scholarly journals Regulation, Function, and Detection of Protein Acetylation in Bacteria

2017 ◽  
Vol 199 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie J. Carabetta ◽  
Ileana M. Cristea

ABSTRACT N ε-Lysine acetylation is now recognized as an abundant posttranslational modification (PTM) that influences many essential biological pathways. Advancements in mass spectrometry-based proteomics have led to the discovery that bacteria contain hundreds of acetylated proteins, contrary to the prior notion of acetylation events being rare in bacteria. Although the mechanisms that regulate protein acetylation are still not fully defined, it is understood that this modification is finely tuned via both enzymatic and nonenzymatic mechanisms. The opposing actions of Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferases (GNATs) and deacetylases, including sirtuins, provide the enzymatic control of lysine acetylation. A nonenzymatic mechanism of acetylation has also been demonstrated and proven to be prominent in bacteria, as well as in mitochondria. The functional consequences of the vast majority of the identified acetylation sites remain unknown. From studies in mammalian systems, acetylation of critical lysine residues was shown to impact protein function by altering its structure, subcellular localization, and interactions. It is becoming apparent that the same diversity of functions can be found in bacteria. Here, we review current knowledge of the mechanisms and the functional consequences of acetylation in bacteria. Additionally, we discuss the methods available for detecting acetylation sites, including quantitative mass spectrometry-based methods, which promise to promote this field of research. We conclude with possible future directions and broader implications of the study of protein acetylation in bacteria.

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Elizabeth Smith ◽  
Adelina Rogowska-Wrzesinska

Abstract Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are integral to the regulation of protein function, characterising their role in this process is vital to understanding how cells work in both healthy and diseased states. Mass spectrometry (MS) facilitates the mass determination and sequencing of peptides, and thereby also the detection of site-specific PTMs. However, numerous challenges in this field continue to persist. The diverse chemical properties, low abundance, labile nature and instability of many PTMs, in combination with the more practical issues of compatibility with MS and bioinformatics challenges, contribute to the arduous nature of their analysis. In this review, we present an overview of the established MS-based approaches for analysing PTMs and the common complications associated with their investigation, including examples of specific challenges focusing on phosphorylation, lysine acetylation and redox modifications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (36) ◽  
pp. 6544-6563
Author(s):  
Victoria Lucia Alonso ◽  
Luis Emilio Tavernelli ◽  
Alejandro Pezza ◽  
Pamela Cribb ◽  
Carla Ritagliati ◽  
...  

Bromodomains recognize and bind acetyl-lysine residues present in histone and non-histone proteins in a specific manner. In the last decade they have raised as attractive targets for drug discovery because the miss-regulation of human bromodomains was discovered to be involved in the development of a large spectrum of diseases. However, targeting eukaryotic pathogens bromodomains continues to be almost unexplored. We and others have reported the essentiality of diverse bromodomain- containing proteins in protozoa, offering a new opportunity for the development of antiparasitic drugs, especially for Trypansoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas’ disease. Mammalian bromodomains were classified in eight groups based on sequence similarity but parasitic bromodomains are very divergent proteins and are hard to assign them to any of these groups, suggesting that selective inhibitors can be obtained. In this review, we describe the importance of lysine acetylation and bromodomains in T. cruzi as well as the current knowledge on mammalian bromodomains. Also, we summarize the myriad of small-molecules under study to treat different pathologies and which of them have been tested in trypanosomatids and other protozoa. All the information available led us to propose that T. cruzi bromodomains should be considered as important potential targets and the search for smallmolecules to inhibit them should be empowered.


2010 ◽  
Vol 428 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin A. Wilkinson ◽  
Jeremy M. Henley

The post-translational modification SUMOylation is a major regulator of protein function that plays an important role in a wide range of cellular processes. SUMOylation involves the covalent attachment of a member of the SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) family of proteins to lysine residues in specific target proteins via an enzymatic cascade analogous to, but distinct from, the ubiquitination pathway. There are four SUMO paralogues and an increasing number of proteins are being identified as SUMO substrates. However, in many cases little is known about how SUMOylation of these targets is regulated. Compared with the ubiquitination pathway, relatively few components of the conjugation machinery have been described and the processes that specify individual SUMO paralogue conjugation to defined substrate proteins are an active area of research. In the present review, we briefly describe the SUMOylation pathway and present an overview of the recent findings that are beginning to identify some of the mechanisms that regulate protein SUMOylation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (a1) ◽  
pp. C299-C299
Author(s):  
Misty Kuhn ◽  
Karolina Majorek ◽  
Ekaterina Filippova ◽  
George Minasov ◽  
Alan Wolfe ◽  
...  

