Slow conformational changes of blue light sensor BLUF proteins in milliseconds

BLUF (blue light sensor using flavin) proteins consist of flavin-binding BLUF domains and functional domains. Upon blue light excitation, the hydrogen bond network around the flavin chromophore changes, and the absorption spectrum in the visible region exhibits red-shift. Ultimately, the light information received in the BLUF domain is transmitted to the functional region. It has been believed that this red-shift is complete within nanoseconds. Contrary to this commonly accepted scheme, in this study, slow reaction kinetics were discovered in milliseconds (τ1- and τ2-phase) for all the BLUF proteins examined (AppA, OaPAC, BlrP1, YcgF, PapB, SyPixD, and TePixD). Despite extensive reports on BLUF, this is the first clear observation of the BLUF protein absorption change with the duration in the millisecond time region. From the measurements of some domain-deleted mutants of OaPAC and two chimeric mutants of PixD proteins, it was found that the slower dynamics (τ2-phase) are strongly affected by the size and nature of the C-terminal region adjacent to the BLUF domain. Hence, this millisecond reaction is a significant indicator of conformational changes in the C-terminal region, which is essential for the biological functions. On the other hand, the τ1-phase commonly exists in all BLUF proteins, including any mutants. The origin of the slow dynamics was studied using site-specific mutants. These results clearly show the importance of Trp in the BLUF domain. Based on this, a reaction scheme for the BLUF reaction is proposed.

From Crystallographic Data to Solution Structure of Photoreceptors: The Case of AppA BLUF Domain

<div>Photoreceptor proteins bind a chromophore, which, upon light absorption, modifies its geometry or its interactions with the protein, finally inducing the structural change needed to switch the protein from an inactive to an active or signaling state. In the Blue Light-Using Flavin (BLUF) family of photoreceptors, the chromophore is a flavin and the changes have been connected with a rearrangement of the hydrogen bond network around it on the basis of spectroscopic changes measured for the dark-to-light conversion. However, the exact conformational change triggered by the photoexcitation is still elusive mainly because a clear consensus on the identity not only of the light activated state but also of the dark one has not been achieved. Here, for the first time, we present an integrated investigation that combines microsecond MD simulations starting from the two conflicting crystal structures available for the AppA BLUF domain with calculations of NMR, IR and UV-Vis spectra using a polarizable QM/MM approach. Thanks to such a combined analysis of the three different spectroscopic responses, a robust characterization of the structure of the dark state in solution is given together with the uncovering of important flaws of the most popular molecular mechanisms present in the literature for the dark-to-light activation. </div>

From Crystallographic Data to Solution Structure of Photoreceptors: The Case of AppA BLUF Domain

<div>Photoreceptor proteins bind a chromophore, which, upon light absorption, modifies its geometry or its interactions with the protein, finally inducing the structural change needed to switch the protein from an inactive to an active or signaling state. In the Blue Light-Using Flavin (BLUF) family of photoreceptors, the chromophore is a flavin and the changes have been connected with a rearrangement of the hydrogen bond network around it on the basis of spectroscopic changes measured for the dark-to-light conversion. However, the exact conformational change triggered by the photoexcitation is still elusive mainly because a clear consensus on the identity not only of the light activated state but also of the dark one has not been achieved. Here, for the first time, we present an integrated investigation that combines microsecond MD simulations starting from the two conflicting crystal structures available for the AppA BLUF domain with calculations of NMR, IR and UV-Vis spectra using a polarizable QM/MM approach. Thanks to such a combined analysis of the three different spectroscopic responses, a robust characterization of the structure of the dark state in solution is given together with the uncovering of important flaws of the most popular molecular mechanisms present in the literature for the dark-to-light activation. </div>

From crystallographic data to solution structure of photoreceptors: the case of AppA BLUF domain

Photoreceptor proteins bind a chromophore, which, upon light absorption, modifies its geometry or its interactions with the protein, finally inducing the structural change needed to switch the protein from an...

