Divergent evolution within protein superfolds inferred from profile-based phylogenetics

Identification of Two Flip-Over Genes in Grass Family as Potential Signature of C4 Photosynthesis Evolution

In flowering plants, C4 photosynthesis is superior to C3 type in carbon fixation efficiency and adaptation to extreme environmental conditions, but the mechanisms behind the assembly of C4 machinery remain elusive. This study attempts to dissect the evolutionary divergence from C3 to C4 photosynthesis in five photosynthetic model plants from the grass family, using a combined comparative transcriptomics and deep learning technology. By examining and comparing gene expression levels in bundle sheath and mesophyll cells of five model plants, we identified 16 differentially expressed signature genes showing cell-specific expression patterns in C3 and C4 plants. Among them, two showed distinctively opposite cell-specific expression patterns in C3 vs. C4 plants (named as FOGs). The in silico physicochemical analysis of the two FOGs illustrated that C3 homologous proteins of LHCA6 had low and stable pI values of ~6, while the pI values of LHCA6 homologs increased drastically in C4 plants Setaria viridis (7), Zea mays (8), and Sorghum bicolor (over 9), suggesting this protein may have different functions in C3 and C4 plants. Interestingly, based on pairwise protein sequence/structure similarities between each homologous FOG protein, one FOG PGRL1A showed local inconsistency between sequence similarity and structure similarity. To find more examples of the evolutionary characteristics of FOG proteins, we investigated the protein sequence/structure similarities of other FOGs (transcription factors) and found that FOG proteins have diversified incompatibility between sequence and structure similarities during grass family evolution. This raised an interesting question as to whether the sequence similarity is related to structure similarity during C4 photosynthesis evolution.

Still rocking in the structural era: A molecular overview of the small multidrug resistance (SMR) transporter family

The small multidrug resistance (SMR) family is composed of widespread microbial membrane proteins that fulfill different transport functions. Four functional SMR subtypes have been identified, which variously transport the small, charged metabolite guanidinium, bulky hydrophobic drugs and antiseptics, polyamines, and glycolipids across the membrane bilayer. The transporters possess a minimalist architecture, with ∼100-residue subunits that require assembly into homodimers or heterodimers for transport. In part because of their simple construction, the SMRs are a tractable system for biochemical and biophysical analysis. Studies of SMR transporters over the last 25 years have yielded deep insights for diverse fields, including membrane protein topology and evolution, mechanisms of membrane transport, and bacterial multidrug resistance. Here, we review recent advances in understanding the structures and functions of SMR transporters. New molecular structures of SMRs representing two of the four functional subtypes reveal the conserved structural features that have permitted the emergence of disparate substrate transport functions in the SMR family and illuminate structural similarities with a distantly related membrane transporter family, SLC35/DMT.

Fold Evolution before LUCA: Common Ancestry of SH3 Domains and OB Domains

SH3 and OB are the simplest, oldest, and most common protein domains within the translation system. SH3 and OB domains are β-barrels that are structurally similar but are topologically distinct. To transform an OB domain to a SH3 domain, β-strands must be permuted in a multistep and evolutionarily implausible mechanism. Here, we explored relationships between SH3 and OB domains of ribosomal proteins, initiation, and elongation factors using a combined sequence- and structure-based approach. We detect a common core of SH3 and OB domains, as a region of significant structure and sequence similarity. The common core contains four β-strands and a loop, but omits the fifth β-strand, which is variable and is absent from some OB and SH3 domain proteins. The structure of the common core immediately suggests a simple permutation mechanism for interconversion between SH3 and OB domains, which appear to share an ancestor. The OB domain was formed by duplication and adaptation of the SH3 domain core, or vice versa, in a simple and probable transformation. By employing the folding algorithm AlphaFold2, we demonstrated that an ancestral reconstruction of a permuted SH3 sequence folds into an OB structure, and an ancestral reconstruction of a permuted OB sequence folds into a SH3 structure. The tandem SH3 and OB domains in the universal ribosomal protein uL2 share a common ancestor, suggesting that the divergence of these two domains occurred before the last universal common ancestor.

