scholarly journals The Structure of Bypass of Forespore C, an Intercompartmental Signaling Factor during Sporulation in Bacillus

2005 ◽  
Vol 280 (43) ◽  
pp. 36214-36220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayley M. Patterson ◽  
James A. Brannigan ◽  
Simon M. Cutting ◽  
Keith S. Wilson ◽  
Anthony J. Wilkinson ◽  
...  

Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis begins with an asymmetric cell division giving rise to smaller forespore and larger mother cell compartments. Different programs of gene expression are subsequently directed by compartment-specific RNA polymerase σ-factors. In the final stages, spore coat proteins are synthesized in the mother cell under the control of RNA polymerase containing σK, (EσK). σK is synthesized as an inactive zymogen, pro-σK, which is activated by proteolytic cleavage. Processing of pro-σK is performed by SpoIVFB, a metalloprotease that resides in a complex with SpoIVFA and bypass of forespore (Bof)A in the outer forespore membrane. Ensuring coordination of events taking place in the two compartments, pro-σK processing in the mother cell is delayed until appropriate signals are received from the forespore. Cell-cell signaling is mediated by SpoIVB and BofC, which are expressed in the forespore and secreted to the intercompartmental space where they regulate pro-σK processing by mechanisms that are not yet fully understood. Here we present the three-dimensional structure of BofC determined by solution state NMR. BofC is a monomer made up of two domains. The N-terminal domain, containing a four-stranded β-sheet onto one face of which an α-helix is packed, closely resembles the third immunoglobulin-binding domain of protein G from Streptococcus. The C-terminal domain contains a three-stranded β-sheet and three α-helices in a novel domain topology. The sequence connecting the domains contains a conserved DISP motif to which mutations that affect BofC activity map. Possible roles for BofC in the σK checkpoint are discussed in the light of sequence and structure comparisons.

2002 ◽  
Vol 361 (2) ◽  
pp. 409-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric DI LUCCIO ◽  
Alessandra MATAVEL ◽  
Sandrine OPI ◽  
Imed REGAYA ◽  
Guillaume SANDOZ ◽  
...  

Maurotoxin (MTX) is a 34-mer scorpion toxin cross-linked by four disulphide bridges that acts on various K+ channels, including the voltage-gated Shaker B subtype. In the present study, we have investigated over 80h: (1) the time-course of folding of synthetic MTX (sMTX) by CD analysis; (2) the kinetics of disulphide bridge formation by MS; and (3) the potency of MTX in blocking Shaker B currents during the combined process of its in vitro folding and oxidation. From the CD data, we show that stable secondary structures of sMTX evolve sequentially over time, with the appearance of the α-helix within 5h, followed by the formation of the β-sheet within 22h. Using MS analysis, the sMTX intermediates were also found to appear sequentially from the least (one-disulphide-bridged sMTX) to the most oxidized species (native-like, four-disulphide-bridged sMTX). The time course of formation of secondary structures coincides mainly with the occurrence of one-disulphide-bridged sMTX for the α-helix and two- or three-disulphide-bridged sMTX for the β-sheet. On-line electrophysiological recordings, which measure sMTX blocking efficacy on K+ currents during its folding and oxidation, were performed on Shaker B channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Unexpectedly, the results demonstrate that sMTX is highly potent at the initial stage of oxidation, whereas its blocking activity can be transiently and dramatically reduced at later stages during the course of folding/oxidation before it reaches full bioactivity. These data suggest that formation of disulphide bridges can both physically stabilize and alter the bioactive three-dimensional structure of sMTX.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Kagami ◽  
Joel Roca-Martínez ◽  
Jose Gavaldá-García ◽  
Pathmanaban Ramasamy ◽  
K. Anton Feenstra ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The SARS-CoV-2 virus, the causative agent of COVID-19, consists of an assembly of proteins that determine its infectious and immunological behavior, as well as its response to therapeutics. Major structural biology efforts on these proteins have already provided essential insights into the mode of action of the virus, as well as avenues for structure-based drug design. However, not all of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins, or regions thereof, have a well-defined three-dimensional structure, and as such might exhibit ambiguous, dynamic behaviour that is not evident from static structure representations, nor from molecular dynamics simulations using these structures. Main We present a website (https://bio2byte.be/sars2/) that provides protein sequence-based predictions of the backbone and side-chain dynamics and conformational propensities of these proteins, as well as derived early folding, disorder, β-sheet aggregation, protein-protein interaction and epitope propensities. These predictions attempt to capture the inherent biophysical propensities encoded in the sequence, rather than context-dependent behaviour such as the final folded state. In addition, we provide the biophysical variation that is observed in homologous proteins, which gives an indication of the limits of their functionally relevant biophysical behaviour. Conclusion The https://bio2byte.be/sars2/ website provides a range of protein sequence-based predictions for 27 SARS-CoV-2 proteins, enabling researchers to form hypotheses about their possible functional modes of action.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Brendan Timmons ◽  
Chandralal M Hewage

