LcaR: a regulatory switch from Pseudomonas aeruginosa for bioengineering alkane degrading bacteria

Application of genetically engineered bacterial strains for biodegradation of hydrocarbons is a sustainable solution for treating pollutants as well as in industrial applications. However, the process of bioengineering should be carefully carried out to optimize the output. Investigation of regulatory genes for bioengineering is essential for developing synthetic circuits for effective biocatalysts. Here we focus on LcaR, a putative transcriptional regulator affecting the expression of alkB2 and lcaR operon that has a high potential to become a tool in designing such pathways. Four LcaR dimers bind specifically to the upstream regulatory region where divergent promoters of alkB2 and lcaR genes are located with high affinity at a K_d of 0.94 ± 0.17 nM and a Hill coefficient is 1.7 ± 0.3 demonstrating cooperativity in the association. Ligand binding alters the conformation of LcaR, which releases the regulator from its cognate DNA. Tetradecanal and hexadecanal act as natural ligands of LcaR with an IC₅₀ values of 3.96 ± 0.59 µg/ml and 0.68 ± 0.21 µg/ml, respectively. The structure and function of transcription factors homologous to LcaR have not been characterized to date. This study provides insight into regulatory mechanisms of alkane degradation with a direction towards potential applications in bioengineering for bioremediation and industrial applications.

Fifty years of Protein Data Bank in the Journal of Biochemistry

Protein Data Bank (PDB), jointly founded in 1971 by Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA, and the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, UK, is the single global archive of experimentally determined biological macromolecular structures. PDB deposition is mandatory for publication in most scientific journals, which means ‘no PDB deposition, no structural publication’. The current PDB archive contains more than 180,000 entries and includes many structures from Asian institutions. The first protein structure from Japan was that of cytochrome c determined by Prof Masao Kakudo’s group at the Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, in 1971 at a resolution of 4 Å, and a subsequent atomic structure at 2.3 Å resolution was deposited to PDB in 1976 as the 1st Asian and 21st entry of the entire PDB archive. Since then, 317 protein structures whose primary citation was the Journal of Biochemistry (J. Biochem.) have been deposited to PDB. Based on this long history between PDB and J. Biochem., a statistical analysis of all structural reports in J. Biochem. has been carried out using the relational database system at PDBj (https://pdbj.org) and reviewed the yearly distribution, resolution, quality of structure, type of target protein, number of citations and comparison against other major journals.

Protein Data Bank Japan: Celebrating our 20th anniversary during a global pandemic as the Asian hub of three dimensional macromolecular structural data

Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj), a founding member of the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) has accepted, processed and distributed experimentally determined biological macromolecular structures for 20 years. During that time, we have continuously made major improvements to our query search interface of PDBj Mine 2, the BMRBj web interface, and EM Navigator for PDB/BMRB/EMDB entries. PDBj also serves PDB‐related secondary database data, original web‐based modeling services such as Homology modeling of complex structure (HOMCOS), visualization services and utility tools, which we have continuously enhanced and expanded throughout the years. In addition, we have recently developed several unique archives, BSM‐Arc for computational structure models, and XRDa for raw X‐ray diffraction images, both of which promote open science in the structural biology community. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, PDBj has also started to provide feature pages for COVID‐19 related entries across all available archives at PDBj from raw experimental data and PDB structural data to computationally predicted models, while also providing COVID‐19 outreach content for high school students and teachers.

Forty years of the structure of plant-type Ferredoxin

The X-ray structure of a [2Fe-2S]-type Ferredoxin from Spirulina platensis, solved by a collaborative group led by Profs Masao Kakudo, Yukiteru Katsube and Hiroshi Matsubara, was the first high-resolution structure of a plant-type Ferredoxin deposited in the Protein Data Bank. The main chain structure, comprising a [2Fe-2S] cluster ligated by four conserved cysteine residues, together with a molecular evolutionary study based on a series of amino acid sequence determinations, was reported in Nature in 1980. The consequent detailed crystallographic analysis, including crystallization, heavy atom derivatization, data collection, phase calculation, and model building, was published by the same group in the Journal of Biochemistry in 1981. The pioneering X-ray analysis of S. platensis Ferredoxin at 2.5 Å resolution was a key milestone in structural research on the photosynthetic electron transport chain, informing related and challenging studies on other components of the photosynthetic electron transfer chain.

