Proton NMR of Escherichia coli sulfite reductase: the unligated hemeprotein subunit

1H NMR Spectroscopy of [FeFe] Hydrogenase: Insight into the Electronic Structure of the Active Site

The [FeFe] hydrogenase HydA1 from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has been studied using ¹H NMR spectroscopy identifying the paramagnetically shifted ¹H resonances associated with both the [4Fe-4S]_H and the [2Fe]_H subclusters of the active site “H-cluster”. The signal pattern of the unmaturated HydA1 containing only [4Fe-4S]_H is reminiscent of bacterial-type ferredoxins. The spectra of maturated HydA1, with a complete H-cluster in the active H_ox and the CO-inhibited H_ox–CO state, reveal additional upfield and downfield shifted ¹H resonances originating from the four methylene protons of the azadithiolate ligand in the [2Fe]_H subsite. The two axial protons are affected by positive spin density, while the two equatorial protons experience negative spin density. These protons can be used as important probes sensing the effects of ligand-binding to the catalytic site of the H-cluster.

Biosynthesis of Cysteine

The synthesis of L-cysteine from inorganic sulfur is the predominant mechanism by which reduced sulfur is incorporated into organic compounds. L-cysteineis used for protein and glutathione synthesis and serves as the primary source of reduced sulfur in L-methionine, lipoic acid, thiamin, coenzyme A (CoA), molybdopterin, and other organic molecules. Sulfate and thiosulfate uptake in E. coli and serovar Typhimurium are achieved through a single periplasmic transport system that utilizes two different but similar periplasmic binding proteins. Kinetic studies indicate that selenate and selenite share a single transporter with sulfate, but molybdate also has a separate transport system. During aerobic growth, the reduction of sulfite to sulfide is catalyzed by NADPH-sulfite reductase (SiR), and serovar Typhimurium mutants lacking this enzyme accumulate sulfite from sulfate, implying that sulfite is a normal intermediate in assimilatory sulfate reduction. L-Cysteine biosynthesis in serovar Typhimurium and E. coli ceases almost entirely when cells are grown on L-cysteine or L-cystine, owing to a combination of end product inhibition of serine transacetylase by L-cysteine and a gene regulatory system known as the cysteine regulon, wherein genes for sulfate assimilation and alkanesulfonate utilization are expressed only when sulfur is limiting. In vitro studies with the cysJIH, cysK, and cysP promoters have confirmed that they are inefficient at forming transcription initiation complexes without CysB and N-acetyl-L-serine. Activation of the tauA and ssuE promoters requires Cbl. It has been proposed that the three serovar Typhimurium anaerobic reductases for sulfite, thiosulfate, and tetrathionate may function primarily in anaerobic respiration.

Chemical modification studies of tryptophan, arginine and lysine residues in maize chloroplast ferredoxin:sulfite oxidoreductase

The ferredoxin-dependent sulfite reductase from maize was treated, in separate experiments, with three different covalent modifiers of specific amino acid side chains. Treatment with the tryptophan-modifying reagent, N-bromosuccinimide (NBS), resulted in a loss of enzymatic activity with both the physiological donor for the enzyme, reduced ferredoxin, and with reduced methyl viologen, a non-physiological electron donor. Formation of the 1:1 ferredoxin/sulfite reductase complex prior to treating the enzyme with NBS completely protected the enzyme against the loss of both activities. Neither the secondary structure, nor the oxidation-reduction midpoint potential (Em) values of the siroheme and [4Fe-4S] cluster prosthetic groups of sulfite reductase, nor the binding affinity of the enzyme for ferredoxin were affected by NBS treatment. Treatment of sulfite reductase with the lysine-modifying reagent, N-acetylsuccinimide, inhibited the ferredoxin-linked activity of the enzyme without inhibiting the methyl viologen-linked activity. Complex formation with ferredoxin protects the enzyme against the inhibition of ferredoxin-linked activity produced by treatment with N-acetylsuccinimide. Treatment of sulfite reductase with N-acetylsuccinimide also decreased the binding affinity of the enzyme for ferredoxin. Treatment of sulfite reductase with the arginine-modifying reagent, phenylglyoxal, inhibited both the ferredoxin-linked and methyl viologen-linked activities of the enzyme but had a significantly greater effect on the ferredoxin-dependent activity than on the reduced methyl viologen-linked activity. The effects of these three inhibitory treatments are consistent with a possible role for a tryptophan residue the catalytic mechanism of sulfite reductase and for lysine and arginine residues at the ferredoxin-binding site of the enzyme.

