In-Silico Screening Compounds of Brassica rapa ssp. chinensis as Potential Inhibitor of Neutral Amino Acid Transporter B0AT1 as an Alternative Phenylketonuria Treatment

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is known as a severe autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the expression enzyme, namely the PAH (Phenylalanine Hydroxylase) enzyme that causes the build-up of phenylalanine in the body. Untreated PKU affected brain damage and developmental problems. One of the strategies to reduce phenylalanine in the body is inhibiting B0AT1 activity using carotenoid and terpenoids compounds from Bok choy (Brassica rapa ssp.chinensis). In this study, we evaluated the nine carotenoid and terpenoid compounds from Bok choy as B0AT1 inhibitors. Nine Bok choy compounds, including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, dimethylallyl pyrophosphate, isopentenyl pyrophosphate, lutein, neoxanthin, violaxanthin, geranylgeranyl diphosphate, and zeaxanthin were downloaded from PubChem database, while the 3D structure of B0AT1 was retrieved from Protein Data Bank RCSB. The compounds and B0AT1 were prepared by PyRx 0.8 version and Discovery Studio ver 21.1.1, then docked with Hex 8.0.0 and analyzed using Discovery Studio ver 21.1.1. This screening implies that three terpenoid compounds dimethylallyl pyrophosphate, isopentenyl pyrophosphate, and geranylgeranyl diphosphate interacts in C domain of B0AT1 while six carotenoid compounds, alpha carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, neoxanthin, violaxanthin, and zeaxanthin interacts in A domain and have possibility to inhibit B0AT1, because it interact with same A domain and have a stronger binding energy than phenylalanine. Alpha carotene has a same residue with phenylalanine, Phe144, making it potentially greater than other compound as inhibitors. Brassica rapa ssp. chinensis is indeed good for consumption by people with phenylketonuria, but it is also necessary to do a further compound screening in other low-phenylalanine diet foods to know which one is better as alternative phenylketonuria treatment.

Adaptation of hydroxymethylbutenyl diphosphate reductase enables volatile isoprenoid production

Volatile isoprenoids produced by plants are emitted in vast quantities into the atmosphere, with substantial effects on global carbon cycling. Yet, the molecular mechanisms regulating the balance between volatile and non-volatile isoprenoid production remain unknown. Isoprenoids are synthesised via sequential condensation of isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) to dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP), with volatile isoprenoids containing fewer isopentenyl subunits. The DMAPP:IPP ratio could affect the balance between volatile and non-volatile isoprenoids, but the plastidic DMAPP:IPP ratio is generally believed to be similar across different species. Here we demonstrate that the ratio of DMAPP:IPP produced by hydroxymethylbutenyl diphosphate reductase (HDR/IspH), the final step of the plastidic isoprenoid production pathway, is not fixed. Instead, this ratio varies greatly across HDRs from phylogenetically distinct plants, correlating with isoprenoid production patterns. Our findings suggest that adaptation of HDR plays a previously unrecognised role in determining in vivo carbon availability for isoprenoid emissions, directly shaping global biosphere-atmosphere interactions.

The isoprenoid alcohol pathway, a synthetic route for isoprenoid biosynthesis

The more than 50,000 isoprenoids found in nature are all derived from the 5-carbon diphosphates isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP). Natively, IPP and DMAPP are generated by the mevalonate (MVA) and 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathways, which have been engineered to produce compounds with numerous applications. However, as these pathways are inherently constrained by carbon, energy inefficiencies, and their roles in native metabolism, engineering for isoprenoid biosynthesis at high flux, titer, and yield remains a challenge. To overcome these limitations, here we develop an alternative synthetic pathway termed the isoprenoid alcohol (IPA) pathway that centers around the synthesis and subsequent phosphorylation of IPAs. We first established a lower IPA pathway for the conversion of IPAs to isoprenoid pyrophosphate intermediates that enabled the production of greater than 2 g/L geraniol from prenol as well as limonene, farnesol, diaponeurosporene, and lycopene. We then designed upper IPA pathways for the generation of (iso)prenol from central carbon metabolites with the development of a route to prenol enabling its synthesis at more than 2 g/L. Using prenol as the linking intermediate further facilitated an integrated IPA pathway that resulted in the production of nearly 0.6 g/L total monoterpenoids from glycerol as the sole carbon source. The IPA pathway provides an alternative route to isoprenoids that is more energy efficient than native pathways and can serve as a platform for targeting a repertoire of isoprenoid compounds with application as high-value pharmaceuticals, commodity chemicals, and fuels.