Modernized uniform representation of carbohydrate molecules in the Protein Data Bank

Since 1971, the Protein Data Bank (PDB) has served as the single global archive for experimentally determined 3D structures of biological macromolecules made freely available to the global community according to the FAIR principles of Findability-Accessibility-Interoperability-Reusability. During the first 50 years of continuous PDB operations, standards for data representation have evolved to better represent rich and complex biological phenomena. Carbohydrate molecules present in more than 14,000 PDB structures have recently been reviewed and remediated to conform to a new standardized format. This machine-readable data representation for carbohydrates occurring in the PDB structures and the corresponding reference data improves the findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability of structural information pertaining to these molecules. The PDB Exchange MacroMolecular Crystallographic Information File data dictionary now supports (i) standardized atom nomenclature that conforms to International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry-International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUPAC-IUBMB) recommendations for carbohydrates, (ii) uniform representation of branched entities for oligosaccharides, (iii) commonly used linear descriptors of carbohydrates developed by the glycoscience community and (iv) annotation of glycosylation sites in proteins. For the first time, carbohydrates in PDB structures are consistently represented as collections of standardized monosaccharides, which precisely describe oligosaccharide structures and enable improved carbohydrate visualization, structure validation, robust quantitative and qualitative analyses, search for dendritic structures and classification. The uniform representation of carbohydrate molecules in the PDB described herein will facilitate broader usage of the resource by the glycoscience community and researchers studying glycoproteins.

Crystallographic analysis and phasing of iron-assimilating protein 1 (FEA1) from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

As an essential component of protein cofactors, iron is important for all photosynthetic organisms. In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, iron levels are strictly controlled by proteins such as iron-assimilating protein 1 (FEA1). This periplasmic protein is expressed under conditions of iron deficiency, but its mechanisms of function remain unknown. Because FEA1 has no amino-acid similarity to protein structures in the Protein Data Bank, its crystal structure cannot be solved by molecular replacement. Here, recombinant FEA1 protein lacking the N-terminal signal sequence was successfully purified and crystals of apo FEA1 were obtained by hanging-drop vapor diffusion. Neither selenomethionine substitution nor heavy-atom derivatization was successful; therefore, the phase problem of FEA1 crystals was solved by the native sulfur SAD method using long-wavelength X-rays (2.7 Å). Laser-cutting technology was used to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and derive an initial structure. This study will lead to further structural studies of FEA1 to understand its function and its links to the iron-assimilation pathway.

Enhanced validation of small-molecule ligands and carbohydrates in the Protein Data Bank

The Worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) has provided validation reports based on recommendations from community Validation Task Forces for structures in the PDB since 2013. To further enhance validation of small molecules as recommended from the 2016 Ligand Validation Workshop, wwPDB, Global Phasing Ltd., and the Noguchi Institute, recently formed a public/private partnership to incorporate some of their software tools into the wwPDB validation package. Augmented wwPDB validation report features include: two-dimensional (2D) diagrams of small-molecule ligands and carbohydrates, highlighting geometric validation outcomes; 2D topological diagrams of oligosaccharides present in branched entities generated using 2D Symbol Nomenclature for Glycan representation; and views of 3D electron density maps for ligands and carbohydrates, illustrating the goodness-of-fit between the atomic structure and experimental data (X-ray crystallographic structures only). These improvements will impact confidence in ligand conformation and ligand-macromolecular interactions that will aid in understanding biochemical function and contribute to small-molecule drug discovery.