Siroheme- and [Fe4-S4]-dependent NirA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis Is a Sulfite Reductase with a Covalent Cys-Tyr Bond in the Active Site

The nirA gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is up-regulated in the persistent state of the bacteria, suggesting that it is a potential target for the development of antituberculosis agents particularly active against the pathogen in its dormant phase. This gene encodes a ferredoxin-dependent sulfite reductase, and the structure of the enzyme has been determined using x-ray crystallography. The enzyme is a monomer comprising 555 amino acids and contains a [Fe4-S4] cluster and a siroheme cofactor. The molecule is built up of three domains with an alpha/beta fold. The first domain consists of two ferredoxin-like subdomains, related by a pseudo-2-fold symmetry axis passing through the whole molecule. The other two domains, which provide much of the binding interactions with the cofactors, have a common fold that is unique to the sulfite/nitrite reductase family. The domains form a trilobal structure, with the cofactors and the active site located at the interface of all three domains in the center of the molecule. NirA contains an unusual covalent bond between the side chains of Tyr69 and Cys161 in the active site, in close proximity to the siroheme cofactor. Removal of this covalent bond by site-directed mutagenesis impairs catalytic activity, suggesting that it is important for the enzymatic reaction. These residues are part of a sequence fingerprint, able to distinguish between ferredoxin-dependent sulfite and nitrite reductases. Comparison of NirA with the structure of the truncated NADPH-dependent sulfite reductase from Escherichia coli suggests a binding site for the external electron donor ferredoxin close to the [Fe4-S4] cluster.

Oxidation-reduction properties of maize ferredoxin:sulfite oxidoreductase

Oxidation-reduction titrations have been carried out on the wild-type, ferredoxin-dependent sulfite reductase from maize and two site-specific variants of the enzyme. E(m) values have been determined for the siroheme and [4Fe-4S] cluster prosthetic groups of the enzyme, which titrate as independent, one-electron carriers. Visible-region difference spectra suggest that reduction of the [4Fe-4S] cluster significantly perturbs the spectrum of the reduced siroheme group of the enzyme. The effects of siroheme axial ligation, by either cyanide or phosphate ligands, on the redox properties of sulfite reductase have also been examined. For comparison, the effects of phosphate and cyanide on the redox properties of the ferredoxin-dependent nitrite reductase of spinach chloroplasts, an enzyme with the same prosthetic group arrangement as sulfite reductase, have been examined.

The spin distribution in low-spin iron porphyrins

In many low-spin (S = 1/2) iron porphyrin derivatives, electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra indicate that one of the d(pi) orbitals of iron, either a d(xz) or d(yz), depending on the axial ligands of the porphyrin complex as well as their orientation, is essentially singly occupied; the unpaired electron is almost completely located at the metal. In contrast, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy convincingly show that a significant share of the unpaired electron is delocalized. This apparent contradiction is explained by the present density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations performed on a heme a model as well as on bis-imidazole-ligated iron porphyrin without substituents. The calculations show that the integrated spin density at the iron atom is nearly one, in agreement with the ESR measurements. However, significant areas with opposite (beta) spin are found along the Fe-N bond axes, thus evoking a need for additional alpha-spin density to be present in the porphyrin ring, ring substituents, and the axial ligands to keep the net amount of unpaired spin exactly one. The gross spin density, that is, the sum of unpaired alpha and beta spins, amounts to about 1.3 electrons. It seems that the degree to which alpha and beta spin dominate in different regions of the heme structure, as evidenced in these calculations, has not been previously observed.

