1
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Raza S, Sarkar D, Chan LJG, Mae J, Sutter M, Petzold CJ, Kerfeld CA, Ralston CY, Gupta S, Vermaas JV. Comparative Pore Structure and Dynamics for Bacterial Microcompartment Shell Protein Assemblies in Sheets or Shells. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:35503-35514. [PMID: 39184480 PMCID: PMC11339822 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c02406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are protein-bound organelles found in some bacteria that encapsulate enzymes for enhanced catalytic activity. These compartments spatially sequester enzymes within semipermeable shell proteins, analogous to many membrane-bound organelles. The shell proteins assemble into multimeric tiles; hexamers, trimers, and pentamers, and these tiles self-assemble into larger assemblies with icosahedral symmetry. While icosahedral shells are the predominant form in vivo, the tiles can also form nanoscale cylinders or sheets. The individual multimeric tiles feature central pores that are key to regulating transport across the protein shell. Our primary interest is to quantify pore shape changes in response to alternative component morphologies at the nanoscale. We used molecular modeling tools to develop atomically detailed models for both planar sheets of tiles and curved structures representative of the complete shells found in vivo. Subsequently, these models were animated using classical molecular dynamics simulations. From the resulting trajectories, we analyzed the overall structural stability, water accessibility to individual residues, water residence time, and pore geometry for the hexameric and trimeric protein tiles from the Haliangium ochraceum model BMC shell. These exhaustive analyses suggest no substantial variation in pore structure or solvent accessibility between the flat and curved shell geometries. We additionally compare our analysis to hydroxyl radical footprinting data to serve as a check against our simulation results, highlighting specific residues where water molecules are bound for a long time. Although with little variation in morphology or water interaction, we propose that the planar and capsular morphology can be used interchangeably when studying permeability through BMC pores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saad Raza
- MSU-DOE
Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Daipayan Sarkar
- MSU-DOE
Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Leanne Jade G. Chan
- Biological
Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Joshua Mae
- MSU-DOE
Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Markus Sutter
- MSU-DOE
Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
- Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Christopher J. Petzold
- Biological
Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Cheryl A. Kerfeld
- MSU-DOE
Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
- Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan
State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
| | - Corie Y. Ralston
- Molecular
Foundry Division, Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Sayan Gupta
- Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Josh V. Vermaas
- MSU-DOE
Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
- Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan
State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, United States
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2
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Doron L, Kerfeld CA. Bacterial microcompartments as a next-generation metabolic engineering tool: utilizing nature's solution for confining challenging catabolic pathways. Biochem Soc Trans 2024; 52:997-1010. [PMID: 38813858 DOI: 10.1042/bst20230229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Advancements in synthetic biology have facilitated the incorporation of heterologous metabolic pathways into various bacterial chassis, leading to the synthesis of targeted bioproducts. However, total output from heterologous production pathways can suffer from low flux, enzyme promiscuity, formation of toxic intermediates, or intermediate loss to competing reactions, which ultimately hinder their full potential. The self-assembling, easy-to-modify, protein-based bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) offer a sophisticated way to overcome these obstacles by acting as an autonomous catalytic module decoupled from the cell's regulatory and metabolic networks. More than a decade of fundamental research on various types of BMCs, particularly structural studies of shells and their self-assembly, the recruitment of enzymes to BMC shell scaffolds, and the involvement of ancillary proteins such as transporters, regulators, and activating enzymes in the integration of BMCs into the cell's metabolism, has significantly moved the field forward. These advances have enabled bioengineers to design synthetic multi-enzyme BMCs to promote ethanol or hydrogen production, increase cellular polyphosphate levels, and convert glycerol to propanediol or formate to pyruvate. These pioneering efforts demonstrate the enormous potential of synthetic BMCs to encapsulate non-native multi-enzyme biochemical pathways for the synthesis of high-value products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lior Doron
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A
| | - Cheryl A Kerfeld
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology and Molecular Biophysics and Integrative Bioimaging Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, U.S.A
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3
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Trettel DS, Kerfeld CA, Gonzalez-Esquer CR. Dynamic structural determinants in bacterial microcompartment shells. Curr Opin Microbiol 2024; 80:102497. [PMID: 38909546 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2024.102497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are polyhedral structures that segregate enzymatic cargo from the cytosol via encapsulation within a protein shell. Unlike other biological polyhedra, such as viral capsids and encapsulins, BMC shells can exhibit a highly advantageous structural and functional plasticity, conforming to a variety of anabolic (CO2 fixation in carboxysomes) and catabolic (nutrient assimilation in metabolosomes) roles. Consequently, understanding the subunit properties and associated protein-protein interaction processes that guide shell assembly and function is a necessary step to fully harness BMCs as modular, biotechnological nanomachines. Here, we describe the recent insights into the dynamics of structural features of the key BMC domain (Pfam00936)-containing proteins, which serve as a structural template for BMC-H and BMC-T shell building blocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S Trettel
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Bioscience Division, Microbial and Biome Sciences group, Los Alamos, NM, USA
| | - Cheryl A Kerfeld
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Cesar R Gonzalez-Esquer
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Bioscience Division, Microbial and Biome Sciences group, Los Alamos, NM, USA.
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4
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Abeysinghe AADT, Young EJ, Rowland AT, Dunshee LC, Urandur S, Sullivan MO, Kerfeld CA, Keating CD. Interfacial Assembly of Bacterial Microcompartment Shell Proteins in Aqueous Multiphase Systems. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2308390. [PMID: 38037673 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202308390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Compartments are a fundamental feature of life, based variously on lipid membranes, protein shells, or biopolymer phase separation. Here, this combines self-assembling bacterial microcompartment (BMC) shell proteins and liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) to develop new forms of compartmentalization. It is found that BMC shell proteins assemble at the liquid-liquid interfaces between either 1) the dextran-rich droplets and PEG-rich continuous phase of a poly(ethyleneglycol)(PEG)/dextran aqueous two-phase system, or 2) the polypeptide-rich coacervate droplets and continuous dilute phase of a polylysine/polyaspartate complex coacervate system. Interfacial protein assemblies in the coacervate system are sensitive to the ratio of cationic to anionic polypeptides, consistent with electrostatically-driven assembly. In both systems, interfacial protein assembly competes with aggregation, with protein concentration and polycation availability impacting coating. These two LLPS systems are then combined to form a three-phase system wherein coacervate droplets are contained within dextran-rich phase droplets. Interfacial localization of BMC hexameric shell proteins is tunable in a three-phase system by changing the polyelectrolyte charge ratio. The tens-of-micron scale BMC shell protein-coated droplets introduced here can accommodate bioactive cargo such as enzymes or RNA and represent a new synthetic cell strategy for organizing biomimetic functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eric J Young
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Andrew T Rowland
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16801, USA
| | - Lucas C Dunshee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Sandeep Urandur
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Millicent O Sullivan
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Cheryl A Kerfeld
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Christine D Keating
- Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 16801, USA
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5
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Raza S, Sarkar D, Chan LJG, Mae J, Sutter M, Petzold CJ, Kerfeld CA, Ralston CY, Gupta S, Vermaas JV. Comparative Pore Structure and Dynamics for Bacterial Microcompartment Shell Protein Assemblies in Sheets or Shells. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.12.584231. [PMID: 38559214 PMCID: PMC10980050 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.12.584231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are protein-bound organelles found in some bacteria which encapsulate enzymes for enhanced catalytic activity. These compartments spatially sequester enzymes within semi-permeable shell proteins, analogous to many membrane-bound organelles. The shell proteins assemble into multimeric tiles; hexamers, trimers, and pentamers, and these tiles self-assemble into larger assemblies with icosahedral symmetry. While icosahedral shells are the predominant form in vivo, the tiles can also form nanoscale cylinders or sheets. The individual multimeric tiles feature central pores that are key to regulating transport across the protein shell. Our primary interest is to quantify pore shape changes in response to alternative component morphologies at the nanoscale. We use molecular modeling tools to develop atomically detailed models for both planar sheets of tiles and curved structures representative of the complete shells found in vivo. Subsequently, these models were animated using classical molecular dynamics simulations. From the resulting trajectories, we analyzed overall structural stability, water accessibility to individual residues, water residence time, and pore geometry for the hexameric and trimeric protein tiles from the Haliangium ochraceum model BMC shell. These exhaustive analyses suggest no substantial variation in pore structure or solvent accessibility between the flat and curved shell geometries. We additionally compare our analysis to hydroxyl radical footprinting data to serve as a check against our simulation results, highlighting specific residues where water molecules are bound for a long time. Although with little variation in morphology or water interaction, we propose that the planar and capsular morphology can be used interchangeably when studying permeability through BMC pores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saad Raza
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824
| | - Daipayan Sarkar
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824
| | - Leanne Jade G Chan
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Current address: Calico Life Sciences LLC, South San Francisco, CA 94080
| | - Joshua Mae
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824
| | - Markus Sutter
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley CA 94720
| | - Christopher J Petzold
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Cheryl A Kerfeld
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824
- Department Of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley CA 94720
| | - Corie Y Ralston
- Molecular Foundry Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley CA 94720
| | - Sayan Gupta
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley CA 94720
| | - Josh V Vermaas
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824
- Department Of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824
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6
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Trettel DS, Pacheco SL, Laskie AK, Gonzalez-Esquer CR. Modeling bacterial microcompartment architectures for enhanced cyanobacterial carbon fixation. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1346759. [PMID: 38425792 PMCID: PMC10902431 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1346759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
The carboxysome is a bacterial microcompartment (BMC) which plays a central role in the cyanobacterial CO2-concentrating mechanism. These proteinaceous structures consist of an outer protein shell that partitions Rubisco and carbonic anhydrase from the rest of the cytosol, thereby providing a favorable microenvironment that enhances carbon fixation. The modular nature of carboxysomal architectures makes them attractive for a variety of biotechnological applications such as carbon capture and utilization. In silico approaches, such as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, can support future carboxysome redesign efforts by providing new spatio-temporal insights on their structure and function beyond in vivo experimental limitations. However, specific computational studies on carboxysomes are limited. Fortunately, all BMC (including the carboxysome) are highly structurally conserved which allows for practical inferences to be made between classes. Here, we review simulations on BMC architectures which shed light on (1) permeation events through the shell and (2) assembly pathways. These models predict the biophysical properties surrounding the central pore in BMC-H shell subunits, which in turn dictate the efficiency of substrate diffusion. Meanwhile, simulations on BMC assembly demonstrate that assembly pathway is largely dictated kinetically by cargo interactions while final morphology is dependent on shell factors. Overall, these findings are contextualized within the wider experimental BMC literature and framed within the opportunities for carboxysome redesign for biomanufacturing and enhanced carbon fixation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S. Trettel