Shared Signature Dynamics Tempered by Local Fluctuations Enables Fold Adaptability and Specificity

Recent studies have drawn attention to the evolution of protein dynamics, in addition to sequence and structure, based on the premise structure-encodes-dynamics-encodes-function. Of interest is to understand how functional differentiation is accomplished while maintaining the fold, or how intrinsic dynamics plays out in the evolution of structural variations and functional specificity. We performed a systematic computational analysis of 26,899 proteins belonging to 116 CATH superfamilies. Characterizing cooperative mechanisms and convergent/divergent features that underlie the shared/differentiated dynamics of family members required a methodology that lends itself to efficient analyses of large ensembles of proteins. We therefore introduced, SignDy, an integrated pipeline for evaluating the signature dynamics of families based on elastic network models. Our analysis confirmed that family members share conserved, highly cooperative (global) modes of motion. Importantly, our analysis discloses a subset of motions that sharply distinguishes subfamilies, which lie in a low-to-intermediate frequency regime of the mode spectrum. This regime has maximal impact on functional differentiation of families into subfamilies, while being evolutionarily conserved among subfamily members. Notably, the high-frequency end of the spectrum also reveals evolutionary conserved features across and within subfamilies; but in sharp contrast to global motions, high-frequency modes are minimally collective. Modulation of robust/conserved global dynamics by low-to-intermediate frequency fluctuations thus emerges as a versatile mechanism ensuring the adaptability of selected folds and the specificity of their subfamilies. SignDy further allows for dynamics-based categorization as a new layer of information relevant to distinctive mechanisms of action of subfamilies, beyond sequence or structural classifications.

Remote homology searches identify bacterial homologues of eukaryotic lipid transfer proteins, including Chorein-N domains in TamB and AsmA and Mdm31p

Background

All cells rely on lipids for key functions. Lipid transfer proteins allow lipids to exit the hydrophobic environment of bilayers, and cross aqueous spaces. One lipid transfer domain fold present in almost all eukaryotes is the TUbular LIPid binding (TULIP) domain. Three TULIP families have been identified in bacteria (P47, OrfX2 and YceB), but their homology to eukaryotic proteins is too low to specify a common origin. Another recently described eukaryotic lipid transfer domain in VPS13 and ATG2 is Chorein-N, which has no known bacterial homologues. There has been no systematic search for bacterial TULIPs or Chorein-N domains.

Results

Remote homology predictions for bacterial TULIP domains using HHsearch identified four new TULIP domains in three bacterial families. DUF4403 is a full length pseudo-dimeric TULIP with a 6 strand β-meander dimer interface like eukaryotic TULIPs. A similar sheet is also present in YceB, suggesting it homo-dimerizes. TULIP domains were also found in DUF2140 and in the C-terminus DUF2993. Remote homology predictions for bacterial Chorein-N domains identified strong hits in the N-termini of AsmA and TamB in diderm bacteria, which are related to Mdm31p in eukaryotic mitochondria. The N-terminus of DUF2993 has a Chorein-N domain adjacent to its TULIP domain.

Conclusions

TULIP lipid transfer domains are widespread in bacteria. Chorein-N domains are also found in bacteria, at the N-terminus of multiple proteins in the intermembrane space of diderms (AsmA, TamB and their relatives) and in Mdm31p, a protein that is likely to have evolved from an AsmA/TamB-like protein in the endosymbiotic mitochondrial ancestor. This indicates that both TULIP and Chorein-N lipid transfer domains may have originated in bacteria.

Computational approach identifies protein off-targets for Isoniazid-NAD adduct: hypothesizing a possible drug resistance mechanism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Isoniazid is an important antitubercular molecule identified as a drug of choice in tuberculosis treatment. As such, INH is an inactive prodrug; it acquires an active conformation by forming an adduct with NAD. The adduct targets inhA protein, a reductase responsible for fatty acid chain elongation in the cell wall of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Resistance to INH is majorly contributed by mutations in inhA, katG and geneic and non-geneic regions associated with efflux genes. Despite being widespread, the mechanism of resistance remains unknown in ∼15% of INH-resistant strains. Studies report that an intracellular increase in NADH concentration prevents inhA inhibition, leading to INH resistance. In the pursuit of finding possible resistance mechanisms, we set out to find NAD binding proteins to explore similarities in structure and NAD binding property of these proteins with that of inhA. We identified 172 NAD binding proteins, of which 53 were identified to have sequence or structural similarity to inhA. By performing docking analysis on selected proteins, we identified INH-adduct to have good binding affinity despite very minimal structural similarity to inhA. This analysis was further supported by principal component analysis, which identified 65 proteins with NAD binding conformation similar to that of inhA. These findings prompt us to hypothesize that upon exposure to INH, bacteria tries to reduce inhA susceptibility by inducing expression of these NAD binding proteins through increase in NADH concentration. This in turn favours off-target binding and leads to decreased binding and potency of INH, thus contributing indirectly to INH resistance.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

