Domain wise docking analyses of the modular chitin binding protein CBP50 from Bacillus thuringiensis serovar konkukian S4

This paper presents an in silico characterization of the chitin binding protein CBP50 from B. thuringiensis serovar konkukian S4 through homology modeling and molecular docking. The CBP50 has shown a modular structure containing an N-terminal CBM33 domain, two consecutive fibronectin-III (Fn-III) like domains and a C-terminal CBM5 domain. The protein presented a unique modular structure which could not be modeled using ordinary procedures. So, domain wise modeling using MODELLER and docking analyses using Autodock Vina were performed. The best conformation for each domain was selected using standard procedure. It was revealed that four amino acid residues Glu-71, Ser-74, Glu-76 and Gln-90 from N-terminal domain are involved in protein-substrate interaction. Similarly, amino acid residues Trp-20, Asn-21, Ser-23 and Val-30 of Fn-III like domains and Glu-15, Ala-17, Ser-18 and Leu-35 of C-terminal domain were involved in substrate binding. Site-directed mutagenesis of these proposed amino acid residues in future will elucidate the key amino acids involved in chitin binding activity of CBP50 protein.     

in silico identification of cross affinity towards Cry1Ac pesticidal protein with receptor enzyme in Bos taurus and sequence,structure analysis of crystal proteins for stability

Any novel protein introduced into the GM crops need to be evaluated for cross affinity on living organisms. Many researchers are currently focusing on the impact of Bacillus thuringiensis cotton on soil and microbial diversity by field experiments. In spite of this, in silico approach might be helpful to elucidate the impact of cry genes. The crystal a protein which was produced by Bt at the time of sporulation has been used as a biological pesticide to target the insectivorous pests like Cry1Ac for Helicoverpa armigera and Cry2Ab for Spodoptera sp. and Heliothis sp. Here, we present the comprehensive in silico analysis of Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab proteins with available in silico tools, databases and docking servers. Molecular docking of Cry1Ac with procarboxypeptidase from Helicoverpa armigera and Cry1Ac with Leucine aminopeptidase from Bos taurus has showed the 125^th amino acid position to be the preference site of Cry1Ac protein. The structures were compared with each other and it showed 5% of similarity. The cross affinity of this toxin that have confirmed the earlier reports of ill effects of Bt cotton consumed by cattle.     

Structural and catalytic insights into the algal prostaglandin H synthase reveal atypical features of the first non-animal cyclooxygenase

Prostaglandin H synthases (PGHSs) have been identified in the majority of vertebrate and invertebrate animals, and most recently in the red alga Gracilaria vermiculophylla. Here we report on the cloning, expression and characterization of the algal PGHS, which shares only about 20% of the amino acid sequence identity with its animal counterparts, yet catalyzes the conversion of arachidonic acid into prostaglandin-endoperoxides, PGG₂ and PGH₂. The algal PGHS lacks structural elements identified in all known animal PGHSs, such as epidermal growth factor-like domain and helix B in the membrane binding domain. The key residues of animal PGHS, like catalytic Tyr-385 and heme liganding His-388 are conserved in the algal enzyme. However, the amino acid residues shown to be important for substrate binding and coordination, and the target residues for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Arg-120, Tyr-355, and Ser-530) are not found at the appropriate positions in the algal sequences. Differently from animal PGHSs the G. vermiculophylla PGHS easily expresses in Escherichia coli as a fully functional enzyme. The recombinant protein was identified as an oligomeric (evidently tetrameric) ferric heme protein. The preferred substrate for the algal PGHS is arachidonic acid with cyclooxygenase reaction rate remarkably higher than values reported for mammalian PGHS isoforms. Similarly to animal PGHS-2, the algal enzyme is capable of metabolizing ester and amide derivatives of arachidonic acid to corresponding prostaglandin products. Algal PGHS is not inhibited by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. A single copy of intron-free gene encoding for PGHS was identified in the red algae G. vermiculophylla and Coccotylus truncatus genomes.     