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, Bioscience Division, Microbial and Biome Sciences Group, Los Alamos, NM, United States
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7
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Christians LF, Halingstad EV, Kram E, Okolovitch EM, Pak AJ. Formalizing Coarse-Grained Representations of Anisotropic Interactions at Multimeric Protein Interfaces Using Virtual Sites. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:1394-1406. [PMID: 38316012 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c07023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Molecular simulations of biomacromolecules that assemble into multimeric complexes remain a challenge due to computationally inaccessible length and time scales. Low-resolution and implicit-solvent coarse-grained modeling approaches using traditional nonbonded interactions (both pairwise and spherically isotropic) have been able to partially address this gap. However, these models may fail to capture the complex anisotropic interactions present at macromolecular interfaces unless higher-order interaction potentials are incorporated at the expense of the computational cost. In this work, we introduce an alternate and systematic approach to represent directional interactions at protein-protein interfaces by using virtual sites restricted to pairwise interactions. We show that virtual site interaction parameters can be optimized within a relative entropy minimization framework by using only information from known statistics between coarse-grained sites. We compare our virtual site models to traditional coarse-grained models using two case studies of multimeric protein assemblies and find that the virtual site models predict pairwise correlations with higher fidelity and, more importantly, assembly behavior that is morphologically consistent with experiments. Our study underscores the importance of anisotropic interaction representations and paves the way for more accurate yet computationally efficient coarse-grained simulations of macromolecular assembly in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luc F Christians
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Ethan V Halingstad
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Emiel Kram
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Evan M Okolovitch
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
| | - Alexander J Pak
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Quantitative Biosciences and Engineering Program, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- Materials Science Program, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
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8
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Barthe L, Soldan V, Garcia-Alles LF. Assessment of oligomerization of bacterial micro-compartment shell components with the tripartite GFP reporter technology. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0294760. [PMID: 38011088 PMCID: PMC10681173 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial micro-compartments (BMC) are complex macromolecular assemblies that participate in varied metabolic processes in about 20% of bacterial species. Most of these organisms carry BMC genetic information organized in operons that often include several paralog genes coding for components of the compartment shell. BMC shell constituents can be classified depending on their oligomerization state as hexamers (BMC-H), pentamers (BMC-P) or trimers (BMC-T). Formation of hetero-oligomers combining different protein homologs is theoretically feasible, something that could ultimately modify BMC shell rigidity or permeability, for instance. Despite that, it remains largely unknown whether hetero-oligomerization is a widespread phenomenon. Here, we demonstrated that the tripartite GFP (tGFP) reporter technology is an appropriate tool that might be exploited for such purposes. Thus, after optimizing parameters such as the size of linkers connecting investigated proteins to GFP10 or GFP11 peptides, the type and strength of promoters, or the impact of placing coding cassettes in the same or different plasmids, homo-oligomerization processes could be successfully monitored for any of the three BMC shell classes. Moreover, the screen perfectly reproduced published data on hetero-association between couples of CcmK homologues from Syn. sp. PCC6803, which were obtained following a different approach. This study paves the way for mid/high throughput screens to characterize the extent of hetero-oligomerization occurrence in BMC-possessing bacteria, and most especially in organisms endowed with several BMC types and carrying numerous shell paralogs. On the other hand, our study also unveiled technology limitations deriving from the low solubility of one of the components of this modified split-GFP approach, the GFP1-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Barthe
- Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Vanessa Soldan
- Plateforme de Microscopie Electronique Intégrative METi, CNRS, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Toulouse, France
| | - Luis F. Garcia-Alles
- Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
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9
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Česle EEL, Ta Rs K, Jansons J, Kalniņš G. Modulation of Hybrid GRM2-type Bacterial Microcompartment Shells through BMC-H Shell Protein Fusion and Incorporation of Non-native BMC-T Shell Proteins. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:3275-3286. [PMID: 37937366 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are organelle-like structures in bacteria that facilitate a wide range of enzymatic reactions. The microcompartment shell contains an encapsulated enzymatic core and, in contrast to phospholipid-based eukaryotic organelle membranes, has a pseudoicosahedral shape composed of BMC-H, BMC-T, and BMC-P proteins with conserved structures. This semipermeable microcompartment shell delineates the enzymatic core assemblies and the intermediates from the rest of the cell. It is also thought to function as a barrier against toxic intermediates as well as to increase the reaction rate. These properties of BMCs have made them intriguing candidates for biotechnological applications, for which it is important to explore the potential scope of the BMC shell modulation possibilities. In this work, we explore two BMC shell modulation mechanisms: first, confirming the incorporation of three trimeric BMC-T shell proteins and two truncated BMC-T shell proteins into Klebsiella pneumoniae GRM2-type BMC protein shells containing no representatives of this group, and second, producing BMC particles from double- and triple-fused hexameric BMC-H shell proteins. These results reveal the potential for "mix and match" synthetic BMC shell formation to ensure shell properties specifically suited to the encapsulated cargo and show for the first time the involvement of an essentially dimeric pseudohexameric shell protein in BMC shell formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Emi Lija Česle
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Ratsupites 1 k-1, Riga LV-1067, Latvia
| | - Kaspars Ta Rs
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Ratsupites 1 k-1, Riga LV-1067, Latvia
- University of Latvia, Jelgavas 1, Riga 1004, Latvia
| | - Juris Jansons
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Ratsupites 1 k-1, Riga LV-1067, Latvia
| | - Gints Kalniņš
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Ratsupites 1 k-1, Riga LV-1067, Latvia
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10
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Waltmann C, Kennedy NW, Mills CE, Roth EW, Ikonomova SP, Tullman-Ercek D, Olvera de la Cruz M. Kinetic Growth of Multicomponent Microcompartment Shells. ACS NANO 2023; 17:15751-15762. [PMID: 37552700 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c03353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
An important goal of systems and synthetic biology is to produce high value chemical species in large quantities. Microcompartments, which are protein nanoshells encapsulating catalytic enzyme cargo, could potentially function as tunable nanobioreactors inside and outside cells to generate these high value species. Modifying the morphology of microcompartments through genetic engineering of shell proteins is one viable strategy to tune cofactor and metabolite access to encapsulated enzymes. However, this is a difficult task without understanding how changing interactions between the many different types of shell proteins and enzymes affect microcompartment assembly and shape. Here, we use multiscale molecular dynamics and experimental data to describe assembly pathways available to microcompartments composed of multiple types of shell proteins with varied interactions. As the average interaction between the enzyme cargo and the multiple types of shell proteins is weakened, the shell assembly pathway transitions from (i) nucleating on the enzyme cargo to (ii) nucleating in the bulk and then binding the cargo as it grows to (iii) an empty shell. Atomistic simulations and experiments using the 1,2-propanediol utilization microcompartment system demonstrate that shell protein interactions are highly varied and consistent with our multicomponent, coarse-grained model. Furthermore, our results suggest that intrinsic bending angles control the size of these microcompartments. Overall, our simulations and experiments provide guidance to control microcomparmtent size and assembly by modulating the interactions between shell proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Curt Waltmann
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Nolan W Kennedy
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Carolyn E Mills
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Eric W Roth
- Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimentation Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Svetlana P Ikonomova
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Danielle Tullman-Ercek
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Monica Olvera de la Cruz
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
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11
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Evans SL, Al-Hazeem MMJ, Mann D, Smetacek N, Beavil AJ, Sun Y, Chen T, Dykes GF, Liu LN, Bergeron JRC. Single-particle cryo-EM analysis of the shell architecture and internal organization of an intact α-carboxysome. Structure 2023; 31:677-688.e4. [PMID: 37015227 PMCID: PMC10689251 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2023.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023]
Abstract
Carboxysomes are proteinaceous bacterial microcompartments that sequester the key enzymes for carbon fixation in cyanobacteria and some proteobacteria. They consist of a virus-like icosahedral shell, encapsulating several enzymes, including ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO), responsible for the first step of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. Despite their significance in carbon fixation and great bioengineering potentials, the structural understanding of native carboxysomes is currently limited to low-resolution studies. Here, we report the characterization of a native α-carboxysome from a marine cyanobacterium by single-particle cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM). We have determined the structure of its RuBisCO enzyme, and obtained low-resolution maps of its icosahedral shell, and of its concentric interior organization. Using integrative modeling approaches, we have proposed a complete atomic model of an intact carboxysome, providing insight into its organization and assembly. This is critical for a better understanding of the carbon fixation mechanism and toward repurposing carboxysomes in synthetic biology for biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sasha L Evans
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Monsour M J Al-Hazeem
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Daniel Mann
- Ernst-Ruska Centre 3, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Nicolas Smetacek
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Andrew J Beavil
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Yaqi Sun
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Taiyu Chen
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Gregory F Dykes
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Lu-Ning Liu
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK; College of Marine Life Sciences, and Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
| | - Julien R C Bergeron
- Randall Centre for Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London, UK; Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
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12