Plant sulfite reductase: molecular structure, catalytic function and interaction with ferredoxin

Plant sulfite reductase contains the siroheme and the [4Fe-4S] cluster as catalytically active redox centers and catalyzes the six-electron reductions of sulfite and nitrite using electrons donated from ferredoxin. A heterologous expression of a cDNA for maize sulfite reductase in E. coli has enabled us to produce the wild-type and mutant enzymes. Putative substrate-binding basic residues, located at the siroheme distal side, have been substituted for other residues with neutral or negatively charged side chains. Kinetic studies of the resulting mutant enzymes have demonstrated that substrate specificity for the two anions is remarkably changed by amino acid substitutions at a single site. We have also produced two classes of ferredoxin mutants with less ability to donate electrons to sulfite reductase: one with a defect in the recognition of the partner enzyme and the other with an unfavorable redox property. This article summarizes our knowledge about the structure function relationships of plant sulfite reductase.

The relationship between structure and function for the sulfite reductases

The six-electron reductions of sulfite to sulfide and nitrite to ammonia, fundamental to early and contemporary life, are catalyzed by diverse sulfite and nitrite reductases that share an unusual prosthetic assembly in their active centers, namely siroheme covalently linked to an Fe4S4 cluster. The recently determined crystallographic structure of the sulfite reductase hemoprotein from Escherichia coli complements extensive biochemical and spectroscopic studies in revealing structural features that are key for the catalytic mechanisms and in suggesting a common symmetric structural unit for this diverse family of enzymes.

Sulfite reductase structure at 1.6 A: evolution and catalysis for reduction of inorganic anions

Fundamental chemical transformations for biogeochemical cycling of sulfur and nitrogen are catalyzed by sulfite and nitrite reductases. The crystallographic structure of Escherichia coli sulfite reductase hemoprotein (SiRHP), which catalyzes the concerted six-electron reductions of sulfite to sulfide and nitrite to ammonia, was solved with multiwavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) of the native siroheme and Fe4S4 cluster cofactors, multiple isomorphous replacement, and selenomethionine sequence markers. Twofold symmetry within the 64-kilodalton polypeptide generates a distinctive three-domain alpha/beta fold that controls cofactor assembly and reactivity. Homology regions conserved between the symmetry-related halves of SiRHP and among other sulfite and nitrite reductases revealed key residues for stability and function, and identified a sulfite or nitrite reductase repeat (SNiRR) common to a redox-enzyme superfamily. The saddle-shaped siroheme shares a cysteine thiolate ligand with the Fe4S4 cluster and ligates an unexpected phosphate anion. In the substrate complex, sulfite displaces phosphate and binds to siroheme iron through sulfur. An extensive hydrogen-bonding network of positive side chains, water molecules, and siroheme carboxylates activates S-O bonds for reductive cleavage.

Proton NMR of Escherichia coli sulfite reductase: studies of the heme protein subunit with added ligands

The heme protein subunit of sulfite reductase (SiR-HP; M(r) 64,000) from Escherichia coli as isolated contains the isobacteriochlorin siroheme exchange-coupled to a [4Fe-4S] cluster in the 2+ oxidation state. SiR-HP in the presence of a suitable electron donor can catalyze the six-electron reductions of sulfite to sulfide and nitrite to ammonia. Paramagnetic 1H NMR was used to study the low-spin complexes of SiR-HP formed by binding the exogenous inhibitor cyanide or the substrates sulfite and nitrite. As a model, the cyanide complex of purified siroheme was also prepared. The NMR spectrum of isolated ferric low-spin siroheme-CN is consistent with spin density being transferred into the a2u molecular orbital, an interaction which is symmetry-forbidden in porphyrins. The pattern of proton NMR shifts observed for isolated ferric low-spin siroheme-CN is very similar to those obtained for the protein-cyanide complex. NMR spectra of the cyanide complex of SiR-HP were obtained in all three accessible redox states. The pattern of hyperfine shifts observed for the one-electron and two-electron reduced cyanide complexes is typical of those seen for [4Fe-4S] clusters in the 2+ and 1+ oxidation states, respectively. Resonances arising from the beta-CH2 protons of cluster cysteines have been assigned for all complexes studied utilizing deuterium substitution. The cyanide-, sulfite-, and nitrite-ligated states possessed an almost identically shifted upfield cluster cysteine resonance whose presence indicates that covalent coupling exists between siroheme and cluster in solution. Data are also presented for the existence of a secondary anion binding site, the occupancy of which perturbs the oxidized SiR-HP NMR spectrum, where binding occurs at a rate much faster than that of ligand binding to heme.