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Wang M, Wu M, Han M, Niu X, Fan A, Zhu S, Tong Y. Mining the Biosynthetic Landscape of Lactic Acid Bacteria Unearths a New Family of RiPPs Assembled by a Novel Type of ThiF-like Adenylyltransferases. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:30891-30903. [PMID: 39035879 PMCID: PMC11256085 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c03760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2024] [Revised: 06/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024]
Abstract
Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are chemically diverse natural products of ribosomal origin. These peptides, which frequently act as signals or antimicrobials, are biosynthesized by conserved enzymatic machinery, making genome mining a powerful strategy for unearthing previously uncharacterized members of their class. Herein, we investigate the untapped biosynthetic potential of Lactobacillales (i.e., lactic acid bacteria), an order of Gram-positive bacteria closely associated with human life, including pathogenic species and industrially relevant fermenters of dairy products. Through genome mining methods, we systematically explored the distribution and diversity of ThiF-like adenylyltransferase-utilizing RiPP systems in lactic acid bacteria and identified a number of unprecedented biosynthetic gene clusters. In one of these clusters, we found a previously undescribed group of macrocyclic imide biosynthetic pathways containing multiple transporters that may be involved in a potential quorum sensing (QS) system. Through in vitro assays, we determined that one such adenylyltransferase specifically catalyzes the intracyclization of its precursor peptide through macrocyclic imide formation. Incubating the enzyme with various primary amines revealed that it could effectively amidate the C-terminus of the precursor peptide. This new transformation adds to the growing list of Nature's peptide macrocyclization strategies and expands the impressive catalytic repertoire of the adenylyltransferase family. The diverse RiPP systems identified herein represent a vast, unexploited landscape for the discovery of a novel class of natural products and QS systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengjiao Wang
- College
of Life Science and Technology, Beijing
University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China
| | - Mengyue Wu
- State
Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Peking University, Beijing 100191, People’s
Republic of China
| | - Meng Han
- MOE
Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiaogang Niu
- Beijing
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular
Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
| | - Aili Fan
- State
Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Peking University, Beijing 100191, People’s
Republic of China
| | - Shaozhou Zhu
- National
Institutes for Food and Drug Control, Beijing 102629, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yigang Tong
- College
of Life Science and Technology, Beijing
University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China
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2
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Gordon CH, Hendrix E, He Y, Walker MC. AlphaFold Accurately Predicts the Structure of Ribosomally Synthesized and Post-Translationally Modified Peptide Biosynthetic Enzymes. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1243. [PMID: 37627309 PMCID: PMC10452190 DOI: 10.3390/biom13081243] [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: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a growing class of natural products biosynthesized from a genetically encoded precursor peptide. The enzymes that install the post-translational modifications on these peptides have the potential to be useful catalysts in the production of natural-product-like compounds and can install non-proteogenic amino acids in peptides and proteins. However, engineering these enzymes has been somewhat limited, due in part to limited structural information on enzymes in the same families that nonetheless exhibit different substrate selectivities. Despite AlphaFold2's superior performance in single-chain protein structure prediction, its multimer version lacks accuracy and requires high-end GPUs, which are not typically available to most research groups. Additionally, the default parameters of AlphaFold2 may not be optimal for predicting complex structures like RiPP biosynthetic enzymes, due to their dynamic binding and substrate-modifying mechanisms. This study assessed the efficacy of the structure prediction program ColabFold (a variant of AlphaFold2) in modeling RiPP biosynthetic enzymes in both monomeric and dimeric forms. After extensive benchmarking, it was found that there were no statistically significant differences in the accuracy of the predicted structures, regardless of the various possible prediction parameters that were examined, and that with the default parameters, ColabFold was able to produce accurate models. We then generated additional structural predictions for select RiPP biosynthetic enzymes from multiple protein families and biosynthetic pathways. Our findings can serve as a reference for future enzyme engineering complemented by AlphaFold-related tools.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mark C. Walker
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
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3
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Bauman KD, Butler KS, Moore BS, Chekan JR. Genome mining methods to discover bioactive natural products. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 38:2100-2129. [PMID: 34734626 PMCID: PMC8597713 DOI: 10.1039/d1np00032b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Covering: 2016 to 2021With genetic information available for hundreds of thousands of organisms in publicly accessible databases, scientists have an unprecedented opportunity to meticulously survey the diversity and inner workings of life. The natural product research community has harnessed this breadth of sequence information to mine microbes, plants, and animals for biosynthetic enzymes capable of producing bioactive compounds. Several orthogonal genome mining strategies have been developed in recent years to target specific chemical features or biological properties of bioactive molecules using biosynthetic, resistance, or transporter proteins. These "biosynthetic hooks" allow researchers to query for biosynthetic gene clusters with a high probability of encoding previously undiscovered, bioactive compounds. This review highlights recent case studies that feature orthogonal approaches that exploit genomic information to specifically discover bioactive natural products and their gene clusters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine D Bauman
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
| | - Keelie S Butler
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, 27402, USA.
| | - Bradley S Moore
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA
| | - Jonathan R Chekan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, 27402, USA.
