dTMP biosynthesis in Archaea

Bacterial origins of thymidylate metabolism in Asgard archaea and Eukarya

Asgard archaea include the closest known archaeal relatives of eukaryotes. Here, we investigate the evolution and function of Asgard thymidylate synthases and other folate-dependent enzymes required for the biosynthesis of DNA, RNA, amino acids and vitamins, as well as syntrophic amino acid utilization. Phylogenies of Asgard folate-dependent enzymes are consistent with their horizontal transmission from various bacterial groups. We experimentally validate the functionality of thymidylate synthase ThyX of the cultured 'Candidatus Prometheoarchaeum syntrophicum'. The enzyme efficiently uses bacterial-like folates and is inhibited by mycobacterial ThyX inhibitors, even though the majority of experimentally tested archaea are known to use carbon carriers distinct from bacterial folates. Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that the eukaryotic thymidylate synthase, required for de novo DNA synthesis, is not closely related to archaeal enzymes and might have been transferred from bacteria to protoeukaryotes during eukaryogenesis. Altogether, our study suggests that the capacity of eukaryotic cells to duplicate their genetic material is a sum of archaeal (replisome) and bacterial (thymidylate synthase) characteristics. We also propose that recent prevalent lateral gene transfer from bacteria has markedly shaped the metabolism of Asgard archaea.

CO2 conversion to methane and biomass in obligate methylotrophic methanogens in marine sediments

Methyl substrates are important compounds for methanogenesis in marine sediments but diversity and carbon utilization by methylotrophic methanogenic archaea have not been clarified. Here, we demonstrate that RNA-stable isotope probing (SIP) requires ¹³C-labeled bicarbonate as co-substrate for identification of methylotrophic methanogens in sediment samples of the Helgoland mud area, North Sea. Using lipid-SIP, we found that methylotrophic methanogens incorporate 60–86% of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) into lipids, and thus considerably more than what can be predicted from known metabolic pathways (~40% contribution). In slurry experiments amended with the marine methylotroph Methanococcoides methylutens, up to 12% of methane was produced from CO₂, indicating that CO₂-dependent methanogenesis is an alternative methanogenic pathway and suggesting that obligate methylotrophic methanogens grow in fact mixotrophically on methyl compounds and DIC. Although methane formation from methanol is the primary pathway of methanogenesis, the observed high DIC incorporation into lipids is likely linked to CO₂-dependent methanogenesis, which was triggered when methane production rates were low. Since methylotrophic methanogenesis rates are much lower in marine sediments than under optimal conditions in pure culture, CO₂ conversion to methane is an important but previously overlooked methanogenic process in sediments for methylotrophic methanogens.

Biochemical characterization of a dihydroneopterin aldolase used for methanopterin biosynthesis in methanogens

The gene encoding 7,8-dihydroneopterin aldolase (DHNA) was recently identified in archaea through comparative genomics as being involved in methanopterin biosynthesis (V. Crécy-Lagard, G. Phillips, L. L. Grochowski, B. El Yacoubi, F. Jenney, M. W. Adams, A. G. Murzin, and R. H. White, ACS Chem. Biol. 7:1807-1816, 2012, doi:10.1021/cb300342u). Archaeal DHNA shows a unique secondary and quaternary structure compared with bacterial and plant DHNAs. Here, we report a detailed biochemical examination of DHNA from the methanogen Methanocaldococcus jannaschii. Kinetic studies show that M. jannaschii DHNA possesses a catalytic capability with a kcat/Km above 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) at 70°C, and at room temperature it exhibits a turnover number (0.07 s(-1)) comparable to bacterial DHNAs. We also found that this enzyme follows an acid-base catalytic mechanism similar to the bacterial DHNAs, except when using alternative catalytic residues. We propose that in the absence of lysine, which is considered to be the general base in bacterial DHNAs, an invariant water molecule likely functions as the catalytic base, and the strictly conserved His35 and Gln61 residues serve as the hydrogen bond partners to adjust the basicity of the water molecule. Indeed, substitution of either His35 or Gln61 causes a 20-fold decrease in kcat. An invariant Tyr78 is also shown to be important for catalysis, likely functioning as a general acid. Glu25 plays an important role in substrate binding, since replacing Glu25 by Gln caused a ≥25-fold increase in Km. These results provide important insights into the catalytic mechanism of archaeal DHNAs.