Cryo-EM structure of a functional monomeric Photosystem I from Thermosynechococcus elongatus reveals red chlorophyll cluster

A high-resolution structure of trimeric cyanobacterial Photosystem I (PSI) from Thermosynechococcus elongatus was reported as the first atomic model of PSI almost 20 years ago. However, the monomeric PSI structure has not yet been reported despite long-standing interest in its structure and extensive spectroscopic characterization of the loss of red chlorophylls upon monomerization. Here, we describe the structure of monomeric PSI from Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1. Comparison with the trimer structure gave detailed insights into monomerization-induced changes in both the central trimerization domain and the peripheral regions of the complex. Monomerization-induced loss of red chlorophylls is assigned to a cluster of chlorophylls adjacent to PsaX. Based on our findings, we propose a role of PsaX in the stabilization of red chlorophylls and that lipids of the surrounding membrane present a major source of thermal energy for uphill excitation energy transfer from red chlorophylls to P700.

Dialysis-related amyloidosis associated with a novel β2-microglobulin variant

Till date, there had been no reported case of dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA) associated with a β₂-microglobulin variant. We report here a 41-year-old haemodialysis patient with systemic amyloidosis, exhibiting macroglossia and swelling salivary glands, uncommon clinical manifestations for DRA. Molecular analysis showed that the patient had a new variant of β₂-microglobulin (V27M). Extracted amyloid protein was predominantly composed of variant β₂-microglobulin. In vitro analysis revealed that this variant β₂-microglobulin had a strong amyloidogenic propensity, probably owing to the decreased stability caused by a bulky methionine residue. Our data clearly show that V27M variant is amyloidogenic and this mutation results in unusual clinical manifestations. To date, only one amyloidogenic β₂-microglobulin variant (D76N) has been reported in non-dialysis patients. It is noteworthy that the V27M and D76N variants show substantial differences in both clinical phenotypes and pathomechanical features. This is the first case of DRA associated with a naturally occurring β₂-microglobulin variant.

The Protein Data Bank Archive

Protein Data Bank is the single worldwide archive of experimentally determined macromolecular structure data. Established in 1971 as the first open access data resource in biology, the PDB archive is managed by the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) consortium which has four partners-the RCSB Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB; rcsb.org), the Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj; pdbj.org), the Protein Data Bank in Europe (PDBe; pdbe.org), and BioMagResBank (BMRB; www.bmrb.wisc.edu ). The PDB archive currently includes ~175,000 entries. The wwPDB has established a number of task forces and working groups that bring together experts form the community who provide recommendations on improving data standards and data validation for improving data quality and integrity. The wwPDB members continue to develop the joint deposition, biocuration, and validation system (OneDep) to improve data quality and accommodate new data from emerging techniques such as 3DEM. Each PDB entry contains coordinate model and associated metadata for all experimentally determined atomic structures, experimental data for the traditional structure determination techniques (X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy), validation reports, and additional information on quaternary structures. The wwPDB partners are committed to following the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reproducibility) principles and have implemented a DOI resolution mechanism that provides access to all the relevant files for a given PDB entry. On average, >250 new entries are added to the archive every week and made available by each wwPDB partner via FTP area. The wwPDB partner sites also develop data access and analysis tools and make these available via their websites. wwPDB continues to work with experts in the community to establish a federation of archives for archiving structures determined using integrative/hybrid method where multiple experimental techniques are used.