The Small β-Barrel Domain: A Survey-Based Structural Analysis

The small β-barrel (SBB) is an ancient protein structural domain characterized by extremes: it features a broad range of structural varieties, a deeply intricate evolutionary history, and it is associated with a bewildering array of cellular pathways. Here, we present a thorough, survey-based analysis of the structural properties of SBBs. We first consider the defining properties of the SBB, including various systems of nomenclature used to describe it, and we introduce the unifying concept of an "urfold." To begin elucidating how vast functional diversity can be achieved by a relatively simple domain, we explore the anatomy of the SBB and its representative structural variants. Many SBB proteins assemble into cyclic oligomers as the biologically functional units; these oligomers often bind RNA, and typically exhibit great quaternary structural plasticity (homomeric and heteromeric rings, variable subunit stoichiometries, etc.). We conclude with three themes that emerge from the rich structure ↔ function versatility of the SBB.

Possible Emergence of Sequence Specific RNA Aminoacylation via Peptide Intermediary to Initiate Darwinian Evolution and Code Through Origin of Life

One of the most intriguing questions in biological science is how life originated on Earth. A large number of hypotheses have been proposed to explain it, each putting an emphasis on different events leading to functional translation and self-sustained system. Here, we propose a set of interactions that could have taken place in the prebiotic environment. According to our hypothesis, hybridization-induced proximity of short aminoacylated RNAs led to the synthesis of peptides of random sequence. We postulate that among these emerged a type of peptide(s) capable of stimulating the interaction between specific RNAs and specific amino acids, which we call "bridge peptide" (BP). We conclude that translation should have emerged at the same time when the standard genetic code begun to evolve due to the stabilizing effect on RNA-peptide complexes with the help of BPs. Ribosomes, ribozymes, and the enzyme-directed RNA replication could co-evolve within the same period, as logical outcome of RNA-peptide world without the need of RNA only self-sustained step.

Collation and analyses of DNA-binding protein domain families from sequence and structural databanks

DNA-protein interactions govern several high fidelity cellular processes like DNA-replication, transcription, DNA repair, etc. Proteins that have the ability to recognise and bind DNA sequences can be classified either according to their DNA-binding motif or based on the sequence of the target nucleotides. We have collated the DNA-binding families by integrating information from both protein sequence family and structural databases. This resulted in a dataset of 1057 DNA-binding protein domain families. Their family properties (the number of members, percent identity distribution and length of members) and domain architectures were examined. Further, sequence domain families were mapped to structures in the protein databank (PDB) and the protein domain structure classification database (SCOP). The DNA-binding families, with no structural information, were clustered together into potential superfamilies based on sequence associations. On the basis of functions attributed to DNA-binding protein folds, we observe that a majority of the DNA-binding proteins follow divergent evolution. This study can serve as a basis for annotation and distribution of DNA-binding proteins in genome(s) of interest. The entire collated set of DNA-binding protein domains is available for download as Hidden Markov Models.

The twisted relation between Pnu and SWEET transporters

The evolutionary relation between sugar and vitamin transporters from the SWEET and Pnu families is unclear. They have similar 3D structures, but differ in the topology of their secondary structure elements, and lack significant sequence similarity. Here we analyze the structures and sequences of different members of the SWEET and Pnu transporter families and propose an evolutionary pathway by which they may have diverged from a common ancestor. A 3D domain swapping event can explain the topological differences between the families, as well as the puzzling observation that a highly conserved and essential sequence motif of the SWEET family (the PQ loop) is absent from the Pnu transporters.

