coenzymes, cofactors, and various products of secondary metabolic pathways. The biosynthetic pathways for several sulfur-containing biomolecules require the substitution of sulfur for hydrogen at unreactive aliphatic or electron-rich aromatic carbon atoms. Examples discussed in this review include biotin, lipoic acid, methylthioether modifications found in some nucleic acids and proteins, and thioether cross-links found in peptide natural products. Radical S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) enzymes use an iron-sulfur cluster to catalyze the reduction of SAM to methionine and a highly reactive 5′-deoxyadenosyl radical; this radical can abstract hydrogen atoms at unreactive positions, facilitating the introduction of a variety of functional groups. Radical SAM enzymes that catalyze sulfur insertion reactions contain a second iron-sulfur cluster that facilitates the chemistry, either by donating the cluster''s endogenous sulfide or by binding and activating exogenous sulfide or sulfur-containing substrates. The use of radical chemistry involving iron-sulfur clusters is an efficient anaerobic route to the generation of carbon-sulfur bonds in cofactors, secondary metabolites, and other natural products.     

Transformed Roots of Lupinus mutabilis: Induction, Culture and Isoflavone Biosynthesis

Transformed roots of Lupinus mutabilis cv. Potosi induced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain R1601 were cultured on Murashige and Skoog-based medium lacking kanamycin sulphate, or with this antibiotic at 40 mg l⁻¹. The neomycin phosphotransferase gene in the genome of transformed roots was confirmed by non-radioactive Southern hybridisation. Neomycin phosphotransferase protein was detected by ELISA. Transformed roots synthesised isoflavones, but not quinolizidine alkaloids; the latter are typical secondary metabolites of lupin normally produced in aerial parts of the plant. Genistein and 2′-hydroxygenistein, were the main secondary metabolites in cultured, transformed roots, whereas the glycoside genistin was more abundant in roots of non-transformed plants. Wighteone concentrations in transgenic roots were higher than those of non-transformed roots. Transformed roots produced twice the concentration of isoflavones compared with roots from non-transformed plants, indicating that Ri plasmid T-DNA genes modified isoflavone concentration and pattern of biosynthesis.     

The Redox Biochemistry of Protein Sulfenylation and Sulfinylation

Controlled generation of reactive oxygen species orchestrates numerous physiological signaling events (Finkel, T. (2011) Signal transduction by reactive oxygen species. J. Cell Biol. 194, 7–15). A major cellular target of reactive oxygen species is the thiol side chain (RSH) of Cys, which may assume a wide range of oxidation states (i.e. −2 to +4). Within this context, Cys sulfenic (Cys-SOH) and sulfinic (Cys-SO₂H) acids have emerged as important mechanisms for regulation of protein function. Although this area has been under investigation for over a decade, the scope and biological role of sulfenic/sulfinic acid modifications have been recently expanded with the introduction of new tools for monitoring cysteine oxidation in vitro and directly in cells. This minireview discusses selected recent examples of protein sulfenylation and sulfinylation from the literature, highlighting the role of these post-translational modifications in cell signaling.     

Parathyroid Hormone-Related Protein: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Abstract

This article critically reviews the current state of knowledge regarding the recently identified and cloned novel hormone parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP). PTHrP is produced by tumors associated with the syndrome of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy giving rise to the parathyroid hormone (FTH)-like symptoms characteristic of the syndrome.

Areas that will be reviewed include identification, purification and cloning, localization, actions, and significance of PTHrP in cancers and normal physiology. The structure and regulation of the PTHrP gene that may be ancestrally related to the PTH gene will also be discussed.

Studies in vivo and in vitro with synthetic and recombinant PTHrP sequences and antibodies developed against them have established that the PTH-like actions of PTHrP are mediated via the N-terminal sequences, which show some limited sequence homology with PTH.

Evidence for PTH and non-PTH-like actions of PTHrP in normal physiology, which implicate a role for FTHrP in fetal and neonatal development, is also presented.     

