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Arinkin V, Granzin J, Jaeger KE, Willbold D, Krauss U, Batra-Safferling R. Conserved Signal Transduction Mechanisms and Dark Recovery Kinetic Tuning in the Pseudomonadaceae Short Light, Oxygen, Voltage (LOV) Protein Family. J Mol Biol 2024; 436:168458. [PMID: 38280482 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2024.168458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
Light-Oxygen-Voltage (LOV) flavoproteins transduce a light signal into variable signaling outputs via a structural rearrangement in the sensory core domain, which is then relayed to fused effector domains via α-helical linker elements. Short LOV proteins from Pseudomonadaceae consist of a LOV sensory core and N- and C-terminal α-helices of variable length, providing a simple model system to study the molecular mechanism of allosteric activation. Here we report the crystal structures of two LOV proteins from Pseudomonas fluorescens - SBW25-LOV in the fully light-adapted state and Pf5-LOV in the dark-state. In a comparative analysis of the Pseudomonadaceae short LOVs, the structures demonstrate light-induced rotation of the core domains and splaying of the proximal A'α and Jα helices in the N and C-termini, highlighting evidence for a conserved signal transduction mechanism. Another distinguishing feature of the Pseudomonadaceae short LOV protein family is their highly variable dark recovery, ranging from seconds to days. Understanding this variability is crucial for tuning the signaling behavior of LOV-based optogenetic tools. At 37 °C, SBW25-LOV and Pf5-LOV exhibit adduct state lifetimes of 1470 min and 3.6 min, respectively. To investigate this remarkable difference in dark recovery rates, we targeted three residues lining the solvent channel entrance to the chromophore pocket where we introduced mutations by exchanging the non-conserved amino acids from SBW25-LOV into Pf5-LOV and vice versa. Dark recovery kinetics of the resulting mutants, as well as MD simulations and solvent cavity calculations on the crystal structures suggest a correlation between solvent accessibility and adduct lifetime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Arinkin
- Institut für Biologische Informationsprozesse (IBI): Strukturbiochemie (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Joachim Granzin
- Institut für Biologische Informationsprozesse (IBI): Strukturbiochemie (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Karl-Erich Jaeger
- Institut für Molekulare Enzymtechnologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany; Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften (IBG): Biotechnologie (IBG-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Dieter Willbold
- Institut für Biologische Informationsprozesse (IBI): Strukturbiochemie (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany; Institut für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ulrich Krauss
- Institut für Molekulare Enzymtechnologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany; Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften (IBG): Biotechnologie (IBG-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany; Department of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Renu Batra-Safferling
- Institut für Biologische Informationsprozesse (IBI): Strukturbiochemie (IBI-7), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
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2
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Hemmer S, Siedhoff NE, Werner S, Ölçücü G, Schwaneberg U, Jaeger KE, Davari MD, Krauss U. Machine Learning-Assisted Engineering of Light, Oxygen, Voltage Photoreceptor Adduct Lifetime. JACS AU 2023; 3:3311-3323. [PMID: 38155650 PMCID: PMC10751770 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.3c00440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023]
Abstract
Naturally occurring and engineered flavin-binding, blue-light-sensing, light, oxygen, voltage (LOV) photoreceptor domains have been used widely to design fluorescent reporters, optogenetic tools, and photosensitizers for the visualization and control of biological processes. In addition, natural LOV photoreceptors with engineered properties were recently employed for optimizing plant biomass production in the framework of a plant-based bioeconomy. Here, the understanding and fine-tuning of LOV photoreceptor (kinetic) properties is instrumental for application. In response to blue-light illumination, LOV domains undergo a cascade of photophysical and photochemical events that yield a transient covalent FMN-cysteine adduct, allowing for signaling. The rate-limiting step of the LOV photocycle is the dark-recovery process, which involves adduct scission and can take between seconds and days. Rational engineering of LOV domains with fine-tuned dark recovery has been challenging due to the lack of a mechanistic model, the long time scale of the process, which hampers atomistic simulations, and a gigantic protein sequence space covering known mutations (combinatorial challenge). To address these issues, we used machine learning (ML) trained on scarce literature data and iteratively generated and implemented experimental data to design LOV variants with faster and slower dark recovery. Over the three prediction-validation cycles, LOV domain variants were successfully predicted, whose adduct-state lifetimes spanned 7 orders of magnitude, yielding optimized tools for synthetic (opto)biology. In summary, our results demonstrate ML as a viable method to guide the design of proteins even with limited experimental data and when no mechanistic model of the underlying physical principles is available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Hemmer
- Institute
of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich
Heine University Düsseldorf, Wilhelm Johnen Strasse, Jülich 52426, Germany
| | - Niklas Erik Siedhoff
- Institute
of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringer Weg 3, 52074 Aachen, Germany
- DWI-Leibniz
Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstraße 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Sophia Werner
- Institute
of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich
Heine University Düsseldorf, Wilhelm Johnen Strasse, Jülich 52426, Germany
| | - Gizem Ölçücü
- Institute
of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich
Heine University Düsseldorf, Wilhelm Johnen Strasse, Jülich 52426, Germany
| | - Ulrich Schwaneberg
- Institute
of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringer Weg 3, 52074 Aachen, Germany
- DWI-Leibniz
Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstraße 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Karl-Erich Jaeger
- Institute
of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich
Heine University Düsseldorf, Wilhelm Johnen Strasse, Jülich 52426, Germany
- Institute
of Bio-and Geosciences IBG 1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm Johnen Strasse, Jülich 52426, Germany
