Radical Tropolone Biosynthesis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler J. Doyon ◽  
Kevin Skinner ◽  
Di Yang ◽  
Leena Mallik ◽  
Troy Wymore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Site ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Ring Expansion ◽  
Heme Iron ◽  
Active Site Residues ◽  
Molecular Scaffolds ◽  
Radical Ring ◽  
Full Characterization ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Functionally Diverse

<div> <div> <div> <p>Non-heme iron (NHI) enzymes perform a variety of oxidative rearrangements to advance simple building blocks toward complex molecular scaffolds within secondary metabolite pathways. Many of these transformations occur with selectivity that is unprecedented in small molecule catalysis, spurring an interest in the enzymatic processes which lead to a particular rearrangement. In-depth investigations of NHI mechanisms examine the source of this selectivity and can offer inspiration for the development of novel synthetic transformations. However, the mechanistic details of many NHI-catalyzed rearrangements remain underexplored, hindering full characterization of the chemistry accessible to this functionally diverse class of enzymes. For NHI-catalyzed rearrangements which have been investigated, mechanistic proposals often describe one-electron processes, followed by single electron oxidation from the substrate to the iron(III)-hydroxyl active site species. Here, we examine the ring expansion mechanism employed in fungal tropolone biosynthesis. TropC, an α-ketoglutarate- dependent NHI dioxygenase, catalyzes a ring expansion in the biosynthesis of tropolone natural product stipitatic acid through an under-studied mechanism. Investigation of both polar and radical mechanistic proposals suggests tropolones are constructed through a radical ring expansion. This biosynthetic route to tropolones is supported by X-ray crystal structure data combined with molecular dynamics simulations, alanine-scanning of active site residues, assessed reactivity of putative biosynthetic intermediates, and quantum mechanical (QM) calculations. These studies support a radical ring expansion in fungal tropolone biosynthesis. </p> </div> </div> </div>

Radical Tropolone Biosynthesis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler J. Doyon ◽  
Kevin Skinner ◽  
Di Yang ◽  
Leena Mallik ◽  
Troy Wymore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Site ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Ring Expansion ◽  
Heme Iron ◽  
Active Site Residues ◽  
Molecular Scaffolds ◽  
Radical Ring ◽  
Full Characterization ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Functionally Diverse

<div> <div> <div> <p>Non-heme iron (NHI) enzymes perform a variety of oxidative rearrangements to advance simple building blocks toward complex molecular scaffolds within secondary metabolite pathways. Many of these transformations occur with selectivity that is unprecedented in small molecule catalysis, spurring an interest in the enzymatic processes which lead to a particular rearrangement. In-depth investigations of NHI mechanisms examine the source of this selectivity and can offer inspiration for the development of novel synthetic transformations. However, the mechanistic details of many NHI-catalyzed rearrangements remain underexplored, hindering full characterization of the chemistry accessible to this functionally diverse class of enzymes. For NHI-catalyzed rearrangements which have been investigated, mechanistic proposals often describe one-electron processes, followed by single electron oxidation from the substrate to the iron(III)-hydroxyl active site species. Here, we examine the ring expansion mechanism employed in fungal tropolone biosynthesis. TropC, an α-ketoglutarate- dependent NHI dioxygenase, catalyzes a ring expansion in the biosynthesis of tropolone natural product stipitatic acid through an under-studied mechanism. Investigation of both polar and radical mechanistic proposals suggests tropolones are constructed through a radical ring expansion. This biosynthetic route to tropolones is supported by X-ray crystal structure data combined with molecular dynamics simulations, alanine-scanning of active site residues, assessed reactivity of putative biosynthetic intermediates, and quantum mechanical (QM) calculations. These studies support a radical ring expansion in fungal tropolone biosynthesis. </p> </div> </div> </div>

scholarly journals Exploiting correlated molecular-dynamics networks to counteract enzyme activity–stability trade-off