Cry1Aa binding to the cadherin receptor does not require conserved amino acid sequences in the domain II loops

Characterizing the binding mechanism of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) Cry toxin to the cadherin receptor is indispensable to understanding the specific insecticidal activity of this toxin. To this end, we constructed 30 loop mutants by randomly inserting four serial amino acids covering all four receptor binding loops (loops α8, 1, 2 and 3) and analysed their binding affinities for Bombyx mori cadherin receptors via Biacore. High binding affinities were confirmed for all 30 mutants containing loop sequences that differed from those of wild-type. Insecticidal activities were confirmed in at least one mutant from loops 1, 2 and 3, suggesting that there is no critical amino acid sequence for the binding of the four loops to BtR175. When two mutations at different loops were integrated into one molecule, no reduction in binding affinity was observed compared with wild-type sequences. Based on these results, we discussed the binding mechanism of Cry toxin to cadherin protein.     

Identification of glutamate ABC-Transporter component in Clostridium perfringens as a putative drug target

Clostridium perfringens is an anaerobic pathogen known to cause vast number of diseases in mammals and birds. Various toxins and hydrolysing enzymes released by the organism are responsible for the necrosis of soft tissues. Due to serious safety issues associated with current vaccines against C. perfringens, there is a need for new drug or vaccine targets. C. perfringens is extremely dependent on its host for nutrition which can be targeted for vaccine development or drug design. Therefore, it is of interest to identify the unique transport systems used by C. perfringens involved in uptake of essential amino acids that are synthesized by the host, so that therapeutic agents can be designed to target the specific transport systems. Use of bioinformatics tools resulted in the identification of a protein component of the glutamate transport system that is not present in the host. Analysis of the conservation profile of the protein domain indicated it to be a glutamate binding protein which also stimulates the ATPase activity of ATP Binding Cassettes (ABC) transporters. Homology modelling of the protein showed two distinct lobes, which is a characteristic of substrate binding proteins. This suggests that the carboxylates of glutamate might be stabilized by electrostatic interactions with basic residues as is observed with other binding proteins. Hence, the homology model of this potential drug target can be employed for in silico docking studies by suitable inhibitors.     

Molecular Docking and Site-directed Mutagenesis of a Bacillus thuringiensis Chitinase to Improve Chitinolytic,Synergistic Lepidopteran-larvicidal and Nematicidal Activities

Bacterial chitinases are useful in the biocontrol of agriculturally important pests and fungal pathogens. However, the utility of naturally occurring bacterial chitinases is often limited by their low enzyme activity. In this study, we constructed mutants of a Bacillus thuringiensis chitinase with enhanced activity based on homology modeling, molecular docking, and the site-directed mutagenesis of target residues to modify spatial positions, steric hindrances, or hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity. We first identified a gene from B. thuringiensis YBT-9602 that encodes a chitinase (Chi9602) belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 18 with conserved substrate-binding and substrate-catalytic motifs. We constructed a structural model of a truncated version of Chi9602 (Chi9602_35-459) containing the substrate-binding domain using the homologous 1ITX protein of Bacillus circulans as the template. We performed molecular docking analysis of Chi9602_35-459 using di-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine as the ligand. We then selected 10 residues of interest from the docking area for the site-directed mutagenesis experiments and expression in Escherichia coli. Assays of the chitinolytic activity of the purified chitinases revealed that the three mutants exhibited increased chitinolytic activity. The ChiW50A mutant exhibited a greater than 60 % increase in chitinolytic activity, with similar pH, temperature and metal ion requirements, compared to wild-type Chi9602. Furthermore, ChiW50A exhibited pest-controlling activity and antifungal activity. Remarkable synergistic effects of this mutant with B. thuringiensis spore-crystal preparations against Helicoverpa armigera and Caenorhabditis elegans larvae and obvious activity against several plant-pathogenic fungi were observed.     