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Ferlez BH, Kirst H, Greber BJ, Nogales E, Sutter M, Kerfeld CA. Heterologous Assembly of Pleomorphic Bacterial Microcompartment Shell Architectures Spanning the Nano- to Microscale. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2212065. [PMID: 36932732 PMCID: PMC10330516 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202212065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Many bacteria use protein-based organelles known as bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) to organize and sequester sequential enzymatic reactions. Regardless of their specialized metabolic function, all BMCs are delimited by a shell made of multiple structurally redundant, yet functionally diverse, hexameric (BMC-H), pseudohexameric/trimeric (BMC-T), or pentameric (BMC-P) shell protein paralogs. When expressed without their native cargo, shell proteins have been shown to self-assemble into 2D sheets, open-ended nanotubes, and closed shells of ≈40 nm diameter that are being developed as scaffolds and nanocontainers for applications in biotechnology. Here, by leveraging a strategy for affinity-based purification, it is demonstrated that a wide range of empty synthetic shells, many differing in end-cap structures, can be derived from a glycyl radical enzyme-associated microcompartment. The range of pleomorphic shells observed, which span ≈2 orders of magnitude in size from ≈25 nm to ≈1.8 µm, reveal the remarkable plasticity of BMC-based biomaterials. In addition, new capped nanotube and nanocone morphologies are observed that are consistent with a multicomponent geometric model in which architectural principles are shared among asymmetric carbon, viral protein, and BMC-based structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan H. Ferlez
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Henning Kirst
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology and Molecular Biophysics and Integrative Bioimaging Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Basil J. Greber
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA; Molecular Biophysics and Integrative Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Eva Nogales
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA; Molecular Biophysics and Integrative Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA; Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Markus Sutter
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology and Molecular Biophysics and Integrative Bioimaging Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Cheryl A. Kerfeld
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology and Molecular Biophysics and Integrative Bioimaging Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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13
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Trettel DS, Winkler WC. In Vitro Analysis of Bacterial Microcompartments and Shell Protein Superstructures by Confocal Microscopy. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0335722. [PMID: 36786617 PMCID: PMC10100840 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03357-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The shell proteins that comprise bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) can self-assemble into an array of superstructures such as nanotubes, flat sheets, and icosahedra. The physical characterization of BMCs and these superstructures typically relies on electron microscopy, which decouples samples from their solution context. We hypothesize that an investigation of fluorescently tagged BMCs and shell protein superstructures in vitro using high-resolution confocal microscopy will lead to new insights into the solution behavior of these entities. We find that confocal imaging is able to capture nanotubes and sheets previously reported by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Using a combination of fluorescent tags, we present qualitative evidence that these structures intermix with one another in a hetero- and homotypic fashion. Complete BMCs are also able to accomplish intermixing as evidenced by colocalization data. Finally, a simple colocalization experiment suggests that fluorescently modified encapsulation peptides (EPs) may prefer certain shell protein binding partners. Together, these data demonstrate that high-resolution confocal microscopy is a powerful tool for investigating microcompartment-related structures in vitro, particularly for colocalization analyses. These results also support the notion that BMCs may intermix protein components, presumably from the outer shell. IMPORTANCE Microcompartments are large, organelle-like structures that help bacteria catabolize targeted metabolites while also protecting the cytosol against highly reactive metabolic intermediates. Their protein shell self-assembles into a polyhedral structure of approximately 100 to 200 nm in diameter. Inside the shell are thousands of copies of cargo enzymes, which are responsible for a specific metabolic pathway. While different approaches have revealed high-resolution structures of individual microcompartment proteins, it is less clear how these factors self-assemble to form the full native structure. In this study, we show that laser scanning confocal microscopy can be used to study microcompartment proteins. We find that this approach allows researchers to investigate the interactions and potential exchange of shell protein subunits in solution. From this, we conclude that confocal microscopy offers advantages for studying the in vitro structures of other microcompartments as well as carboxysomes and other bacterial organelles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S. Trettel
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Wade C. Winkler
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, Maryland, USA
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, The University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, Maryland, USA
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14
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Raba DA, Kerfeld CA. The potential of bacterial microcompartment architectures for phytonanotechnology. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS 2022; 14:700-710. [PMID: 35855583 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.13104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The application of nanotechnology to plants, termed phytonanotechnology, has the potential to revolutionize plant research and agricultural production. Advancements in phytonanotechnology will allow for the time-controlled and target-specific release of bioactive compounds and agrochemicals to alter and optimize conventional plant production systems. A diverse range of engineered nanoparticles with unique physiochemical properties is currently being investigated to determine their suitability for plants. Improvements in crop yield, disease resistance and nutrient and pesticide management are all possible using designed nanocarriers. However, despite these prospective benefits, research to thoroughly understand the precise activity, localization and potential phytotoxicity of these nanoparticles within plant systems is required. Protein-based bacterial microcompartment shell proteins that self-assemble into spherical shells, nanotubes and sheets could be of immense value for phytonanotechnology due to their ease of manipulation, multifunctionality, rapid and efficient producibility and biodegradability. In this review, we explore bacterial microcompartment-based architectures within the scope of phytonanotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Raba
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Cheryl A Kerfeld
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology and Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
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15
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Huang J, Jiang Q, Yang M, Dykes GF, Weetman SL, Xin W, He HL, Liu LN. Probing the Internal pH and Permeability of a Carboxysome Shell. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:4339-4348. [PMID: 36054822 PMCID: PMC9554877 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
![]()
The carboxysome is a protein-based nanoscale organelle
in cyanobacteria
and many proteobacteria, which encapsulates the key CO2-fixing enzymes ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco)
and carbonic anhydrase (CA) within a polyhedral protein shell. The
intrinsic self-assembly and architectural features of carboxysomes
and the semipermeability of the protein shell provide the foundation
for the accumulation of CO2 within carboxysomes and enhanced
carboxylation. Here, we develop an approach to determine the interior
pH conditions and inorganic carbon accumulation within an α-carboxysome
shell derived from a chemoautotrophic proteobacterium Halothiobacillus neapolitanus and evaluate the shell
permeability. By incorporating a pH reporter, pHluorin2, within empty
α-carboxysome shells produced in Escherichia
coli, we probe the interior pH of the protein shells
with and without CA. Our in vivo and in vitro results demonstrate a lower interior pH of α-carboxysome shells
than the cytoplasmic pH and buffer pH, as well as the modulation of
the interior pH in response to changes in external environments, indicating
the shell permeability to bicarbonate ions and protons. We further
determine the saturated HCO3– concentration
of 15 mM within α-carboxysome shells and show the CA-mediated
increase in the interior CO2 level. Uncovering the interior
physiochemical microenvironment of carboxysomes is crucial for understanding
the mechanisms underlying carboxysomal shell permeability and enhancement
of Rubisco carboxylation within carboxysomes. Such fundamental knowledge
may inform reprogramming carboxysomes to improve metabolism and recruit
foreign enzymes for enhanced catalytical performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiafeng Huang
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom.,School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410017, China
| | - Qiuyao Jiang
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom.,Department of Central Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan 250021, China
| | - Mengru Yang
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Gregory F Dykes
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Samantha L Weetman
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Wei Xin
- Department of Central Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan 250021, China.,Medical Science and Technology Innovation Center, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan 271000, China
| | - Hai-Lun He
- School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410017, China
| | - Lu-Ning Liu
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom.,College of Marine Life Sciences, and Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
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16
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Tsidilkovski L, Mohajerani F, Hagan MF. Microcompartment assembly around multicomponent fluid cargoes. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:245104. [PMID: 35778087 PMCID: PMC9249432 DOI: 10.1063/5.0089556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
This article describes dynamical simulations of the assembly of an icosahedral protein shell around a bicomponent fluid cargo. Our simulations are motivated by bacterial microcompartments, which are protein shells found in bacteria that assemble around a complex of enzymes and other components involved in certain metabolic processes. The simulations demonstrate that the relative interaction strengths among the different cargo species play a key role in determining the amount of each species that is encapsulated, their spatial organization, and the nature of the shell assembly pathways. However, the shell protein–shell protein and shell protein–cargo component interactions that help drive assembly and encapsulation also influence cargo composition within certain parameter regimes. These behaviors are governed by a combination of thermodynamic and kinetic effects. In addition to elucidating how natural microcompartments encapsulate multiple components involved within reaction cascades, these results have implications for efforts in synthetic biology to colocalize alternative sets of molecules within microcompartments to accelerate specific reactions. More broadly, the results suggest that coupling between self-assembly and multicomponent liquid–liquid phase separation may play a role in the organization of the cellular cytoplasm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lev Tsidilkovski
- Martin A. Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, USA
| | - Farzaneh Mohajerani
- Martin A. Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, USA
| | - Michael F Hagan
- Martin A. Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, USA
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17
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Yang M, Wenner N, Dykes GF, Li Y, Zhu X, Sun Y, Huang F, Hinton JCD, Liu LN. Biogenesis of a bacterial metabolosome for propanediol utilization. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2920. [PMID: 35614058 PMCID: PMC9132943 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30608-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial metabolosomes are a family of protein organelles in bacteria. Elucidating how thousands of proteins self-assemble to form functional metabolosomes is essential for understanding their significance in cellular metabolism and pathogenesis. Here we investigate the de novo biogenesis of propanediol-utilization (Pdu) metabolosomes and characterize the roles of the key constituents in generation and intracellular positioning of functional metabolosomes. Our results demonstrate that the Pdu metabolosome undertakes both "Shell first" and "Cargo first" assembly pathways, unlike the β-carboxysome structural analog which only involves the "Cargo first" strategy. Shell and cargo assemblies occur independently at the cell poles. The internal cargo core is formed through the ordered assembly of multiple enzyme complexes, and exhibits liquid-like properties within the metabolosome architecture. Our findings provide mechanistic insight into the molecular principles driving bacterial metabolosome assembly and expand our understanding of liquid-like organelle biogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengru Yang
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Nicolas Wenner
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Gregory F Dykes
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Yan Li
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Xiaojun Zhu
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Yaqi Sun
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Fang Huang
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Jay C D Hinton
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary & Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Lu-Ning Liu
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, United Kingdom.