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (52) ◽  
pp. E12192-E12200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoran Yu ◽  
Paul A. Dalby
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Dynamic Networks ◽  
Aromatic Aldehydes ◽  
Active Site Residues ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
The Impact

The directed evolution of enzymes for improved activity or substrate specificity commonly leads to a trade-off in stability. We have identified an activity–stability trade-off and a loss in unfolding cooperativity for a variant (3M) of Escherichia coli transketolase (TK) engineered to accept aromatic substrates. Molecular dynamics simulations of 3M revealed increased flexibility in several interconnected active-site regions that also form part of the dimer interface. Mutating the newly flexible active-site residues to regain stability risked losing the new activity. We hypothesized that stabilizing mutations could be targeted to residues outside of the active site, whose dynamics were correlated with the newly flexible active-site residues. We previously stabilized WT TK by targeting mutations to highly flexible regions. These regions were much less flexible in 3M and would not have been selected a priori as targets using the same strategy based on flexibility alone. However, their dynamics were highly correlated with the newly flexible active-site regions of 3M. Introducing the previous mutations into 3M reestablished the WT level of stability and unfolding cooperativity, giving a 10.8-fold improved half-life at 55 °C, and increased midpoint and aggregation onset temperatures by 3 °C and 4.3 °C, respectively. Even the activity toward aromatic aldehydes increased up to threefold. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that the mutations rigidified the active-site via the correlated network. This work provides insights into the impact of rigidifying mutations within highly correlated dynamic networks that could also be useful for developing improved computational protein engineering strategies.

Molecular dynamics study of active-site interactions with tetracoordinate transients in acetylcholinesterase and its mutants

2001 ◽  
Vol 353 (3) ◽  
pp. 645-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Istvan J. ENYEDY ◽  
Ildiko M. KOVACH ◽  
Akos BENCSURA
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Glutamic Acid ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Indole Ring ◽  
Active Site Residues ◽  
Parallel Simulations ◽  
Electrostatic Stabilization ◽  
Carbenium Ion ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

The role of active-site residues in the dealkylation reaction in the PSCS diastereomer of 2-(3,3-dimethylbutyl)methylphosphonofluoridate (soman)-inhibited Torpedo californicaacetylcholinesterase (AChE) was investigated by full-scale molecular dynamics simulations using CHARMM: > 400ps equilibration was followed by 150–200ps production runs with the fully solvated tetracoordinate phosphonate adduct of the wild-type, Trp84Ala and Gly199Gln mutants of AChE. Parallel simulations were carried out with the tetrahedral intermediate formed between serine-200 Oγ of AChE and acetylcholine. We found that the NεH in histidine H+-440 is positioned to protonate the oxygen in choline and thus promote its departure. In contrast, NεH in histidine H+-440 is not aligned for a favourable proton transfer to the pinacolyl O to promote dealkylation, but electrostatic stabilization by histidine H+-440 of the developing anion on the phosphonate monoester occurs. Destabilizing interactions between residues and the alkyl fragment of the inhibitor enforce methyl migration from Cβ to Cα concerted with C—O bond breaking in soman-inhibited AChE. Tryptophan-84, phenyalanine-331 and glutamic acid-199 are within 3.7–3.9 Å (1 Å=10-10 m) from a methyl group in Cβ, 4.5–5.1 Å from Cβ and 4.8–5.8 Å from Cα, and can better stabilize the developing carbenium ion on Cβ than on Cα. The Trp84Ala mutation eliminates interactions between the incipient carbenium ion and the indole ring, but also reduces its interactions with phenylalanine-331 and aspartic acid-72. Tyrosine-130 promotes dealkylation by interacting with the indole ring of tryptophan-84. Glutamic acid-443 can influence the orientation of active-site residues through tyrosine-421, tyrosine-442 and histidine-440 in soman-inhibited AChE, and thus facilitate dealkylation.

