Structure of phosphorylated enzyme I, the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system sugar translocation signal protein

Allosteric Regulation of Pyruvate Kinase Enables Efficient and Robust Gluconeogenesis by Preventing Metabolic Conflicts and Carbon Overflow

Glycolysis and gluconeogenesis are reciprocal metabolic pathways that utilize different carbon sources. Pyruvate kinase catalyzes the irreversible final step of glycolysis, yet the physiological function of its regulation is poorly understood. Through metabolomics and enzyme kinetics studies, we discovered that pyruvate kinase activity is inhibited during gluconeogenesis in the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis . This regulation involves an extra C-terminal domain (ECTD) of pyruvate kinase, which is essential for autoinhibition and regulation by metabolic effectors. Introducing a pyruvate kinase mutant lacking the ECTD into B. subtilis resulted in defects specifically under gluconeogenic conditions, including inefficient carbon utilization, slower growth, and decreased resistance to the herbicide glyphosate. These defects are not caused by the phosphoenolpyruvate-pyruvate-oxaloacetate futile cycle. Instead, we identified two significant metabolic consequences of pyruvate kinase dysregulation during gluconeogenesis: increased carbon overflow into the medium and failure to expand glycolytic intermediates such as phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). In silico analysis revealed that in wild-type cells, an expanded PEP pool enabled by pyruvate kinase regulation is critical for the thermodynamic feasibility of gluconeogenesis. Our findings underscore the importance of allosteric regulation during gluconeogenesis in coordinating metabolic flux, efficient energy utilization, and antimicrobial resistance.

Elucidation of the Mechanisms of Inter-domain Coupling in the Monomeric State of Enzyme I by High-pressure NMR

The catalytic cycle of Enzyme I (EI), a phosphotransferase enzyme responsible for converting phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) into pyruvate, is characterized by a series of local and global conformational rearrangements. This multistep process includes a monomer-to-dimer transition, followed by an open-to-closed rearrangement of the dimeric complex upon PEP binding. In the present study, we investigate the thermodynamics of EI dimerization using a range of high-pressure solution NMR techniques complemented by SAXS experiments. 1H-15N TROSY and 1H-13C methyl TROSY NMR spectra combined with 15N relaxation measurements revealed that a native-like engineered variant of full-length EI fully dissociates into stable monomeric state above 1.5 kbar. Conformational ensembles of EI monomeric state were generated via a recently developed protocol combining coarse-grained molecular simulations with experimental backbone residual dipolar coupling measurements. Analysis of the structural ensembles provided detailed insights into the molecular mechanisms driving formation of the catalytically competent dimeric state, and reveals that each step of EI catalytical cycle is associated with a significant reduction in either inter- or intra-domain conformational entropy. Altogether, this study completes a large body work conducted by our group on EI and establishes a comprehensive structural and dynamical description of the catalytic cycle of this prototypical multidomain, oligomeric enzyme.

Set-up of a pharmaceutical cell bank of Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense MSR1 magnetotactic bacteria producing highly pure magnetosomes

We report the successful fabrication of a pharmaceutical cellular bank (PCB) containing magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), which belong to the Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense MSR1 species. To produce such PCB, we amplified MTB in a minimal growth medium essentially devoid of other heavy metals than iron and of CMR (Carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic) products. The PCB enabled to acclimate MTB to such minimal growth conditions and then to produce highly pure magnetosomes composed of more than 99.9% of iron. The qualification of the bank as a PCB relies first on a preserved identity of the MTB compared with the original strain, second on genetic bacterial stability observed over 100 generations or under cryo-preservation for 16 months, third on a high level of purity highlighted by an absence of contaminating microorganisms in the PCB. Furthermore, the PCB was prepared under high-cell load conditions (9.108 cells/mL), allowing large-scale bacterial amplification and magnetosome production. In the future, the PCB could therefore be considered for commercial as well as research orientated applications in nanomedicine. We describe for the first-time conditions for setting-up an effective pharmaceutical cellular bank preserving over time the ability of certain specific cells, i.e. Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense MSR1 MTB, to produce nano-minerals, i.e. magnetosomes, within a pharmaceutical setting.

The metabolic control of DNA replication: mechanism and function

Metabolism and DNA replication are the two most fundamental biological functions in life. The catabolic branch of metabolism breaks down nutrients to produce energy and precursors used by the anabolic branch of metabolism to synthesize macromolecules. DNA replication consumes energy and precursors for faithfully copying genomes, propagating the genetic material from generation to generation. We have exquisite understanding of the mechanisms that underpin and regulate these two biological functions. However, the molecular mechanism coordinating replication to metabolism and its biological function remains mostly unknown. Understanding how and why living organisms respond to fluctuating nutritional stimuli through cell-cycle dynamic changes and reproducibly and distinctly temporalize DNA synthesis in a wide-range of growth conditions is important, with wider implications across all domains of life. After summarizing the seminal studies that founded the concept of the metabolic control of replication, we review data linking metabolism to replication from bacteria to humans. Molecular insights underpinning these links are then presented to propose that the metabolic control of replication uses signalling systems gearing metabolome homeostasis to orchestrate replication temporalization. The remarkable replication phenotypes found in mutants of this control highlight its importance in replication regulation and potentially genetic stability and tumorigenesis.

Solution Structure Ensembles of the Open and Closed Forms of the ∼130 kDa Enzyme I via AlphaFold Modeling, Coarse Grained Simulations, and NMR

Large-scale interdomain rearrangements are essential to protein function, governing the activity of large enzymes and molecular machineries. Yet, obtaining an atomic-resolution understanding of how the relative domain positioning is affected by external stimuli is a hard task in modern structural biology. Here, we show that combining structural modeling by AlphaFold2 with coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations and NMR residual dipolar coupling data is sufficient to characterize the spatial domain organization of bacterial enzyme I (EI), a ∼130 kDa multidomain oligomeric protein that undergoes large-scale conformational changes during its catalytic cycle. In particular, we solve conformational ensembles for EI at two different experimental temperatures and demonstrate that a lower temperature favors sampling of the catalytically competent closed state of the enzyme. These results suggest a role for conformational entropy in the activation of EI and demonstrate the ability of our protocol to detect and characterize the effect of external stimuli (such as mutations, ligand binding, and post-translational modifications) on the interdomain organization of multidomain proteins. We expect the ensemble refinement protocol described here to be easily transferrable to the investigation of the structure and dynamics of other uncharted multidomain systems and have assembled a Google Colab page (https://potoyangroup.github.io/Seq2Ensemble/) to facilitate implementation of the presented methodology elsewhere.