Palustrin-Ca (GFLDIIKDTGKEFAVKILNNLKCKLAGGCPP) is a host defense peptide with potent antimicrobial and anticancer activities, first isolated from the skin of the American bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus. The peptide is 31 amino acid residues long, cationic and amphipathic. Two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy was employed to characterise its three-dimensional structure in a 50/50% water/2,2,2-trifluoroethanol-d3 mixture. The structure is defined by an α-helix that spans between Ile6-Ala26, and a cyclic disulphide bridged domain at the C-terminal end of the peptide sequence, between residues 23 and 29. A molecular dynamics simulation was employed to model the peptide's interactions with sodium dodecyl sulphate micelles, a widely used bacterial membrane-mimicking environment. Throughout the simulation, the peptide was found to maintain its α-helical conformation between residues Ile6-Ala26, while adopting a position parallel to the surface to micelle, which is energetically-favourable due to many hydrophobic and electrostatic contacts with the micelle.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lise Friis Christensen ◽  
Lasse Staby ◽  
Katrine Bugge ◽  
Charlotte O’Shea ◽  
Birthe B. Kragelund ◽  
...  

AbstractRadical-Induced Cell Death1 (RCD1) functions as a cellular hub interacting with intrinsically disordered transcription factor regions, which lack a well-defined three-dimensional structure, to regulate plant stress. Here, we address the molecular evolution of the RCD1-interactome. Using bioinformatics, its history was traced back more than 480 million years to the emergence of land plants with the RCD1-binding short linear motif (SLiM) identified from mosses to flowering plants. SLiM variants were biophysically verified to be functional and to depend on the same RCD1 residues as the DREB2A transcription factor. Based on this, numerous additional members may be assigned to the RCD1-interactome. Conservation was further strengthened by similar intrinsic disorder profiles of the transcription factor homologs. The unique structural plasticity of the RCD1-interactome, with RCD1-binding induced α-helix formation in DREB2A, but not detectable in ANAC046 or ANAC013, is apparently conserved. Thermodynamic analysis also indicated conservation with interchangeability between Arabidopsis and soybean RCD1 and DREB2A, although with fine-tuned co-evolved binding interfaces. Interruption of conservation was observed, as moss DREB2 lacked the SLiM, likely reflecting differences in plant stress responses. This whole-interactome study uncovers principles of the evolution of SLiM:hub-interactions, such as conservation of α-helix propensities, which may be paradigmatic for disorder-based interactomes in eukaryotes.


Author(s):  
Santhosh Gatreddi ◽  
Sayanna Are ◽  
Insaf Ahmed Qureshi

Leishmaniais an auxotrophic protozoan parasite which acquires D-ribose by transporting it from the host cell and also by the hydrolysis of nucleosides. The enzyme ribokinase (RK) catalyzes the first step of ribose metabolism by phosphorylating D-ribose using ATP to produce D-ribose-5-phosphate. To understand its structure and function, the gene encoding RK fromL. donovaniwas cloned, expressed and purified using affinity and size-exclusion chromatography. Circular-dichroism spectroscopy of the purified protein showed comparatively more α-helix in the secondary-structure content, and thermal unfolding revealed theTmto be 317.2 K. Kinetic parameters were obtained by functional characterization ofL. donovaniRK, and theKmvalues for ribose and ATP were found to be 296 ± 36 and 116 ± 9.0 µM, respectively. Crystals obtained by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method diffracted to 1.95 Å resolution and belonged to the hexagonal space groupP61, with unit-cell parametersa=b= 100.25,c= 126.77 Å. Analysis of the crystal content indicated the presence of two protomers in the asymmetric unit, with a Matthews coefficient (VM) of 2.45 Å3 Da−1and 49.8% solvent content. Further study revealed that human counterpart of this protein could be used as a template to determine the first three-dimensional structure of the RK from trypanosomatid parasites.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 825-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalvis Brangulis ◽  
Inara Akopjana ◽  
Andris Kazaks ◽  
Kaspars Tars