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4
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Li Y, Han Y, Zeng Z, Li W, Feng S, Cao W. Discovery and Bioactivity of the Novel Lasso Peptide Microcin Y. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2021; 69:8758-8767. [PMID: 34314160 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c02659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Lasso peptides, a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) secreted by bacteria, have antimicrobial activity. Here, a novel lasso peptide, microcin Y (MccY), was discovered and characterized. The gene cluster for MccY synthesis was cloned for expression in Escherichia coli. This peptide was purified by HPLC and characterized by Q-TOF. MIC assays showed that some Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Shigella, and Salmonella strains were sensitive to MccY. Interestingly, Salmonellatyphimurium and Salmonella infantis were efficiently inhibited by MccY, while they were not affected by MccJ25, a lasso peptide that has antibacterial effects on many Salmonella strains. Furthermore, MccY-resistant strains of S. typhimurium were screened, and mutations were found in FhuA and SbmA, indicating the importance of these transporters for MccY absorption. This novel peptide can greatly broaden the antimicrobial spectrum of MccJ25 in Salmonella and is expected to be used in food preservation and animal feed additive areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Li
- College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Han
- College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhiwei Zeng
- College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenjing Li
- College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
| | - Saixiang Feng
- College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control of Guangdong Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Veterinary Vaccine Innovation of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
- National and Regional Joint Engineering Laboratory for Medicament of Zoonosis Prevention and Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
| | - Weisheng Cao
- College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control of Guangdong Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Veterinary Vaccine Innovation of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
- National and Regional Joint Engineering Laboratory for Medicament of Zoonosis Prevention and Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, People's Republic of China
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5
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Travin DY, Severinov K, Dubiley S. Natural Trojan horse inhibitors of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. RSC Chem Biol 2021; 2:468-485. [PMID: 34382000 PMCID: PMC8323819 DOI: 10.1039/d0cb00208a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
For most antimicrobial compounds with intracellular targets, getting inside the cell is the major obstacle limiting their activity. To pass this barrier some antibiotics mimic the compounds of specific interest for the microbe (siderophores, peptides, carbohydrates, etc.) and hijack the transport systems involved in their active uptake followed by the release of a toxic warhead inside the cell. In this review, we summarize the information about the structures, biosynthesis, and transport of natural inhibitors of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (albomycin, microcin C-related compounds, and agrocin 84) that rely on such "Trojan horse" strategy to enter the cell. In addition, we provide new data on the composition and distribution of biosynthetic gene clusters reminiscent of those coding for known Trojan horse aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases inhibitors. The products of these clusters are likely new antimicrobials that warrant further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitrii Y Travin
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology Moscow Russia
- Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow Russia
| | - Konstantin Severinov
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology Moscow Russia
- Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow Russia
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, Piscataway New Jersey USA
| | - Svetlana Dubiley
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology Moscow Russia
- Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow Russia
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6
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Shetty S, Varshney U. Regulation of translation by one-carbon metabolism in bacteria and eukaryotic organelles. J Biol Chem 2021; 296:100088. [PMID: 33199376 PMCID: PMC7949028 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.rev120.011985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2020] [Revised: 11/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein synthesis is an energetically costly cellular activity. It is therefore important that the process of mRNA translation remains in excellent synchrony with cellular metabolism and its energy reserves. Unregulated translation could lead to the production of incomplete, mistranslated, or misfolded proteins, squandering the energy needed for cellular sustenance and causing cytotoxicity. One-carbon metabolism (OCM), an integral part of cellular intermediary metabolism, produces a number of one-carbon unit intermediates (formyl, methylene, methenyl, methyl). These OCM intermediates are required for the production of amino acids such as methionine and other biomolecules such as purines, thymidylate, and redox regulators. In this review, we discuss how OCM impacts the translation apparatus (composed of ribosome, tRNA, mRNA, and translation factors) and regulates crucial steps in protein synthesis. More specifically, we address how the OCM metabolites regulate the fidelity and rate of translation initiation in bacteria and eukaryotic organelles such as mitochondria. Modulation of the fidelity of translation initiation by OCM opens new avenues to understand alternative translation mechanisms involved in stress tolerance and drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunil Shetty
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Umesh Varshney
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India; Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Studies, Jakkur, Bangalore, India.