An atomic-resolution view of neofunctionalization in the evolution of apicomplexan lactate dehydrogenases

Malate and lactate dehydrogenases (MDH and LDH) are homologous, core metabolic enzymes that share a fold and catalytic mechanism yet possess strict specificity for their substrates. In the Apicomplexa, convergent evolution of an unusual LDH from MDH produced a difference in specificity exceeding 12 orders of magnitude. The mechanisms responsible for this extraordinary functional shift are currently unknown. Using ancestral protein resurrection, we find that specificity evolved in apicomplexan LDHs by classic neofunctionalization characterized by long-range epistasis, a promiscuous intermediate, and few gain-of-function mutations of large effect. In canonical MDHs and LDHs, a single residue in the active-site loop governs substrate specificity: Arg102 in MDHs and Gln102 in LDHs. During the evolution of the apicomplexan LDH, however, specificity switched via an insertion that shifted the position and identity of this 'specificity residue' to Trp107f. Residues far from the active site also determine specificity, as shown by the crystal structures of three ancestral proteins bracketing the key duplication event. This work provides an unprecedented atomic-resolution view of evolutionary trajectories creating a nascent enzymatic function.

Structure and assembly of filamentous bacteriophages

Filamentous bacteriophages are interesting paradigms in structural molecular biology, in part because of the unusual mechanism of filamentous phage assembly. During assembly, several thousand copies of an intracellular DNA-binding protein bind to each copy of the replicating phage DNA, and are then displaced by membrane-spanning phage coat proteins as the nascent phage is extruded through the bacterial plasma membrane. This complicated process takes place without killing the host bacterium. The bacteriophage is a semi-flexible worm-like nucleoprotein filament. The virion comprises a tube of several thousand identical major coat protein subunits around a core of single-stranded circular DNA. Each protein subunit is a polymer of about 50 amino-acid residues, largely arranged in an α-helix. The subunits assemble into a helical sheath, with each subunit oriented at a small angle to the virion axis and interdigitated with neighbouring subunits. A few copies of "minor" phage proteins necessary for infection and/or extrusion of the virion are located at each end of the completed virion. Here we review both the structure of the virion and aspects of its function, such as the way the virion enters the host, multiplies, and exits to prey on further hosts. In particular we focus on our understanding of the way the components of the virion come together during assembly at the membrane. We try to follow a basic rule of empirical science, that one should chose the simplest theoretical explanation for experiments, but be prepared to modify or even abandon this explanation as new experiments add more detail.

Human single-stranded DNA binding proteins are essential for maintaining genomic stability

The double-stranded conformation of cellular DNA is a central aspect of DNA stabilisation and protection. The helix preserves the genetic code against chemical and enzymatic degradation, metabolic activation, and formation of secondary structures. However, there are various instances where single-stranded DNA is exposed, such as during replication or transcription, in the synthesis of chromosome ends, and following DNA damage. In these instances, single-stranded DNA binding proteins are essential for the sequestration and processing of single-stranded DNA. In order to bind single-stranded DNA, these proteins utilise a characteristic and evolutionary conserved single-stranded DNA-binding domain, the oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide-binding (OB)-fold. In the current review we discuss a subset of these proteins involved in the direct maintenance of genomic stability, an important cellular process in the conservation of cellular viability and prevention of malignant transformation. We discuss the central roles of single-stranded DNA binding proteins from the OB-fold domain family in DNA replication, the restart of stalled replication forks, DNA damage repair, cell cycle-checkpoint activation, and telomere maintenance.

Ribosomal history reveals origins of modern protein synthesis

The origin and evolution of the ribosome is central to our understanding of the cellular world. Most hypotheses posit that the ribosome originated in the peptidyl transferase center of the large ribosomal subunit. However, these proposals do not link protein synthesis to RNA recognition and do not use a phylogenetic comparative framework to study ribosomal evolution. Here we infer evolution of the structural components of the ribosome. Phylogenetic methods widely used in morphometrics are applied directly to RNA structures of thousands of molecules and to a census of protein structures in hundreds of genomes. We find that components of the small subunit involved in ribosomal processivity evolved earlier than the catalytic peptidyl transferase center responsible for protein synthesis. Remarkably, subunit RNA and proteins coevolved, starting with interactions between the oldest proteins (S12 and S17) and the oldest substructure (the ribosomal ratchet) in the small subunit and ending with the rise of a modern multi-subunit ribosome. Ancestral ribonucleoprotein components show similarities to in vitro evolved RNA replicase ribozymes and protein structures in extant replication machinery. Our study therefore provides important clues about the chicken-or-egg dilemma associated with the central dogma of molecular biology by showing that ribosomal history is driven by the gradual structural accretion of protein and RNA structures. Most importantly, results suggest that functionally important and conserved regions of the ribosome were recruited and could be relics of an ancient ribonucleoprotein world.