scholarly journals Dual-Function Enzyme Catalysis for Enantioselective Carbon–Nitrogen Bond Formation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
zhen liu ◽  
Carla Calvó-Tusell ◽  
Andrew Z. Zhou ◽  
kai chen ◽  
Marc Garcia-Borràs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Proton Transfer ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Dual Function ◽  
Cytochrome P450 Enzymes ◽  
Active Site Residues ◽  
Bond Forming ◽  
Enzymatic Transformation ◽  
Excellent Activity ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

<p>Whereas enzymatic asymmetric carbene N–H insertion is a powerful method for preparation of chiral amines in principle, it has suffered from limited enantioselectivity in practice. In this work, we demonstrate that engineered cytochrome P450 enzymes can catalyze this abiological C–N bond-forming reaction with excellent activity and selectivity (up to 32,100 TTN, >99% yield and 98% e.e.) to prepare a series of bioactive <i>α</i>-amino lactones, which have not been accessed previously using a carbene insertion strategy. The enzymes are dual-function catalysts, effecting both carbene transfer and enantioselective proton-transfer catalysis, in a single active site. To gain insight into the mechanism of the enzymatic transformation, especially in the asymmetric protonation step, we performed extensive molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Computational studies uncover the important roles of active-site residues that enable high activity and selectivity through interacting with the carbene intermediate and the amine substrate, and directing water molecules for selective proton transfer.<br></p><p></p>

scholarly journals Dual-Function Enzyme Catalysis for Enantioselective Carbon–Nitrogen Bond Formation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
zhen liu ◽  
Carla Calvó-Tusell ◽  
Andrew Z. Zhou ◽  
kai chen ◽  
Marc Garcia-Borràs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Proton Transfer ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Density Functional ◽  
Dual Function ◽  
Cytochrome P450 Enzymes ◽  
Active Site Residues ◽  
Bond Forming ◽  
Enzymatic Transformation ◽  
Excellent Activity ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

<p>Whereas enzymatic asymmetric carbene N–H insertion is a powerful method for preparation of chiral amines in principle, it has suffered from limited enantioselectivity in practice. In this work, we demonstrate that engineered cytochrome P450 enzymes can catalyze this abiological C–N bond-forming reaction with excellent activity and selectivity (up to 32,100 TTN, >99% yield and 98% e.e.) to prepare a series of bioactive <i>α</i>-amino lactones, which have not been accessed previously using a carbene insertion strategy. The enzymes are dual-function catalysts, effecting both carbene transfer and enantioselective proton-transfer catalysis, in a single active site. To gain insight into the mechanism of the enzymatic transformation, especially in the asymmetric protonation step, we performed extensive molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Computational studies uncover the important roles of active-site residues that enable high activity and selectivity through interacting with the carbene intermediate and the amine substrate, and directing water molecules for selective proton transfer.<br></p><p></p>

scholarly journals Enhanced chemoselectivity of a plant cytochrome P450 through protein engineering of surface and catalytic residues

aBIOTECH ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaopeng Zhang ◽  
Wei Luo ◽  
Yinying Yao ◽  
Xuming Luo ◽  
Chao Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Engineering ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Computational Design ◽  
Simultaneous Optimization ◽  
Evolutionary Information ◽  
Active Site Residues ◽  
Tailoring Enzymes ◽  
Functionally Diverse ◽  
Complementary Strategy ◽  
High Degree