The Center for Structural Genomics for Infectious Diseases (CSGID) applies structural genomics approaches to biomedically relevant proteins from human pathogens and provides the infectious disease community with a high throughput pipeline for structure determination. Target proteins include drug targets, essential enzymes, virulence factors and vaccine candidates. Bacterial species generally have many acetyl-coenzyme A dependent GCN5-like Acetyl Transferases (GNATs), however, the substrates of most of them are unknown. Proteomic analysis has also revealed extensive post-translational modification of bacterial proteins, especially acetylation of lysine Nε. These observations led the CSGID to develop a high throughput substrate screen and initiate characterization of bacterial GNATs. One of the bacterial GNATs that acetylates lysine residues, is the Pseudomonas aeruginosa protein PA4794, that acetylates both peptides having a C-terminal lysine and the drug, chloramphenicol. Surprisingly, the acetylation of these two substrates by PA4794 is catalyzed by the enzyme using different active site residues and different kinetic mechanisms. Although it was expected that the GNATs would play a major role in protein acetylation, much of the lysine acetylation observed in bacteria is actually due to the metabolite acetylphosphate (1,2). Crystal structures and proteomics experiments revealed what makes some lysine residues particularly sensitive to acetylphosphate dependent lysine acetylation and what is required for subsequent enzymatic deacetylation. CSGID is funded with Federal funds from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contracts No. HHSN272200700058C and HHSN272201200026C and Midwest Center for Structural Genomics by grant GM094585


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 1037-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Shi ◽  
Benjamin P. Tu

Protein acetylation has emerged as a prominent post-translational modification that can occur on a wide variety of proteins. The metabolite acetyl-CoA is a key intermediate in energy metabolism that also serves as the acetyl group donor in protein acetylation modifications. Therefore such acetylation modifications might be coupled to the intracellular availability of acetyl-CoA. In the present article, we summarize recent evidence suggesting that the particular protein acetylation modifications enable the regulation of protein function in tune with acetyl-CoA availability and thus the metabolic state of the cell.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Christensen ◽  
Jesse G. Meyer ◽  
Jackson T. Baumgartner ◽  
Alexandria K. D’Souza ◽  
William C. Nelson ◽  
...  

AbstractPost-translational modifications, such as Nε-lysine acetylation, regulate protein function. Nε-lysine acetylation can occur either non-enzymatically or enzymatically. The non-enzymatic mechanism uses acetyl phosphate (AcP) or acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA) as acetyl donors to modify an Nε-lysine residue of a protein. The enzymatic mechanism uses Nε-lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) to specifically transfer an acetyl group from AcCoA to Nε-lysine residues on proteins. To date, only one KAT (YfiQ, also known as Pka and PatZ) has been identified inE. coli. Here, we demonstrate the existence of 4 additionalE. coliKATs: RimI, YiaC, YjaB, and PhnO. In a genetic background devoid of all known acetylation mechanisms (most notably AcP and YfiQ) and one deacetylase (CobB), overexpression of these putative KATs elicited unique patterns of protein acetylation. We mutated key active site residues and found that most of them eliminated enzymatic acetylation activity. We used mass spectrometry to identify and quantify the specificity of YfiQ and the four novel KATs. Surprisingly, our analysis revealed a high degree of substrate specificity. The overlap between KAT-dependent and AcP-dependent acetylation was extremely limited, supporting the hypothesis that these two acetylation mechanisms play distinct roles in the post-translational modification of bacterial proteins. We further showed that these novel KATs are conserved across broad swaths of bacterial phylogeny. Finally, we determined that one of the novel KATs (YiaC) and the known KAT (YfiQ) can negatively regulate bacterial migration. Together, these results emphasize distinct and specific non-enzymatic and enzymatic protein acetylation mechanisms present in bacteria.ImportanceNε-lysine acetylation is one of the most abundant and important post-translational modifications across all domains of life. One of the best-studied effects of acetylation occurs in eukaryotes, where acetylation of histone tails activates gene transcription. Although bacteria do not have true histones, Nε-lysine acetylation is prevalent; however, the role of these modifications is mostly unknown. We constructed anE. colistrain that lacked both known acetylation mechanisms to identify four new Nε-lysine acetyltransferases (RimI, YiaC, YjaB, and PhnO). We used mass spectrometry to determine the substrate specificity of these acetyltransferases. Structural analysis of selected substrate proteins revealed site-specific preferences for enzymatic acetylation that had little overlap with the preferences of the previously reported acetyl-phosphate non-enzymatic acetylation mechanism. Finally, YiaC and YfiQ appear to regulate flagellar-based motility, a phenotype critical for pathogenesis of many organisms. These acetyltransferases are highly conserved and reveal deeper and more complex roles for bacterial post-translational modification.


mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Christensen ◽  
Jesse G. Meyer ◽  
Jackson T. Baumgartner ◽  
Alexandria K. D’Souza ◽  
William C. Nelson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Posttranslational modifications, such as Nε-lysine acetylation, regulate protein function. Nε-lysine acetylation can occur either nonenzymatically or enzymatically. The nonenzymatic mechanism uses acetyl phosphate (AcP) or acetyl coenzyme A (AcCoA) as acetyl donor to modify an Nε-lysine residue of a protein. The enzymatic mechanism uses Nε-lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) to specifically transfer an acetyl group from AcCoA to Nε-lysine residues on proteins. To date, only one KAT (YfiQ, also known as Pka and PatZ) has been identified in Escherichia coli. Here, we demonstrate the existence of 4 additional E. coli KATs: RimI, YiaC, YjaB, and PhnO. In a genetic background devoid of all known acetylation mechanisms (most notably AcP and YfiQ) and one deacetylase (CobB), overexpression of these putative KATs elicited unique patterns of protein acetylation. We mutated key active site residues and found that most of them eliminated enzymatic acetylation activity. We used mass spectrometry to identify and quantify the specificity of YfiQ and the four novel KATs. Surprisingly, our analysis revealed a high degree of substrate specificity. The overlap between KAT-dependent and AcP-dependent acetylation was extremely limited, supporting the hypothesis that these two acetylation mechanisms play distinct roles in the posttranslational modification of bacterial proteins. We further showed that these novel KATs are conserved across broad swaths of bacterial phylogeny. Finally, we determined that one of the novel KATs (YiaC) and the known KAT (YfiQ) can negatively regulate bacterial migration. Together, these results emphasize distinct and specific nonenzymatic and enzymatic protein acetylation mechanisms present in bacteria. IMPORTANCE Nε-Lysine acetylation is one of the most abundant and important posttranslational modifications across all domains of life. One of the best-studied effects of acetylation occurs in eukaryotes, where acetylation of histone tails activates gene transcription. Although bacteria do not have true histones, Nε-lysine acetylation is prevalent; however, the role of these modifications is mostly unknown. We constructed an E. coli strain that lacked both known acetylation mechanisms to identify four new Nε-lysine acetyltransferases (RimI, YiaC, YjaB, and PhnO). We used mass spectrometry to determine the substrate specificity of these acetyltransferases. Structural analysis of selected substrate proteins revealed site-specific preferences for enzymatic acetylation that had little overlap with the preferences of the previously reported acetyl-phosphate nonenzymatic acetylation mechanism. Finally, YiaC and YfiQ appear to regulate flagellum-based motility, a phenotype critical for pathogenesis of many organisms. These acetyltransferases are highly conserved and reveal deeper and more complex roles for bacterial posttranslational modification.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas G. Hartel ◽  
Christopher Z. Liu ◽  
Nicholas A. Graham