Structural anatomy of telomere OB proteins

Telomere DNA-binding proteins protect the ends of chromosomes in eukaryotes. A subset of these proteins are constructed with one or more OB folds and bind with G+T-rich single-stranded DNA found at the extreme termini. The resulting DNA-OB protein complex interacts with other telomere components to coordinate critical telomere functions of DNA protection and DNA synthesis. While the first crystal and NMR structures readily explained protection of telomere ends, the picture of how single-stranded DNA becomes available to serve as primer and template for synthesis of new telomere DNA is only recently coming into focus. New structures of telomere OB fold proteins alongside insights from genetic and biochemical experiments have made significant contributions towards understanding how protein-binding OB proteins collaborate with DNA-binding OB proteins to recruit telomerase and DNA polymerase for telomere homeostasis. This review surveys telomere OB protein structures alongside highly comparable structures derived from replication protein A (RPA) components, with the goal of providing a molecular context for understanding telomere OB protein evolution and mechanism of action in protection and synthesis of telomere DNA.

Convergent evolution in structural elements of proteins investigated using cross profile analysis

Background

Evolutionary relations of similar segments shared by different protein folds remain controversial, even though many examples of such segments have been found. To date, several methods such as those based on the results of structure comparisons, sequence-based classifications, and sequence-based profile-profile comparisons have been applied to identify such protein segments that possess local similarities in both sequence and structure across protein folds. However, to capture more precise sequence-structure relations, no method reported to date combines structure-based profiles, and sequence-based profiles based on evolutionary information. The former are generally regarded as representing the amino acid preferences at each position of a specific conformation of protein segment. They might reflect the nature of ancient short peptide ancestors, using the results of structural classifications of protein segments.

Results

This report describes the development and use of "Cross Profile Analysis" to compare sequence-based profiles and structure-based profiles based on amino acid occurrences at each position within a protein segment cluster. Using systematic cross profile analysis, we found structural clusters of 9-residue and 15-residue segments showing remarkably strong correlation with particular sequence profiles. These correlations reflect structural similarities among constituent segments of both sequence-based and structure-based profiles. We also report previously undetectable sequence-structure patterns that transcend protein family and fold boundaries, and present results of the conformational analysis of the deduced peptide of a segment cluster. These results suggest the existence of ancient short-peptide ancestors.

Conclusions

Cross profile analysis reveals the polyphyletic and convergent evolution of β-hairpin-like structures, which were verified both experimentally and computationally. The results presented here give us new insights into the evolution of short protein segments.

Phylogenetic and complementation analysis of a single-stranded DNA binding protein family from lactococcal phages indicates a non-bacterial origin

BACKGROUND

The single-stranded-nucleic acid binding (SSB) protein superfamily includes proteins encoded by different organisms from Bacteria and their phages to Eukaryotes. SSB proteins share common structural characteristics and have been suggested to descend from an ancestor polypeptide. However, as other proteins involved in DNA replication, bacterial SSB proteins are clearly different from those found in Archaea and Eukaryotes. It was proposed that the corresponding genes in the phage genomes were transferred from the bacterial hosts. Recently new SSB proteins encoded by the virulent lactococcal bacteriophages (Orf14(bIL67)-like proteins) have been identified and characterized structurally and biochemically.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

This study focused on the determination of phylogenetic relationships between Orf14(bIL67)-like proteins and other SSBs. We have performed a large scale phylogenetic analysis and pairwise sequence comparisons of SSB proteins from different phyla. The results show that, in remarkable contrast to other phage SSBs, the Orf14(bIL67)-like proteins form a distinct, self-contained and well supported phylogenetic group connected to the archaeal SSBs. Functional studies demonstrated that, despite the structural and amino acid sequence differences from bacterial SSBs, Orf14(bIL67) protein complements the conditional lethal ssb-1 mutation of Escherichia coli.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

Here we identified for the first time a group of phages encoded SSBs which are clearly distinct from their bacterial counterparts. All methods supported the recognition of these phage proteins as a new family within the SSB superfamily. Our findings suggest that unlike other phages, the virulent lactococcal phages carry ssb genes that were not acquired from their hosts, but transferred from an archaeal genome. This represents a unique example of a horizontal gene transfer between Archaea and bacterial phages.