| | - Mehdi D. Davari
- Department
of Bioorganic Chemistry, Leibniz Institute
of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Ulrich Krauss
- Institute
of Molecular Enzyme Technology, Heinrich
Heine University Düsseldorf, Wilhelm Johnen Strasse, Jülich 52426, Germany
- Institute
of Bio-and Geosciences IBG 1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Wilhelm Johnen Strasse, Jülich 52426, Germany
- Department
of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
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3
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Vide U, Kasapović D, Fuchs M, Heimböck MP, Totaro MG, Zenzmaier E, Winkler A. Illuminating the inner workings of a natural protein switch: Blue-light sensing in LOV-activated diguanylate cyclases. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadh4721. [PMID: 37531459 PMCID: PMC10396304 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh4721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Regulatory proteins play a crucial role in adaptation to environmental cues. Especially for lifestyle transitions, such as cell proliferation or apoptosis, switch-like characteristics are desirable. While nature frequently uses regulatory circuits to amplify or dampen signals, stand-alone protein switches are interesting for applications like biosensors, diagnostic tools, or optogenetics. However, such stand-alone systems frequently feature limited dynamic and operational ranges and suffer from slow response times. Here, we characterize a LOV-activated diguanylate cyclase (LadC) that offers precise temporal and spatial control of enzymatic activity with an exceptionally high dynamic range over four orders of magnitude. To establish this pronounced activation, the enzyme exhibits a two-stage activation process in which its activity is inhibited in the dark by caging its effector domains and stimulated upon illumination by the formation of an extended coiled-coil. These switch-like characteristics of the LadC system can be used to develop new optogenetic tools with tight regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uršula Vide
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/II, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Dženita Kasapović
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/II, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Maximilian Fuchs
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/II, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Martin P. Heimböck
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/II, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Massimo G. Totaro
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/II, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Elfriede Zenzmaier
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/II, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Andreas Winkler
- Institute of Biochemistry, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12/II, 8010 Graz, Austria
- BioTechMed-Graz, Mozartgasse 12/II, 8010 Graz, Austria
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4
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Panda R, Panda PK, Krishnamoorthy J, Kar RK. Network analysis of chromophore binding site in LOV domain. Comput Biol Med 2023; 161:106996. [PMID: 37201443 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2023.106996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Photoreceptor proteins are versatile toolbox for developing biosensors for optogenetic applications. These molecular tools get activated upon illumination of blue light, which in turn offers a non-invasive method for gaining high spatiotemporal resolution and precise control of cellular signal transduction. The Light-Oxygen-Voltage (LOV) domain family of proteins is a well-recognized system for constructing optogenetic devices. Translation of these proteins into efficient cellular sensors is possible by tuning their photochemistry lifetime. However, the bottleneck is the need for more understanding of the relationship between the protein environment and photocycle kinetics. Significantly, the effect of the local environment also modulates the electronic structure of chromophore, which perturbs the electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction within the binding site. This work highlights the critical factors hidden in the protein networks, linking with their experimental photocycle kinetics. It presents an opportunity to quantitatively examine the alternation in chromophore's equilibrium geometry and identify details which have substantial implications in designing synthetic LOV constructs with desirable photocycle efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rishab Panda
- Department of Chemical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, Punjab, India
| | - Pritam K Panda
- Condensed Matter Theory Group, Materials Theory Division, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, SE-751 20, Uppsala, Sweden; Division of Immunology and Chronic Disease, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Rajiv K Kar
- Jyoti and Bhupat Mehta School of Health Sciences and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, 781039, India.
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Class II LitR serves as an effector of "short" LOV-type blue-light photoreceptor in Pseudomonas mendocina. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21765. [PMID: 36526696 PMCID: PMC9758184 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26254-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
PmlR2, a class II LitR/CarH family transcriptional regulator, and PmSB-LOV, a "short" LOV-type blue light photoreceptor, are adjacently encoded in Pseudomonas mendocina NBRC 14162. An effector protein for the "short" LOV-type photoreceptor in Pseudomonas has not yet been identified. Here, we show that PmlR2 is an effector protein of PmSB-LOV. Transcriptional analyses revealed that the expression of genes located near pmlR2 and its homolog gene, pmlR1, was induced in response to illumination. In vitro DNA-protein binding analyses showed that recombinant PmlR2 directly binds to the promoter region of light-inducible genes. Furthermore PmSB-LOV exhibited a typical LOV-type light-induced spectral change. Gel-filtration chromatography demonstrated that the illuminated PmSB-LOV was directly associated with PmlR2, whereas non-illuminated proteins did not interact. The inhibition of PmlR2 function following PmSB-LOV binding was verified by surface plasmon resonance: the DNA-binding ability of PmlR2 was specifically inhibited in the presence of blue light-illuminated-PmSB-LOV. An In vitro transcription assay showed a dose-dependent reduction in PmlR2 repressor activity in the presence of illuminated PmSB-LOV. Overall, evidence suggests that the DNA-binding activity of PmlR2 is inhibited by its direct association with blue light-activated PmSB-LOV, enabling transcription of light-inducible promoters by RNA polymerase.
