Pf1 filamentous bacterial virus: X-ray fibre diffraction analysis of two heavy-atom derivatives

Specific chemical reactions have been used to prepare and characterize two different heavy-atom derivatives of Pfl filamentous bacterial virus. Two atoms of iodine were bound to Tyr25 of the coat protein using immobilized lactoperoxidase. One atom of mercury was introduced by first attaching a thiol group to the amino terminus of the protein. High quality X-ray fibre diffraction patterns of the virus were obtained using a strong magnetic field to orient the virions during preparation of fibres. Bessel functions were resolved by preparing native fibres at 4 °C, which induces layer-line “splitting” and thereby gives three-dimensional data to 4 Å resolution. Analysis of the intensity changes caused by the heavy atoms on the diffraction patterns at 10 Å resolution showed that the virus has 5.4 protein subunits per 15 Å pitch. The iodine atoms were found at a mean radius of 26 to 28 Å and the mercury at a radius of 31 to 33 Å.     

The structure of horse methaemoglobin at 2-0 A resolution

The structure of horse methaemoglobin has been redetermined by phase extension and refinement. This has improved our knowledge of the haem geometry and the stereochemistry of the interfaces between the subunits, and confirmed the disorder of the C-terminal residues. Using new four-circle diffractometer data between the limiting spheres of radius 10 and 2.0 Å^?1, the co-ordinates determined by Perutz et al. (1968a,b) were subjected to successive cycles of real-space refinement into electron density maps calculated with observed ¦F¦ values and phases derived from the latest refined model, until the reliability index had dropped from an initial value of 0.45 to 0.23. The positions of the iron atoms relative to the planes of the porphyrin rings were refined separately, and checked by Fourier syntheses based on anomalous scattering and by difference Fourier syntheses calculated with coefficients from which the iron contributions had been removed. The general root-mean-squared error in atomic positions is 0.32 Å; the probable error in the displacement of the iron atoms from the porphyrin planes is 0.06 Å. The difference Fourier synthesis, obtained after refinement of the protein was complete, showed 41 bound water molecules per asymmetric unit and also revealed five errors in amino acid sequence, one of which was confirmed chemically.The secondary structures of the subunits are stabilized by hydrogen bonds formed by main-chain NH and CO groups either with each other or with nearby polar side-chains. There are few internal hydrogen bonds linking the various chain segments; many of the external polar side-chains help to stabilize the tertiary structure by forming hydrogen bonds with each other or through bound water molecules. Several of the helical segments are irregular and the terminal residues are disordered. The contacts between the subunits are more polar than the earlier 2.8 Å map had led us to believe, because it had failed to show up the 15 bound water molecules at the α₁β₁ and the four at the α₁β₂ contact. Their inclusion has raised the number of hydrogen bonds between neighbouring subunits at α₁β₁ from five to 17 or possibly 19, and at α₁β₂ from two to six or possibly seven. The remaining 22 water molecules are distributed over the internal cavity and the molecular surface; most of them make hydrogen bonds with at least two polar groups of the protein. Despite several amino acid differences, the structure of the α₁β₁ contact, including the bound water, is the same as in human deoxyhaemoglobin (Fermi, 1975).     

Structure and function of YghU, a nu-class glutathione transferase related to YfcG from Escherichia coli

The crystal structure (1.50 ? resolution) and biochemical properties of the GSH transferase homologue, YghU, from Escherichia coli reveal that the protein is unusual in that it binds two molecules of GSH in each active site. The crystallographic observation is consistent with biphasic equilibrium binding data that indicate one tight (K(d1) = 0.07 ± 0.03 mM) and one weak (K(d2) = 1.3 ± 0.2 mM) binding site for GSH. YghU exhibits little or no GSH transferase activity with most typical electrophilic substrates but does possess a modest catalytic activity toward several organic hydroperoxides. Most notably, the enzyme also exhibits disulfide-bond reductase activity toward 2-hydroxyethyl disulfide [k(cat) = 74 ± 6 s(-1), and k(cat)/K(M)(GSH) = (6.6 ± 1.3) × 10(4) M(-1) s(-1)] that is comparable to that previously determined for YfcG. A superposition of the structures of the YghU·2GSH and YfcG·GSSG complexes reveals a remarkable structural similarity of the active sites and the 2GSH and GSSG molecules in each. We conclude that the two structures represent reduced and oxidized forms of GSH-dependent disulfide-bond oxidoreductases that are distantly related to glutaredoxin 2. The structures and properties of YghU and YfcG indicate that they are members of the same, but previously unidentified, subfamily of GSH transferase homologues, which we suggest be called the nu-class GSH transferases.     

A Pseudomonas aeruginosa TIR effector mediates immune evasion by targeting UBAP1 and TLR adaptors

Bacterial pathogens often subvert the innate immune system to establish a successful infection. The direct inhibition of downstream components of innate immune pathways is particularly well documented but how bacteria interfere with receptor proximal events is far less well understood. Here, we describe a Toll/interleukin 1 receptor (TIR) domain‐containing protein (PumA) of the multi‐drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA7 strain. We found that PumA is essential for virulence and inhibits NF‐κB, a property transferable to non‐PumA strain PA14, suggesting no additional factors are needed for PumA function. The TIR domain is able to interact with the Toll‐like receptor (TLR) adaptors TIRAP and MyD88, as well as the ubiquitin‐associated protein 1 (UBAP1), a component of the endosomal‐sorting complex required for transport I (ESCRT‐I). These interactions are not spatially exclusive as we show UBAP1 can associate with MyD88, enhancing its plasma membrane localization. Combined targeting of UBAP1 and TLR adaptors by PumA impedes both cytokine and TLR receptor signalling, highlighting a novel strategy for innate immune evasion.     

