A novel protein fold and extreme domain swapping in the dimeric TorD chaperone from Shewanella massilia

Functional and structural analysis of members of the TorD family, a large chaperone family dedicated to molybdoproteins

The trimethylamineN-oxide (TMAO) reductase TorA, a DMSO reductase family member, is a periplasmic molybdoenzyme ofEscherichia coli. The cytoplasmic protein TorD acts as a chaperone for TorA, allowing the efficient insertion of the molybdenum cofactor into the apoform of the enzyme prior to its secretion. This paper demonstrates that TorD is a member of a large family of prokaryotic proteins that are structurally related. Moreover, their genes generally belong to operons also encoding molybdoenzymes of the DMSO reductase family. Both the TorD and the DMSO reductase families present a similar phylogenetic organization, suggesting a co-evolution of these two families of proteins. This hypothesis is also supported by the fact that the TorD and DmsD chaperones cannot replace each other and thus appear dedicated to specific molybdopartners. Interestingly, it was found that the positive effect of TorD on TorA maturation, and the partial inhibitory effect of DmsD and homologues, are independent of the TorA signal sequence.

Folding forms of Escherichia coli DmsD, a twin-arginine leader binding protein

Escherichia coli DmsD interacts with the twin-arginine leader sequence of the catalytic sub-unit (DmsA) of DMSO reductase. DmsD was purified as a mixture of a number of different folding forms including: dimer (A); monomer (B); a minor thiol oxidized form; a heterogeneously folded or multi-conformational monomer form which displayed a ladder of bands on native-PAGE (D); and proteolytically degraded and aggregated forms. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), under denaturing and non-denaturing conditions, was used to examine the folding and stability of DmsD. Additionally, the biophysical methods of dynamic light scattering, circular dichroism, fluorescence, and mass spectroscopy were also used. Form D could be converted to form B by treatment with 4M urea, which is the concentration at which form B begins to denature. Forms A/B could be converted to D by incubation at pH 5.0. Forms A/B and D all had twin-arginine leader binding activity.

The twin-arginine leader-binding protein, DmsD, interacts with the TatB and TatC subunits of the Escherichia coli twin-arginine translocase

The twin-arginine translocase (Tat) pathway is involved in the targeting and translocation of fully folded proteins to the inner membrane and periplasm of bacteria. Proteins that use this pathway contain a characteristic twin-arginine signal sequence, which interacts with the receptor complex formed by the TatBC subunits. Recently, the DmsD protein was discovered, which binds to the twin-arginine signal sequences of the anaerobic respiratory enzymes dimethylsulfoxide reductase (DmsABC) and trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) reductase. In this work, the targeting of DmsD within Escherichia coli was investigated. Using cell fractionation and Western blot analysis, DmsD is found to be associated with the inner membrane of wild-type E. coli and a dmsABC mutant E. coli under anaerobic conditions. In contrast, DmsD is predominantly found in the cytoplasmic fraction of a Delta tatABCDE strain, which suggests that DmsD interacts with the membrane-associated Tat complex. Under aerobic conditions DmsD was also found primarily in the cytoplasmic fraction of wild-type E. coli, suggesting that physiological conditions have a significant effect upon the targeting of DmsD to the inner membrane. Size exclusion chromatography data and membrane washing studies indicate that DmsD is interacting tightly with an integral membrane protein and not with the lipid component of the E. coli inner membrane. Additional investigation into the nature of this interaction revealed that the TatB and TatC subunits of the translocase are important for the interaction of DmsD with the E. coli inner membrane.

Assembly of Tat-dependent [NiFe] hydrogenases: identification of precursor-binding accessory proteins

The Escherichia coli twin-arginine translocation (Tat) system serves to export fully folded protein substrates across the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. Respiratory [NiFe] hydrogenases are synthesised as precursors with twin-arginine signal peptides and transported as large, cofactor-containing, multi-subunit complexes by the Tat system. Cofactor insertion and assembly of [NiFe] hydrogenases requires coordination of networks of accessory proteins. In this work we utilise a bacterial two-hybrid assay to demonstrate protein-protein interactions between the uncharacterised chaperones HyaE and HybE with Tat signal peptide-bearing hydrogenase precursors. It is proposed that the chaperones act at a 'proofreading' stage in hydrogenase assembly and police the protein transport pathway preventing premature targeting of Tat-dependent hydrogenases.

Involvement of a mate chaperone (TorD) in the maturation pathway of molybdoenzyme TorA

As many prokaryotic molybdoenzymes, the trimethylamine oxide reductase (TorA) of Escherichia coli requires the insertion of a bis(molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide)molybdenum cofactor in its catalytic site to be active and translocated to the periplasm. We show in vitro that the purified apo form of TorA was activated weakly when an appropriate bis(molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide)molybdenum source was provided, whereas addition of the TorD chaperone increased apoTorA activation up to 4-fold, allowing maturation of most of the apoprotein. We demonstrate that TorD alone is sufficient for the efficient activation of apoTorA by performing a minimal in vitro assay containing only the components for the cofactor synthesis, apoTorA and TorD. Interestingly, incubation of apoTorA with TorD before cofactor addition led to a significant increase of apoTorA activation, suggesting that TorD acts on apoTorA before cofactor insertion. This result is consistent with the fact that TorD binds to apoTorA and probably modifies its conformation in the absence of cofactor. Therefore, we propose that TorD is involved in the first step of TorA maturation to make it competent to receive the cofactor.

The unfolding story of three-dimensional domain swapping

Three-dimensional domain swapping is the event by which a monomer exchanges part of its structure with identical monomers to form an oligomer where each subunit has a similar structure to the monomer. The accumulating number of observations of this phenomenon in crystal structures has prompted speculation as to its biological relevance. Domain swapping was originally proposed to be a mechanism for the emergence of oligomeric proteins and as a means for functional regulation, but also to be a potentially harmful process leading to misfolding and aggregation. We highlight experimental studies carried out within the last few years that have led to a much greater understanding of the mechanism of domain swapping and of the residue- and structure-specific features that facilitate the process. We discuss the potential biological implications of domain swapping in light of these findings.