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7
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Montalbán-López M, Scott TA, Ramesh S, Rahman IR, van Heel AJ, Viel JH, Bandarian V, Dittmann E, Genilloud O, Goto Y, Grande Burgos MJ, Hill C, Kim S, Koehnke J, Latham JA, Link AJ, Martínez B, Nair SK, Nicolet Y, Rebuffat S, Sahl HG, Sareen D, Schmidt EW, Schmitt L, Severinov K, Süssmuth RD, Truman AW, Wang H, Weng JK, van Wezel GP, Zhang Q, Zhong J, Piel J, Mitchell DA, Kuipers OP, van der Donk WA. New developments in RiPP discovery, enzymology and engineering. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 38:130-239. [PMID: 32935693 PMCID: PMC7864896 DOI: 10.1039/d0np00027b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 393] [Impact Index Per Article: 131.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Covering: up to June 2020Ribosomally-synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a large group of natural products. A community-driven review in 2013 described the emerging commonalities in the biosynthesis of RiPPs and the opportunities they offered for bioengineering and genome mining. Since then, the field has seen tremendous advances in understanding of the mechanisms by which nature assembles these compounds, in engineering their biosynthetic machinery for a wide range of applications, and in the discovery of entirely new RiPP families using bioinformatic tools developed specifically for this compound class. The First International Conference on RiPPs was held in 2019, and the meeting participants assembled the current review describing new developments since 2013. The review discusses the new classes of RiPPs that have been discovered, the advances in our understanding of the installation of both primary and secondary post-translational modifications, and the mechanisms by which the enzymes recognize the leader peptides in their substrates. In addition, genome mining tools used for RiPP discovery are discussed as well as various strategies for RiPP engineering. An outlook section presents directions for future research.
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8
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Danchin A, Sekowska A, You C. One-carbon metabolism, folate, zinc and translation. Microb Biotechnol 2020; 13:899-925. [PMID: 32153134 PMCID: PMC7264889 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The translation process, central to life, is tightly connected to the one-carbon (1-C) metabolism via a plethora of macromolecule modifications and specific effectors. Using manual genome annotations and putting together a variety of experimental studies, we explore here the possible reasons of this critical interaction, likely to have originated during the earliest steps of the birth of the first cells. Methionine, S-adenosylmethionine and tetrahydrofolate dominate this interaction. Yet, 1-C metabolism is unlikely to be a simple frozen accident of primaeval conditions. Reactive 1-C species (ROCS) are buffered by the translation machinery in a way tightly associated with the metabolism of iron-sulfur clusters, zinc and potassium availability, possibly coupling carbon metabolism to nitrogen metabolism. In this process, the highly modified position 34 of tRNA molecules plays a critical role. Overall, this metabolic integration may serve both as a protection against the deleterious formation of excess carbon under various growth transitions or environmental unbalanced conditions and as a regulator of zinc homeostasis, while regulating input of prosthetic groups into nascent proteins. This knowledge should be taken into account in metabolic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Danchin
- AMAbiotics SASInstitut Cochin24 rue du Faubourg Saint‐Jacques75014ParisFrance
- School of Biomedical SciencesLi Ka Shing Faculty of MedicineThe University of Hong KongS.A.R. Hong KongChina
| | - Agnieszka Sekowska
- AMAbiotics SASInstitut Cochin24 rue du Faubourg Saint‐Jacques75014ParisFrance
| | - Conghui You
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbial Genetic EngineeringCollege of Life Sciences and OceanologyShenzhen University1066 Xueyuan Rd518055ShenzhenChina
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9
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Travin DY, Bikmetov D, Severinov K. Translation-Targeting RiPPs and Where to Find Them. Front Genet 2020; 11:226. [PMID: 32296456 PMCID: PMC7136475 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2019] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Prokaryotic translation is among the major targets of diverse natural products with antibacterial activity including several classes of clinically relevant antibiotics. In this review, we summarize the information about the structure, biosynthesis, and modes of action of translation inhibiting ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). Azol(in)e-containing RiPPs are known to target translation, and several new compounds inhibiting the ribosome have been characterized recently. We performed a systematic search for biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) of azol(in)e-containing RiPPs. This search uncovered several groups of clusters that likely direct the synthesis of novel compounds, some of which may be targeting the ribosome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitrii Y Travin
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia.,Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Dmitry Bikmetov
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.,Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Konstantin Severinov
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia.,Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.,Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.,Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, Piscataway, NJ, United States
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10