The Replicative DnaE Polymerase of Bacillus subtilis Recruits the Glycolytic Pyruvate Kinase (PykA) When Bound to Primed DNA Templates

The glycolytic enzyme PykA has been reported to drive the metabolic control of replication through a mechanism involving PykA moonlighting functions on the essential DnaE polymerase, the DnaC helicase and regulatory determinants of PykA catalytic activity in Bacillus subtilis. The mutants of this control suffer from critical replication and cell cycle defects, showing that the metabolic control of replication plays important functions in the overall rate of replication. Using biochemical approaches, we demonstrate here that PykA interacts with DnaE for modulating its activity when the replication enzyme is bound to a primed DNA template. This interaction is mediated by the CAT domain of PykA and possibly allosterically regulated by its PEPut domain, which also operates as a potent regulator of PykA catalytic activity. Furthermore, using fluorescence microscopy we show that the CAT and PEPut domains are important for the spatial localization of origins and replication forks, independently of their function in PykA catalytic activity. Collectively, our data suggest that the metabolic control of replication depends on the recruitment of PykA by DnaE at sites of DNA synthesis. This recruitment is likely highly dynamic, as DnaE is frequently recruited to and released from replication machineries to extend the several thousand RNA primers generated from replication initiation to termination. This implies that PykA and DnaE continuously associate and dissociate at replication machineries for ensuring a highly dynamic coordination of the replication rate with metabolism.

Protein Conformational Dynamics Underlie Selective Recognition of Thermophilic over Mesophilic Enzyme I by a Substrate Analogue

Substrate selectivity is an important preventive measure to decrease the possibility of cross interactions between enzymes and metabolites that share structural similarities. In addition, understanding the mechanisms that determine selectivity towards a particular substrate increases the knowledge base for designing specific inhibitors for target enzymes. Here, we combine NMR, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and protein engineering to investigate how two substrate analogues, allylicphosphonate (cPEP) and sulfoenolpyruvate (SEP), recognize the mesophilic (eEIC) and thermophilic (tEIC) homologues of the receptor domain of bacterial Enzyme I, which has been proposed as a target for antimicrobial research. Chemical Shift Perturbation (CSP) experiments show that cPEP and SEP recognize tEIC over the mesophilic homologue. Combined Principal Component Analysis of half-microsecond-long MD simulations reveals that incomplete quenching of a breathing motion in the eEIC-ligand complex destabilizes the interaction and makes the investigated substrate analogues selective toward the thermophilic enzyme. Our results indicate that residual protein motions need to be considered carefully when optimizing small molecule inhibitors of EI. In general, our work demonstrates that protein conformational dynamics can be exploited in the rational design and optimization of inhibitors with subfamily selectivity.

Removing carbon catabolite repression in Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius DSM 2542

Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius is a thermophilic bacterium of interest for lignocellulosic biomass fermentation. However, carbon catabolite repression (CCR) hinders co-utilization of pentoses and hexoses in the biomass substrate. Hence, to optimize the fermentation process, it is critical to remove CCR in the fermentation strains with minimal fitness cost. In this study, we investigated whether CCR could be removed from P. thermoglucosidasius DSM 2542 by mutating the Ser46 regulatory sites on HPr and Crh to a non-reactive alanine residue. It was found that neither the ptsH1 (HPr-S46A) nor the crh1 (Crh-S46A) mutation individually eliminated CCR in P. thermoglucosidasius DSM 2542. However, it was not possible to generate a ptsH1 crh1 double mutant. While the Crh-S46A mutation had no obvious fitness effect in DSM 2542, the ptsH1 mutation had a negative impact on cell growth and sugar utilization under fermentative conditions. Under these conditions, the ptsH1 mutation was associated with the production of a brown pigment, believed to arise from methylglyoxal production, which is harmful to cells. Subsequently, a less directed adaptive evolution approach was employed, in which DSM 2542 was grown in a mixture of 2-deoxy-D-glucose(2-DG) and xylose. This successfully removed CCR from P. thermoglucosidasius DSM 2542. Two selection strategies were applied to optimize the phenotypes of evolved strains. Genome sequencing identified key mutations affecting the PTS components PtsI and PtsG, the ribose operon repressor RbsR and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase APRT. Genetic complementation and bioinformatics analysis revealed that the presence of wild type rbsR and apt inhibited xylose uptake or utilization, while ptsI and ptsG might play a role in the regulation of CCR in P. thermoglucosidasius DSM 2542.

Pyruvate kinase, a metabolic sensor powering glycolysis, drives the metabolic control of DNA replication

Background

In all living organisms, DNA replication is exquisitely regulated in a wide range of growth conditions to achieve timely and accurate genome duplication prior to cell division. Failures in this regulation cause DNA damage with potentially disastrous consequences for cell viability and human health, including cancer. To cope with these threats, cells tightly control replication initiation using well-known mechanisms. They also couple DNA synthesis to nutrient richness and growth rate through a poorly understood process thought to involve central carbon metabolism. One such process may involve the cross-species conserved pyruvate kinase (PykA) which catalyzes the last reaction of glycolysis. Here we have investigated the role of PykA in regulating DNA replication in the model system Bacillus subtilis.

Results

On analysing mutants of the catalytic (Cat) and C-terminal (PEPut) domains of B. subtilis PykA we found replication phenotypes in conditions where PykA is dispensable for growth. These phenotypes are independent from the effect of mutations on PykA catalytic activity and are not associated with significant changes in the metabolome. PEPut operates as a nutrient-dependent inhibitor of initiation while Cat acts as a stimulator of replication fork speed. Disruption of either PEPut or Cat replication function dramatically impacted the cell cycle and replication timing even in cells fully proficient in known replication control functions. In vitro, PykA modulates activities of enzymes essential for replication initiation and elongation via functional interactions. Additional experiments showed that PEPut regulates PykA activity and that Cat and PEPut determinants important for PykA catalytic activity regulation are also important for PykA-driven replication functions.

Conclusions

We infer from our findings that PykA typifies a new family of cross-species replication control regulators that drive the metabolic control of replication through a mechanism involving regulatory determinants of PykA catalytic activity. As disruption of PykA replication functions causes dramatic replication defects, we suggest that dysfunctions in this new family of universal replication regulators may pave the path to genetic instability and carcinogenesis.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-022-01278-3.

The many ways that nature has exploited the unusual structural and chemical properties of phosphohistidine for use in proteins

Histidine phosphorylation is an important and ubiquitous post-translational modification. Histidine undergoes phosphorylation on either of the nitrogens in its imidazole side chain, giving rise to 1- and 3- phosphohistidine (pHis) isomers, each having a phosphoramidate linkage that is labile at high temperatures and low pH, in contrast with stable phosphomonoester protein modifications. While all organisms routinely use pHis as an enzyme intermediate, prokaryotes, lower eukaryotes and plants also use it for signal transduction. However, research to uncover additional roles for pHis in higher eukaryotes is still at a nascent stage. Since the discovery of pHis in 1962, progress in this field has been relatively slow, in part due to a lack of the tools and techniques necessary to study this labile modification. However, in the past ten years the development of phosphoproteomic techniques to detect phosphohistidine (pHis), and methods to synthesize stable pHis analogues, which enabled the development of anti-phosphohistidine (pHis) antibodies, have accelerated our understanding. Recent studies that employed anti-pHis antibodies and other advanced techniques have contributed to a rapid expansion in our knowledge of histidine phosphorylation. In this review, we examine the varied roles of pHis-containing proteins from a chemical and structural perspective, and present an overview of recent developments in pHis proteomics and antibody development.