Crystal structure of higher plant heme oxygenase-1 and its mechanism of interaction with ferredoxin

Heme oxygenase (HO) converts heme to carbon monoxide, biliverdin, and free iron, products that are essential in cellular redox signaling and iron recycling. In higher plants, HO is also involved in the biosynthesis of photoreceptor pigment precursors. Despite many common enzymatic reactions, the amino acid sequence identity between plant-type and other HOs is exceptionally low (∼19.5%), and amino acids that are catalytically important in mammalian HO are not conserved in plant-type HOs. Structural characterization of plant-type HO is limited to spectroscopic characterization by electron spin resonance, and it remains unclear how the structure of plant-type HO differs from that of other HOs. Here, we have solved the crystal structure of Glycine max (soybean) HO-1 (GmHO-1) at a resolution of 1.06 Å and carried out the isothermal titration calorimetry measurements and NMR spectroscopic studies of its interaction with ferredoxin, the plant-specific electron donor. The high-resolution X-ray structure of GmHO-1 reveals several novel structural components: an additional irregularly structured region, a new water tunnel from the active site to the surface, and a hydrogen-bonding network unique to plant-type HOs. Structurally important features in other HOs, such as His ligation to the bound heme, are conserved in GmHO-1. Based on combined data from X-ray crystallography, isothermal titration calorimetry, and NMR measurements, we propose the evolutionary fine-tuning of plant-type HOs for ferredoxin dependency in order to allow adaptation to dynamic pH changes on the stroma side of the thylakoid membrane in chloroplast without losing enzymatic activity under conditions of fluctuating light.

Chemical synthesis of ferredoxin with 4 selenocysteine residues using a segment condensation method

Ferredoxin (Fd) is an electron carrier protein containing a [2Fe-2S] cluster. In this paper, we synthesized Se-Fd, in which four Cys residues coordinated to the cluster are substituted to selenocysteine. After the one-pot segment coupling by the thioester method, followed by deprotection and cluster loading, the desired Se-Fd was successfully obtained.

Structural basis for thioredoxin isoform-based fine-tuning of ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase activity

Photosynthetic electron transport occurs on the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts. Ferredoxin (Fd), the final acceptor in the electron transport chain, distributes electrons to several Fd-dependent enzymes including Fd-thioredoxin reductase (FTR). A cascade from Fd to FTR further reduces Thioredoxin (Trx), which tunes the activity of target metabolic enzymes eventually in a light-dependent manner. We previously reported that 10 Trx isoforms in Arabidopsis thaliana can be clustered into three classes based on the kinetics of the FTR-dependent reduction (high-, middle-, and low-efficiency classes). In this study, we determined the X-ray structure of three electron transfer complexes of FTR and Trx isoform, Trx-y1, Trx-f2, and Trx-m2, as representative examples of each class. Superposition of the FTR structure with/without Trx showed no main chain structural changes upon complex formation. There was no significant conformational change for single and complexed Trx-m structures. Nonetheless, the interface of FTR:Trx complexes displayed significant variation. Comparative analysis of the three structures showed two types of intermolecular interactions; (i) common interactions shared by all three complexes and (ii) isoform-specific interactions, which might be important for fine-tuning FTR:Trx activity. Differential electrostatic potentials of Trx isoforms may be key to isoform-specific interactions.

X-ray dose-dependent structural changes of the [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Plant-type ferredoxin (Fd) is an electron transfer protein in chloroplast. Redox-dependent structural change of Fd controls its association with and dissociation from Fd-dependent enzymes. Among many X-ray structures of oxidized Fd have been reported so far, very likely a given number of them was partially reduced by strong X-ray. To understand the precise structural change between reduced and oxidized Fd, it is important to know whether the crystals of oxidized Fd may or may not be reduced during the X-ray experiment. We prepared the thin plate-shaped Fd crystals from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and monitored its absorption spectra during experiment. Absorption spectra of oxidized Fd crystals were clearly changed to that of reduced form in an X-ray dose-dependent manner. In another independent experiment, the X-ray diffraction images obtained from different parts of one single crystal were sorted and merged to form two datasets with low and high X-ray doses. An Fo-Fo map calculated from the two datasets showed that X-ray reduction causes a small displacement of the iron atoms in the [2Fe-2S] cluster. Both our spectroscopic and crystallographic studies confirm X-ray dose-dependent reduction of Fd, and suggest a structural basis for its initial reduction step especially in the core of the cluster.