Structure and molecular dynamics simulation of archaeal prefoldin: the molecular mechanism for binding and recognition of nonnative substrate proteins

Prefoldin (PFD) is a heterohexameric molecular chaperone complex in the eukaryotic cytosol and archaea with a jellyfish-like structure containing six long coiled-coil tentacles. PFDs capture protein folding intermediates or unfolded polypeptides and transfer them to group II chaperonins for facilitated folding. Although detailed studies on the mechanisms for interaction with unfolded proteins or cooperation with chaperonins of archaeal PFD have been performed, it is still unclear how PFD captures the unfolded protein. In this study, we determined the X-ray structure of Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3 PFD (PhPFD) at 3.0 Å resolution and examined the molecular mechanism for binding and recognition of nonnative substrate proteins by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and mutation analyses. PhPFD has a jellyfish-like structure with six long coiled-coil tentacles and a large central cavity. Each subunit has a hydrophobic groove at the distal region where an unfolded substrate protein is bound. During MD simulation at 330 K, each coiled coil was highly flexible, enabling it to widen its central cavity and capture various nonnative proteins. Docking MD simulation of PhPFD with unfolded insulin showed that the β subunit is essentially involved in substrate binding and that the α subunit modulates the shape and width of the central cavity. Analyses of mutant PhPFDs with amino acid replacement of the hydrophobic residues of the β subunit in the hydrophobic groove have shown that βIle107 has a critical role in forming the hydrophobic groove.     

Cloning,chromosome mapping and expression pattern of porcine PLIN and M6PRBP1 genes

The PAT proteins, named after the three PLIN/ADRP/TIP47 (PAT) proteins, PLIN for perilipin, ADRP for adipose differentiation-related protein and TIP47 for tail-interacting protein of 47 kDa, now officially named M6PRBP1 for mannose-6-phosphate receptor binding protein 1, is a set of intracellular lipid droplet binding proteins. They are localized in the outer membrane monolayer enveloping lipid droplets and are involved in the metabolism of intracellular lipid. This work describes the cloning and sequencing of porcine PLIN and M6PRBP1 cDNAs, the chromosome mapping of these two genes, as well as the expression pattern of porcine PAT genes. Sequence analysis shows that the porcine PLIN cDNA contains an open reading frame of 1551 bp encoding 516 amino acids and that the porcine M6PRBP1 cDNA contains a coding region of 1320 bp encoding 439 amino acids. Comparison of PLIN and M6PRBP1 amino-acid sequences among various species reveals that porcine and bovine proteins are the most conserved. Porcine PLIN and M6PRBP1 genes have been mapped to pig chromosomes 7 and 2, respectively, by radiation hybrid analysis using the IMpRH panel. Expression analyses in pig showed a high expression of PLIN mRNA in adipose tissue, M6PRBP1 mRNA in small intestine, kidney and spleen and ADRP mRNA in adipose tissue, lung and spleen.     

Cloning,mechanistic and functional analysis of a fungal sterol C24-methyltransferase implicated in brassicasterol biosynthesis

The first committed step in the formation of 24-alkylsterols in the ascomycetous fungus Paracoccidiodes brasiliensis (Pb) has been shown to involve C24-methylation of lanosterol to eburicol (24(28)-methylene-24,25-dihydro-lanosterol) on the basis of metabolite co-occurrence. A similarity-based cloning strategy was employed to obtain the cDNA clone corresponding to the sterol C24-methyltransferase (SMT) implicated in the C24-methylation reaction. The resulting catalyst, prepared as a recombinant fusion protein (His/Trx/S), was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(C43) and shown to possess a substrate specificity for lanosterol and to generate a single exocyclic methylene product. The full-length cDNA has an open reading frame of 1131 base pairs and encodes a protein of 377 residues with a calculated molecular mass of 42,502 Da. The enzymatic C24-methylation gave a K_mapp of 38 μM and k_catapp of 0.14 min⁻¹. Quite unexpectedly, “plant” cycloartenol was catalyzed in high yield to 24(28)-methylene cycloartanol consistent with conformational arguments that favor that both cycloartenol and lanosterol are bound pseudoplanar in the ternary complex. Incubation of [27-¹³C]- or [24-²H]cycloartenol with PbSMT and analysis of the enzyme-generated product by a combination of ¹H and ¹³CNMR and mass spectroscopy established the regiospecific conversion of the pro-Z methyl group of the Δ²⁴⁽²⁵⁾-substrate to the pro-R isopropyl methyl group of the product and the migration of H24 to C25 on the Re-face of the original substrate double bond undergoing C24-methylation. Inhibition kinetics and products formed from the substrate analogs 25-azalanosterol (K_i 14 nM) and 26,27-dehydrolanosterol (K_i 54 μM and k_inact of 0.24 min⁻¹) provide direct evidence for distinct reaction channeling capitalized by structural differences in the C24- and C26-sterol acceptors. 25-Azalanosterol was a potent inhibitor of cell growth (IC₅₀, 30 nM) promoting lanosterol accumulation and 24-alkyl sterol depletion. Phylogenetic analysis of PbSMT with related SMTs of diverse origin together with the results of the present study indicate that the enzyme may have a similar complement of active-site amino acid residues compared to related yeast SMTs affording monofunctional C₁-transfer behavior, yet there are sufficient differences in its overall amino acid composition and substrate-dependent partitioning pathways to group PbSMT into a fourth and new class of SMT.     