A Single Point Mutation Controls the Rate of Interconversion Between the g + and g - Rotamers of the Histidine 189 χ2 Angle That Activates Bacterial Enzyme I for Catalysis

Enzyme I (EI) of the bacterial phosphotransferase system (PTS) is a master regulator of bacterial metabolism and a promising target for development of a new class of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The catalytic activity of EI is mediated by several intradomain, interdomain, and intersubunit conformational equilibria. Therefore, in addition to its relevance as a drug target, EI is also a good model for investigating the dynamics/function relationship in multidomain, oligomeric proteins. Here, we use solution NMR and protein design to investigate how the conformational dynamics occurring within the N-terminal domain (EIN) affect the activity of EI. We show that the rotameric g⁺-to-g⁻ transition of the active site residue His¹⁸⁹ χ2 angle is decoupled from the state A-to-state B transition that describes a ∼90° rigid-body rearrangement of the EIN subdomains upon transition of the full-length enzyme to its catalytically competent closed form. In addition, we engineered EIN constructs with modulated conformational dynamics by hybridizing EIN from mesophilic and thermophilic species, and used these chimeras to assess the effect of increased or decreased active site flexibility on the enzymatic activity of EI. Our results indicate that the rate of the autophosphorylation reaction catalyzed by EI is independent from the kinetics of the g⁺-to-g⁻ rotameric transition that exposes the phosphorylation site on EIN to the incoming phosphoryl group. In addition, our work provides an example of how engineering of hybrid mesophilic/thermophilic chimeras can assist investigations of the dynamics/function relationship in proteins, therefore opening new possibilities in biophysics.

Structure elucidation of the elusive Enzyme I monomer reveals the molecular mechanisms linking oligomerization and enzymatic activity

Enzyme I (EI) is a phosphotransferase enzyme responsible for converting phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) into pyruvate. This reaction initiates a five-step phosphorylation cascade in the bacterial phosphotransferase (PTS) transduction pathway. Under physiological conditions, EI exists in an equilibrium between a functional dimer and an inactive monomer. The monomer-dimer equilibrium is a crucial factor regulating EI activity and the phosphorylation state of the overall PTS. Experimental studies of EI's monomeric state have yet been hampered by the dimer's high thermodynamic stability, which prevents its characterization by standard structural techniques. In this study, we modified the dimerization domain of EI (EIC) by mutating three amino acids involved in the formation of intersubunit salt bridges. The engineered variant forms an active dimer in solution that can bind and hydrolyze PEP. Using hydrostatic pressure as an additional perturbation, we were then able to study the complete dissociation of the variant from 1 bar to 2.5 kbar in the absence and the presence of EI natural ligands. Backbone residual dipolar couplings collected under high-pressure conditions allowed us to determine the conformational ensemble of the isolated EIC monomeric state in solution. Our calculations reveal that three catalytic loops near the dimerization interface become unstructured upon monomerization, preventing the monomeric enzyme from binding its natural substrate. This study provides an atomic-level characterization of EI's monomeric state and highlights the role of the catalytic loops as allosteric connectors controlling both the activity and oligomerization of the enzyme.

Novel mechanisms of TolC-independent decreased bile-salt susceptibility in Escherichia coli

Bile salts, including sodium deoxycholate (DOC), are secreted into the intestine to aid fat digestion and contribute to antimicrobial protection. Gram-negative pathogens such as Escherichia coli, however, are highly resistant to DOC, using multiple mechanisms of which the multidrug efflux pump AcrAB-TolC is the dominant one. Given that TolC-mediated efflux masks the interaction of DOC with potential targets, we sought to identify those targets by identifying genes whose mutations cause an increase in the MIC to DOC relative to the ∆tolC parental strain, that lacks TolC-associated functional efflux pumps. Using a mutant screen, we isolated twenty independent spontaneous mutants that had a higher MICDOC than the E. coli parental ∆tolC strain. Whole genome sequencing of these mutants mapped most mutations to the ptsI or cyaA gene. Analysis of knock-out mutants and complementation showed that elimination of PtsI, a component of the carbohydrate phosphotransferase system, or one of the two key proteins involved in cAMP synthesis and signaling, adenylate cyclase (CyaA) or cAMP receptor protein (Crp) causes low-level increased resistance of a ∆tolC E. coli strain to DOC.

Dynamic 3D proteomes reveal protein functional alterations at high resolution in situ

Biological processes are regulated by intermolecular interactions and chemical modifications that do not affect protein levels, thus escaping detection in classical proteomic screens. We demonstrate here that a global protein structural readout based on limited proteolysis-mass spectrometry (LiP-MS) detects many such functional alterations, simultaneously and in situ, in bacteria undergoing nutrient adaptation and in yeast responding to acute stress. The structural readout, visualized as structural barcodes, captured enzyme activity changes, phosphorylation, protein aggregation, and complex formation, with the resolution of individual regulated functional sites such as binding and active sites. Comparison with prior knowledge, including other ‘omics data, showed that LiP-MS detects many known functional alterations within well-studied pathways. It suggested distinct metabolite-protein interactions and enabled identification of a fructose-1,6-bisphosphate-based regulatory mechanism of glucose uptake in E. coli. The structural readout dramatically increases classical proteomics coverage, generates mechanistic hypotheses, and paves the way for in situ structural systems biology.

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Dynamic structural proteomic screens detect functional changes at high resolution

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Detect enzyme activity, phosphorylation, and molecular interactions in situ

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Generate new molecular hypotheses and increase functional proteomics coverage

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Enabled discovery of a regulatory mechanism of glucose uptake in E. coli

An allosteric pocket for inhibition of bacterial Enzyme I identified by NMR-based fragment screening

Enzyme I (EI), which is the key enzyme to activate the bacterial phosphotransferase system, plays an important role in the regulation of several metabolic pathways and controls the biology of bacterial cells at multiple levels. The conservation and ubiquity of EI among different types of bacteria makes the enzyme a potential target for antimicrobial research. Here, we use NMR-based fragment screening to identify novel inhibitors of EI. We identify three molecular fragments that allosterically inhibit the phosphoryl transfer reaction catalyzed by EI by interacting with the enzyme at a surface pocket located more than 10 Å away from the substrate binding site. Interestingly, although the three molecules share the same binding pocket, we observe that two of the discovered EI ligands act as competitive inhibitors while the third ligand acts as a mixed inhibitor. Characterization of the EI-inhibitor complexes by NMR and Molecular Dynamics simulations reveals key interactions that perturb the fold of the active site and provides structural foundation for the different inhibitory activity of the identified molecular fragments. In particular, we show that contacts between the inhibitor and the side-chain of V292 are crucial to destabilize binding of the substrate to EI. In contrast, mixed inhibition is caused by additional contacts between the inhibitor and ⍺-helix 2 that perturb the active site structure and turnover in an allosteric manner. We expect our results to provide the basis for the development of second generation allosteric inhibitors of increased potency and to suggest novel molecular strategies to combat drug-resistant infections.