Cryogenic Single-Molecule Spectroscopy of the Primary Electron Acceptor in the Photosynthetic Reaction Center

The photosynthetic reaction center (RC) converts light energy into electrochemical energy. The RC of heliobacteria (hRC) is a primitive homodimeric RC containing 58 bacteriochlorophylls and 2 chlorophyll as. The chlorophyll serves as the primary electron acceptor (Chl a-A₀) responsible for light harvesting and charge separation. The single-molecule spectroscopy of Chl a-A₀ can be used to investigate heterogeneities of the RC photochemical function, though the low fluorescence quantum yield (0.1%) makes it difficult. Here, we show the fluorescence excitation spectroscopy of individual Chl a-A₀s in single hRCs at 6 K. The fluorescence quantum yield and absorption cross section of Chl a-A₀ increase 2- and 4-fold, respectively, compared to those at room temperature. The two Chl a-A₀s in single hRCs are identified as two distinct peaks in the fluorescence excitation spectrum, exhibiting different excitation polarization dependences. The spectral changes caused by photobleaching indicate the energy transfer across subunits in the hRC.

Chlorophyllide a oxidoreductase Preferentially Catalyzes 8-Vinyl Reduction over B-Ring Reduction of 8-Vinyl Chlorophyllide a in the Late Steps of Bacteriochlorophyll Biosynthesis

Bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl) is an essential pigment for anoxygenic photosynthesis. In late steps of the BChl biosynthesis of Rhodobacter capsulatus, the C8 vinyl group and C7=C8 double bond of 8-vinyl chlorophyllide a (8 V-Chlide) are reduced by a C8 vinyl reductase (8VR), BciA, and a nitrogenase-like enzyme, chlorophyllide a oxidoreductase (COR), respectively, to produce 3-vinyl-bacteriochlorphyllide a. Recently, we discovered 8VR activity in COR. However, the kinetic parameters of the COR 8VR activity remain unknown, while those of the COR C7=C8 reductase activity and BciA have been reported. Here, we determined the kinetic parameters of COR 8VR activity by using 8 V-Chlide. The K_m value for 8 V-Chlide was 1.4 μM, which is much lower than the 6.2 μM determined for the C7=C8 reduction of Chlide. The kinetic parameters of the dual activities of COR suggest that COR catalyzes the reduction of the C8 vinyl group of 8 V-Chlide preferentially over C7=C8 reduction when both substrates are supplied during BChl biosynthesis.

The complex of outer-arm dynein light chain-1 and the microtubule-binding domain of the γ heavy chain shows how axonemal dynein tunes ciliary beating

Axonemal dynein is a microtubule-based molecular motor that drives ciliary/flagellar beating in eukaryotes. In axonemal dynein, the outer-arm dynein (OAD) complex, which comprises three heavy chains (α, β, and γ), produces the main driving force for ciliary/flagellar motility. It has recently been shown that axonemal dynein light chain-1 (LC1) binds to the microtubule-binding domain (MTBD) of OADγ, leading to a decrease in its microtubule-binding affinity. However, it remains unclear how LC1 interacts with the MTBD and controls the microtubule-binding affinity of OADγ. Here, we have used X-ray crystallography and pulldown assays to examine the interaction between LC1 and the MTBD, identifying two important sites of interaction in the MTBD. Solving the LC1-MTBD complex from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii at 1.7 Å resolution, we observed that one site is located in the H5 helix and that the other is located in the flap region that is unique to some axonemal dynein MTBDs. Mutational analysis of key residues in these sites indicated that the H5 helix is the main LC1-binding site. We modeled the ternary structure of the LC1-MTBD complex bound to microtubules based on the known dynein-microtubule complex. This enabled us to propose a structural basis for both formations of the ternary LC1-MTBD-microtubule complex and LC1-mediated tuning of MTBD binding to the microtubule, suggesting a molecular model for how axonemal dynein senses the curvature of the axoneme and tunes ciliary/flagellar beating.