Structural studies of AraR from B. thetaiotaomicron

The NrtR family of bacterial transcription factors is characterized by an N-terminal Nudix hydrolase-like effector binding domain and a C-terminal DNA binding domain. A bioinformatics analysis of the NrtR family represented by uncharacterized protein BT0354 in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron suggests that these regulators control the catabolic pathways for L-arabinose. Many bacteria use L-arabinose as the sole source of carbon energy. The L-arabinose utilization pathway and its transcriptional regulation have been studied for a long time in several model microorganisms. Here we provide biochemical and structural characterization of the novel arabinose-responsive regulator of NrtR family protein BT0354, L-arabinose regulator from B. thetaiotaomicron (BtAraR). The BtAraR DNA binding and the role of effector molecule L-arabinose were confirmed using electrophoretic mobility shift assays. We have solved the crystal structures of BtAraR for two apo forms, and complexes with L-arabinose and double-stranded DNA target. The apo-1 form was solved as two dimers/AU in the R3 space group at 2.35 Å, while the apo-2 form was solved as one monomer/AU in the I213 space group at 2.56 Å resolution. The L-arabinose and DNA complex structures were solved as a dimer/AU in the P21 space group at 1.95 Å resolution and the P23 space group at 3.05 Å resolution, respectively. The biological unit of this protein is a dimer while the N-terminal ligand binding domain of the monomer adopts a Nudix hydrolase-like fold and the C-terminal DNA binding domain is a winged helix-turn-helix. The DNA binding-releasing mechanism can be rationalized through the comparison and analyses of these structures. The apo and DNA bound structures are more similar compared to the L-arabinose-bound structure. The r.m.s. deviation for the apo and DNA bound structures is 1.13 Å, while that for apo and the L-arabinose-bound structures is 4.54 Å. Details about the DNA binding mode, L-arabinose binding and L-arabinose induced structural change will be presented. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant GM094585 and by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, under contract DE-AC02-06CH11357.

"Structural characterization of aminoglycoside modifying enzyme ANT(2"")-Ia"

Aminoglycosides are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics used in the treatment of serious Gram-negative bacterial infections, they target the 16S RNA subunit and upon binding cause errors in translation, eventually inducing a bactericidal effect [1]. Aminoglycoside nucleotidyltransferase (2")-Ia (ANT(2")-Ia) is an aminoglycoside modifying enzyme that prevents aminoglycosides from binding to the ribosomal subunit, making this enzyme a principle candidate structure-based drug design [2]. Characterization of ANT(2")-Ia has been proven to be difficult due to the low stability and solubility of overexpressed protein, where 95% of the protein being expressed is in the form of inclusion bodies [3]. We describe a protocol that has lead to successful expression and purification of ANT(2")-Ia. A successful enzymatic assay has also been adapted and the protein is active and stable under these conditions with a specific activity of 0.14 U/mg. Furthermore, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies have allowed for the assignment of 144 of the 176 non-proline backbone residues. Substrate binding NMR experiments have shown unique global chemical shift perturbations upon binding ATP and tobramycin, suggesting unique binding sites for each substrate. Structural determination of ANT(2")-Ia using NMR in conjunction with x-ray crystallography can be utilized in order to develop small molecules that will act as more effective aminoglycosides in order to inhibit ANT(2")-Ia from binding and modifying these antibiotics.

Crystal structure of an alleged mannosylphosphate transferase Ktr6p at 3.06 Å

Ktr6p is an alleged mannosylphosphate transferase from yeast Golgi. It has been implicated in decorating both O-linked and N-lined glycans with mannosylphosphate in vivo. However, based on sequence similarity, Ktr6p belongs to GT15 family of α-1,2-mannosyltransferases. To address this disagreement, the soluble portion of Ktr6p was expressed in P. pastoris and purified by liquid chromatography. The purified protein, GDP-mannose and various acceptors were used in a number of direct and indirect activity assays, however, neither manosyltransferase nor mannosylphosphate transferase activity was detected. Ktr6p was crystallized in a number of PEG- containing conditions, but the crystals resisted all attempts at cryoprotection. Three crystals were used to collect a 3.06 Å resolution dataset on a home source at room temperature. The crystals belong to P 21 21 21 spacegroup with 2 molecules per asymmetric unit. The structure was solved by molecular replacement using a structure of Kre2p, a close homolog from GT15 family (40% sequence identity). The structure was refined to R/Rfree 16.1%/21.2% The overall structure of Ktr6p is very similar to the structure of Kre2p having less than 2 Å overall backbone RMSD. However even at 3 Å resolution the difference in the active site is striking. The guanine moiety binding pocked is occluded by a well-ordered loop making GDP-mannose binding impossible in this conformation. Several aminoacid substitutions in the Mn2+ coordinating environment suggest that Ktr6 does not depend on manganese for its postulated activity. These observations indicate that Ktr6p functions quite differently from Kre2p.