Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough HydE and HydG interact with the HydA subunit of the [FeFe] hydrogenase

Biochemical and kinetic characterization of radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine enzyme HydG

The radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) enzyme HydG is one of three maturase enzymes involved in [FeFe]-hydrogenase H-cluster assembly. It catalyzes L-tyrosine cleavage to yield the H-cluster cyanide and carbon monoxide ligands as well as p-cresol. Clostridium acetobutylicum HydG contains the conserved CX3CX2C motif coordinating the AdoMet binding [4Fe-4S] cluster and a C-terminal CX2CX22C motif proposed to coordinate a second [4Fe-4S] cluster. To improve our understanding of the roles of each of these iron-sulfur clusters in catalysis, we have generated HydG variants lacking either the N- or C-terminal cluster and examined these using spectroscopic and kinetic methods. We have used iron analyses, UV-visible spectroscopy, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of an N-terminal C96/100/103A triple HydG mutant that cannot coordinate the radical AdoMet cluster to unambiguously show that the C-terminal cysteine motif coordinates an auxiliary [4Fe-4S] cluster. Spectroscopic comparison with a C-terminally truncated HydG (ΔCTD) harboring only the N-terminal cluster demonstrates that both clusters have similar UV-visible and EPR spectral properties, but that AdoMet binding and cleavage occur only at the N-terminal radical AdoMet cluster. To elucidate which steps in the catalytic cycle of HydG require the auxiliary [4Fe-4S] cluster, we compared the Michaelis-Menten constants for AdoMet and L-tyrosine for reconstituted wild-type, C386S, and ΔCTD HydG and demonstrate that these C-terminal modifications do not affect the affinity for AdoMet but that the affinity for L-tyrosine is drastically reduced compared to that of wild-type HydG. Further detailed kinetic characterization of these HydG mutants demonstrates that the C-terminal cluster and residues are not essential for L-tyrosine cleavage to p-cresol but are necessary for conversion of a tyrosine-derived intermediate to cyanide and CO.

Protein interactions and localization of the Escherichia coli accessory protein HypA during nickel insertion to [NiFe] hydrogenase

Nickel delivery during maturation of Escherichia coli [NiFe] hydrogenase 3 includes the accessory proteins HypA, HypB, and SlyD. Although the isolated proteins have been characterized, little is known about how they interact with each other and the hydrogenase 3 large subunit, HycE. In this study the complexes of HypA and HycE were investigated after modification with the Strep-tag II. Multiprotein complexes containing HypA, HypB, SlyD, and HycE were observed, consistent with the assembly of a single nickel insertion cluster. An interaction between HypA and HycE did not require the other nickel insertion proteins, but HypB was not found with the large subunit in the absence of HypA. The HypA-HycE complex was not detected in the absence of the HypC or HypD proteins, involved in the preceding iron insertion step, and this interaction is enhanced by nickel brought into the cell by the NikABCDE membrane transporter. Furthermore, without the hydrogenase 1, 2, and 3 large subunits, complexes between HypA, HypB, and SlyD were observed. These results support the hypothesis that HypA acts as a scaffold for assembly of the nickel insertion proteins with the hydrogenase precursor protein after delivery of the iron center. At different stages of the hydrogenase maturation process, HypA was observed at or near the cell membrane by using fluorescence confocal microscopy, as was HycE, suggesting membrane localization of the nickel insertion event.