- College of Marine Life Sciences, and Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China.
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18
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Trettel DS, Resager W, Ueberheide BM, Jenkins CC, Winkler WC. Chemical probing provides insight into the native assembly state of a bacterial microcompartment. Structure 2022; 30:537-550.e5. [PMID: 35216657 PMCID: PMC8995372 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2022.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are widespread in bacteria and are used for a variety of metabolic purposes, including catabolism of host metabolites. A suite of proteins self-assembles into the shell and cargo layers of BMCs. However, the native assembly state of these large complexes remains to be elucidated. Herein, chemical probes were used to observe structural features of a native BMC. While the exterior could be demarcated with fluorophores, the interior was unexpectedly permeable, suggesting that the shell layer may be more dynamic than previously thought. This allowed access to cross-linking chemical probes, which were analyzed to uncover the protein interactome. These cross-links revealed a complex multivalent network among cargo proteins that contained encapsulation peptides and demonstrated that the shell layer follows discrete rules in its assembly. These results are consistent overall with a model in which biomolecular condensation drives interactions of cargo proteins before envelopment by shell layer proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S Trettel
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - William Resager
- New York University Grossman School of Health, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Beatrix M Ueberheide
- New York University Grossman School of Health, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Neurology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Conor C Jenkins
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Wade C Winkler
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA; Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
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19
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Kaur S, Bari NK, Sinha S. Varying protein architectures in 3-dimensions for scaffolding and modulating properties of catalytic gold nanoparticles. Amino Acids 2022; 54:441-454. [PMID: 35103826 DOI: 10.1007/s00726-022-03127-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Fabrication and development of nanoscale materials with tunable structural and functional properties require a dynamic arrangement of nanoparticles on architectural templates. The function of nanoparticles not only depends on the property of the nanoparticles but also on their spatial orientations. Proteins with self-assembling properties which can be genetically engineered to varying architectural designs for scaffolds can be used to develop different orientations of nanoparticles in three dimensions. Here, we report the use of naturally self-assembling bacterial micro-compartment shell protein (PduA) assemblies in 2D and its single-point mutant variant (PduA[K26A]) in 3D architectures for the reduction and fabrication of gold nanoparticles. Interestingly, the different spatial organization of gold nanoparticles resulted in a smaller size in the 3D architect scaffold. Here, we observed a two-fold increase in catalytic activity and six-fold higher affinity toward TMB (3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine) substrate as a measure of higher peroxidase activity (nanozymatic) in the case of PduA[K26A] 3D scaffold. This approach demonstrates that the hierarchical organization of scaffold enables the fine-tuning of nanoparticle properties, thus paving the way toward the design of new nanoscale materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simerpreet Kaur
- Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Sector-81, Knowledge City, SAS Nagar Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India
| | - Naimat K Bari
- Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Sector-81, Knowledge City, SAS Nagar Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India
| | - Sharmistha Sinha
- Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Sector-81, Knowledge City, SAS Nagar Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India.
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20
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Boyton I, Goodchild SC, Diaz D, Elbourne A, Collins-Praino LE, Care A. Characterizing the Dynamic Disassembly/Reassembly Mechanisms of Encapsulin Protein Nanocages. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:823-836. [PMID: 35036749 PMCID: PMC8757444 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c05472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Encapsulins, self-assembling icosahedral protein nanocages derived from prokaryotes, represent a versatile set of tools for nanobiotechnology. However, a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying encapsulin self-assembly, disassembly, and reassembly is lacking. Here, we characterize the disassembly/reassembly properties of three encapsulin nanocages that possess different structural architectures: T = 1 (24 nm), T = 3 (32 nm), and T = 4 (42 nm). Using spectroscopic techniques and electron microscopy, encapsulin architectures were found to exhibit varying sensitivities to the denaturant guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl), extreme pH, and elevated temperature. While all three encapsulins showed the capacity to reassemble following GuHCl-induced disassembly (within 75 min), only the smallest T = 1 nanocage reassembled after disassembly in basic pH (within 15 min). Furthermore, atomic force microscopy revealed that all encapsulins showed a significant loss of structural integrity after undergoing sequential disassembly/reassembly steps. These findings provide insights into encapsulins' disassembly/reassembly dynamics, thus informing their future design, modification, and application.
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Affiliation(s)
- India Boyton
- School
of Life Sciences, University of Technology
Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia
- ARC
Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, Macquarie University, Macquarie
Park, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Sophia C. Goodchild
- Department
of Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, New South
Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Dennis Diaz
- Department
of Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, New South
Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Aaron Elbourne
- School
of Science, College of Science, Engineering and Health, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
| | - Lyndsey E. Collins-Praino
- Adelaide
Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
- ARC
Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, Macquarie University, Macquarie
Park, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Andrew Care
- School
of Life Sciences, University of Technology
Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales 2007, Australia
- ARC
Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, Macquarie University, Macquarie
Park, New South Wales 2109, Australia
- ARC Centre
of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie
University, Macquarie Park, New South Wales 2109, Australia
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21
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Liu LN. Advances in the bacterial organelles for CO 2 fixation. Trends Microbiol 2021; 30:567-580. [PMID: 34802870 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2021.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Carboxysomes are a family of bacterial microcompartments (BMCs), present in all cyanobacteria and some proteobacteria, which encapsulate the primary CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, within a virus-like polyhedral protein shell. Carboxysomes provide significantly elevated levels of CO2 around Rubisco to maximize carboxylation and reduce wasteful photorespiration, thus functioning as the central CO2-fixation organelles of bacterial CO2-concentration mechanisms. Their intriguing architectural features allow carboxysomes to make a vast contribution to carbon assimilation on a global scale. In this review, we discuss recent research progress that provides new insights into the mechanisms of how carboxysomes are assembled and functionally maintained in bacteria and recent advances in synthetic biology to repurpose the metabolic module in diverse applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu-Ning Liu
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK; College of Marine Life Sciences, and Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, 266003 Qingdao, China.
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22
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Liu LN, Yang M, Sun Y, Yang J. Protein stoichiometry, structural plasticity and regulation of bacterial microcompartments. Curr Opin Microbiol 2021; 63:133-141. [PMID: 34340100 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are self-assembling prokaryotic organelles consisting of a polyhedral proteinaceous shell and encapsulated enzymes that are involved in CO2 fixation or carbon catabolism. Addressing how the hundreds of building components self-assemble to form the metabolically functional organelles and how their structures and functions are modulated in the extremely dynamic bacterial cytoplasm is of importance for basic understanding of protein organelle formation and synthetic engineering of metabolic modules for biotechnological applications. Here, we highlight recent advances in understanding the protein composition and stoichiometry of BMCs, with a particular focus on carboxysomes and propanediol utilization microcompartments. We also discuss relevant research on the structural plasticity of native and engineered BMCs, and the physiological regulation of BMC assembly, function and positioning in native hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu-Ning Liu
- College of Marine Life Sciences and Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, 266003 Qingdao, China; Institute of Systems Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom.
| | - Mengru Yang
- Institute of Systems Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Yaqi Sun
- Institute of Systems Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Jing Yang
- Institute of Systems Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom; Materials Innovation Factory and Department of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L7 3NY, United Kingdom
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23
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Kumar G, Sinha S. Biophysical approaches to understand and re-purpose bacterial microcompartments. Curr Opin Microbiol 2021; 63:43-51. [PMID: 34166983 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments represent a modular class of prokaryotic organelles associated with metabolic processes. They harbor a congregation of enzymes that work in cascade within a small, confined volume. These sophisticated nano-engineered crafts of nature offer a tempting paradigm for the fabrication of biosynthetic nanoreactors. Repurposing bacterial microcompartments to develop nanostructures with desired functions requires a careful manipulation in their structural makeup and composition. This calls for a comprehensive understanding of all the interactions of the physical components which frame such molecular architectures. Over recent years, several biophysical techniques have been essential in illuminating the role played by bacterial microcompartments within cells, and have revealed crucial details regarding the morphology, physical properties and functions of their constituent proteins. This has promoted contemplation of ideas for engineering microcompartments inspired biomaterials with novel features and functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav Kumar
- Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Sector-81, Mohali (SAS Nagar), Knowledge City, Punjab 140306, India
| | - Sharmistha Sinha
- Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Sector-81, Mohali (SAS Nagar), Knowledge City, Punjab 140306, India.