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Hemmer S, Schulte M, Knieps-Grünhagen E, Granzin J, Willbold D, Jaeger KE, Batra-Safferling R, Panwalkar V, Krauss U. Residue alterations within a conserved hydrophobic pocket influence light, oxygen, voltage photoreceptor dark recovery. Photochem Photobiol Sci 2022; 22:713-727. [PMID: 36480084 DOI: 10.1007/s43630-022-00346-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
AbstractLight, oxygen, voltage (LOV) photoreceptors are widely distributed throughout all kingdoms of life, and have in recent years, due to their modular nature, been broadly used as sensor domains for the construction of optogenetic tools. For understanding photoreceptor function as well as for optogenetic tool design and fine-tuning, a detailed knowledge of the photophysics, photochemistry, and structural changes underlying the LOV signaling paradigm is instrumental. Mutations that alter the lifetime of the photo-adduct signaling state represent a convenient handle to tune LOV sensor on/off kinetics and, thus, steady-state on/off equilibria of the photoreceptor (or optogenetic switch). Such mutations, however, should ideally only influence sensor kinetics, while being benign with regard to the nature of the structural changes that are induced by illumination, i.e., they should not result in a disruption of signal transduction. In the present study, we identify a conserved hydrophobic pocket for which mutations have a strong impact on the adduct-state lifetime across different LOV photoreceptor families. Using the slow cycling bacterial short LOV photoreceptor PpSB1-LOV, we show that the I48T mutation within this pocket, which accelerates adduct rupture, is otherwise structurally and mechanistically benign, i.e., light-induced structural changes, as probed by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, are not altered in the variant. Additional mutations within the pocket of PpSB1-LOV and the introduction of homologous mutations in the LOV photoreceptor YtvA of Bacillus subtilis and the Avena sativa LOV2 domain result in similarly altered kinetics. Given the conserved nature of the corresponding structural region, the here identified mutations should find application in dark-recovery tuning of optogenetic tools and LOV photoreceptors, alike.
Graphical abstract
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Hemmer
- Institut Für Molekulare Enzymtechnologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany
- IBG-1: Biotechnology IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Marianne Schulte
- IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany
- Institut Für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Esther Knieps-Grünhagen
- Institut Für Molekulare Enzymtechnologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Joachim Granzin
- IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany
- JuStruct: Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52428, Jülich, Germany
| | - Dieter Willbold
- IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany
- Institut Für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Karl-Erich Jaeger
- Institut Für Molekulare Enzymtechnologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany
- IBG-1: Biotechnology IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Renu Batra-Safferling
- IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany
- JuStruct: Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52428, Jülich, Germany
| | - Vineet Panwalkar
- IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany
- Institut Für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Biozentrum University of Basel, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ulrich Krauss
- Institut Für Molekulare Enzymtechnologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany.
- IBG-1: Biotechnology IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425, Jülich, Germany.
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Zerlotti R, Losi A, Polverini E. Oxygen diffusion pathways in mutated forms of a LOV photoreceptor from Methylobacterium radiotolerans: A molecular dynamics study. Biomol Concepts 2022; 13:164-174. [DOI: 10.1515/bmc-2022-0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Mr4511 from Methylobacterium radiotolerans is a photoreceptor of the light, oxygen voltage (LOV) family, binding flavin mononucleotide (FMN) as a chromophore. It exhibits the prototypical LOV photocycle, with the reversible formation of an FMN-Cys71 adduct via fast decay of the FMN triplet state. Mr4511 has high potential as a photosensitiser for singlet oxygen (SO) upon mutation of C71. Mr4511-C71S shows a triplet lifetime (τ
T) of several hundreds of microseconds, ensuring efficient energy transfer to dioxygen to form SO. In this work, we have explored the potential diffusion pathways for dioxygen within Mr4511 using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The structural model of wild-type (wt) Mr4511 showed a dimeric structure stabilised by a strong leucine zipper at the two C-terminal helical ends. We then introduced in silico the C71S mutation and analysed transient and persistent oxygen channels. MD simulations indicate that the chromophore binding site is highly accessible to dioxygen. Mutations that might favour SO generation were designed based on their position with respect to FMN and the oxygen channels. In particular, the C71S-Y61T and C71S-Y61S variants showed an increased diffusion and persistence of oxygen molecules inside the binding cavity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rocco Zerlotti
- NeuroTrans ETN Network c/o Nanion Technologies GmbH, Ganghoferstraße 70/a , 80339 München , Bayern , Germany
- Department of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 7/A , 43124 Parma , Italy
| | - Aba Losi
- Department of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 7/A , 43124 Parma , Italy
| | - Eugenia Polverini
- Department of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 7/A , 43124 Parma , Italy
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