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Niu G, Li Z, Huang P, Tan H. Engineering nucleoside antibiotics toward the development of novel antimicrobial agents. J Antibiot (Tokyo) 2019; 72:906-912. [DOI: 10.1038/s41429-019-0230-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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11
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Sumida T, Dubiley S, Wilcox B, Severinov K, Tagami S. Structural Basis of Leader Peptide Recognition in Lasso Peptide Biosynthesis Pathway. ACS Chem Biol 2019; 14:1619-1627. [PMID: 31188556 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.9b00348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Lasso peptides are a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) with a unique 3D-interlocked structure, in which an N-terminal macrolactam ring is threaded by a linear C-terminal part. The unique structure of lasso peptides is introduced into ribosomally translated precursor peptides by lasso peptide synthetase encompassing proteins B and C or B1, B2, and C when the B enzyme is split into two distinct proteins. The B1 protein recognizes the leader sequence of the precursor peptide, and then the B2 protein cleaves it. The C protein catalyzes the formation of the macrolactam ring. However, the detailed mechanism of lasso peptide maturation has remained elusive, due to the lack of structural information about the responsible proteins. Here we report the crystal structure of the B1 protein from the thermophilic actinobacteria, Thermobifida fusca (TfuB1), complexed with the leader peptide (TfuA-Leader), which revealed the detailed mechanism of leader peptide recognition. The structure of TfuB1 consists of an N-terminal β-sheet and three C-terminal helices. The leader peptide is docked on one edge of the N-terminal β-sheet of TfuB1, as an additional β strand. Three conserved amino acid residues of the leader peptide (TfuA Tyr-17, Pro-14, and Leu-12) fit well on the hydrophobic cleft between the β-sheet and adjacent helices. Biochemical analysis demonstrated that these conserved residues are essential for affinity between TfuB1 and the TfuA-Leader. Furthermore, we found that TfuB1 and the leader peptide jointly form a hydrophobic patch on the β-sheet, which includes the highly conserved TfuA Phe-6 and TfuB1 Tyr33. Homology modeling and mutational analysis of the B1 protein from a firmicute, Bacillus pseudomycoides (PsmB1), revealed that the hydrophobic patch is conserved in a wide range of species and involved in the cleavage activity of the B2 protein, indicating it forms the interaction surface for the B2 protein or the core part of the precursor peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomomi Sumida
- Research Center for Bioscience and Nanoscience, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan
| | - Svetlana Dubiley
- Center for Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Skolkovo 143025, Russia
- Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow 119334, Russia
| | - Brendan Wilcox
- Center for Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Skolkovo 143025, Russia
| | - Konstantin Severinov
- Center for Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Skolkovo 143025, Russia
- Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow 119334, Russia
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
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12
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Reiterative Synthesis by the Ribosome and Recognition of the N-Terminal Formyl Group by Biosynthetic Machinery Contribute to Evolutionary Conservation of the Length of Antibiotic Microcin C Peptide Precursor. mBio 2019; 10:mBio.00768-19. [PMID: 31040244 PMCID: PMC6495379 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00768-19] [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] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Escherichia coli microcin C (McC) is a representative member of peptide-nucleotide antibiotics produced by diverse microorganisms. The vast majority of biosynthetic gene clusters responsible for McC-like compound production encode 7-amino-acid-long precursor peptides, which are C-terminally modified by dedicated biosynthetic enzymes with a nucleotide moiety to produce a bioactive compound. In contrast, the sequences of McC-like compound precursor peptides are not conserved. Here, we studied the consequences of E. coli McC precursor peptide length increase on antibiotic production and activity. We show that increasing the precursor peptide length strongly decreases McC production by affecting multiple biosynthetic steps, suggesting that the McC biosynthesis system has evolved under significant functional constraints to maintain the precursor peptide length. Microcin C (McC) is a peptide adenylate antibiotic produced by Escherichiacoli cells bearing a plasmid-borne mcc gene cluster. Most MccA precursors, encoded by validated mcc operons from diverse bacteria, are 7 amino acids long, but the significance of this precursor length conservation has remained unclear. Here, we created derivatives of E. colimcc operons encoding longer precursors and studied their synthesis and bioactivities. We found that increasing the precursor length to 11 amino acids and beyond strongly decreased antibiotic production. We found this decrease to depend on several parameters. First, reiterative synthesis of the MccA peptide by the ribosome was decreased at longer mccA open reading frames, leading to less efficient competition with other messenger RNAs. Second, the presence of a formyl group at the N-terminal methionine of the heptameric peptide had a strong stimulatory effect on adenylation by the MccB enzyme. No such formyl group stimulation was observed for longer peptides. Finally, the presence of the N-terminal formyl on the heptapeptide adenylate stimulated bioactivity, most likely at the uptake stage. Together, these factors should contribute to optimal activity of McC-like compounds as 7-amino-acid peptide moieties and suggest convergent evolution of several steps of the antibiotic biosynthesis pathway and their adjustment to sensitive cell uptake machinery to create a potent drug.
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