Hybrid Thermophilic/Mesophilic Enzymes Reveal a Role for Conformational Disorder in Regulation of Bacterial Enzyme I

Conformational disorder is emerging as an important feature of biopolymers, regulating a vast array of cellular functions, including signaling, phase separation, and enzyme catalysis. Here we combine NMR, crystallography, computer simulations, protein engineering, and functional assays to investigate the role played by conformational heterogeneity in determining the activity of the C-terminal domain of bacterial Enzyme I (EIC). In particular, we design chimeric proteins by hybridizing EIC from thermophilic and mesophilic organisms, and we characterize the resulting constructs for structure, dynamics, and biological function. We show that EIC exists as a mixture of active and inactive conformations and that functional regulation is achieved by tuning the thermodynamic balance between active and inactive states. Interestingly, we also present a hybrid thermophilic/mesophilic enzyme that is thermostable and more active than the wild-type thermophilic enzyme, suggesting that hybridizing thermophilic and mesophilic proteins is a valid strategy to engineer thermostable enzymes with significant low-temperature activity.

Resonance assignment of the 128 kDa enzyme I dimer from Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis

Enzyme I (EI) of the bacterial phosphotransferase system (PTS) utilizes phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) as a source of energy in order to transport sugars across the cellular membrane. PEP binding to EI initiates a phosphorylation cascade that regulates a variety of essential pathways in the metabolism of bacterial cells. Given its central role in controlling bacterial metabolism, EI has been often suggested as a good target for antimicrobial research. Here, we report the ¹H_N, ¹⁵N, ¹³C', ¹H_methyl, and ¹³C_methyl chemical shifts of the 128 kDa homodimer EI from the thermophile Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis. In total 79% of the expected backbone amide correlations and 80% of the expected methyl TROSY peaks from U-[²H, ¹³C, ¹⁵N], Ile^δ1-[¹³CH₃], Val-Leu-[¹³CH₃/¹²CD₃] labeled EI were assigned. The reported assignments will enable future structural studies aimed at illuminating the fundamental mechanisms governing long-range interdomain communication in EI and at indicating new therapeutic strategies to combat bacterial infections.

1H, 15N, 13C backbone resonance assignment of the C-terminal domain of enzyme I from Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis

Phosphoenolpyruvate binding to the C-terminal domain (EIC) of enzyme I of the bacterial phosphotransferase system (PTS) initiates a phosphorylation cascade that results in sugar translocation across the cell membrane and controls a large number of essential pathways in bacterial metabolism. EIC undergoes an expanded to compact conformational equilibrium that is regulated by ligand binding and determines the phosphorylation state of the overall PTS. Here, we report the backbone ¹H, ¹⁵N and ¹³C chemical shift assignments of the 70 kDa EIC dimer from the thermophilic bacterium Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis. Assignments were obtained at 70 °C by heteronuclear multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. In total, 90% of all backbone resonances were assigned, with 264 out of a possible 299 residues assigned in the ¹H-¹⁵N TROSY spectrum. The secondary structure predicted from the assigned backbone resonance using the program TALOS+ is in good agreement with the X-ray crystal structure of T. tengcongensis EIC. The reported assignments will allow detailed structural and thermodynamic investigations on the coupling between ligand binding and conformational dynamics in EIC.

The oligomerization state of bacterial enzyme I (EI) determines EI's allosteric stimulation or competitive inhibition by α-ketoglutarate

The bacterial phosphotransferase system (PTS) is a signal transduction pathway that couples phosphoryl transfer to active sugar transport across the cell membrane. The PTS is initiated by phosphorylation of enzyme I (EI) by phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). The EI phosphorylation state determines the phosphorylation states of all other PTS components and is thought to play a central role in the regulation of several metabolic pathways and to control the biology of bacterial cells at multiple levels, for example, affecting virulence and biofilm formation. Given the pivotal role of EI in bacterial metabolism, an improved understanding of the mechanisms controlling its activity could inform future strategies for bioengineering and antimicrobial design. Here, we report an enzymatic assay, based on Selective Optimized Flip Angle Short Transient (SOFAST) NMR experiments, to investigate the effect of the small-molecule metabolite α-ketoglutarate (αKG) on the kinetics of the EI-catalyzed phosphoryl transfer reaction. We show that at experimental conditions favoring the monomeric form of EI, αKG promotes dimerization and acts as an allosteric stimulator of the enzyme. However, when the oligomerization state of EI is shifted toward the dimeric species, αKG functions as a competitive inhibitor of EI. We developed a kinetic model that fully accounted for the experimental data and indicated that bacterial cells might use the observed interplay between allosteric stimulation and competitive inhibition of EI by αKG to respond to physiological fluctuations in the intracellular environment. We expect that the mechanism for regulating EI activity revealed here is common to several other oligomeric enzymes.

Dimerization facilitates the conformational transitions for bacterial phosphotransferase enzyme I autophosphorylation in an allosteric manner

The bacterial phosphotransferase system is central to sugar uptake and phosphorylation. Enzyme I (EI), the first enzyme of the system, autophosphorylates as a dimer using phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), but it is not clearly understood how dimerization activates the enzyme activity. Here, we show that EI dimerization is important for proper conformational transitions and the domain association required for the autophosphorylation. EI(G356S) with reduced dimerization affinity and lower autophosphorylation activity revealed that significantly hindered conformational transitions are required for the phosphoryl transfer reaction. The G356S mutation does not change the binding affinity for PEP, but perturbs the domain association accompanying large interdomain motions that bring the active site His189 close to PEP. The interface for the domain association is separate from the dimerization interface, demonstrating that dimerization can prime the conformational change in an allosteric manner.

Trapped intermediate state of plant pyruvate phosphate dikinase indicates substeps in catalytic swiveling domain mechanism

Pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK) is an essential enzyme of both the C4 photosynthetic pathway and cellular energy metabolism of some bacteria and unicellular protists. In C4 plants, it catalyzes the ATP- and Pi -dependent formation of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) while in bacteria and protozoa the ATP-forming direction is used. PPDK is composed out of three distinct domains and exhibits one of the largest single domain movements known today during its catalytic cycle. However, little information about potential intermediate steps of this movement was available. A recent study resolved a discrete intermediate step of PPDK's swiveling movement, shedding light on the details of this intriguing mechanism. Here we present an additional structural intermediate that possibly represents another crucial step in the catalytic cycle of PPDK, providing means to get a more detailed understanding of PPDK's mode of function.