QM/MM studies of the type II isopentenyl diphosphate–dimethylallyl diphosphate isomerase demonstrate a novel role for the flavin coenzyme

The type II isopentenyl diphosphate:dimethylallyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI-2) catalyzes the reversible isomerization of isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP).

DFT study on the mechanism of 1,3-hydrogen disposition in Isopentenyl pyrophosphate catalyzed by Isopentenyl pyrophosphate: Dimethylallyl pyrophosphate isomerase

Biosynthesis of polyterpenoid and related molecules are largely accomplished via mevalonate pathway. One of the vital steps in this pathway is the inter-conversion of two intermediates isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) catalyzed by IPP:DMAPP isomerase (IDI). The crystal structure of the enzyme, bound to the substrate analogues and inhibitors, revealed possible mechanism of this inter-conversion; however, none of them could affirm the true nature of the transition state through which the process is taking place. Our DFT study on the pathway of this isomerization reaction at the active site of the enzyme suggests a favorable concerted mechanism that occurs through a single transition structure without generating any carbocation intermediate. In this mechanism, the Cys-67 residue acts as proton donor whereas Glu-116 acts as proton acceptor. The mechanism also reveals the active involvement of other two components present at the active site. A crystallographic water molecule (Wat508) and Glu-87 assist to reprotonate the conjugate base of cysteine residue through a proton shuttle mechanism while forming the transition structure of the isomerization reaction.

Mammalian Trit1 is a tRNA[Ser]Sec-isopentenyl transferase required for full selenoprotein expression

Selenoproteins are proteins carrying the rare amino acid Sec (selenocysteine). Full expression of selenoproteins requires modification of tRNA[Ser]Sec, including N6-isopentenylation of base A37. We show that Trit1 is a dimethylallyl:tRNA[Ser]Sec transferase. Knockdown of Trit1 reduces expression of selenoproteins. Incubation of in vitro transcribed tRNA[Ser]Sec with recombinant Trit1 transfers [14C]dimethylallyl pyrophosphate to tRNA[Ser]Sec. 37A>G tRNA[Ser]Sec is resistant to isopentenylation by Trit1.

Structure analysis of geranyl pyrophosphate methyltransferase and the proposed reaction mechanism of SAM-dependentC-methylation

In the typical isoprenoid-biosynthesis pathway, condensation of the universal C5-unit precursors isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) occursviathe common intermediates prenyl pyrophosphates (C10–C20). The diversity of isoprenoids reflects differences in chain length, cyclization and further additional modification after cyclization. In contrast, the biosynthesis of 2-methylisonorneol (2-MIB), which is responsible for taste and odour problems in drinking water, is unique in that it primes the enzymatic methylation of geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP) before cyclization, which is catalyzed by anS-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent methyltransferase (GPPMT). The substrate of GPPMT contains a nonconjugated olefin and the reaction mechanism is expected to be similar to that of the steroid methyltransferase (SMT) family. Here, structural analysis of GPPMT in complex with its cofactor and substrate revealed the mechanisms of substrate recognition and possible enzymatic reaction. Using the structures of these complexes, methyl-group transfer and the subsequent proton-abstraction mechanism are discussed. GPPMT and SMTs contain a conserved glutamate residue that is likely to play a role as a general base. Comparison with the reaction mechanism of the mycolic acid cyclopropane synthase (MACS) family also supports this result. This enzyme represented here is the first model of the enzymaticC-methylation of a nonconjugated olefin in the isoprenoid-biosynthesis pathway. In addition, an elaborate system to avoid methylation of incorrect substrates is proposed.