ABSTRACTProtein arginine methylation regulates diverse biological processes including signaling, metabolism, splicing, and transcription. Despite its important biological roles, arginine methylation remains an understudied post-translational modification. Partly, this is because the two forms of arginine dimethylation, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), are isobaric and therefore indistinguishable by traditional mass spectrometry techniques. Thus, there exists a need for methods that can differentiate these two modifications. Recently, it has been shown that the ADMA and SDMA can be distinguished by the characteristic neutral loss (NL) of dimethylamine and methylamine, respectively. However, the utility of this method is limited because the vast majority of dimethylarginine peptides do not generate measurable NL ions. Here, we report that increasing the normalized collision energy (NCE) in a higher-energy collisional dissociation (HCD) cell increases the generation of the characteristic NL that distinguish ADMA and SDMA. By analyzing both synthetic and endogenous methyl-peptides, we identify an optimal NCE value that maximizes NL generation and simultaneously improves methyl-peptide identification. Using two orthogonal methyl peptide enrichment strategies, high pH strong cation exchange (SCX) and immunoaffinity purification (IAP), we demonstrate that the optimal NCE increases improves NL-based ADMA and SDMA annotation and methyl peptide identifications by 125% and 17%, respectively, compared to the standard NCE. This simple parameter change will greatly facilitate the identification and annotation of ADMA and SDMA in mass spectrometry-based methyl-proteomics to improve our understanding of how these modifications differentially regulate protein function.


2022 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongjuan You ◽  
Qi Li ◽  
Delong Kong ◽  
Xiangye Liu ◽  
Fanyun Kong ◽  
...  

AbstractCanonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling is a complex cell-communication mechanism that has a central role in the progression of various cancers. The cellular factors that participate in the regulation of this signaling are still not fully elucidated. Lysine acetylation is a significant protein modification which facilitates reversible regulation of the target protein function dependent on the activity of lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) and the catalytic function of lysine deacetylases (KDACs). Protein lysine acetylation has been classified into histone acetylation and non-histone protein acetylation. Histone acetylation is a kind of epigenetic modification, and it can modulate the transcription of important biological molecules in Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Additionally, as a type of post-translational modification, non-histone acetylation directly alters the function of the core molecules in Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Conversely, this signaling can regulate the expression and function of target molecules based on histone or non-histone protein acetylation. To date, various inhibitors targeting KATs and KDACs have been discovered, and some of these inhibitors exert their anti-tumor activity via blocking Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Here, we discuss the available evidence in understanding the complicated interaction of protein lysine acetylation with Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and lysine acetylation as a new target for cancer therapy via controlling this signaling.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianfei Guo ◽  
Xiaoqiang Chai ◽  
Yuchao Mei ◽  
Jiamu Du ◽  
Haining Du ◽  
...  

AbstractLysine-ε-acetylation (Kac) is a post-translational modification (PTM) that is critical for metabolic regulation and cell signaling in mammals. However, its prevalence and importance in plants remain to be determined. Employing high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry, we analyzed protein lysine acetylation in five representative Arabidopsis organs with 2 ~ 3 biological replicates per organ. A total of 2887 Kac proteins and 5929 Kac sites were identified. This comprehensive catalog allows us to analyze proteome-wide features of lysine acetylation. We found that Kac proteins tend to be more uniformly expressed in different organs, and the acetylation status exhibits little correlation with the gene expression level, indicating that acetylation is unlikely caused by stochastic processes. Kac preferentially targets evolutionarily conserved proteins and lysine residues, but only a small percentage of Kac proteins are orthologous between rat and Arabidopsis. A large portion of Kac proteins overlap with proteins modified by other PTMs including ubiquitination, SUMOylation and phosphorylation. Although acetylation, ubiquitination and SUMOylation all modify lysine residues, our analyses show that they rarely target the same sites. In addition, we found that “reader” proteins for acetylation and phosphorylation, i.e., bromodomain-containing proteins and GRF (General Regulatory Factor)/14-3-3 proteins, are intensively modified by the two PTMs, suggesting that they are main crosstalk nodes between acetylation and phosphorylation signaling. Analyses of GRF6/14-3-3λ reveal that the Kac level of GRF6 is decreased under alkaline stress, suggesting that acetylation represses plant alkaline response. Indeed, K56ac of GRF6 inhibits its binding to and subsequent activation of the plasma membrane H+-ATPase AHA2, leading to hypersensitivity to alkaline stress. These results provide valuable resources for protein acetylation studies in plants and reveal that protein acetylation suppresses phosphorylation output by acetylating GRF/14-3-3 proteins.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document