胶原蛋白结构基础上的设计与合成

胶原蛋白在人体组织中的含量十分丰富,它是具有绕轴周期性螺旋(即三重螺旋)结构的纤维状蛋白,它为细胞粘附和大分子的沉积等提供支架结构。随着基因工程技术和生物材料科学的不断发展,以及对如何获得具有特殊功能胶原蛋白研究的不断深入,使其成为第三代生物材料中倍受瞩目的成员之一。基于胶原蛋白结构的分子设计以及合成途径值得探讨。     

DMSO, an Organic Cleanup Solvent for TCA/Acetone-Precipitated Proteins, Improves 2-DE Protein Analysis of Rice Roots

Protein extraction is a critical step in a two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE)-based proteomic analysis. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a small organic molecule, is widely used as a solvent in biological sciences. In this study, we modified the cleanup step of the commonly used trichloroacetic acid (TCA)/acetone method of protein extraction by using 20?% DMSO/acetone as a solvent to wash TCA?Cacetone-precipitated pellets. The improved protocol (TCA/acetone?CDMSO) was compared with the TCA/acetone and phenol extraction method based on the protein yield, the number of spots, and resolution on 2-DE maps. TCA/acetone?CDMSO washing increased protein yield, and improved the resolution in 2-DE with less background, streaking, and smearing. This method also produced the highest number of protein spots. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to use DMSO as a cleanup solvent for TCA/acetone-precipitated proteins to enhance their quality prior to 2-DE.     

New Developments in Selenium Biochemistry: Selenocysteine Biosynthesis in Eukaryotes and Archaea

We used comparative genomics and experimental analyses to show that (1) eukaryotes and archaea, which possess the selenocysteine (Sec) protein insertion machinery contain an enzyme, O-phosphoseryl-transfer RNA (tRNA)^[Ser]Sec kinase (designated PSTK), which phosphorylates seryl-tRNA^[Ser]Sec to form O-phosphoseryl-tRNA^[Ser]Sec and (2) the Sec synthase (SecS) in mammals is a pyridoxal phosphate-containing protein previously described as the soluble liver antigen (SLA). SecS uses the product of PSTK, O-phosphoseryl-tRNA^[Ser]Sec, and selenophosphate as substrates to generate selenocysteyl-tRNA^[Ser]Sec. Sec could be synthesized on tRNA^[Ser]Sec from selenide, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and serine using tRNA^[Ser]Sec, seryl-tRNA synthetase, PSTK, selenophosphate synthetase, and SecS. The enzyme that synthesizes monoselenophosphate is a previously identified selenoprotein, selenophosphate synthetase 2 (SPS2), whereas the previously identified mammalian selenophosphate synthetase 1 did not serve this function. Monoselenophosphate also served directly in the reaction replacing ATP, selenide, and SPS2, demonstrating that this compound was the active selenium donor. Conservation of the overall pathway of Sec biosynthesis suggests that this pathway is also active in other eukaryotes and archaea that contain selenoproteins. X.-M. Xu and B. A. Carlson contributed equally to the studies described herein.     

Biosynthesis of cyclic carotenoids: Biochemistry and molecular genetics of the reaction sequence

Cyclic carotenids are found in the photosynthetic apparatus of higher plants. The biosynthesis of these pigments has been under investigation for two decades. Especially with in vitro systems from chromoplasts and unicellular cynaobacteria. new information has been obtained on the enzymatic reactions in carotenogenesis. Very recently, progress in the identification and cloning of several genes from the carotenogenic pathway has been made with bacteria, cyanobacteria and fungi. The new developments in biochemistry and molecular biology of cyclic carotenoids are reviewed, and the consequences of the results obtained by molecular genetics on the general understanding of the biosynthetic pathway of carotenoids are discussed, especially the desaturation and isomerization reactions.     

Roots: Molecular basis of biological regulation: Origins from feedback inhibition and allostery

One observes regulation at every biological level. Organisms, cells, and biochemical processes operate efficiently, normally wasting neither material nor energy, and adjusting their functions to external influences. Nature evidently has evolved mechanisms specifically dedicated to regulation at many levels. What is the molecular basis of this control? In the 1950s these molecular control mechanisms began to be explored seriously. The discoveries of feedback inhibition of enzyme activity were important because they gave an initial example of how regulation is achieved at the molecular level. We showed that certain enzymes are composed of two parts, one for catalysis and another distinct part present only to regulate this catalysis. Catalytic activity can be either stimulated or inhibited when a small molecule in the environment combines with the enzyme's regulatory site. In particular, a final product of a metabolic pathway generates a feedback loop which automatically limits its own excessive production, by combining with the regulatory site of an early enzyme in that pathway. Later studies showed that catalytic and regulatory structures of some enzymes could be separated physically. The discovery of regulatory sites and their interaction with molecules unrelated to their substrates was the basis for the generalized allosteric concept. This concept extends the regulatory site idea to a wide variety of processes such as control of gene expression, hormone action, and cellular growth.