An alternative interpretation of the slow KaiB-KaiC binding of the cyanobacterial clock proteins

The inner workings of an ancient biological clock

Circadian clocks evolved in diverse organisms as an adaptation to the daily swings in ambient light and temperature that derive from Earth's rotation. These timing systems, based on intracellular molecular oscillations, synchronize organisms' behavior and physiology with the 24-h environmental rhythm. The cyanobacterial clock serves as a special model for understanding circadian rhythms because it can be fully reconstituted in vitro. This review summarizes recent advances that leverage new biochemical, biophysical, and mathematical approaches to shed light on the molecular mechanisms of cyanobacterial Kai proteins that support the clock, and their homologues in other bacteria. Many questions remain in circadian biology, and the tools developed for the Kai system will bring us closer to the answers.

Multimeric structure enables the acceleration of KaiB-KaiC complex formation induced by ADP/ATP exchange inhibition

Circadian clocks tick a rhythm with a nearly 24-hour period in a variety of organisms. In the clock proteins of cyanobacteria, KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC, known as a minimum circadian clock, the slow KaiB-KaiC complex formation is essential in determining the clock period. This complex formation, occurring when the C1 domain of KaiC hexamer binds ADP molecules produced by the ATPase activity of C1, is considered to be promoted by accumulating ADP molecules in C1 through inhibiting the ADP/ATP exchange (ADP release) rather than activating the ATP hydrolysis (ADP production). Significantly, this ADP/ATP exchange inhibition accelerates the complex formation together with its promotion, implying a potential role in the period robustness under environmental perturbations. However, the molecular mechanism of this simultaneous promotion and acceleration remains elusive because inhibition of a backward process generally slows down the whole process. In this article, to investigate the mechanism, we build several reaction models of the complex formation with the pre-binding process concerning the ATPase activity. In these models, six KaiB monomers cooperatively and rapidly bind to C1 when C1 binds ADP molecules more than a given threshold while stabilizing the binding-competent conformation of C1. Through comparison among the models proposed here, we then extract three requirements for the simultaneous promotion and acceleration: the stabilization of the binding-competent C1 by KaiB binding, slow ADP/ATP exchange in the binding-competent C1, and relatively fast ADP/ATP exchange occurring in the binding-incompetent C1 in the presence of KaiB. The last two requirements oblige KaiC to form a multimer. Moreover, as a natural consequence, the present models can also explain why the binding of KaiB to C1 reduces the ATPase activity of C1.

A Night-Time Edge Site Intermediate in the Cyanobacterial Circadian Clock Identified by EPR Spectroscopy

As the only circadian oscillator that can be reconstituted in vitro with its constituent proteins KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC using ATP as an energy source, the cyanobacterial circadian oscillator serves as a model system for detailed mechanistic studies of day-night transitions of circadian clocks in general. The day-to-night transition occurs when KaiB forms a night-time complex with KaiC to sequester KaiA, the latter of which interacts with KaiC during the day to promote KaiC autophosphorylation. However, how KaiB forms the complex with KaiC remains poorly understood, despite the available structures of KaiB bound to hexameric KaiC. It has been postulated that KaiB-KaiC binding is regulated by inter-KaiB cooperativity. Here, using spin labeling continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, we identified and quantified two subpopulations of KaiC-bound KaiB, corresponding to the "bulk" and "edge" KaiBC sites in stoichiometric and substoichiometric KaiBiC6 complexes (i = 1-5). We provide kinetic evidence to support the intermediacy of the "edge" KaiBC sites as bridges and nucleation sites between free KaiB and the "bulk" KaiBC sites. Furthermore, we show that the relative abundance of "edge" and "bulk" sites is dependent on both KaiC phosphostate and KaiA, supporting the notion of phosphorylation-state controlled inter-KaiB cooperativity. Finally, we demonstrate that the interconversion between the two subpopulations of KaiC-bound KaiB is intimately linked to the KaiC phosphorylation cycle. These findings enrich our mechanistic understanding of the cyanobacterial clock and demonstrate the utility of EPR in elucidating circadian clock mechanisms.

Functional and Regulatory Roles of Fold-Switching Proteins

Fold-switching proteins respond to cellular stimuli by remodeling their secondary structures and changing their functions. Whereas several previous reviews have focused on various structural, physical-chemical, and evolutionary aspects of this newly emerging class of proteins, this minireview focuses on how fold switching modulates protein function and regulates biological processes. It first compares and contrasts fold switchers with other known types of proteins. Second, it presents examples of how various proteins can change their functions through fold switching. Third, it demonstrates that fold switchers can regulate biological processes by discussing two proteins, RfaH and KaiB, whose dramatic secondary structure remodeling events directly affect gene expression and a circadian clock, respectively. Finally, this minireview discusses how the field of protein fold switching might advance.