Structural intermediates and directionality of the swiveling motion of Pyruvate Phosphate Dikinase

Pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK) is a vital enzyme in cellular energy metabolism catalyzing the ATP- and Pi-dependent formation of phosphoenolpyruvate from pyruvate in C4 -plants, but the reverse reaction forming ATP in bacteria and protozoa. The multi-domain enzyme is considered an efficient molecular machine that performs one of the largest single domain movements in proteins. However, a comprehensive understanding of the proposed swiveling domain motion has been limited by not knowing structural intermediates or molecular dynamics of the catalytic process. Here, we present crystal structures of PPDKs from Flaveria, a model genus for studying the evolution of C4 -enzymes from phylogenetic ancestors. These structures resolve yet unknown conformational intermediates and provide the first detailed view on the large conformational transitions of the protein in the catalytic cycle. Independently performed unrestrained MD simulations and configurational free energy calculations also identified these intermediates. In all, our experimental and computational data reveal strict coupling of the CD swiveling motion to the conformational state of the NBD. Moreover, structural asymmetries and nucleotide binding states in the PPDK dimer support an alternate binding change mechanism for this intriguing bioenergetic enzyme.

Modeling Protein Excited-state Structures from "Over-length" Chemical Cross-links

Chemical cross-linking coupled with mass spectroscopy (CXMS) provides proximity information for the cross-linked residues and is used increasingly for modeling protein structures. However, experimentally identified cross-links are sometimes incompatible with the known structure of a protein, as the distance calculated between the cross-linked residues far exceeds the maximum length of the cross-linker. The discrepancies may persist even after eliminating potentially false cross-links and excluding intermolecular ones. Thus the "over-length" cross-links may arise from alternative excited-state conformation of the protein. Here we present a method and associated software DynaXL for visualizing the ensemble structures of multidomain proteins based on intramolecular cross-links identified by mass spectrometry with high confidence. Representing the cross-linkers and cross-linking reactions explicitly, we show that the protein excited-state structure can be modeled with as few as two over-length cross-links. We demonstrate the generality of our method with three systems: calmodulin, enzyme I, and glutamine-binding protein, and we show that these proteins alternate between different conformations for interacting with other proteins and ligands. Taken together, the over-length chemical cross-links contain valuable information about protein dynamics, and our findings here illustrate the relationship between dynamic domain movement and protein function.

Biophysical characterization of the domain association between cytosolic A and B domains of the mannitol transporter enzymes II(Mtl) in the presence and absence of a connecting linker

The mannitol transporter enzyme II(Mtl) of the bacterial phosphotransferase system is a multi-domain protein that catalyzes mannitol uptake and phosphorylation. Here we investigated the domain association between cytosolic A and B domains of enzyme II(Mtl) , which are natively connected in Escherichia coli, but separated in Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis. NMR backbone assignment and residual dipolar couplings indicated that backbone folds were well conserved between the homologous domains. The equilibrium binding of separately expressed domains, however, exhibited ∼28-fold higher affinity compared to the natively linked ones. Phosphorylation of the active site loop significantly contributed to the binding by reducing conformational dynamics at the binding interface, and a few key mutations at the interface were critical to further stabilize the complex by hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. The affinity increase implicated that domain associations in cell could be maintained at an optimal level regardless of the linker.

Hybrid Approaches to Structural Characterization of Conformational Ensembles of Complex Macromolecular Systems Combining NMR Residual Dipolar Couplings and Solution X-ray Scattering

Solving structures or structural ensembles of large macromolecular systems in solution poses a challenging problem. While NMR provides structural information at atomic resolution, increased spectral complexity, chemical shift overlap, and short transverse relaxation times (associated with slow tumbling) render application of the usual techniques that have been so successful for medium sized systems (<50 kDa) difficult. Solution X-ray scattering, on the other hand, is not limited by molecular weight but only provides low resolution structural information related to the overall shape and size of the system under investigation. Here we review how combining atomic resolution structures of smaller domains with sparse experimental data afforded by NMR residual dipolar couplings (which yield both orientational and shape information) and solution X-ray scattering data in rigid-body simulated annealing calculations provides a powerful approach for investigating the structural aspects of conformational dynamics in large multidomain proteins. The application of this hybrid methodology is illustrated for the 128 kDa dimer of bacterial Enzyme I which exists in a variety of open and closed states that are sampled at various points in the catalytic cycles, and for the capsid protein of the human immunodeficiency virus.

Dynamic equilibrium between closed and partially closed states of the bacterial Enzyme I unveiled by solution NMR and X-ray scattering

Enzyme I (EI) is the first component in the bacterial phosphotransferase system, a signal transduction pathway in which phosphoryl transfer through a series of bimolecular protein-protein interactions is coupled to sugar transport across the membrane. EI is a multidomain, 128-kDa homodimer that has been shown to exist in two conformational states related to one another by two large (50-90°) rigid body domain reorientations. The open conformation of apo EI allows phosphoryl transfer from His189 located in the N-terminal domain α/β (EIN(α/β)) subdomain to the downstream protein partner bound to the EIN(α) subdomain. The closed conformation, observed in a trapped phosphoryl transfer intermediate, brings the EIN(α/β) subdomain into close proximity to the C-terminal dimerization domain (EIC), thereby permitting in-line phosphoryl transfer from phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) bound to EIC to His189. Here, we investigate the solution conformation of a complex of an active site mutant of EI (H189A) with PEP. Simulated annealing refinement driven simultaneously by solution small angle X-ray scattering and NMR residual dipolar coupling data demonstrates unambiguously that the EI(H189A)-PEP complex exists in a dynamic equilibrium between two approximately equally populated conformational states, one corresponding to the closed structure and the other to a partially closed species. The latter likely represents an intermediate in the open-to-closed transition.

Coupling between overall rotational diffusion and domain motions in proteins and its effect on dielectric spectra

In this work, we formulate a closed-form solution of the model of a semirigid molecule for the case of fluctuating and reorienting molecular electric dipole moment. We illustrate with numeric calculations the impact of protein domain motions on dielectric spectra using the example of the 128 kDa protein dimer of Enzyme I. We demonstrate that the most drastic effect occurs for situations when the characteristic time of protein domain dynamics is comparable to the time of overall molecular rotational diffusion. We suggest that protein domain motions could be a possible explanation for the high-frequency contribution that accompanies the major relaxation dispersion peak in the dielectric spectra of protein aqueous solutions. We propose that the presented computational methodology could be used for the simultaneous analysis of dielectric spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance data. Proteins 2015; 83:1571-1581. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Large interdomain rearrangement triggered by suppression of micro- to millisecond dynamics in bacterial Enzyme I

Enzyme I (EI), the first component of the bacterial phosphotransfer signal transduction system, undergoes one of the largest substrate-induced interdomain rearrangements documented to date. Here, we characterize the perturbations generated by two small molecules, the natural substrate phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and the inhibitor α-ketoglutarate (αKG), on the structure and dynamics of EI using NMR, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and biochemical techniques. The results indicate unambiguously that the open-to-closed conformational switch of EI is triggered by complete suppression of micro- to millisecond dynamics within the C-terminal domain of EI. Indeed, we show that a ligand-induced transition from a dynamic to a more rigid conformational state of the C-terminal domain stabilizes the interface between the N- and C-terminal domains observed in the structure of the closed state, thereby promoting the resulting conformational switch and autophosphorylation of EI. The mechanisms described here may be common to several other multidomain proteins and allosteric systems.