Carboxy-terminal phosphorylation of SIRT1 by protein kinase CK2

Previous analyses of the sirtuin family of histone deacetylases and its most prominent member SIRT1 have focused primarily on the identification of cellular targets exploring the underlying molecular mechanisms of its implicated function in the control of metabolic homeostasis, differentiation, apoptosis and cell survival. So far, little is known about the regulation of SIRT1 itself. In the study presented herein, we assigned the main region of SIRT1 in vivo phosphorylation to amino acids 643-691 of the unique carboxy-terminal domain. Furthermore, we demonstrate that SIRT1 is a substrate for protein kinase CK2 both in vitro and in vivo. Both, deletion construct analyses and serine-to-alanine mutations identified SIRT1 Ser-659 and Ser-661 as major CK2 phosphorylation sites that are phosphorylated in vivo as well.     

Complete amino acid sequence of three reptile lysozymes

To study the structure and function of reptile lysozymes, we have reported their purification, and in this study we have established the amino acid sequence of three egg white lysozymes in soft-shelled turtle eggs (SSTL A and SSTL B from Trionyx sinensis, ASTL from Amyda cartilaginea) by using the rapid peptide mapping method. The established amino acid sequence of SSTL A, SSTL B, and ASTL showed substitutions of 43, 42, and 44 residues respectively when compared with the HEWL (hen egg white lysozyme) sequence. In these reptile lysozymes, SSTL A had one substitution compared with SSTL B (Gly126Asp) and had an N-terminal extra Gly and 11 substitutions compared with ASTL. SSTL B had an N-terminal extra Gly and 10 residues different from ASTL. The sequence of SSTL B was identical to soft-shelled turtle lysozyme from STL (Trionyx sinensis japonicus). The Ile residue at position 93 of ASTL is the first report in all C-type lysozymes. Furthermore, amino acid substitutions (Phe34His, Arg45Tyr, Thr47Arg, and Arg114Tyr) were also found at subsites E and F when compared with HEWL. The time course using N-acetylglucosamine pentamer as a substrate exhibited a reduction of the rate constant of glycosidic cleavage and increase of binding free energy for subsites E and F, which proved the contribution for amino acids mentioned above for substrate binding at subsites E and F. Interestingly, the variable binding free energy values occurred on ASTL, may be contributed from substitutions at outside of subsites E and F.     

