A stabilizing alpha/beta-hydrophobic core greatly contributes to hyperthermostability of archaeal [P62A]Ssh10b

NMR Structure and Biophysical Characterization of Thermophilic Single-Stranded DNA Binding Protein from Sulfolobus Solfataricus

Proteins from Sulfolobus solfataricus (S. solfataricus), an extremophile, are active even at high temperatures. The single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) binding protein of S. solfataricus (SsoSSB) is overexpressed to protect ssDNA during DNA metabolism. Although SsoSSB has the potential to be applied in various areas, its structural and ssDNA binding properties at high temperatures have not been studied. We present the solution structure, backbone dynamics, and ssDNA binding properties of SsoSSB at 50 °C. The overall structure is consistent with the structures previously studied at room temperature. However, the loop between the first two β sheets, which is flexible and is expected to undergo conformational change upon ssDNA binding, shows a difference from the ssDNA bound structure. The ssDNA binding ability was maintained at high temperature, but different interactions were observed depending on the temperature. Backbone dynamics at high temperature showed that the rigidity of the structured region was well maintained. The investigation of an N-terminal deletion mutant revealed that it is important for maintaining thermostability, structure, and ssDNA binding ability. The structural and dynamic properties of SsoSSB observed at high temperature can provide information on the behavior of proteins in thermophiles at the molecular level and guide the development of new experimental techniques.

The Sac10b homolog from Sulfolobus islandicus is an RNA chaperone

Nucleic acid-binding proteins of the Sac10b family, also known as Alba, are widely distributed in Archaea. However, the physiological roles of these proteins have yet to be clarified. Here, we show that Sis10b, a member of the Sac10b family from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus islandicus, was active in RNA strand exchange, duplex RNA unwinding in vitro and RNA unfolding in a heterologous host cell. This protein exhibited temperature-dependent binding preference for ssRNA over dsRNA and was more efficient in RNA unwinding and RNA unfolding at elevated temperatures. Notably, alanine substitution of a highly conserved basic residue (K) at position 17 in Sis10b drastically reduced the ability of this protein to catalyse RNA strand exchange and RNA unwinding. Additionally, the preferential binding of Sis10b to ssRNA also depended on the presence of K17 or R17. Furthermore, normal growth was restored to a slow-growing Sis10b knockdown mutant by overproducing wild-type Sis10b but not by overproducing K17A in this mutant strain. Our results indicate that Sis10b is an RNA chaperone that likely functions most efficiently at temperatures optimal for the growth of S. islandicus, and K17 is essential for the chaperone activity of the protein.

Structural Characterization of an ACP from Thermotoga maritima: Insights into Hyperthermal Adaptation

Thermotoga maritima, a deep-branching hyperthermophilic bacterium, expresses an extraordinarily stable Thermotoga maritima acyl carrier protein (Tm-ACP) that functions as a carrier in the fatty acid synthesis system at near-boiling aqueous environments. Here, to understand the hyperthermal adaptation of Tm-ACP, we investigated the structure and dynamics of Tm-ACP by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The melting temperature of Tm-ACP (101.4 °C) far exceeds that of other ACPs, owing to extensive ionic interactions and tight hydrophobic packing. The D59 residue, which replaces Pro/Ser of other ACPs, mediates ionic clustering between helices III and IV. This creates a wide pocket entrance to facilitate the accommodation of long acyl chains required for hyperthermal adaptation of the T. maritima cell membrane. Tm-ACP is revealed to be the first ACP that harbor an amide proton hyperprotected against hydrogen/deuterium exchange for I15. The hydrophobic interactions mediated by I15 appear to be the key driving forces of the global folding process of Tm-ACP. Our findings provide insights into the structural basis of the hyperthermal adaptation of ACP, which might have allowed T. maritima to survive in hot ancient oceans.