Molecular Mechanism of Light-Induced Acceleration of the Adenosine Triphosphate Conversion to the Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate Catalyzed by the Photoactivated Adenylyl Cyclase bPAC

<p>We report the first computational characterization of an optogenetic system composed of two photosensing BLUF (<u>b</u>lue <u>l</u>ight sensor <u>u</u>sing <u>f</u>lavin adenine dinucleotide) domains and two catalytic adenylyl cyclase (AC) domains. Conversion of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and pyrophosphate (PPi) catalyzed by ACs coupled with excitation in photosensing domains has emerged in the focus of modern optogenetic applications because of the request in photoregulated enzymes to modulate cellular concentrations of signaling messengers. The photoactivated adenylyl cyclase from the soil bacterium <i>Beggiatoa sp.</i> (bPAC) is an important model showing considerable increase of the ATP to cAMP conversion rate in the catalytic domain after the illumination of the BLUF domain. The 1 μs classical molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the activation of the BLUF domain leading to tautomerization of Gln49 in the chromophore binding pocket results in switching of position of the side chain of Arg278 in the active site of AC. Allosteric signal transmission pathways between Gln49 from BLUF and Arg278 from AC were revealed by the dynamical network analysis. The Gibbs energy profiles of the ATP → cAMP + PPi reaction computed using QM(DFT(ωB97X-D3/6-31G**))/MM(CHARMM) molecular dynamics simulations for both Arg278 conformations in AC clarify the reaction mechanism. In the light-activated system, the corresponding arginine conformation stabilizes the pentacoordinated phosphorus of the α-phosphate group in the transition state, thus lowering the activation energy. Simulations of the bPAC system with the Tyr7Phe replacement in BLUF demonstrate occurrence of both arginine conformations in an equal ratio, explaining the experimentally observed intermediate catalytic activity of the bPAC-Y7F variant as compared with the dark and light states of the wild type bPAC. </p>

Molecular Mechanism of Light-Induced Acceleration of the Adenosine Triphosphate Conversion to the Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate Catalyzed by the Photoactivated Adenylyl Cyclase bPAC

<p>We report the first computational characterization of an optogenetic system composed of two photosensing BLUF (<u>b</u>lue <u>l</u>ight sensor <u>u</u>sing <u>f</u>lavin adenine dinucleotide) domains and two catalytic adenylyl cyclase (AC) domains. Conversion of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and pyrophosphate (PPi) catalyzed by ACs coupled with excitation in photosensing domains has emerged in the focus of modern optogenetic applications because of the request in photoregulated enzymes to modulate cellular concentrations of signaling messengers. The photoactivated adenylyl cyclase from the soil bacterium <i>Beggiatoa sp.</i> (bPAC) is an important model showing considerable increase of the ATP to cAMP conversion rate in the catalytic domain after the illumination of the BLUF domain. The 1 μs classical molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the activation of the BLUF domain leading to tautomerization of Gln49 in the chromophore binding pocket results in switching of position of the side chain of Arg278 in the active site of AC. Allosteric signal transmission pathways between Gln49 from BLUF and Arg278 from AC were revealed by the dynamical network analysis. The Gibbs energy profiles of the ATP → cAMP + PPi reaction computed using QM(DFT(ωB97X-D3/6-31G**))/MM(CHARMM) molecular dynamics simulations for both Arg278 conformations in AC clarify the reaction mechanism. In the light-activated system, the corresponding arginine conformation stabilizes the pentacoordinated phosphorus of the α-phosphate group in the transition state, thus lowering the activation energy. Simulations of the bPAC system with the Tyr7Phe replacement in BLUF demonstrate occurrence of both arginine conformations in an equal ratio, explaining the experimentally observed intermediate catalytic activity of the bPAC-Y7F variant as compared with the dark and light states of the wild type bPAC. </p>

LAX28 is required for assembly of the inner dynein arm l1 and tether/tether head complex in the Leishmania flagellum

Motile eukaryotic flagella beat through coordinated activity of dynein motor proteins yet the mechanisms of dynein coordination and regulation are incompletely understood. The inner dynein arm IDA f/I1 complex and the tether/tether head (T/TH) complex are thought to be key regulators but, unlike IDA f/I1, T/TH proteins show limited conservation across flagellates. Here we characterised T/TH-associated proteins in the protist Leishmania mexicana. Proteome analysis of ΔCFAP44 mutant axonemes showed that they lacked IDA f/I1 protein IC140 and a novel 28-kDA axonemal protein, LAX28. Sequence analysis identified similarities between LAX28 and the uncharacterised human sperm tail protein TEX47, sharing features with sensory BLUF-domain proteins. Leishmania lacking LAX28, CFAP44 or IC140 retained some motility albeit with reduced swimming speed and directionality and a propensity for flagellar curling. Expression of tagged proteins in different null mutant backgrounds showed that the axonemal localisation of LAX28 requires CFAP44 and IC140, and the axonemal localisations of CFAP44 and IC140 both depend on LAX28. These data demonstrate a role for LAX28 in motility and show mutual dependencies of IDA f/1I and T/TH-associated proteins for axonemal assembly in Leishmania.Summary StatementThe inner dynein arm f/l1 complex is required for coordinating flagellar motility. Here we show that LAX28 is needed for its function and localization in the flagellum of Leishmania mexicana.