scholarly journals Molecular simulations unravel the molecular principles that mediate selective permeability of carboxysome shell protein

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Faulkner ◽  
István Szabó ◽  
Samantha L. Weetman ◽  
Francois Sicard ◽  
Roland G. Huber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Carbon Assimilation ◽  
Molecular Transport ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Bisphosphate Carboxylase ◽  
Shell Protein ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Central Pore ◽  
Protein Shell

AbstractBacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are nanoscale proteinaceous organelles that encapsulate enzymes from the cytoplasm using an icosahedral protein shell that resembles viral capsids. Of particular interest are the carboxysomes (CBs), which sequester the CO2-fixing enzymes ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) to enhance carbon assimilation. The carboxysome shell serves as a semi-permeable barrier for passage of metabolites in and out of the carboxysome to enhance CO2 fixation. How the protein shell directs influx and efflux of molecules in an effective manner has remained elusive. Here we use molecular dynamics and umbrella sampling calculations to determine the free-energy profiles of the metabolic substrates, bicarbonate, CO2 and ribulose bisphosphate and the product 3-phosphoglycerate associated with their transition through the major carboxysome shell protein CcmK2. We elucidate the electrostatic charge-based permeability and key amino acid residues of CcmK2 functioning in mediating molecular transit through the central pore. Conformational changes of the loops forming the central pore may also be required for transit of specific metabolites. The importance of these in-silico findings is validated experimentally by site-directed mutagenesis of the key CcmK2 residue Serine 39. This study provides insight into the mechanism that mediates molecular transport through the shells of carboxysomes, applicable to other BMCs. It also offers a predictive approach to investigate and manipulate the shell permeability, with the intend of engineering BMC-based metabolic modules for new functions in synthetic biology.

scholarly journals Molecular simulations unravel the molecular principles that mediate selective permeability of carboxysome shell protein

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Faulkner ◽  
István Szabó ◽  
Samantha L. Weetman ◽  
Francois Sicard ◽  
Roland G. Huber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Carbon Assimilation ◽  
Molecular Transport ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Bisphosphate Carboxylase ◽  
Shell Protein ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Central Pore ◽  
Protein Shell

Abstract Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are nanoscale proteinaceous organelles that encapsulate enzymes from the cytoplasm using an icosahedral protein shell that resembles viral capsids. Of particular interest are the carboxysomes (CBs), which sequester the CO2-fixing enzymes ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) to enhance carbon assimilation. The carboxysome shell serves as a semi-permeable barrier for passage of metabolites in and out of the carboxysome to enhance CO2 fixation. How the protein shell directs influx and efflux of molecules in an effective manner has remained elusive. Here we use molecular dynamics and umbrella sampling calculations to determine the free-energy profiles of the metabolic substrates, bicarbonate, CO2 and ribulose bisphosphate and the product 3-phosphoglycerate associated with their transition through the major carboxysome shell protein CcmK2. We elucidate the electrostatic charge-based permeability and key amino acid residues of CcmK2 functioning in mediating molecular transit through the central pore. Conformational changes of the loops forming the central pore may also be required for transit of specific metabolites. The importance of these in-silico findings is validated experimentally by site-directed mutagenesis of the key CcmK2 residue Serine 39. This study provides insight into the mechanism that mediates molecular transport through the shells of carboxysomes, applicable to other BMCs. It also offers a predictive approach to investigate and manipulate the shell permeability, with the intent of engineering BMC-based metabolic modules for new functions in synthetic biology.

scholarly journals Selective molecular transport through the protein shell of a bacterial microcompartment organelle

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (10) ◽  
pp. 2990-2995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiranjit Chowdhury ◽  
Sunny Chun ◽  
Allan Pang ◽  
Michael R. Sawaya ◽  
Sharmistha Sinha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Molecules ◽  
Carbon Fixation ◽  
Molecular Diffusion ◽  
Molecular Transport ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
Bacterial Microcompartments ◽  
Shell Protein ◽  
Bacterial Microcompartment ◽  
Selective Permeability ◽  
Protein Shell