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24
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Chen H, Wilson J, Ottinger S, Gan Q, Fan C. Introducing noncanonical amino acids for studying and engineering bacterial microcompartments. Curr Opin Microbiol 2021; 61:67-72. [PMID: 33813159 PMCID: PMC8169543 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2020] [Revised: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) with selectively permeable shells and encapsulated enzyme cores are well-suited candidates for nano-bioreactors because of their advantages of enhancing pathway flux and protection against toxic products. To better study and engineer protein-based BMCs, a series of protein chemistry approaches are adopted. As one of the most advanced techniques, genetic code expansion can introduce various noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) with diverse functional groups into target proteins, thus providing powerful tools for protein studies and engineering. This review summarizes and proposes useful tools based on current development of the genetic code expansion technique towards challenges in BMC studies and engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Chen
- Cell and Molecular Biology Program, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Jessica Wilson
- Cell and Molecular Biology Program, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Sara Ottinger
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Qinglei Gan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Chenguang Fan
- Cell and Molecular Biology Program, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
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25
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Recent structural insights into bacterial microcompartment shells. Curr Opin Microbiol 2021; 62:51-60. [PMID: 34058518 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments are organelle-like structures that enhance a variety of metabolic functions in diverse bacteria. Composed entirely of proteins, thousands of homologous hexameric shell proteins tesselate to form facets while pentameric proteins form the vertices of a polyhedral shell that encapsulates various enzymes, substrates and cofactors. Recent structural data have highlighted nuanced variations in the sequence and topology of microcompartment shell proteins, emphasizing how variation and specialization enable the construction of complex molecular machines. Recent studies engineering synthetic miniaturized microcompartment shells provide additional frameworks for dissecting principles of microcompartment structure and assembly. This review updates our current understanding of bacterial microcompartment shell proteins, providing new insights and highlighting outstanding questions.
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26
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Pokhrel A, Kang SY, Schmidt-Dannert C. Ethanolamine bacterial microcompartments: from structure, function studies to bioengineering applications. Curr Opin Microbiol 2021; 62:28-37. [PMID: 34034083 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Two decades of structural and functional studies have revealed functions, structures and diversity of bacterial microcompartments. The protein-based organelles encapsulate diverse metabolic pathways in semipermeable, icosahedral or pseudo-icosahedral shells. One of the first discovered and characterized microcompartments are those involved in ethanolamine degradation. This review will summarize their function and assembly along with shared and unique characteristics with other microcompartment types. The modularity and self-assembling properties of their shell proteins make them valuable targets for bioengineering. Advances and prospects for shell protein engineering in vivo and in vitro for synthetic biology and biotechnology applications will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anaya Pokhrel
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Sun-Young Kang
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Claudia Schmidt-Dannert
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA.
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27
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Cesle EE, Filimonenko A, Tars K, Kalnins G. Variety of size and form of GRM2 bacterial microcompartment particles. Protein Sci 2021; 30:1035-1043. [PMID: 33763934 PMCID: PMC8040866 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are bacterial organelles involved in enzymatic processes, such as carbon fixation, choline, ethanolamine and propanediol degradation, and others. Formed of a semi-permeable protein shell and an enzymatic core, they can enhance enzyme performance and protect the cell from harmful intermediates. With the ability to encapsulate non-native enzymes, BMCs show high potential for applied use. For this goal, a detailed look into shell form variability is significant to predict shell adaptability. Here we present four novel 3D cryo-EM maps of recombinant Klebsiella pneumoniae GRM2 BMC shell particles with the resolution in range of 9 to 22 Å and nine novel 2D classes corresponding to discrete BMC shell forms. These structures reveal icosahedral, elongated, oblate, multi-layered and polyhedral traits of BMCs, indicating considerable variation in size and form as well as adaptability during shell formation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Emilija Cesle
- Structural Biology, Biotechnology and Virusology LaboratoryLatvian Biomedical Research and Study CentreRigaLatvia
| | - Anatolij Filimonenko
- CEITEC‐Central European Institute of TechnologyMasaryk UniversityBrnoCzech Republic
| | - Kaspars Tars
- Structural Biology, Biotechnology and Virusology LaboratoryLatvian Biomedical Research and Study CentreRigaLatvia
- Faculty of BiologyUniversity of LatviaRigaLatvia
| | - Gints Kalnins
- Structural Biology, Biotechnology and Virusology LaboratoryLatvian Biomedical Research and Study CentreRigaLatvia
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28
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Mohajerani F, Sayer E, Neil C, Inlow K, Hagan MF. Mechanisms of Scaffold-Mediated Microcompartment Assembly and Size Control. ACS NANO 2021; 15:4197-4212. [PMID: 33683101 PMCID: PMC8058603 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c05715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
This article describes a theoretical and computational study of the dynamical assembly of a protein shell around a complex consisting of many cargo molecules and long, flexible scaffold molecules. Our study is motivated by bacterial microcompartments, which are proteinaceous organelles that assemble around a condensed droplet of enzymes and reactants. As in many examples of cytoplasmic liquid-liquid phase separation, condensation of the microcompartment interior cargo is driven by flexible scaffold proteins that have weak multivalent interactions with the cargo. Our results predict that the shell size, amount of encapsulated cargo, and assembly pathways depend sensitively on properties of the scaffold, including its length and valency of scaffold-cargo interactions. Moreover, the ability of self-assembling protein shells to change their size to accommodate scaffold molecules of different lengths depends crucially on whether the spontaneous curvature radius of the protein shell is smaller or larger than a characteristic elastic length scale of the shell. Beyond natural microcompartments, these results have important implications for synthetic biology efforts to target alternative molecules for encapsulation by microcompartments or viral shells. More broadly, the results elucidate how cells exploit coupling between self-assembly and liquid-liquid phase separation to organize their interiors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farzaneh Mohajerani
- Martin A. Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, United States
| | - Evan Sayer
- Martin A. Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, United States
| | - Christopher Neil
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, United States
| | - Koe Inlow
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, United States
| | - Michael F Hagan
- Martin A. Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, United States
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29
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Kaur H, Bari NK, Garg A, Sinha S. Protein morphology drives the structure and catalytic activity of bio-inorganic hybrids. Int J Biol Macromol 2021; 176:106-116. [PMID: 33556398 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.01.217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Bio-hybrid materials have received a lot of attention in view of their bio-mimicking nature. One such biomimetic material with catalytic activity are the protein derived floral nanohybrid. Copper phosphate coordinated flakes can be curated to distinct floral morphology using proteins. Structurally two different proteins with similar size and with no known enzymatic activity are used to evaluate the role of protein structure and morphology, on the structure-activity relationship of the developed hybrid nanoflowers. Globular protein BSA and bacterial microcompartment domain protein PduBB' are selected. PduBB' because of self-assembling nature forms extended sheets, whereas BSA lacks specific assembly. The developed hybrid NFs differ in their morphology and also in their mimicry as a biological catalyst. The present investigation highlights the importance of the quaternary structure of proteins in tailoring the structure and function of the h-NFs. The results in this manuscript will motivate and guide designing, engineering and selection of glue material for fabricating biomacromolecule derived biohybrid material to mimic natural enzymes of potential industrial application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harpreet Kaur
- Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Sector-81, Knowledge City, SAS Nagar Mohali, Punjab 140306, India
| | - Naimat K Bari
- Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Sector-81, Knowledge City, SAS Nagar Mohali, Punjab 140306, India
| | - Ankush Garg
- Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Sector-81, Knowledge City, SAS Nagar Mohali, Punjab 140306, India
| | - Sharmistha Sinha
- Chemical Biology Unit, Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Sector-81, Knowledge City, SAS Nagar Mohali, Punjab 140306, India.