Exploring the limits of fold discrimination by structural alignment: a large scale benchmark using decoys of known fold

Protein structure comparison by pairwise alignment is commonly used to identify highly similar substructures in pairs of proteins and provide a measure of structural similarity based on the size and geometric similarity of the match. These scores are routinely applied in analyses of protein fold space under the assumption that high statistical significance is equivalent to a meaningful relationship, however the truth of this assumption has previously been difficult to test since there is a lack of automated methods which do not rely on the same underlying principles. As a resolution to this we present a method based on the use of topological descriptions of global protein structure, providing an independent means to assess the ability of structural alignment to maintain meaningful structural correspondances on a large scale.

Using a large set of decoys of specified global fold we benchmark three widely used methods for structure comparison, SAP, TM-align and DALI, and test the degree to which this assumption is justified for these methods. Application of a topological edit distance measure to provide a scale of the degree of fold change shows that while there is a broad correlation between high structural alignment scores and low edit distances there remain many pairs of highly significant score which differ by core strand swaps and therefore are structurally different on a global level. Possible causes of this problem and its meaning for present assessments of protein fold space are discussed.

Structural bases of dimerization of yeast telomere protein Cdc13 and its interaction with the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase α

Budding yeast Cdc13-Stn1-Ten1 (CST) complex plays an essential role in telomere protection and maintenance, and has been proposed to be a telomere-specific replication protein A (RPA)-like complex. Previous genetic and structural studies revealed a close resemblance between Stn1-Ten1 and RPA32-RPA14. However, the relationship between Cdc13 and RPA70, the largest subunit of RPA, has remained unclear. Here, we report the crystal structure of the N-terminal OB (oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide binding) fold of Cdc13. Although Cdc13 has an RPA70-like domain organization, the structures of Cdc13 OB folds are significantly different from their counterparts in RPA70, suggesting that they have distinct evolutionary origins. Furthermore, our structural and biochemical analyses revealed unexpected dimerization by the N-terminal OB fold and showed that homodimerization is probably a conserved feature of all Cdc13 proteins. We also uncovered the structural basis of the interaction between the Cdc13 N-terminal OB fold and the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase α (Pol1), and demonstrated a role for Cdc13 dimerization in Pol1 binding. Analysis of the phenotypes of mutants defective in Cdc13 dimerization and Cdc13-Pol1 interaction revealed multiple mechanisms by which dimerization regulates telomere lengths in vivo. Collectively, our findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms and evolution of Cdc13.

Evolution of outer membrane beta-barrels from an ancestral beta beta hairpin

Outer membrane beta-barrels (OMBBs) are the major class of outer membrane proteins from Gram-negative bacteria, mitochondria, and plastids. Their transmembrane domains consist of 8-24 beta-strands forming a closed, barrel-shaped beta-sheet around a central pore. Despite their obvious structural regularity, evidence for an origin by duplication or for a common ancestry has not been found. We use three complementary approaches to show that all OMBBs from Gram-negative bacteria evolved from a single, ancestral beta beta hairpin. First, we link almost all families of known single-chain bacterial OMBBs with each other through transitive profile searches. Second, we identify a clear repeat signature in the sequences of many OMBBs in which the repeating sequence unit coincides with the structural beta beta hairpin repeat. Third, we show that the observed sequence similarity between OMBB hairpins cannot be explained by structural or membrane constraints on their sequences. The third approach addresses a longstanding problem in protein evolution: how to distinguish between a very remotely homologous relationship and the opposing scenario of "sequence convergence." The origin of a diverse group of proteins from a single hairpin module supports the hypothesis that, around the time of transition from the RNA to the protein world, proteins arose by amplification and recombination of short peptide modules that had previously evolved as cofactors of RNAs.

COMPASS server for homology detection: improved statistical accuracy, speed and functionality

COMPASS is a profile-based method for the detection of remote sequence similarity and the prediction of protein structure. Here we describe a recently improved public web server of COMPASS, http://prodata.swmed.edu/compass. The server features three major developments: (i) improved statistical accuracy; (ii) increased speed from parallel implementation; and (iii) new functional features facilitating structure prediction. These features include visualization tools that allow the user to quickly and effectively analyze specific local structural region predictions suggested by COMPASS alignments. As an application example, we describe the structural, evolutionary and functional analysis of a protein with unknown function that served as a target in the recent CASP8 (Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction round 8). URL: http://prodata.swmed.edu/compass