Lyme disease is an infection caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi after it is transmitted to a mammalian organism during a tick blood meal. B. burgdorferi encodes at least 140 lipoproteins located on the outer or inner membrane, thus facing the surroundings or the periplasmic space, respectively. However, most of the predicted lipoproteins are of unknown function, and only a few proteins are known to be essential for the persistence and virulence of the pathogen. One such protein is the periplasmic BB0323, which is indispensable for B. burgdorferi to cause Lyme disease and the function of which is associated with cell fission and outer membrane integrity. After expression and transport to the periplasm, BB0323 is cleaved into C-terminal and N-terminal domains by the periplasmic serine protease BB0104. The resulting N-terminal domain is sufficient to ensure the survival of B. burgdorferi throughout the mouse–tick infection cycle. The crystal structure of the N-terminal domain of BB0323 was determined at 2.35 Å resolution. The overall fold of the protein belongs to the spectrin superfamily, with the characteristic interconnected triple-helical bundles known as spectrin repeats that function as linkers between different cell components in other organisms. Overall, the reported three-dimensional structure of the N-terminal domain of BB0323 not only reveals the molecular details of a protein that is essential for B. burgdorferi membrane integrity, cell fission and infectivity, but also suggests that spectrin repeats in bacteria are not limited to the EzrA proteins.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 654-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Prado ◽  
C. R. Santos ◽  
D. I. Kato ◽  
M. T. Murakami ◽  
V. R. Viviani

The structure and catalytic activities of a Malpighian luciferase-like enzyme indicate a generalistic xenobiotic CoA-ligase and a catalytic residue for bioluminescence.


2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 567-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Seutter von Loetzen ◽  
Kristian Schweimer ◽  
Wilfried Schwab ◽  
Paul Rösch ◽  
Olivia Hartl-Spiegelhauer

The PR10 family protein Fra a 1E from strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) is down-regulated in white strawberry mutants, and transient RNAi (RNA interference)-mediated silencing experiments confirmed that Fra a 1 is involved in fruit pigment synthesis. In the present study, we determined the solution structure of Fra a 1E. The protein fold is identical with that of other members of the PR10 protein family and consists of a seven-stranded antiparallel β-sheet, two short V-shaped α-helices and a long C-terminal α-helix that encompass a hydrophobic pocket. Whereas Fra a 1E contains the glycine-rich loop that is highly conserved throughout the protein family, the volume of the hydrophobic pocket and the size of its entrance are much larger than expected. The three-dimensional structure may shed some light on its physiological function and may help to further understand the role of PR10 proteins in plants.


2003 ◽  
Vol 373 (3) ◽  
pp. 723-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja P. EINHOLM ◽  
Katrine E. PEDERSEN ◽  
Troels WIND ◽  
Paulina KULIG ◽  
Michael T. OVERGAARD ◽  
...  

XR5118 [(3Z,6Z)-6-benzylidine-3-(5-(2-dimethylaminoethyl-thio-))-2-(thienyl)methylene-2,5-dipiperazinedione hydrochloride] can inactivate the anti-proteolytic activity of the serpin plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), a potential therapeutic target in cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Serpins inhibit their target proteases by the P1 residue of their reactive centre loop (RCL) forming an ester bond with the active-site serine residue of the protease, followed by insertion of the RCL into the serpin's large central β-sheet A. In the present study, we show that the RCL of XR5118-inactivated PAI-1 is inert to reaction with its target proteases and has a decreased susceptibility to non-target proteases, in spite of a generally increased proteolytic susceptibility of specific peptide bonds elsewhere in PAI-1. The properties of XR5118-inactivated PAI-1 were different from those of the so-called latent form of PAI-1. Alanine substitution of several individual residues decreased the susceptibility of PAI-1 to XR5118. The localization of these residues in the three-dimensional structure of PAI-1 suggested that the XR5118-induced inactivating conformational change requires mobility of α-helix F, situated above β-sheet A, and is in agreement with the hypothesis that XR5118 binds laterally to β-sheet A. These results improve our understanding of the unique conformational flexibility of serpins and the biochemical basis for using PAI-1 as a therapeutic target.


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