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30
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Stewart AM, Stewart KL, Yeates TO, Bobik TA. Advances in the World of Bacterial Microcompartments. Trends Biochem Sci 2021; 46:406-416. [PMID: 33446424 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (MCPs) are extremely large (100-400 nm) and diverse proteinaceous organelles that compartmentalize multistep metabolic pathways, increasing their efficiency and sequestering toxic and/or volatile intermediates. This review highlights recent studies that have expanded our understanding of the diversity, structure, function, and potential biotechnological uses of MCPs. Several new types of MCPs have been identified and characterized revealing new functions and potential new associations with human disease. Recent structural studies of MCP proteins and recombinant MCP shells have provided new insights into MCP assembly and mechanisms and raised new questions about MCP structure. We also discuss recent work on biotechnology applications that use MCP principles to develop nanobioreactors, nanocontainers, and molecular scaffolds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Stewart
- The Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Katie L Stewart
- The Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Todd O Yeates
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Thomas A Bobik
- The Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
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31
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Liu LN. Bacterial metabolosomes: new insights into their structure and bioengineering. Microb Biotechnol 2021; 14:88-93. [PMID: 33404191 PMCID: PMC7888463 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial metabolosomes have been discovered for over 25 years. They play essential roles in bacterial metabolism and pathogenesis. In this crystal ball paper, I will discuss the recent advances in the fundamental understanding and synthetic engineering of bacterial metabolosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu-Ning Liu
- Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK.,College of Marine Life Sciences, Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China
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32
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Molecular simulations unravel the molecular principles that mediate selective permeability of carboxysome shell protein. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17501. [PMID: 33060756 PMCID: PMC7562746 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74536-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are nanoscale proteinaceous organelles that encapsulate enzymes from the cytoplasm using an icosahedral protein shell that resembles viral capsids. Of particular interest are the carboxysomes (CBs), which sequester the CO2-fixing enzymes ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) to enhance carbon assimilation. The carboxysome shell serves as a semi-permeable barrier for passage of metabolites in and out of the carboxysome to enhance CO2 fixation. How the protein shell directs influx and efflux of molecules in an effective manner has remained elusive. Here we use molecular dynamics and umbrella sampling calculations to determine the free-energy profiles of the metabolic substrates, bicarbonate, CO2 and ribulose bisphosphate and the product 3-phosphoglycerate associated with their transition through the major carboxysome shell protein CcmK2. We elucidate the electrostatic charge-based permeability and key amino acid residues of CcmK2 functioning in mediating molecular transit through the central pore. Conformational changes of the loops forming the central pore may also be required for transit of specific metabolites. The importance of these in-silico findings is validated experimentally by site-directed mutagenesis of the key CcmK2 residue Serine 39. This study provides insight into the mechanism that mediates molecular transport through the shells of carboxysomes, applicable to other BMCs. It also offers a predictive approach to investigate and manipulate the shell permeability, with the intent of engineering BMC-based metabolic modules for new functions in synthetic biology.
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33
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Probe into a multi-protein prokaryotic organelle using thermal scanning assay reveals distinct properties of the core and the shell. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2020; 1864:129680. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2020.129680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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34
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Stewart KL, Stewart AM, Bobik TA. Prokaryotic Organelles: Bacterial Microcompartments in E. coli and Salmonella. EcoSal Plus 2020; 9:10.1128/ecosalplus.ESP-0025-2019. [PMID: 33030141 PMCID: PMC7552817 DOI: 10.1128/ecosalplus.esp-0025-2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (MCPs) are proteinaceous organelles consisting of a metabolic pathway encapsulated within a selectively permeable protein shell. Hundreds of species of bacteria produce MCPs of at least nine different types, and MCP metabolism is associated with enteric pathogenesis, cancer, and heart disease. This review focuses chiefly on the four types of catabolic MCPs (metabolosomes) found in Escherichia coli and Salmonella: the propanediol utilization (pdu), ethanolamine utilization (eut), choline utilization (cut), and glycyl radical propanediol (grp) MCPs. Although the great majority of work done on catabolic MCPs has been carried out with Salmonella and E. coli, research outside the group is mentioned where necessary for a comprehensive understanding. Salient characteristics found across MCPs are discussed, including enzymatic reactions and shell composition, with particular attention paid to key differences between classes of MCPs. We also highlight relevant research on the dynamic processes of MCP assembly, protein targeting, and the mechanisms that underlie selective permeability. Lastly, we discuss emerging biotechnology applications based on MCP principles and point out challenges, unanswered questions, and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie L. Stewart
- The Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA 50011
| | - Andrew M. Stewart
- The Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA 50011
| | - Thomas A. Bobik
- The Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA 50011
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35
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Liang W, Shi H, Yang X, Wang J, Yang W, Zhang H, Liu L. Recent advances in AFM-based biological characterization and applications at multiple levels. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:8962-8984. [PMID: 32996549 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm01106a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has found a wide range of bio-applications in the past few decades due to its ability to measure biological samples in natural environments at a high spatial resolution. AFM has become a key platform in biomedical, bioengineering and drug research fields, enabling mechanical and morphological characterization of live biological systems. Hence, we provide a comprehensive review on recent advances in the use of AFM for characterizing the biomechanical properties of multi-scale biological samples, ranging from molecule, cell to tissue levels. First, we present the fundamental principles of AFM and two AFM-based models for the characterization of biomechanical properties of biological samples, covering key AFM devices and AFM bioimaging as well as theoretical models for characterizing the elasticity and viscosity of biomaterials. Then, we elaborate on a series of new experimental findings through analysis of biomechanics. Finally, we discuss the future directions and challenges. It is envisioned that the AFM technique will enable many remarkable discoveries, and will have far-reaching impacts on bio-related studies and applications in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenfeng Liang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang, 110168, China.
| | - Haohao Shi
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang, 110168, China.
| | - Xieliu Yang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang, 110168, China.
| | - Junhai Wang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang, 110168, China.
| | - Wenguang Yang
- School of Electromechanical and Automotive Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China
| | - Hemin Zhang
- Department of Neurology, The People's Hospital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang 110016, China.
| | - Lianqing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.
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36
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Abstract
Photosynthetic membranes are typically densely packed with proteins, and this is crucial for their function in efficient trapping of light energy. Despite being crowded with protein, the membranes are fluid systems in which proteins and smaller molecules can diffuse. Fluidity is also crucial for photosynthetic function, as it is essential for biogenesis, electron transport, and protein redistribution for functional regulation. All photosynthetic membranes seem to maintain a delicate balance between crowding, order, and fluidity. How does this work in phototrophic bacteria? In this review, we focus on two types of intensively studied bacterial photosynthetic membranes: the chromatophore membranes of purple bacteria and the thylakoid membranes of cyanobacteria. Both systems are distinct from the plasma membrane, and both have a distinctive protein composition that reflects their specialized roles. Chromatophores are formed from plasma membrane invaginations, while thylakoid membranes appear to be an independent intracellular membrane system. We discuss the techniques that can be applied to study the organization and dynamics of these membrane systems, including electron microscopy techniques, atomic force microscopy, and many variants of fluorescence microscopy. We go on to discuss the insights that havebeen acquired from these techniques, and the role of membrane dynamics in the physiology of photosynthetic membranes. Membrane dynamics on multiple timescales are crucial for membrane function, from electron transport on timescales of microseconds to milliseconds to regulation and biogenesis on timescales of minutes to hours. We emphasize the open questions that remain in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conrad W. Mullineaux
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Lu-Ning Liu
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
- College of Marine Life Sciences, and Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
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37
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Alunda BO, Lee YJ. Review: Cantilever-Based Sensors for High Speed Atomic Force Microscopy. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2020; 20:E4784. [PMID: 32854193 PMCID: PMC7506678 DOI: 10.3390/s20174784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
This review critically summarizes the recent advances of the microcantilever-based force sensors for atomic force microscope (AFM) applications. They are one the most common mechanical spring-mass systems and are extremely sensitive to changes in the resonant frequency, thus finding numerous applications especially for molecular sensing. Specifically, we comment on the latest progress in research on the deflection detection systems, fabrication, coating and functionalization of the microcantilevers and their application as bio- and chemical sensors. A trend on the recent breakthroughs on the study of biological samples using high-speed atomic force microscope is also reported in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernard Ouma Alunda
- School of Mines and Engineering, Taita Taveta University, P.O. Box 635-80300 Voi, Kenya;
| | - Yong Joong Lee
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea
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38
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Valbuena A, Maity S, Mateu MG, Roos WH. Visualization of Single Molecules Building a Viral Capsid Protein Lattice through Stochastic Pathways. ACS NANO 2020; 14:8724-8734. [PMID: 32633498 PMCID: PMC7392527 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c03207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Direct visualization of pathways followed by single molecules while they spontaneously self-assemble into supramolecular biological machines may provide fundamental knowledge to guide molecular therapeutics and the bottom-up design of nanomaterials and nanodevices. Here, high-speed atomic force microscopy is used to visualize self-assembly of the bidimensional lattice of protein molecules that constitutes the framework of the mature human immunodeficiency virus capsid. By real-time imaging of the assembly reaction, individual transient intermediates and reaction pathways followed by single molecules could be revealed. As when assembling a jigsaw puzzle, the capsid protein lattice is randomly built. Lattice patches grow independently from separate nucleation events whereby individual molecules follow different paths. Protein subunits can be added individually, while others form oligomers before joining a lattice or are occasionally removed from the latter. Direct real-time imaging of supramolecular self-assembly has revealed a complex, chaotic process involving multiple routes followed by individual molecules that are inaccessible to bulk (averaging) techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Valbuena