Accurate structural correlations from maximum likelihood superpositions

The cores of globular proteins are densely packed, resulting in complicated networks of structural interactions. These interactions in turn give rise to dynamic structural correlations over a wide range of time scales. Accurate analysis of these complex correlations is crucial for understanding biomolecular mechanisms and for relating structure to function. Here we report a highly accurate technique for inferring the major modes of structural correlation in macromolecules using likelihood-based statistical analysis of sets of structures. This method is generally applicable to any ensemble of related molecules, including families of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) models, different crystal forms of a protein, and structural alignments of homologous proteins, as well as molecular dynamics trajectories. Dominant modes of structural correlation are determined using principal components analysis (PCA) of the maximum likelihood estimate of the correlation matrix. The correlations we identify are inherently independent of the statistical uncertainty and dynamic heterogeneity associated with the structural coordinates. We additionally present an easily interpretable method (“PCA plots”) for displaying these positional correlations by color-coding them onto a macromolecular structure. Maximum likelihood PCA of structural superpositions, and the structural PCA plots that illustrate the results, will facilitate the accurate determination of dynamic structural correlations analyzed in diverse fields of structural biology.

Biological macromolecules comprise extensive networks of interconnected atoms. These complex coupled networks result in correlated structural dynamics, where atoms and residues move and evolve together as concerted conformational changes. The availability of a wealth of macromolecular structures necessitates the use of robust strategies for analyzing the correlated modes of motion found in molecular ensembles. Current strategies use a combination of least-squares superpositions and statistical analysis of the structural covariance matrix. However, the least-squares treatment implicitly requires that atoms are uncorrelated and that each atom has the same positional uncertainty, two assumptions which are violated in structural ensembles. For example, the atoms in the proteins are connected by chemical bonds, covalent and non-covalent, resulting in strong correlations. Furthermore, different atoms have different variances, because some atoms are known with less precision or have greater mobility. Using maximum likelihood (ML) analysis, we have developed a technique that is markedly more accurate than the classical least-squares approach by accounting for both correlations and heterogeneous variances. The improved ability to accurately analyze the major modes of dynamic structural correlations will benefit a diverse range of biological disciplines, including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, crystallography, molecular dynamics, and molecular evolution.

Detecting evolutionary relationships across existing fold space, using sequence order-independent profile-profile alignments

Here, a scalable, accurate, reliable, and robust protein functional site comparison algorithm is presented. The key components of the algorithm consist of a reduced representation of the protein structure and a sequence order-independent profile-profile alignment (SOIPPA). We show that SOIPPA is able to detect distant evolutionary relationships in cases where both a global sequence and structure relationship remains obscure. Results suggest evolutionary relationships across several previously evolutionary distinct protein structure superfamilies. SOIPPA, along with an increased coverage of protein fold space afforded by the structural genomics initiative, can be used to further test the notion that fold space is continuous rather than discrete.

CPSARST: an efficient circular permutation search tool applied to the detection of novel protein structural relationships

CPSARST (Circular Permutation Search Aided by Ramachandran Sequential Transformation) is an efficient database search tool that provides a new way for rapidly detecting novel relationships among proteins.

Circular permutation of a protein can be visualized as if the original amino- and carboxyl termini were linked and new ones created elsewhere. It has been well-documented that circular permutants usually retain native structures and biological functions. Here we report CPSARST (Circular Permutation Search Aided by Ramachandran Sequential Transformation) to be an efficient database search tool. In this post-genomics era, when the amount of protein structural data is increasing exponentially, it provides a new way to rapidly detect novel relationships among proteins.

ProtozoaDB: dynamic visualization and exploration of protozoan genomes

ProtozoaDB (http://www.biowebdb.org/protozoadb) is being developed to initially host both genomics and post-genomics data from Plasmodium falciparum, Entamoeba histolytica, Trypanosoma brucei, T. cruzi and Leishmania major, but will hopefully host other protozoan species as more genomes are sequenced. It is based on the Genomics Unified Schema and offers a modern Web-based interface for user-friendly data visualization and exploration. This database is not intended to duplicate other similar efforts such as GeneDB, PlasmoDB, TcruziDB or even TDRtargets, but to be complementary by providing further analyses with emphasis on distant similarities (HMM-based) and phylogeny-based annotations including orthology analysis. ProtozoaDB will be progressively linked to the above-mentioned databases, focusing in performing a multi-source dynamic combination of information through advanced interoperable Web tools such as Web services. Also, to provide Web services will allow third-party software to retrieve and use data from ProtozoaDB in automated pipelines (workflows) or other interoperable Web technologies, promoting better information reuse and integration. We also expect ProtozoaDB to catalyze the development of local and regional bioinformatics capabilities (research and training), and therefore promote/enhance scientific advancement in developing countries.