Bacterial microcompartments are widespread prokaryotic organelles that have important and diverse roles ranging from carbon fixation to enteric pathogenesis. Current models for microcompartment function propose that their outer protein shell is selectively permeable to small molecules, but whether a protein shell can mediate selective permeability and how this occurs are unresolved questions. Here, biochemical and physiological studies of structure-guided mutants are used to show that the hexameric PduA shell protein of the 1,2-propanediol utilization (Pdu) microcompartment forms a selectively permeable pore tailored for the influx of 1,2-propanediol (the substrate of the Pdu microcompartment) while restricting the efflux of propionaldehyde, a toxic intermediate of 1,2-propanediol catabolism. Crystal structures of various PduA mutants provide a foundation for interpreting the observed biochemical and phenotypic data in terms of molecular diffusion across the shell. Overall, these studies provide a basis for understanding a class of selectively permeable channels formed by nonmembrane proteins.

scholarly journals Characterization of the Carboxysomal Carbonic Anhydrase CsoSCA from Halothiobacillus neapolitanus

2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (23) ◽  
pp. 8087-8094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Heinhorst ◽  
Eric B. Williams ◽  
Fei Cai ◽  
C. Daniel Murin ◽  
Jessup M. Shively ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbonic Anhydrase ◽  
Catalytic Efficiency ◽  
Biochemical Properties ◽  
Bisphosphate Carboxylase ◽  
Shell Protein ◽  
Dehydration Reactions ◽  
Chemolithotrophic Bacteria ◽  
Halothiobacillus Neapolitanus ◽  
Protein Shell

ABSTRACT In cyanobacteria and many chemolithotrophic bacteria, the CO2-fixing enzyme ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) is sequestered into polyhedral protein bodies called carboxysomes. The carboxysome is believed to function as a microcompartment that enhances the catalytic efficacy of RubisCO by providing the enzyme with its substrate, CO2, through the action of the shell protein CsoSCA, which is a novel carbonic anhydrase. In the work reported here, the biochemical properties of purified, recombinant CsoSCA were studied, and the catalytic characteristics of the carbonic anhydrase for the CO2 hydration and bicarbonate dehydration reactions were compared with those of intact and ruptured carboxysomes. The low apparent catalytic rates measured for CsoSCA in intact carboxysomes suggest that the protein shell acts as a barrier for the CO2 that has been produced by CsoSCA through directional dehydration of cytoplasmic bicarbonate. This CO2 trap provides the sequestered RubisCO with ample substrate for efficient fixation and constitutes a means by which microcompartmentalization enhances the catalytic efficiency of this enzyme.

Molecular Basis of Glucose Transport Mechanism in Plants

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balaji Selvam ◽  
Ya-Chi Yu ◽  
Liqing Chen ◽  
Diwakar Shukla
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Free Energy ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Transport Mechanism ◽  
Conformational Dynamics ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Free Energy Barrier ◽  
Transport Cycle ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

<p>The SWEET family belongs to a class of transporters in plants that undergoes large conformational changes to facilitate transport of sugar molecules across the cell membrane. However, the structures of their functionally relevant conformational states in the transport cycle have not been reported. In this study, we have characterized the conformational dynamics and complete transport cycle of glucose in OsSWEET2b transporter using extensive molecular dynamics simulations. Using Markov state models, we estimated the free energy barrier associated with different states as well as 1 for the glucose the transport mechanism. SWEETs undergoes structural transition to outward-facing (OF), Occluded (OC) and inward-facing (IF) and strongly support alternate access transport mechanism. The glucose diffuses freely from outside to inside the cell without causing major conformational changes which means that the conformations of glucose unbound and bound snapshots are exactly same for OF, OC and IF states. We identified a network of hydrophobic core residues at the center of the transporter that restricts the glucose entry to the cytoplasmic side and act as an intracellular hydrophobic gate. The mechanistic predictions from molecular dynamics simulations are validated using site-directed mutagenesis experiments. Our simulation also revealed hourglass like intermediate states making the pore radius narrower at the center. This work provides new fundamental insights into how substrate-transporter interactions actively change the free energy landscape of the transport cycle to facilitate enhanced transport activity.</p>

scholarly journals Multimerization of Hepatitis Delta Antigen Is a Critical Determinant of RNA Binding Specificity