Crystal structure of Thermus thermophilus tRNA m1A58 methyltransferase and biophysical characterization of its interaction with tRNA

Methyltransferases from the m¹A₅₈ tRNA methyltransferase (TrmI) family catalyze the S-adenosyl-l-methionine-dependent N₁-methylation of tRNA adenosine 58. The crystal structure of Thermus thermophilus TrmI, in complex with S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine, was determined at 1.7 Å resolution. This structure is closely related to that of Mycobacterium tuberculosis TrmI, and their comparison enabled us to enlighten two grooves in the TrmI structure that are large enough and electrostatically compatible to accommodate one tRNA per face of TrmI tetramer. We have then conducted a biophysical study based on electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, site-directed mutagenesis, and molecular docking. First, we confirmed the tetrameric oligomerization state of TrmI, and we showed that this protein remains tetrameric upon tRNA binding, with formation of complexes involving one to two molecules of tRNA per TrmI tetramer. Second, three key residues for the methylation reaction were identified: the universally conserved D170 and two conserved aromatic residues Y78 and Y194. We then used molecular docking to position a N₉-methyladenine in the active site of TrmI. The N₉-methyladenine snugly fits into the catalytic cleft, where the side chain of D170 acts as a bidentate ligand binding the amino moiety of S-adenosyl-l-methionine and the exocyclic amino group of the adenosine. Y194 interacts with the N₉-methyladenine ring, whereas Y78 can stabilize the sugar ring. From our results, we propose that the conserved residues that form the catalytic cavity (D170, Y78, and Y194) are essential for fashioning an optimized shape of the catalytic pocket.     

The first structure of a glycoside hydrolase family 61 member, Cel61B from Hypocrea jecorina, at 1.6 A resolution

The glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 61 is a long-recognized, but still recondite, class of proteins, with little known about the activity, mechanism or function of its more than 70 members. The best-studied GH family 61 member, Cel61A of the filamentous fungus Hypocrea jecorina, is known to be an endoglucanase, but it is not clear if this represents the main activity or function of this family in vivo. We present here the first structure for this family, that of Cel61B from H. jecorina. The best-quality crystals were formed in the presence of nickel, and the crystal structure was solved to 1.6 Å resolution using a single-wavelength anomalous dispersion method with nickel as the source of anomalous scatter. Cel61B lacks a carbohydrate-binding module and is a single-domain protein that folds into a twisted β-sandwich. A structure-aided sequence alignment of all GH family 61 proteins identified a highly conserved group of residues on the surface of Cel61B. Within this patch of mostly polar amino acids was a site occupied by the intramolecular nickel hexacoordinately bound in the solved structure. In the Cel61B structure, there is no easily identifiable carbohydrate-binding cleft or pocket or catalytic center of the types normally seen in GHs. A structural comparison search showed that the known structure most similar to Cel61B is that of CBP21 from the Gram-negative soil bacterium Serratia marcescens, a member of the carbohydrate-binding module family 33 proteins. A polar surface patch highly conserved in that structural family has been identified in CBP21 and shown to be involved in chitin binding and in the protein's enhancement of chitinase activities. The analysis of the Cel61B structure is discussed in light of our continuing research to better understand the activities and function of GH family 61.     

Functional characterization of a novel tropinone reductase-like gene in Dendrobium nobile Lindl

Dendrobium nobile, a herbal medicine plant, contains many important alkaloids and other secondary metabolites with pharmacological and clinical effects. However, the biosynthetic pathway of these secondary metabolites is largely unknown. In present study, a cDNA sequence (DnTR2) that encodes a peptide with high similarity to known tropinone reductase (TR) was cloned from D. nobile Lindl. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis showed that DnTR2 was evolutionarily distant from those well-characterized subgroups of TRs. qRT-PCR revealed that DnTR2 was expressed constitutively in all three vegetative organs (leaves, stems and roots) and was regulated by methyl jasmonate (MeJA), salicylic acid (SA) and nitrogen oxide (NO). Catalytic activity analysis using recombinant protein found that DnTR2 was not able to reduce tropinone, but reduced the two structural analogs of tropinone, 3-quinuclidinone hydrochloride and 4-methylcyclohexanone. Structural modeling and comparison suggested that the substrate specificity of TRs may not be determined by their phylogenetic relationships but by the amino acids that compose the substrate binding pocket. To verify this hypothesis, a site-directed mutagenesis was performed and it successfully restored the DnTR2 with tropinone reduction activity. Our results also showed that the substrate specificity of TRs was determined by a few residues that compose the substrate binding pocket which may have an important role for directed selecting of TRs with designated substrate specificities.     