Tetrahydrofolate and tetrahydromethanopterin compared: functionally distinct carriers in C1 metabolism

In most organisms, tetrahydrofolate (H(4)folate) is the carrier of C(1) fragments between formyl and methyl oxidation levels. The C(1) fragments are utilized in several essential biosynthetic processes. In addition, C(1) flux through H(4)folate is utilized for energy metabolism in some groups of anaerobic bacteria. In methanogens and several other Archaea, tetrahydromethanopterin (H(4)MPT) carries C(1) fragments between formyl and methyl oxidation levels. At first sight H(4)MPT appears to resemble H(4)folate at the sites where C(1) fragments are carried. However, the two carriers are functionally distinct, as discussed in the present review. In energy metabolism, H(4)MPT permits redox-flux features that are distinct from the pathway on H(4)folate. In the reductive direction, ATP is consumed in the entry of carbon from CO(2) into the H(4)folate pathway, but not in entry into the H(4)MPT pathway. In the oxidative direction, methyl groups are much more readily oxidized on H(4)MPT than on H(4)folate. Moreover, the redox reactions on H(4)MPT are coupled to more negative reductants than the pyridine nucleotides which are generally used in the H(4)folate pathway. Thermodynamics of the reactions of C(1) reduction via the two carriers differ accordingly. A major underlying cause of the thermodynamic differences is in the chemical properties of the arylamine nitrogen N(10) on the two carriers. In H(4)folate, N(10) is subject to electron withdrawal by the carbonyl group of p-aminobenzoate, but in H(4)MPT an electron-donating methylene group occurs in the corresponding position. It is also proposed that the two structural methyl groups of H(4)MPT tune the carrier's thermodynamic properties through an entropic contribution. H(4)MPT appears to be unsuited to some of the biosynthetic functions of H(4)folate, in particular the transfer of activated formyl groups, as in purine biosynthesis. Evidence bearing upon whether H(4)MPT participates in thymidylate synthesis is discussed. Findings on the biosynthesis and phylogenetic distribution of the two carriers and their evolutionary implications are briefly reviewed. Evidence suggests that the biosynthetic pathways to the two carriers are largely distinct, suggesting the possibility of (ancient) separate origins rather than divergent evolution. It has recently been discovered that some eubacteria which gain energy by oxidation of C(1) compounds contain an H(4)MPT-related carrier, which they are thought to use in energy metabolism, as well as H(4)folate, which they are thought to use for biosynthetic reactions.

The extremely halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii has two very different dihydrofolate reductases

The gene encoding dihydrofolate reductase, hdrA, from the extremely halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii was previously isolated from a spontaneous trimethoprim-resistant mutant in a DNA sequence that had undergone amplification. Here, we show that deletion of hdrA did not affect growth in minimal medium and that the strain carrying the deletion remained sensitive to trimethoprim. A spontaneous trimethoprim-resistant colony was isolated in the hdrA deletion strain and found to possess a new DNA amplification. Sequencing of the amplification revealed a second, substantially different, dihydrofolate reductase gene, hdrB, which was found to be located immediately downstream of the thymidylate synthase gene, hts. The physiological role of hDHFR-1 and hDHFR-2 was determined by generating Haloferax volcanii strains in which each gene, hdrA or hdrB, or both genes were deleted. It was found that hdrB alone can support growth of Haloferax volcanii in minimal medium, whereas hdrA alone can support growth of Haloferax volcanii in minimal medium only when the medium is supplemented with thymidine. It was also shown that, in contrast to Escherichia coli, the DeltahdrA, DeltahdrB double deletion mutant is viable in the presence of a functional thymidylate synthase gene. The hdrB gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and the enzyme purified to homogeneity. The biochemical properties of the new enzyme (hDHFR-2) are markedly different from those of hDHFR-1. The use of the dihydrofolate reductase and thymidylate synthase genes as stable selectable markers is described.