2009 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 1406-1413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian C. Lin ◽  
Dawn A. Defenbaugh ◽  
John L. Casey
Keyword(s):  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Minimum Length ◽  
Critical Determinant ◽  
Hepatitis Delta ◽  
Ribonucleoprotein Complex ◽  
Delta Antigen ◽  
Hepatitis Delta Antigen

ABSTRACT Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) RNA forms an unbranched rod structure that is associated with hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg) in cells replicating HDV. Previous in vitro binding experiments using bacterially expressed HDAg showed that the formation of a minimal ribonucleoprotein complex requires an HDV unbranched rod RNA of at least about 300 nucleotides (nt) and suggested that HDAg binds the RNA as a multimer of fixed size. The present study specifically examines the role of HDAg multimerization in the formation of the HDV ribonucleoprotein complex (RNP). Disruption of HDAg multimerization by site-directed mutagenesis was found to profoundly alter the nature of RNP formation. Mutant HDAg proteins defective for multimerization exhibited neither the 300-nt RNA size requirement for binding nor specificity for the unbranched rod structure. The results unambiguously demonstrate that HDAg binds HDV RNA as a multimer and that the HDAg multimer is formed prior to binding the RNA. RNP formation was found to be temperature dependent, which is consistent with conformational changes occurring on binding. Finally, analysis of RNPs constructed with unbranched rod RNAs successively longer than the minimum length indicated that multimeric binding is not limited to the first HDAg bound and that a minimum RNA length of between 604 and 714 nt is required for binding of a second multimer. The results confirm the previous proposal that HDAg binds as a large multimer and demonstrate that the multimer is a critical determinant of the structure of the HDV RNP.

Overlap of IGF- and heparin-binding sites in rat IGF-binding protein-5

2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Song ◽  
J Beattie ◽  
IW Campbell ◽  
GJ Allan
Keyword(s):  
Binding Site ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Binding Activity ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Heparin Binding ◽  
Igf I ◽  
Heparin Binding Domain ◽  
Igf Binding

Using site-directed mutagenesis, we have undertaken a study of a potential IGF-binding site in the C-terminal domain of rat IGFBP-5, lying close to or within a previously described heparin-binding domain (residues 201-218) in this protein. After analysis of binding activity using three different methods - ligand blotting, solution phase equilibrium binding and biosensor measurement of real-time on- and off-rates - we report that the mutation of two highly conserved residues within this region (glycine 203 and glutamine 209) reduces the affinity of the binding protein for both IGF-I and IGF-II, while having no effect on heparin binding. In addition, we confirm that mutation of basic residues within the heparin-binding domain (R201L, K202E, K206Q and R214A) results in a protein that has attenuated heparin binding but shows only a small reduction in affinity for IGF-I and -II. Previous findings have described the reduction in affinity of IGFBP-5 for IGFs that occurs after complexation of the binding protein with heparin or other components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and have postulated that such an interaction may result in conformational changes in protein structure, affecting subsequent IGF interaction. Our data suggesting potential overlap of heparin- and IGF-binding domains argue for a more direct effect of ECM modulation of the affinity of IGFBP-5 for ligand by partial occlusion of the IGF-binding site after interaction with ECM.

scholarly journals Free energy landscape for the entire transport cycle of triose-phosphate/phosphate translocator

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mizuki Takemoto ◽  
Yongchan Lee ◽  
Ryuichiro Ishitani ◽  
Osamu Nureki
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Conformational Transition ◽  
Substrate Binding ◽  
Energy Landscape ◽  
Umbrella Sampling ◽  
Free Energy Landscape ◽  
Coupling Mechanism ◽  
Triose Phosphate ◽  
Phosphate Translocator

AbstractSecondary active transporters translocate their substrates using the electrochemical potentials of other chemicals, undergoing large-scale conformational changes. Despite extensive structural studies, the atomic details of the transport mechanism still remain elusive. Here we performed a series of all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the triose-phosphate/phosphate translocator (TPT), which exports organic phosphates in the chloroplast stroma in strict counter exchange with inorganic phosphate (Pi). Biased sampling methods, including string method and umbrella sampling, successfully reproduced the conformational changes between the inward– and outward-facing states, along with the substrate binding. The free energy landscape of this entire TPT transition pathway demonstrated the alternating access and substrate translocation mechanisms, which revealed Pi is relayed by positively charged residues along the transition pathway. Furthermore, the conserved Glu207 functions as a “molecular switch”, linking the local substrate binding and the global conformational transition. Our results provide atomic-detailed insights into the energy coupling mechanism of antiporter.