Using small angle solution scattering data in Xplor-NIH structure calculations

This contribution describes the use of small and wide angle X-ray and small angle neutron scattering for biomolecular structure calculation using the program Xplor-NIH, both with and without NMR data. The current algorithms used for calculating scattering curves are described, and the use of scattering data as a structural restraint is given concrete form as a fragment of an Xplor-NIH structure calculation script. We review five examples of the use of scattering data in structure calculation, including the treatment of single domain proteins, nucleic acids, structure determination of large proteins, and the use of ensemble representations to characterize small and large amplitude motions.

Ex uno plures: clonal reinforcement drives evolution of a simple microbial community

A major goal of genetics is to define the relationship between phenotype and genotype, while a major goal of ecology is to identify the rules that govern community assembly. Achieving these goals by analyzing natural systems can be difficult, as selective pressures create dynamic fitness landscapes that vary in both space and time. Laboratory experimental evolution offers the benefit of controlling variables that shape fitness landscapes, helping to achieve both goals. We previously showed that a clonal population of E. coli experimentally evolved under continuous glucose limitation gives rise to a genetically diverse community consisting of one clone, CV103, that best scavenges but incompletely utilizes the limiting resource, and others, CV101 and CV116, that consume its overflow metabolites. Because this community can be disassembled and reassembled, and involves cooperative interactions that are stable over time, its genetic diversity is sustained by clonal reinforcement rather than by clonal interference. To understand the genetic factors that produce this outcome, and to illuminate the community's underlying physiology, we sequenced the genomes of ancestral and evolved clones. We identified ancestral mutations in intermediary metabolism that may have predisposed the evolution of metabolic interdependence. Phylogenetic reconstruction indicates that the lineages that gave rise to this community diverged early, as CV103 shares only one Single Nucleotide Polymorphism with the other evolved clones. Underlying CV103's phenotype we identified a set of mutations that likely enhance glucose scavenging and maintain redox balance, but may do so at the expense of carbon excreted in overflow metabolites. Because these overflow metabolites serve as growth substrates that are differentially accessible to the other community members, and because the scavenging lineage shares only one SNP with these other clones, we conclude that this lineage likely served as an “engine” generating diversity by creating new metabolic niches, but not the occupants themselves.

The variability of natural systems makes it difficult to deduce how organisms' genotypes manifest as phenotypes, and how communities of interacting organisms arise. Using laboratory experimental evolution we can control this variation. We previously showed that a population of E. coli that originated from a single clone and was cultured in the presence of a single limiting resource, evolves into a stable, three-membered community, wherein one clone excretes metabolites that the others utilize as carbon sources. To discern the genetic factors at work in producing this outcome and to illuminate the community's physiology, we sequenced the genomes of the ancestral and evolved clones. We identified in the ancestor mutations that may have predisposed evolution of cross-feeding. We found that the lineages which gave rise to the community diverged early on, and that the numerically dominant lineage that best scavenges limiting glucose does so as a result of adaptive mutations that enhance glucose uptake but favor fermentative over respiratory pathways, resulting in overflow metabolites. Because this clone produces secondary resources that sustain other community members, and because it shares with them only one mutation, we conclude that it is an “engine” generating diversity by creating new niches, but not the occupants themselves.

A NMR experiment for simultaneous correlations of valine and leucine/isoleucine methyls with carbonyl chemical shifts in proteins

A methyl-detected 'out-and-back' NMR experiment for obtaining simultaneous correlations of methyl resonances of valine and isoleucine/leucine residues with backbone carbonyl chemical shifts, SIM-HMCM(CGCBCA)CO, is described. The developed pulse-scheme serves the purpose of convenience in recording a single data set for all Ile(δ1), Leu(δ) and Val(γ) (ILV) methyl positions instead of acquiring two separate spectra selective for valine or leucine/isoleucine residues. The SIM-HMCM(CGCBCA)CO experiment can be used for ILV methyl assignments in moderately sized protein systems (up to ~100 kDa) where the backbone chemical shifts of (13)C(α), (13)Cβ and (13)CO are known from prior NMR studies and where some losses in sensitivity can be tolerated for the sake of an overall reduction in NMR acquisition time.

Thermodynamic dissection of large-scale domain motions coupled with ligand binding of enzyme I

Domain motions are central to the biological functions of many proteins. The energetics of the motions, however, is often difficult to characterize when motions are coupled with the ligand binding. Here, we determined the thermodynamic parameters of individual domain motions and ligand binding of enzyme I (EI) using strategic domain-deletion mutants that selectively removed particular motions. Upon ligand binding, EI employs two large-scale domain motions, the hinge motion and the swivel motion, to switch between conformational states of distinct domain-domain orientations. Calorimetric analysis of the EI mutants separated the free energy changes of the binding and motions, demonstrating that the unfavorable hinge motion (ΔG = 1.5 kcal mol(-1)) was driven by the favorable swivel motion (ΔG = -5.2 kcal mol(-1)). The large free energy differences could be explained by the physicochemical nature of the domain interfaces associated with the motions; the hinge motion employed much narrower interface than the swivel motion without any hydrogen bonds or salt bridges. The small heat capacity further suggested that the packing of the domain interfaces associated with the hinge motion was less compact than that commonly observed in proteins. Lastly, thermodynamic analysis of phosphorylated EI suggests that the domain motions are regulated by the ligand binding and the phosphorylation states. Taken together, the thermodynamic dissection approach illustrates how multiple motions and ligand binding are energetically connected during the functional cycle of EI.

Structure, dynamics and biophysics of the cytoplasmic protein-protein complexes of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate: sugar phosphotransferase system

The bacterial phosphotransferase system (PTS) couples phosphoryl transfer, via a series of bimolecular protein-protein interactions, to sugar transport across the membrane. The multitude of complexes in the PTS provides a paradigm for studying protein interactions, and for understanding how the same binding surface can specifically recognize a diverse array of targets. Fifteen years of work aimed at solving the solution structures of all soluble protein-protein complexes of the PTS has served as a test bed for developing NMR and integrated hybrid approaches to study larger complexes in solution and to probe transient, spectroscopically invisible states, including encounter complexes. We review these approaches, highlighting the problems that can be tackled with these methods, and summarize the current findings on protein interactions.