Backbone and side-chain 1H, 15N and 13C resonance assignments of two Sac10b family members Mvo10b and Mth10bTQQA from archaea

The Sac10b family proteins, also named as Alba, are small, basic, nucleic acid-binding proteins widely distributed in archaea. They possess divergent physiological functions such as binding to both DNA and RNA with a high affinity and involving in genomic DNA compaction, RNA transactions and transcriptional regulations. The structures of many Sac10b family proteins from hyperthermophilic archaea have been reported, while those from thermophilic and mesophilic archaea are largely unknown. As was pointed out, the homologous members from thermophilic and mesophilic archaea may have functions different from the hyperthermophilic members. Therefore, comparison of these homologous members can provide biophysical and structural insight into the functional diversity and thermal adaptation mechanism. The present work mainly focused on the NMR study of two Sac10b family members, Mvo10b and Mth10b, from the mesophilic and thermophilic archaea, respectively. To overcome the difficulties caused by the oligomerization and conformation heterogeneity of Mth10b, a M13T/L17Q/I20Q/P56A mutant Mth10b (Mth10bTQQA) was constructed and used together with Mvo10b for multi-dimensional NMR experiments. The resonance assignments of Mvo10b and Mth10bTQQA are reported for further structural determination which is a basis for understanding the functional diversity and their thermal adaption mechanisms.

Structure of Thermoplasma volcanium Ard1 belongs to N-acetyltransferase family member suggesting multiple ligand binding modes with acetyl coenzyme A and coenzyme A

Acetylation and deacetylation reactions result in biologically important modifications that are involved in normal cell function and cancer development. These reactions, carried out by protein acetyltransferase enzymes, act by transferring an acetyl group from acetyl-coenzymeA (Ac-CoA) to various substrate proteins. Such protein acetylation remains poorly understood in Archaea, and has been only partially described. Information processing in Archaea has been reported to be similar to that in eukaryotes and distinct from the equivalent bacterial processes. The human N-acetyltransferase Ard1 (hArd1) is one of the acetyltransferases that has been found to be overexpressed in various cancer cells and tissues, and knockout of the hArd1 gene significantly reduces growth rate of the cancer cell lines. In the present study, we determined the crystal structure of Thermoplasma volcanium Ard1 (Tv Ard1), which shows both ligand-free and multiple ligand-bound forms, i.e.,Ac-CoA- and coenzyme A (CoA)-bound forms. The difference between ligand-free and ligand-bound chains in the crystal structure was used to search for the interacting residues. The re-orientation and position of the loop between β4 and α3 including the phosphate-binding loop (P-loop) were observed, which are important for the ligand interaction. In addition, a biochemical assay to determine the N-acetyltransferase activity of Tv Ard1 was performed using the T.volcanium substrate protein Alba (Tv Alba). Taken together, the findings of this study elucidate ligand-free form of Tv Ard1 for the first time and suggest multiple modes of binding with Ac-CoA and CoA.

Mth10b, a unique member of the Sac10b family, does not bind nucleic acid

The Sac10b protein family is regarded as a group of nucleic acid-binding proteins that are highly conserved and widely distributed within archaea. All reported members of this family are basic proteins that exist as homodimers in solution and bind to DNA and/or RNA without apparent sequence specificity in vitro. Here, we reported a unique member of the family, Mth10b from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum ΔH, whose amino acid sequence shares high homology with other Sac10b family proteins. However, unlike those proteins, Mth10b is an acidic protein; its potential isoelectric point is only 4.56, which is inconsistent with the characteristics of a nucleic acid-binding protein. In this study, Mth10b was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using a three-column chromatography purification procedure. Biochemical characterization indicated that Mth10b should be similar to typical Sac10b family proteins with respect to its secondary and tertiary structure and in its preferred oligomeric forms. However, an electrophoretic mobility shift analysis (EMSA) showed that neither DNA nor RNA bound to Mth10b in vitro, indicating that either Mth10b likely has a physiological function that is distinct from those of other Sac10b family members or nucleic acid-binding ability may not be a fundamental factor to the actual function of the Sac10b family.

Improvement of Bacillus circulans beta-amylase activity attained using the ancestral mutation method

Thermostabilization of enzymes is one of the greatest challenges of protein engineering. The ancestral mutation method, which introduces ancestral residues into a target enzyme, has previously been developed and used to improve the thermostabilities of thermophilic enzymes. Herein, we report a study that used the ancestral mutation method to improve the thermostability of Bacillus circulans beta-amylase, a mesophilic enzyme. A bacterial, common-ancestral beta-amylase sequence was inferred using a phylogenetic tree composed of higher plant and bacterial amylase sequences. Eighteen mutants containing ancestral residues were designed, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. Several of these mutants were more thermostable than that of the wild-type amylase. Notably, one mutant had both greater activity and greater thermostability. The relationship between the extent to which the amino acid residues within 5 A of the mutation site were evolutionarily conserved and the extent to which thermostability was improved was examined. Apparently, it is necessary to conserve the residues surrounding an ancestral residue if thermostability is to be improved by the ancestral mutation method.