scholarly journals Harnessing intrinsic fluorescence for typing of secondary structures of DNA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Zuffo ◽  
Aurélie Gandolfini ◽  
Brahim Heddi ◽  
Anton Granzhan
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Emission Spectra ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Secondary Structures ◽  
Intrinsic Fluorescence ◽  
Label Free ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
Effective Manner

ABSTRACTDNA is polymorphic since, despite its ubiquitous presence as a double-stranded helix, it is able to fold into a plethora of other secondary structures both in vitro and in cells. Despite the considerable advances that have been made in understanding this structural diversity, its high-throughput investigation still faces severe limitations. This mainly stems from the lack of suitable label-free methods, combining a fast and cheap experimental workflow with high information content. Here, we explore the use of intrinsic fluorescence emitted by nucleic acids for this scope. After a preliminary assessment of the suitability of this phenomenon for tracking the conformational changes of DNA, we examined the intrinsic steady-state emission spectra of an 89-membered set of synthetic oligonucleotides with reported conformation (G-quadruplexes, i-motifs, single- and double stranded DNA) by means of multivariate analysis. Specifically, principal component analysis of emission spectra resulted in successful clustering of oligonucleotides into three corresponding conformational groups, albeit without discrimination between single- and double-stranded structures. Linear discriminant analysis of the same training set was exploited for the assessment of new sequences, allowing the evaluation of their G4-forming propensity. Our method does not require any labelling agent or dye, avoiding the related intrinsic bias, and can be utilized to screen novel sequences of interest in a high-throughput and cost-effective manner. In addition, we observed that left-handed (Z-) G4 structures were systematically more fluorescent than most other G4 structures, almost reaching the quantum yield of 5′-d[(G3T)3G3]-3′ (G3T), the most fluorescent G4 structure reported to date. This property is likely to arise from the similar base-stacking geometry in both types of structures.

scholarly journals Characterization of the High-Affinity Drug Ligand Binding Site of Mouse Recombinant TSPO

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soria Iatmanen-Harbi ◽  
lucile Senicourt ◽  
Vassilios Papadopoulos ◽  
Olivier Lequin ◽  
Jean-Jacques Lacapere
Keyword(s):  
Ligand Binding ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Protoporphyrin Ix ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Site Directed Mutagenesis ◽  
Translocator Protein ◽  
Binding Affinities ◽  
Ligand Selectivity ◽  
High Affinity

The optimization of translocator protein (TSPO) ligands for Positron Emission Tomography as well as for the modulation of neurosteroids is a critical necessity for the development of TSPO-based diagnostics and therapeutics of neuropsychiatrics and neurodegenerative disorders. Structural hints on the interaction site and ligand binding mechanism are essential for the development of efficient TSPO ligands. Recently published atomic structures of recombinant mammalian and bacterial TSPO1, bound with either the high-affinity drug ligand PK 11195 or protoporphyrin IX, have revealed the membrane protein topology and the ligand binding pocket. The ligand is surrounded by amino acids from the five transmembrane helices as well as the cytosolic loops. However, the precise mechanism of ligand binding remains unknown. Previous biochemical studies had suggested that ligand selectivity and binding was governed by these loops. We performed site-directed mutagenesis to further test this hypothesis and measured the binding affinities. We show that aromatic residues (Y34 and F100) from the cytosolic loops contribute to PK 11195 access to its binding site. Limited proteolytic digestion, circular dichroism and solution two-dimensional (2-D) NMR using selective amino acid labelling provide information on the intramolecular flexibility and conformational changes in the TSPO structure upon PK 11195 binding. We also discuss the differences in the PK 11195 binding affinities and the primary structure between TSPO (TSPO1) and its paralogous gene product TSPO2.

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