Seeking an ancient enzyme in Methanococcus jannaschii using ORF, a program based on predicted secondary structure comparisons

We have developed a simple procedure to identify protein homologs in genomic databases. The program, called ORF, is based on comparisons of predicted secondary structure. Protein structure is far better conserved than amino acid sequence, and structure-based methods have been effective in exploiting this fact to find homologs, even among proteins with scant sequence identity. ORF is a secondary structure-based method that operates solely on predictions from sequence and requires no experimentally determined information about the structure. The approach is illustrated by an example: Thymidylate synthase, a highly conserved enzyme essential to thymidine biosynthesis in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, is thought to be used by Archaea, but a corresponding gene has yet to be identified. Here, a candidate thymidylate synthase is identified as a previously unassigned open reading frame from the genome of Methanococcus jannaschii, viz., MJ0757. Using primary structure information alone, the optimally aligned sequence identity between MJ0757 and Escherichia coli thymidylate synthase is 7%, well below the threshold of sensitivity for detection by sequence-based methods.

Biochemical and phylogenetic characterization of the dUTPase from the archaeal virus SIRV

The derived amino acid sequence from a 474-base pair open reading frame in the genome of the Sulfolobus islandicus rod-shaped virus SIRV shows striking similarity to bacterial dCTP deaminases and to dUTPases from eukaryotes, bacteria, Poxviridae, and Retroviridae. The putative gene was expressed in Escherichia coli, and dUTPase activity of the recombinant enzyme was demonstrated by hydrolysis of dUTP to dUMP. Deamination of dCTP by the enzyme was not detected. Phylogenetic analysis based on amino acid sequences of the characterized enzyme and its homologues showed that the dUTPase-encoding dut genes and the dCTP deaminase-encoding dcd genes constitute a paralogous gene family. This report is the first identification and functional characterization of an archaeal dUTPase and the first phylogeny derived for the dcd-dut gene family.

Purine salvage in two halophilic archaea: characterization of salvage pathways and isolation of mutants resistant to purine analogs

In exponentially growing cultures of the extreme halophile Halobacterium halobium and the moderate halophile Haloferax volcanii, growth characteristics including intracellular protein levels, RNA content, and nucleotide pool sizes were analyzed. This is the first report on pool sizes of nucleoside triphosphates, NAD, and PRPP (5-phosphoribosyl-alpha-1-pyrophosphate) in archaea. The presence of a number of salvage and interconversion enzymes was determined by enzymatic assays. The levels varied significantly between the two organisms. The most significant difference was the absence of GMP reductase activity in H. halobium. The metabolism of exogenous purines was investigated in growing cultures. Both purine bases and nucleosides were readily taken up and were incorporated into nucleic acids. Growth of both organisms was affected by a number of inhibitors of nucleotide synthesis. H. volcanii was more sensitive than H. halobium, and purine base analogs were more toxic than nucleoside analogs. Growth of H. volcanii was inhibited by trimethoprim and sulfathiazole, while these compounds had no effect on the growth of H. halobium. Spontaneous mutants resistant to purine analogs were isolated. The most frequent cause of resistance was a defect in purine phosphoribosyltransferase activity coupled with reduced purine uptake. A single phosphoribosyltransferase seemed to convert guanine as well as hypoxanthine to nucleoside monophosphates, and another phosphoribosyltransferase had specificity towards adenine. The differences in the metabolism of purine bases and nucleosides and the sensitivity to purine analogs between the two halobacteria were reflected in differences in purine enzyme levels. Based on our results, we conclude that purine salvage and interconversion pathways differ just as much between the two archaeal species as among archaea, bacteria, and eukarya.

Purification and properties of serine hydroxymethyltransferase from Sulfolobus solfataricus

Serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) catalyzes the reversible cleavage of serine to glycine with the transfer of the one-carbon group to tetrahydrofolate to form 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate. No SHMT has been purified from a nonmethanogenic Archaea strain, in part because this group of organisms uses modified folates as the one-carbon acceptor. These modified folates are not readily available for use in assays for SHMT activity. This report describes the purification and characterization of SHMT from the thermophilic organism Sulfolobus solfataricus. The exchange of the alpha-proton of glycine with solvent protons in the absence of the modified folate was used as the activity assay. The purified protein catalyzes the synthesis of serine from glycine and a synthetic derivative of a fragment of the natural modified folate found in S. solfataricus. Replacement of the modified folate with tetrahydrofolate did not support serine synthesis. In addition, this SHMT also catalyzed the cleavage of both allo-threonine and beta-phenylserine in the absence of the modified folate. The cleavage of these two amino acids in the absence of tetrahydrofolate is a property of other characterized SHMTs. The enzyme contains covalently bound pyridoxal phosphate. Sequences of three peptides showed significant similarity with those of peptides of SHMTs from two methanogens.