Anticodon recognition and discrimination by the alpha-helix cage domain of class I lysyl-tRNA synthetase

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are normally found in one of two mutually exclusive structural classes, the only known exception being lysyl-tRNA synthetase which exists in both classes I (LysRS1) and II (LysRS2). Differences in tRNA acceptor stem recognition between LysRS1 and LysRS2 do not drastically impact cellular aminoacylation levels, focusing attention on the mechanism of tRNA anticodon recognition by LysRS1. On the basis of structure-based sequence alignments, seven tRNALys anticodon variants and seven LysRS1 anticodon binding site variants were selected for analysis of the Pyrococcus horikoshii LysRS1-tRNALys docking model. LysRS1 specifically recognized the bases at positions 35 and 36, but not that at position 34. Aromatic residues form stacking interactions with U34 and U35, and aminoacylation kinetics also identified direct interactions between Arg502 and both U35 and U36. Tyr491 was also found to interact with U36, and the Y491E variant exhibited significant improvement compared to the wild type in aminoacylation of a tRNALysUUG mutant. Refinement of the LysRS1-tRNALys docking model based upon these data suggested that anticodon recognition by LysRS1 relies on considerably fewer interactions than that by LysRS2, providing a structural basis for the more significant role of the anticodon in tRNA recognition by the class II enzyme. To date, only glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (GluRS) has been found to contain an alpha-helix cage anticodon binding domain homologous to that of LysRS1, and these data now suggest that specificity for the anticodon of tRNALys could have been acquired through relatively few changes to the corresponding domain of an ancestral GluRS enzyme.

Evolutionary transitions in protein fold space

With the number of known protein folds potentially approaching completion, the problems associated with their systematic classification are evaluated. It is argued that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to find a general metric based on pairwise comparison that will provide a satisfactory classification. It is suggested that some progress may be made through comparison against a library of idealised 'template' folds, but a proper solution can only be attained if this includes a model of the underlying evolutionary processes. These processes are considered with examples of some unexpected relationships among folds, including circular permutations. The problem is finally set in the wider context of the genetic environment, introducing complications relating to introns, gene fixation and population size.

COMPASS server for remote homology inference

COMPASS is a method for homology detection and local alignment construction based on the comparison of multiple sequence alignments (MSAs). The method derives numerical profiles from given MSAs, constructs local profile-profile alignments and analytically estimates E-values for the detected similarities. Until now, COMPASS was only available for download and local installation. Here, we present a new web server featuring the latest version of COMPASS, which provides (i) increased sensitivity and selectivity of homology detection; (ii) longer, more complete alignments; and (iii) faster computational speed. After submission of the query MSA or single sequence, the server performs searches versus a user-specified database. The server includes detailed and intuitive control of the search parameters. A flexible output format, structured similarly to BLAST and PSI-BLAST, provides an easy way to read and analyze the detected profile similarities. Brief help sections are available for all input parameters and output options, along with detailed documentation. To illustrate the value of this tool for protein structure-functional prediction, we present two examples of detecting distant homologs for uncharacterized protein families. Available at http://prodata.swmed.edu/compass.

RPA-like proteins mediate yeast telomere function

Cdc13, Stn1 and Ten1 are essential yeast proteins that both protect chromosome termini from unregulated resection and regulate telomere length. Cdc13, which localizes to telomeres through high-affinity binding to telomeric single-stranded DNA, has been extensively characterized, whereas the contribution(s) of the Cdc13-associated Stn1 and Ten1 proteins to telomere function have remained unclear. We show here that Stn1 and Ten1 are DNA-binding proteins with specificity for telomeric DNA substrates. Furthermore, Stn1 and Ten1 show similarities to Rpa2 and Rpa3, subunits of the heterotrimeric replication protein A (RPA) complex, which is the major single-stranded DNA-binding activity in eukaryotic cells. We propose that Cdc13, Stn1 and Ten1 function as a telomere-specific RPA-like complex. Identification of an RPA-like complex that is targeted to a specific region of the genome suggests that multiple RPA-like complexes have evolved, each making individual contributions to genomic stability.