The role of genes in understanding the evolutionary ecology of reef building corals

A key tool in evolutionary ecology is information about the temporal dynamics of species over time. Paleontology has long been the major source of this information, however, a very different source of temporal data resides in the variation of genes within and between species. These data provide an independent way to date species divergence but can also uniquely reveal processes such as gene introgression between species and demographic isolation within species. Genetic tools are particularly useful for understanding genera with closely related species that can potentially hybridize, such as reef building corals. Here we use genetic data from four loci (3 introns and 1 mitochondrial) to assay divergence and gene flow in Caribbean corals. The data show that there is persistent gene flow between species in the genus Acropora, but that this gene flow is unidirectional and highly variable among loci. Selection against introgressed alleles is high enough at one locus, Mini-collagen, to prevent gene flow between species. By contrast, selection against mitochondrial introgression appears much weaker, with 40–80 times higher rates of inter-specific gene flow than for any nuclear locus we examined. The same loci also show that gene flow among locations within species is locally restricted, but is nevertheless much higher between populations than between species. Interpretation of population data is complicated by the variable nature of selection on introgressed alleles, and some patterns of genetic differentiation might be driven by local introgression and selection. The combination of inter-specific and intra-specific data using the same loci treated in a genealogical framework helps resolve complications due to introgression and helps paint a picture of the evolution and maintenance of species in a complex spatial and temporal framework.     

hSMUG1 can functionally compensate for Ung1 in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

There are at least four distinct families of enzymes that recognize and remove uracil from DNA. Family-3 (SMUG1) enzymes have recently been identified and have a preference for uracil in single-stranded DNA when assayed in vitro. Here we investigate the in vivo function of SMUG1 using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system. These organisms lack a SMUG1 homologue and use a single enzyme, Ung1 to carry out uracil-repair. When a wild-type strain is treated with antifolate agents to induce uracil misincorporation into DNA, S-phase arrest and cellular toxicity occurs. The arrest is characteristic of checkpoint activation due to single-strand breaks caused by continuous uracil removal and self-defeating DNA repair. When uracil-DNA glycosylase is deleted (deltaung1), cells continue through S-phase and arrest at G(2)/M, presumably due to the effects of stable uracil misincorporation in DNA. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) demonstrates that cells are able to complete DNA replication with uracil-substituted DNA and do not experience the extensive strand breakage attributed to uracil-DNA glycosylase-mediated repair. As a result, these cells experience early protection from antifolate-induced cytotoxicity. When either UNG1 or SMUG1 functions are reintroduced back into the null strain and then subjected to antifolate treatment, the cells revert back to the wild-type phenotype as shown by a restored sensitivity to drug and S-phase arrest. The arrest is accompanied by the accumulation of replication intermediates as determined by PFGE. Collectively, these data indicate that SMUG1 can act as a functional homolog of the family-1 uracil-DNA glycosylase enzymes.     

Structure and mechanism of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PhzD,an isochorismatase from the phenazine biosynthetic pathway

PhzD from Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an isochorismatase involved in phenazine biosynthesis. Phenazines are antimicrobial compounds that provide Pseudomonas with a competitive advantage in certain environments and may be partly responsible for the persistence of Pseudomonas infections. In vivo, PhzD catalyzes the hydrolysis of the vinyl ether functional group of 2-amino-2-deoxyisochorismate, yielding pyruvate and trans-2,3-dihydro-3-hydroxyanthranilic acid, which is then utilized in the phenazine biosynthetic pathway. PhzD also catalyzes hydrolysis of the related vinyl ethers isochorismate, chorismate, and 4-amino-4-deoxychorismate. Here we report the 1.5 A crystal structure of native PhzD, and the 1.6 A structure of the inactive D38A variant in complex with isochorismate. The structures reveal that isochorismate binds to the PhzD active site in a trans-diaxial conformation, and superposition of the structures indicates that the methylene pyruvyl carbon of isochorismate is adjacent to the side chain carboxylate of aspartate 38. The proximity of aspartate 38 to isochorismate and the complete loss of activity resulting from the conversion of aspartate 38 to alanine suggest a mechanism in which the carboxylate acts as a general acid to protonate the substrate, yielding a carbocation/oxocarbonium ion that is then rapidly hydrated to form a hemiketal intermediate, which then decomposes spontaneously to products. The structure of PhzD is remarkably similar to other structures from a subfamily of alpha/beta-hydrolase enzymes that includes pyrazinamidase and N-carbamoylsarcosine amidohydrolase. However, PhzD catalyzes unrelated chemistry and lacks a nucleophilic cysteine found in its close structural relatives. The vinyl ether hydrolysis catalyzed by PhzD represents yet another example of the catalytic diversity seen in the alpha/beta-hydrolase family, whose members are also known to hydrolyze amides, phosphates, phosphonates, epoxides, and C-X bonds.