Prospects for stable analogues of phosphohistidine

Phosphorylation is a ubiquitous protein post-translational modification, and the importance of phosphorylation of serine, threonine and tyrosine is well established. What is lesser known is that almost all heteroatom-containing amino acids can be phosphorylated and, among these, histidine, aspartate and cysteine have well established roles in bacterial signalling pathways. The first of these, phosphohistidine, is the most unusual in that it is labile under many conditions used to study proteins in vitro and can exist as two different isomers. In the present short review, we highlight the chemical challenges that this modification presents and the manner in which chemical synthesis has been used to identify and mimic the modification in proteins.

Xanthone derivatives could be potential antibiotics: virtual screening for the inhibitors of enzyme I of bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system

The phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (PTS) is ubiquitous in eubacteria and absent from eukaryotes. The system consists of two phosphoryl carriers, enzyme I (EI) and the histidine-containing phosphoryl carrier protein (HPr), and several PTS transporters, catalyzing the concomitant uptake and phosphorylation of several carbohydrates. Since a deficiency of EI in bacterial mutants lead to severe growth defects, EI could be a drug target to develop antimicrobial agents. We used the 3D structure PDB 1ZYM of Escherichia coli EI as the target to virtually screen the potential tight binders from NPPEDIA (Natural Product Encyclopedia), ZINC and Super Natural databases. These databases were screened using the docking tools of Discovery Studio 2.0 and the Integrated Drug Design System IDDS. Among the many interesting hits, xanthone derivatives with reasonably high Dock scores received more attentions. Two of the xanthone derivatives were obtained to examine their capabilities to inhibit cell growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains. The results indicate that they may exert the inhibition effects by blocking the EI activities. We have demonstrated for the first time that the xanthone derivatives have high potential to be developed as future antibiotics.

Structural basis for enzyme I inhibition by α-ketoglutarate

Creating new bacterial strains in which carbon and nitrogen metabolism are uncoupled is potentially very useful for optimizing yields of microbial produced chemicals from renewable carbon sources. However, the mechanisms that balance carbon and nitrogen consumption in bacteria are poorly understood. Recently, α-ketoglutarate (αKG), the carbon substrate for ammonia assimilation, has been observed to inhibit Escherichia coli enzyme I (EI), the first component of the bacterial phosphotransferase system (PTS), thereby providing a direct biochemical link between central carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Here we investigate the EI-αKG interaction by NMR and enzymatic assays. We show that αKG binds with a KD of ∼2.2 mM at the active site of EI, acting as a competitive inhibitor. In addition, we use molecular docking simulations to derive a structural model of the enzyme-inhibitor complex that is fully consistent with NMR and analytical ultracentrifugation data. We expect that the EI-αKG structure presented here will provide a starting point for structure-based design of EI mutants resistant to αKG.

Crystal structure of reaction intermediates in pyruvate class II aldolase: substrate cleavage, enolate stabilization, and substrate specificity

Crystal structures of divalent metal-dependent pyruvate aldolase, HpaI, in complex with substrate and cleavage products were determined to 1.8-2.0 Å resolution. The enzyme·substrate complex with 4-hydroxy-2-ketoheptane-1,7-dioate indicates that water molecule W2 bound to the divalent metal ion initiates C3-C4 bond cleavage. The binding mode of the aldehyde donor delineated a solvent-filled capacious binding locus lined with predominantly hydrophobic residues. The absence of direct interactions with the aldehyde aliphatic carbons accounts for the broad specificity and lack of stereospecific control by the enzyme. Enzymatic complex structures formed with keto acceptors, pyruvate, and 2-ketobutyrate revealed bidentate interaction with the divalent metal ion by C1-carboxyl and C2-carbonyl oxygens and water molecule W4 that is within close contact of the C3 carbon. Arg(70) assumes a multivalent role through its guanidinium moiety interacting with all active site enzymatic species: C2 oxygen in substrate, pyruvate, and ketobutyrate; substrate C4 hydroxyl; aldehyde C1 oxygen; and W4. The multiple interactions made by Arg(70) stabilize the negatively charged C4 oxygen following proton abstraction, the aldehyde alignment in aldol condensation, and the pyruvate enolate upon aldol cleavage as well as support proton exchange at C3. This role is corroborated by loss of aldol cleavage ability and pyruvate C3 proton exchange activity and by a 730-fold increase in the dissociation constant toward the pyruvate enolate analog oxalate in the R70A mutant. Based on the crystal structures, a mechanism is proposed involving the two enzyme-bound water molecules, W2 and W4, in acid/base catalysis that facilitates reversible aldol cleavage. The same reaction mechanism promotes decarboxylation of oxaloacetate.

Stability and binding of the phosphorylated species of the N-terminal domain of enzyme I and the histidine phosphocarrier protein from the Streptomyces coelicolor phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system

The phosphotransferase system (PTS) is involved in the use of carbon sources in bacteria. It is formed by two general proteins: enzyme I (EI) and the histidine phosphocarrier (HPr), and various sugar-specific permeases. EI is formed by two domains, with the N-terminal domain (EIN) being responsible for the binding to HPr. In low-G+C Gram-positive bacteria, HPr becomes phosphorylated not only by phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) at the active-site histidine, but also by ATP at a serine. In this work, we have characterized: (i) the stability and binding affinities between the active-site-histidine phosphorylated species of HPr and the EIN from Streptomyces coelicolor; and (ii) the stability and binding affinities of the species involving the phosphorylation at the regulatory serine of HPr(sc). Our results show that the phosphorylated active-site species of both proteins are less stable than the unphosphorylated counterparts. Conversely, the Hpr-S47D, which mimics phosphorylation at the regulatory serine, is more stable than wild-type HPr(sc) due to helical N-capping effects, as suggested by the modeled structure of the protein. Binding among the phosphorylated and unphosphorylated species is always entropically driven, but the affinity and the enthalpy vary widely.

Calorimetric and spectroscopic investigation of the interaction between the C-terminal domain of Enzyme I and its ligands

Enzyme I initiates a series of phosphotransfer reactions during sugar uptake in the bacterial phosphotransferase system. Here, we have isolated a stable recombinant C-terminal domain of Enzyme I (EIC) of Escherichia coli and characterized its interaction with the N-terminal domain of Enzyme I (EIN) and also with various ligands. EIC can phosphorylate EIN, but their binding is transient regardless of the presence of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP). Circular dichroism and NMR indicate that ligand binding to EIC induces changes near aromatic groups but not in the secondary structure of EIC. Binding of PEP to EIC is an endothermic reaction with the equilibrium dissociation constant (K(D) ) of 0.28 mM, whereas binding of the inhibitor oxalate is an exothermic reaction with K(D) of 0.66 mM from calorimetry. The binding thermodynamics of EIC and PEP compared to that of Enzyme I (EI) and PEP reveals that domain-domain motion in EI can contribute as large as ∼-3.2 kcal/mol toward PEP binding.