cDNA,genomic sequence and overexpression of crystallin alpha-B Gene (CRYAB) of the Giant Panda

αB-crystallin, a small heat-shock protein, has been shown to prevent the aggregation of other proteins under various stress conditions. Here we have cloned the cDNA and the genomic sequence of CRYAB gene from the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) using RT-PCR technology and Touchdown-PCR, respectively. The length of cDNA fragment cloned contains an open reading frame of 528bp encoding 175 amino acids and the length of the genomic sequence is 3189bp, containing three exons and two introns. Alignment analysis indicated that the nucleotide sequence and the deduced amino acid sequence are highly conserved to other four species studied, including Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus and Bos taurus. The homologies for nucleotide sequences of Giant Panda CRYAB to that of these species are 93.9%, 91.5%, 91.5% and 95.3%, respectively, and the homologies for amino acid sequences are 98.3%, 97.1%,97.7% and 99.4%, respectively. Topology prediction shows that there are only four Casein kinase II phosphorylation sites in the CRYAB protein of the Giant Panda. The cDNA of CRYAB was transfected into E. coli, and the CRYAB fused with the N-terminally His-tagged protein gave rise to the accumulation of an expected 24KDa polypeptide, which accorded with the predicted protein. The expression product obtained could be used for purification and study of its function further.     

Structure-Based Analysis of the Ligand-Binding Mechanism for DhelOBP21, a C-minus Odorant Binding Protein,from Dastarcus helophoroides (Fairmaire; Coleoptera: Bothrideridae)

Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) transport hydrophobic odor molecules across the sensillar lymph to trigger a neuronal response. Herein, the Minus-C OBP (DhelOBP21) was characterized from Dastarcus helophoroides, the most important natural parasitic enemy insect that targets Monochamus alternatus. Homology modeling and molecular docking were conducted on the interaction between DhelOBP21 and 17 volatile molecules (including volatiles from pine bark, the larva of M. alternatus, and the faeces of the larva). The predicted three-dimensional structure showed only two disulfide bridges and a hydrophobic binding cavity with a short C-terminus. Ligand-binding experiments using N-phenylnaphthylamine (1-NPN) as a fluorescent probe showed that DhelOBP21 exhibited better binding affinities against those ligands with a molecular volume between 100 and 125 ų compared with ligands with a molecular volume between 160 and 185 ų. Molecules that are too big or too small are not conducive for binding. We mutated the amino acid residues of the binding cavity to increase either hydrophobicity or hydrophilia. Ligand-binding experiments and cyber molecular docking assays indicated that hydrophobic interactions are more significant than hydrogen-bonding interactions. Although hydrogen-bond interactions could be predicted for some binding complexes, the hydrophobic interactions had more influence on binding following hydrophobic changes that affected the cavity. The orientation of ligands affects binding by influencing hydrophobic interactions. The binding process is controlled by multiple factors. This study provides a basis to explore the ligand-binding mechanisms of Minus-C OBP.     

Functional interpretation of APN receptor from M.sexta using a molecular model

Insect pests are the major cause of damage to commercially important agricultural crops. The continuous application of synthetic pesticides resulted in severe insect resistance by plants. This causes irreversible damage to the environment. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) emerged as a valuable biological alternative in pest control. However, insect resistance against Bt has been reported in many cases. Insects develop resistance to insecticides through mechanisms that reduce the binding of toxins to gut receptors. Nonetheless, the molecular mechanism of insect resistance is not fully understood. Therefore, it is important to study the mechanism of toxin resistance by analyzing amino‐peptidase‐N (APN) receptor of the insect M. sexta. A homology model of APN was constructed using Insight II molecular modeling software and the model was further evaluated using the PROCHECK program. Oligosaccharides participating in post translational modification were constructed and docked onto specific APN functional sites. Post analyses of the APN model provide insights on the functional properties of APN towards the understanding of receptor and toxin interactions. We also discuss the predicted binding sites for ligands, metals and Bt toxins in M. sexta APN receptor. These data help in the development of a roadmap for the design and synthesis of novel insect resistant Cry toxins.