- Centro
de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa”, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sourav Maity
- Moleculaire
Biofysica, Zernike Instituut, Rijksuniversiteit
Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Mauricio G. Mateu
- Centro
de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa”, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Wouter H. Roos
- Moleculaire
Biofysica, Zernike Instituut, Rijksuniversiteit
Groningen, 9712 CP Groningen, The Netherlands
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39
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Miller LC, Zhao L, Canniffe DP, Martin D, Liu LN. Unfolding pathway and intermolecular interactions of the cytochrome subunit in the bacterial photosynthetic reaction center. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2020; 1861:148204. [PMID: 32305414 PMCID: PMC7322399 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2020.148204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Revised: 03/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Precise folding of photosynthetic proteins and organization of multicomponent assemblies to form functional entities are fundamental to efficient photosynthetic electron transfer. The bacteriochlorophyll b-producing purple bacterium Blastochloris viridis possesses a simplified photosynthetic apparatus. The light-harvesting (LH) antenna complex surrounds the photosynthetic reaction center (RC) to form the RC-LH1 complex. A non-membranous tetraheme cytochrome (4Hcyt) subunit is anchored at the periplasmic surface of the RC, functioning as the electron donor to transfer electrons from mobile electron carriers to the RC. Here, we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) and single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) to probe the long-range organization of the photosynthetic apparatus from Blc. viridis and the unfolding pathway of the 4Hcyt subunit in its native supramolecular assembly with its functional partners. AFM images reveal that the RC-LH1 complexes are densely organized in the photosynthetic membranes, with restricted lateral protein diffusion. Unfolding of the 4Hcyt subunit represents a multi-step process and the unfolding forces of the 4Hcyt α-helices are approximately 121 picoNewtons. Pulling of 4Hcyt could also result in the unfolding of the RC L subunit that binds with the N-terminus of 4Hcyt, suggesting strong interactions between RC subunits. This study provides new insights into the protein folding and interactions of photosynthetic multicomponent complexes, which are essential for their structural and functional integrity to conduct photosynthetic electron flow. AFM and single-molecule force spectroscopy reveal the membrane organization and unfolding process of Blastochloris viridis RC RC-light-harvesting 1 complexes are densely organized in photosynthetic membranes, with restricted lateral diffusion Unfolding of the non-membranous cytochrome (4Hcyt) subunit represents a multi-step process; The average unfolding forces of the 4Hcyt α-helices are ~121 pN; Pulling of 4Hcyt from the RC suggests strong interactions (> 150 pN) between 4Hcyt and L subunits in the RC structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leanne C Miller
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom; Department of Physics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE, United Kingdom
| | - Longsheng Zhao
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom; State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Marine Biotechnology Research Center, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Daniel P Canniffe
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - David Martin
- Department of Physics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE, United Kingdom
| | - Lu-Ning Liu
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom; College of Marine Life Sciences, and Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
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40
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Lv X, Cui S, Gu Y, Li J, Du G, Liu L. Enzyme Assembly for Compartmentalized Metabolic Flux Control. Metabolites 2020; 10:E125. [PMID: 32224973 PMCID: PMC7241084 DOI: 10.3390/metabo10040125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Enzyme assembly by ligand binding or physically sequestrating enzymes, substrates, or metabolites into isolated compartments can bring key molecules closer to enhance the flux of a metabolic pathway. The emergence of enzyme assembly has provided both opportunities and challenges for metabolic engineering. At present, with the development of synthetic biology and systems biology, a variety of enzyme assembly strategies have been proposed, from the initial direct enzyme fusion to scaffold-free assembly, as well as artificial scaffolds, such as nucleic acid/protein scaffolds, and even some more complex physical compartments. These assembly strategies have been explored and applied to the synthesis of various important bio-based products, and have achieved different degrees of success. Despite some achievements, enzyme assembly, especially in vivo, still has many problems that have attracted significant attention from researchers. Here, we focus on some selected examples to review recent research on scaffold-free strategies, synthetic artificial scaffolds, and physical compartments for enzyme assembly or pathway sequestration, and we discuss their notable advances. In addition, the potential applications and challenges in the applications are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueqin Lv
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; (X.L.); (S.C.); (Y.G.); (J.L.); (G.D.)
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Shixiu Cui
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; (X.L.); (S.C.); (Y.G.); (J.L.); (G.D.)
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Yang Gu
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; (X.L.); (S.C.); (Y.G.); (J.L.); (G.D.)
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Jianghua Li
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; (X.L.); (S.C.); (Y.G.); (J.L.); (G.D.)
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Guocheng Du
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; (X.L.); (S.C.); (Y.G.); (J.L.); (G.D.)
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Long Liu
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; (X.L.); (S.C.); (Y.G.); (J.L.); (G.D.)
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
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41
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Kalnins G, Cesle EE, Jansons J, Liepins J, Filimonenko A, Tars K. Encapsulation mechanisms and structural studies of GRM2 bacterial microcompartment particles. Nat Commun 2020; 11:388. [PMID: 31959751 PMCID: PMC6971018 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-14205-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are prokaryotic organelles consisting of a protein shell and an encapsulated enzymatic core. BMCs are involved in several biochemical processes, such as choline, glycerol and ethanolamine degradation and carbon fixation. Since non-native enzymes can also be encapsulated in BMCs, an improved understanding of BMC shell assembly and encapsulation processes could be useful for synthetic biology applications. Here we report the isolation and recombinant expression of BMC structural genes from the Klebsiella pneumoniae GRM2 locus, the investigation of mechanisms behind encapsulation of the core enzymes, and the characterization of shell particles by cryo-EM. We conclude that the enzymatic core is encapsulated in a hierarchical manner and that the CutC choline lyase may play a secondary role as an adaptor protein. We also present a cryo-EM structure of a pT = 4 quasi-symmetric icosahedral shell particle at 3.3 Å resolution, and demonstrate variability among the minor shell forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gints Kalnins
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Ratsupites 1, Riga, 1067, Latvia.
| | - Eva-Emilija Cesle
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Ratsupites 1, Riga, 1067, Latvia
| | - Juris Jansons
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Ratsupites 1, Riga, 1067, Latvia
| | - Janis Liepins
- Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Latvia, Jelgavas 1, Riga, 1004, Latvia
| | - Anatolij Filimonenko
- Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Kaspars Tars
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Ratsupites 1, Riga, 1067, Latvia
- University of Latvia, Jelgavas 1, Riga, 1004, Latvia
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42
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Huang J, Ferlez BH, Young EJ, Kerfeld CA, Kramer DM, Ducat DC. Functionalization of Bacterial Microcompartment Shell Proteins With Covalently Attached Heme. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 7:432. [PMID: 31993414 PMCID: PMC6962350 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2019.00432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Heme is a versatile redox cofactor that has considerable potential for synthetic biology and bioelectronic applications. The capacity to functionalize non-heme-binding proteins with covalently bound heme moieties in vivo could expand the variety of bioelectronic materials, particularly if hemes could be attached at defined locations so as to facilitate position-sensitive processes like electron transfer. In this study, we utilized the cytochrome maturation system I to develop a simple approach that enables incorporation of hemes into the backbone of target proteins in vivo. We tested our methodology by targeting the self-assembling bacterial microcompartment shell proteins, and inserting functional hemes at multiple locations in the protein backbone. We found substitution of three amino acids on the target proteins promoted heme attachment with high occupancy. Spectroscopic measurements suggested these modified proteins covalently bind low-spin hemes, with relative low redox midpoint potentials (about -210 mV vs. SHE). Heme-modified shell proteins partially retained their self-assembly properties, including the capacity to hexamerize, and form inter-hexamer attachments. Heme-bound shell proteins demonstrated the capacity to integrate into higher-order shell assemblies, however, the structural features of these macromolecular complexes was sometimes altered. Altogether, we report a versatile strategy for generating electron-conductive cytochromes from structurally-defined proteins, and provide design considerations on how heme incorporation may interface with native assembly properties in engineered proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingcheng Huang
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Bryan H. Ferlez
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Eric J. Young
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Cheryl A. Kerfeld
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology and Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - David M. Kramer
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Daniel C. Ducat
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
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43
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Bari NK, Kumar G, Hazra JP, Kaur S, Sinha S. Functional protein shells fabricated from the self-assembling protein sheets of prokaryotic organelles. J Mater Chem B 2020; 8:523-533. [DOI: 10.1039/c9tb02224d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Fabricating single component protein compartments from the shells proteins of bacterial microcompartments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naimat K. Bari
- Institute of Nano Science and Technology
- Habitat Centre
- Sector-64
- Mohali
- India
| | - Gaurav Kumar
- Institute of Nano Science and Technology
- Habitat Centre
- Sector-64
- Mohali
- India
| | - Jagadish P. Hazra
- Department of Chemical Sciences
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)
- Mohali
- Knowledge City
- Sector 81
| | - Simerpreet Kaur
- Institute of Nano Science and Technology
- Habitat Centre
- Sector-64
- Mohali
- India
| | - Sharmistha Sinha
- Institute of Nano Science and Technology
- Habitat Centre
- Sector-64
- Mohali
- India
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44
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Maity B, Li Z, Niwase K, Ganser C, Furuta T, Uchihashi T, Lu D, Ueno T. Single-molecule level dynamic observation of disassembly of the apo-ferritin cage in solution. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:18562-18572. [DOI: 10.1039/d0cp02069a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The 24-mer iron-storage protein, ferritin cage assembly plays important role in nanomaterials synthesis and drug delivery. Herein we explored the disassembly process of the cage by high-speed AFM in combination with all-atom MD simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Basudev Maity
- Department of Life Science and Technology
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Yokohama 226-8501
- Japan
| | - Zhipeng Li
- Department of Life Science and Technology
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Yokohama 226-8501
- Japan
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis
| | - Kento Niwase
- Department of Life Science and Technology
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Yokohama 226-8501
- Japan
| | - Christian Ganser
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS)
- National Institutes of Natural Sciences
- Okazaki
- Japan
| | - Tadaomi Furuta
- Department of Life Science and Technology