Conformational selection and substrate binding regulate the monomer/dimer equilibrium of the C-terminal domain of Escherichia coli enzyme I

The bacterial phosphotransferase system (PTS) is a signal transduction pathway that couples phosphoryl transfer to active sugar transport across the cell membrane. The PTS is initiated by the binding of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to the C-terminal domain (EIC) of enzyme I (EI), a highly conserved protein that is common to all sugar branches of the PTS. EIC exists in a dynamic monomer/dimer equilibrium that is modulated by ligand binding and is thought to regulate the overall PTS. Isolation of EIC has proven challenging, and conformational dynamics within the EIC domain during the catalytic cycle are still largely unknown. Here, we present a robust protocol for expression and purification of recombinant EIC from Escherichia coli and show that isolated EIC is capable of hydrolyzing PEP. NMR analysis and residual dipolar coupling measurements indicate that the isolated EIC domain in solution adopts a stable tertiary fold and quaternary structure that is consistent with previously reported crystallographic data. NMR relaxation dispersion measurements indicate that residues around the PEP binding site and in the β3α3 turn (residues 333-366), which is located at the dimer interface, undergo a rapid transition on the sub-millisecond time scale (with an exchange rate constant of ∼1500 s(-1)) between major open (∼97%) and minor closed (∼3%) conformations. Upon PEP binding, the β3α3 turn is effectively locked in the closed state by the formation of salt bridges between the phosphate group of PEP and the side chains of Lys(340) and Arg(358), thereby stabilizing the dimer.

Membrane transport metabolons

In this review evidence from a wide variety of biological systems is presented for the genetic, functional, and likely physical association of membrane transporters and the enzymes that metabolize the transported substrates. This evidence supports the hypothesis that the dynamic association of transporters and enzymes creates functional membrane transport metabolons that channel substrates typically obtained from the extracellular compartment directly into their cellular metabolism. The immediate modification of substrates on the inner surface of the membrane prevents back-flux through facilitated transporters, increasing the efficiency of transport. In some cases products of the enzymes are themselves substrates for the transporters that efflux the products in an exchange or antiport mechanism. Regulation of the binding of enzymes to transporters and their mutual activities may play a role in modulating flux through transporters and entry of substrates into metabolic pathways. Examples showing the physical association of transporters and enzymes are provided, but available structural data is sparse. Genetic and functional linkages between membrane transporters and enzymes were revealed by an analysis of Escherichia coli operons encoding polycistronic mRNAs and provide a list of predicted interactions ripe for further structural studies. This article supports the view that membrane transport metabolons are important throughout Nature in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans.

Solution structure of the IIAChitobiose-HPr complex of the N,N'-diacetylchitobiose branch of the Escherichia coli phosphotransferase system

The solution structure of the complex of enzyme IIA of the N,N'-diacetylchitobiose (Chb) transporter with the histidine phosphocarrier protein HPr has been solved by NMR. The IIA(Chb)-HPr complex completes the structure elucidation of representative cytoplasmic complexes for all four sugar branches of the bacterial phosphoryl transfer system (PTS). The active site His-89 of IIA(Chb) was mutated to Glu to mimic the phosphorylated state. IIA(Chb)(H89E) and HPr form a weak complex with a K(D) of ~0.7 mM. The interacting binding surfaces, concave for IIA(Chb) and convex for HPr, complement each other in terms of shape, residue type, and charge distribution, with predominantly hydrophobic residues, interspersed by some uncharged polar residues, located centrally, and polar and charged residues at the periphery. The active site histidine of HPr, His-15, is buried within the active site cleft of IIA(Chb) formed at the interface of two adjacent subunits of the IIA(Chb) trimer, thereby coming into close proximity with the active site residue, H89E, of IIA(Chb). A His89-P-His-15 pentacoordinate phosphoryl transition state can readily be modeled without necessitating any significant conformational changes, thereby facilitating rapid phosphoryl transfer. Comparison of the IIA(Chb)-HPr complex with the IIA(Chb)-IIB(Chb) complex, as well as with other cytoplasmic complexes of the PTS, highlights a unifying mechanism for recognition of structurally diverse partners. This involves generating similar binding surfaces from entirely different underlying structural elements, large interaction surfaces coupled with extensive redundancy, and side chain conformational plasticity to optimize diverse sets of intermolecular interactions.

An efficient protocol for incorporation of an unnatural amino acid in perdeuterated recombinant proteins using glucose-based media

The in vivo incorporation of unnatural amino acids into proteins is a well-established technique requiring an orthogonal tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair specific for the unnatural amino acid that is incorporated at a position encoded by a TAG amber codon. Although this technology provides unique opportunities to engineer protein structures, poor protein yields are usually obtained in deuterated media, hampering its application in the protein NMR field. Here, we describe a novel protocol for incorporating unnatural amino acids into fully deuterated proteins using glucose-based media (which are relevant to the production, for example, of amino acid-specific methyl-labeled proteins used in the study of large molecular weight systems). The method consists of pre-induction of the pEVOL plasmid encoding the tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair in a rich, H(2)O-based medium prior to exchanging the culture into a D(2)O-based medium. Our protocol results in high level of isotopic incorporation (~95%) and retains the high expression level of the target protein observed in Luria-Bertani medium.

α-Ketoglutarate coordinates carbon and nitrogen utilization via enzyme I inhibition

Microbes survive in a variety of nutrient environments by modulating their intracellular metabolism. Balanced growth requires coordinated uptake of carbon and nitrogen, the primary substrates for biomass production. The mechanisms that balance carbon and nitrogen uptake are, however, poorly understood. We find in Escherichia coli that a sudden increase in nitrogen availability results in an almost immediate increase in glucose uptake. The concentrations of known glycolytic intermediates and regulators, however, remain homeostatic. Instead, we find that α-ketoglutarate, which accumulates in nitrogen limitation, directly blocks glucose uptake by inhibiting Enzyme I, the first step of the phosphotransferase system (PTS). This enables rapid modulation of glycolytic flux without marked concentration changes in glycolytic intermediates by simultaneously accelerating glucose import and consumption of the terminal glycolytic intermediate phosphoenolpyruvate. Quantitative modeling shows that this previously unidentified regulatory connection is in principle sufficient to coordinate carbon and nitrogen utilization.

EI of the Phosphotransferase System of Escherichia coli: Mathematical Modeling Approach to Analysis of Its Kinetic Properties

The mathematical model of the operation of the first enzyme of the Escherichia coli phosphotransferase system, EI, is proposed. Parameters of the kinetic model describing the operation of EI under different conditions are identified on the basis of a large amount of known experimental data. The verified model is employed to predict modes of operation of EI under both in vivo physiological conditions and in vitro nonphysiological conditions. The model predicts that under in vivo physiological conditions, the rate of phosphotransfer from EI to the second protein of the phosphotransferase system HPr by the dimer is much higher than by the monomer. A hypothesis is proposed on the basis of calculations that the transfer by a monomer plays a role in the regulation of chemotaxis. At submicromolar pyruvate concentration, the model predicts nonmonotonic dependence of the phosphotransfer rate on the substrate (PEP) concentration.