AbstractCytochrome P450s (P450s) are the most versatile catalysts utilized by plants to produce structurally and functionally diverse metabolites. Given the high degree of gene redundancy and challenge to functionally characterize plant P450s, protein engineering is used as a complementary strategy to study the mechanisms of P450-mediated reactions, or to alter their functions. We previously proposed an approach of engineering plant P450s based on combining high-accuracy homology models generated by Rosetta combined with data-driven design using evolutionary information of these enzymes. With this strategy, we repurposed a multi-functional P450 (CYP87D20) into a monooxygenase after redesigning its active site. Since most plant P450s are membrane-anchored proteins that are adapted to the micro-environments of plant cells, expressing them in heterologous hosts usually results in problems of expression or activity. Here, we applied computational design to tackle these issues by simultaneous optimization of the protein surface and active site. After screening 17 variants, effective substitutions of surface residues were observed to improve both expression and activity of CYP87D20. In addition, the identified substitutions were additive and by combining them a highly efficient C11 hydroxylase of cucurbitadienol was created to participate in the mogrol biosynthesis. This study shows the importance of considering the interplay between surface and active site residues for P450 engineering. Our integrated strategy also opens an avenue to create more tailoring enzymes with desired functions for the metabolic engineering of high-valued compounds like mogrol, the precursor of natural sweetener mogrosides.

scholarly journals Clinical Variants of the Native Class D β-Lactamase of Acinetobacter baumannii Pose an Emerging Threat through Increased Hydrolytic Activity against Carbapenems

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 6155-6164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma C. Schroder ◽  
Zachary L. Klamer ◽  
Aysegul Saral ◽  
Kyle A. Sugg ◽  
Cynthia M. June ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acinetobacter Baumannii ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Hydrolytic Activity ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Kinetic Properties ◽  
Active Site Residues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Class D ◽  
Clinical Variants ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

ABSTRACTThe threat posed by the chromosomally encoded class D β-lactamase ofAcinetobacter baumannii(OXA-51/66) has been unclear, in part because of its relatively low affinity and turnover rate for carbapenems. Several hundred clinical variants of OXA-51/66 have been reported, many with substitutions of active-site residues. We determined the kinetic properties of OXA-66 and five clinical variants with respect to a wide variety of β-lactam substrates. The five variants displayed enhanced activity against carbapenems and in some cases against penicillins, late-generation cephalosporins, and the monobactam aztreonam. Molecular dynamics simulations show that in OXA-66, P130 inhibits the side-chain rotation of I129 and thereby prevents doripenem binding because of steric clash. A single amino acid substitution at this position (P130Q) in the variant OXA-109 greatly enhances the mobility of both I129 and a key active-site tryptophan (W222), thereby facilitating carbapenem binding. This expansion of substrate specificity represents a very worrisome development for the efficacy of β-lactams against this troublesome pathogen.

scholarly journals Mechanistic basis for the emergence of EPS1 as a catalyst in plant salicylic acid biosynthesis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Torrens-Spence ◽  
Tianjie Li ◽  
Ziqi Wang ◽  
Christopher M. Glinkerman ◽  
Jason O. Matos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salicylic Acid ◽  
Active Site ◽  
Active Site Residues ◽  
Substrate Analog ◽  
Lyase Activity ◽  
Mechanistic Basis ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Brassicaceae Family ◽  
Bahd Acyltransferase

AbstractUnique to plants in the Brassicaceae family, the production of the plant defense hormone salicylic acid (SA) from isochorismate is accelerated by an evolutionarily young isochorismoyl-glutamate pyruvoyl-glutamate lyase, EPS1, which belongs to the BAHD acyltransferase protein family. Here, we report the crystal structures of apo and substrate-analog-bound EPS1 from Arabidopsis thaliana. Assisted by microsecond molecular dynamics simulations, we uncover a unique pericyclic rearrangement lyase mechanism facilitated by the active site of EPS1. We reconstitute the isochorismate-derived pathway of SA biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which serves as an in vivo platform that helps identify active-site residues critical for EPS1 activity. This study describes the birth of a new catalyst in plant phytohormone biosynthesis by reconfiguring the ancestral active site of a progenitor enzyme to catalyze alternative reaction.One sentence summaryBy reconfiguring the active site of a progenitor acyltransferase-fold, EPS1 acquired the unique, evolutionarily new lyase activity that accelerates phytohormone salicylic acid production in Brassicaceae plants.

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