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Yokohama 226-8501
- Japan
| | - Takayuki Uchihashi
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS)
- National Institutes of Natural Sciences
- Okazaki
- Japan
- Department of Physics
| | - Diannan Lu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- Tsinghua University
- Beijing 100084
- China
| | - Takafumi Ueno
- Department of Life Science and Technology
- Tokyo Institute of Technology
- Yokohama 226-8501
- Japan
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45
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Plegaria JS, Yates MD, Glaven SM, Kerfeld CA. Redox Characterization of Electrode-Immobilized Bacterial Microcompartment Shell Proteins Engineered To Bind Metal Centers. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2019; 3:685-692. [DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.9b01023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew D. Yates
- Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. 20375, United States
| | - Sarah M. Glaven
- Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. 20375, United States
| | - Cheryl A. Kerfeld
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology and Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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46
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Garcia-Alles LF, Root K, Maveyraud L, Aubry N, Lesniewska E, Mourey L, Zenobi R, Truan G. Occurrence and stability of hetero-hexamer associations formed by β-carboxysome CcmK shell components. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0223877. [PMID: 31603944 PMCID: PMC6788708 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The carboxysome is a bacterial micro-compartment (BMC) subtype that encapsulates enzymatic activities necessary for carbon fixation. Carboxysome shells are composed of a relatively complex cocktail of proteins, their precise number and identity being species dependent. Shell components can be classified in two structural families, the most abundant class associating as hexamers (BMC-H) that are supposed to be major players for regulating shell permeability. Up to recently, these proteins were proposed to associate as homo-oligomers. Genomic data, however, demonstrated the existence of paralogs coding for multiple shell subunits. Here, we studied cross-association compatibilities among BMC-H CcmK proteins of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. Co-expression in Escherichia coli proved a consistent formation of hetero-hexamers combining CcmK1 and CcmK2 or, remarkably, CcmK3 and CcmK4 subunits. Unlike CcmK1/K2 hetero-hexamers, the stoichiometry of incorporation of CcmK3 in associations with CcmK4 was low. Cross-interactions implicating other combinations were weak, highlighting a structural segregation of the two groups that could relate to gene organization. Sequence analysis and structural models permitted the localization of interactions that would favor formation of CcmK3/K4 hetero-hexamers. The crystallization of these CcmK3/K4 associations conducted to the elucidation of a structure corresponding to the CcmK4 homo-hexamer. Yet, subunit exchange could not be demonstrated in vitro. Biophysical measurements showed that hetero-hexamers are thermally less stable than homo-hexamers, and impeded in forming larger assemblies. These novel findings are discussed within the context of reported data to propose a functional scenario in which minor CcmK3/K4 incorporation in shells would introduce sufficient local disorder as to allow shell remodeling necessary to adapt rapidly to environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis F. Garcia-Alles
- Toulouse Biotechnology Institute (TBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Katharina Root
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Laurent Maveyraud
- Institut de Pharmacologie et Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Nathalie Aubry
- Toulouse Biotechnology Institute (TBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
| | - Eric Lesniewska
- ICB UMR CNRS 6303, University of Bourgogne Franche-Comte, Dijon, France
| | - Lionel Mourey
- Institut de Pharmacologie et Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Renato Zenobi
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Gilles Truan
- Toulouse Biotechnology Institute (TBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INRA, INSA, Toulouse, France
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47
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Cao D, Song Y, Peng J, Ma R, Guo J, Chen J, Li X, Jiang Y, Wang E, Xu L. Advances in Atomic Force Microscopy: Weakly Perturbative Imaging of the Interfacial Water. Front Chem 2019; 7:626. [PMID: 31572715 PMCID: PMC6751248 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2019.00626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 08/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The structure and dynamics of interfacial water, determined by the water-interface interactions, are important for a wide range of applied fields and natural processes, such as water diffusion (Kim et al., 2013), electrochemistry (Markovic, 2013), heterogeneous catalysis (Over et al., 2000), and lubrication (Zilibotti et al., 2013). The precise understanding of water-interface interactions largely relies on the development of atomic-scale experimental techniques (Guo et al., 2014) and computational methods (Hapala et al., 2014b). Scanning probe microscopy has been extensively applied to probe interfacial water in many interdisciplinary fields (Ichii et al., 2012; Shiotari and Sugimoto, 2017; Peng et al., 2018a). In this perspective, we review the recent progress in the noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) imaging and AFM simulation techniques and discuss how the newly developed techniques are applied to study the properties of interfacial water. The nc-AFM with the quadrupole-like CO-terminated tip can achieve ultrahigh-resolution imaging of the interfacial water on different surfaces, trace the reconstruction of H-bonding network and determine the intrinsic structures of the weakly bonded water clusters and even their metastable states. In the end, we present an outlook on the directions of future AFM studies of interfacial water as well as the challenges faced by this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duanyun Cao
- International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yizhi Song
- International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Jinbo Peng
- International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Runze Ma
- International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Guo
- College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ji Chen
- School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinzheng Li
- School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Jiang
- International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Topological Quantum Computation, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Enge Wang
- International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Ceramics Division, Songshan Lake Materials Lab, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangdong, China.,School of Physics, Liaoning University, Shenyang, China
| | - Limei Xu
- International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing, China
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48
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Sun Y, Wollman AJM, Huang F, Leake MC, Liu LN. Single-Organelle Quantification Reveals Stoichiometric and Structural Variability of Carboxysomes Dependent on the Environment. THE PLANT CELL 2019; 31:1648-1664. [PMID: 31048338 PMCID: PMC6635877 DOI: 10.1105/tpc.18.00787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The carboxysome is a complex, proteinaceous organelle that plays essential roles in carbon assimilation in cyanobacteria and chemoautotrophs. It comprises hundreds of protein homologs that self-assemble in space to form an icosahedral structure. Despite its significance in enhancing CO2 fixation and potentials in bioengineering applications, the formation of carboxysomes and their structural composition, stoichiometry, and adaptation to cope with environmental changes remain unclear. Here we use live-cell single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, coupled with confocal and electron microscopy, to decipher the absolute protein stoichiometry and organizational variability of single β-carboxysomes in the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942. We determine the physiological abundance of individual building blocks within the icosahedral carboxysome. We further find that the protein stoichiometry, diameter, localization, and mobility patterns of carboxysomes in cells depend sensitively on the microenvironmental levels of CO2 and light intensity during cell growth, revealing cellular strategies of dynamic regulation. These findings, also applicable to other bacterial microcompartments and macromolecular self-assembling systems, advance our knowledge of the principles that mediate carboxysome formation and structural modulation. It will empower rational design and construction of entire functional metabolic factories in heterologous organisms, for example crop plants, to boost photosynthesis and agricultural productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaqi Sun
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Adam J M Wollman
- Biological Physical Sciences Institute, Departments of Physics and Biology, University of York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Fang Huang
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
| | - Mark C Leake
- Biological Physical Sciences Institute, Departments of Physics and Biology, University of York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
| | - Lu-Ning Liu
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, United Kingdom
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49
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Ferlez B, Sutter M, Kerfeld CA. A designed bacterial microcompartment shell with tunable composition and precision cargo loading. Metab Eng 2019; 54:286-291. [PMID: 31075444 PMCID: PMC6884132 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2019.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Revised: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Microbes often augment their metabolism by conditionally constructing proteinaceous organelles, known as bacterial microcompartments (BMCs), that encapsulate enzymes to degrade organic compounds or assimilate CO2. BMCs self-assemble and are spatially delimited by a semi-permeable shell made up of hexameric, trimeric, and pentameric shell proteins. Bioengineers aim to recapitulate the organization and efficiency of these complex biological architectures by redesigning the shell to incorporate non-native enzymes from biotechnologically relevant pathways. To meet this challenge, a diverse set of synthetic biology tools are required, including methods to manipulate the properties of the shell as well as target and organize cargo encapsulation. We designed and determined the crystal structure of a synthetic shell protein building block with an inverted sidedness of its N- and C-terminal residues relative to its natural counterpart; the inversion targets genetically fused protein cargo to the lumen of the shell. Moreover, the titer of fluorescent protein cargo encapsulated using this strategy is controllable using an inducible tetracycline promoter. These results expand the available set of building blocks for precision engineering of BMC-based nanoreactors and are compatible with orthogonal methods which will facilitate the installation and organization of multi-enzyme pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Ferlez
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, 603 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Markus Sutter
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, 603 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology and Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Cheryl A Kerfeld
- MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, 603 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology and Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Divisions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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50
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Bio-engineering of bacterial microcompartments: a mini review. Biochem Soc Trans 2019; 47:765-777. [DOI: 10.1042/bst20170564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Revised: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
AbstractBacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are protein-bound prokaryotic organelles, discovered in cyanobacteria more than 60 years ago. Functionally similar to eukaryotic cellular organelles, BMCs compartment metabolic activities in the cytoplasm, foremost to increase local enzyme concentration and prevent toxic intermediates from damaging the cytosolic content. Advanced knowledge of the functional and structural properties of multiple types of BMCs, particularly over the last 10 years, have highlighted design principles of microcompartments. This has prompted new research into their potential to function as programmable synthetic nano-bioreactors and novel bio-materials with biotechnological and medical applications. Moreover, due to the involvement of microcompartments in bacterial pathogenesis and human health, BMCs have begun to gain attention as potential novel drug targets. This mini-review gives an overview of important synthetic biology developments in the bioengineering of BMCs and a perspective on future directions in the field.
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