A novel archaeal alanine dehydrogenase homologous to ornithine cyclodeaminase and mu-crystallin

Enzymatic synthesis of mono- and trifluorinated alanine enantiomers expands the scope of fluorine biocatalysis

Fluorinated amino acids serve as an entry point for establishing new-to-Nature chemistries in biological systems, and novel methods are needed for the selective synthesis of these building blocks. In this study, we focused on the enzymatic synthesis of fluorinated alanine enantiomers to expand fluorine biocatalysis. The alanine dehydrogenase from Vibrio proteolyticus and the diaminopimelate dehydrogenase from Symbiobacterium thermophilum were selected for in vitro production of (R)-3-fluoroalanine and (S)-3-fluoroalanine, respectively, using 3-fluoropyruvate as the substrate. Additionally, we discovered that an alanine racemase from Streptomyces lavendulae, originally selected for setting an alternative enzymatic cascade leading to the production of these non-canonical amino acids, had an unprecedented catalytic efficiency in β-elimination of fluorine from the monosubstituted fluoroalanine. The in vitro enzymatic cascade based on the dehydrogenases of V. proteolyticus and S. thermophilum included a cofactor recycling system, whereby a formate dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas sp. 101 (either native or engineered) coupled formate oxidation to NAD(P)H formation. Under these conditions, the reaction yields for (R)-3-fluoroalanine and (S)-3-fluoroalanine reached >85% on the fluorinated substrate and proceeded with complete enantiomeric excess. The selected dehydrogenases also catalyzed the conversion of trifluoropyruvate into trifluorinated alanine as a first-case example of fluorine biocatalysis with amino acids carrying a trifluoromethyl group.

Cloning and expression heterologous alanine dehydrogenase genes: Investigation of reductive amination potential of L-alanine dehydrogenases for green synthesis of alanine derivatives

Unnatural amino acids (UAAs) offer significant promise in a wide range of applications, including drug discovery, the custom design of peptides and proteins, and their utility and use as markers for monitoring molecular interactions in biological research. The synthesis of UAAs presents a formidable challenge and can be classified into two primary categories: enzymatic and chemical synthesis. Notably, the enzymatic route, specifically asymmetric synthesis, emerges as a an attractive method for procuring enantiopure UAAs with high efficiency, owing to its streamlined and concise reaction mechanism. The current study investigated the reductive amination activity mechanisms of alanine dehydrogenase (L-AlaDH), sourced from a combination of newly and previously characterized microorganisms. Our principal aim was to evaluate the catalytic efficiency of these L-AlaDH enzymes concerning a range of specific ketoacids and pyruvate to ascertain their capability for facilitating the production of both natural and unnatural amino acids. After the characterization processes, mutation points for TtAlaDH were determined and as a result of the mutations, mutants that could use ketocaproate and ketovalerate more effectively than the wild type were obtained. Among the enzymes studied, MetAlaDH exhibited the highest specific activity against pyruvate, 173 U/mg, and a KM value of 1.3 mM. VlAlaDH displayed the most favourable catalytic efficiency with a rate constant of 170 s-1mM-1. On the other hand, AfAlaDH demonstrated the highest catalytic efficiency against α-ketobutyrate (34.0 s-1mM-1) and α-ketovalerate (2.7 s-1mM-1). Of the enzymes investigated in the study, TtAlaDH exhibited the highest effectiveness among bacterial enzymes in catalyzing ketocaproate with a measured catalytic efficiency of about 0.6 s-1mM-1 and a KM value of approximately 0.3 mM. These findings provide valuable insights into the substrate specificity and catalytic performance of L-AlaDHs, enhancing our understanding of their potential applications in various biocatalytic processes.

Development of a rapid and highly accurate method for 13C tracer-based metabolomics and its application on a hydrogenotrophic methanogen

Microfluidic capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS) is a rapid and highly accurate method to determine isotopomer patterns in isotopically labeled compounds. Here, we developed a novel method for tracer-based metabolomics using CE-MS for underivatized proteinogenic amino acids. The method consisting of a ZipChip CE system and a high-resolution Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid mass spectrometer allows us to obtain highly accurate data from 1 μl of 100 nmol/l amino acids comparable to a mere 1 [Formula: see text] 104-105 prokaryotic cells. To validate the capability of the CE-MS method, we analyzed 16 protein-derived amino acids from a methanogenic archaeon Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus as a model organism, and the mass spectra showed sharp peaks with low mass errors and background noise. Tracer-based metabolome analysis was then performed to identify the central carbon metabolism in M. thermautotrophicus using 13C-labeled substrates. The mass isotopomer distributions of serine, aspartate, and glutamate revealed the occurrence of both the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway and an incomplete reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle for carbon fixation. In addition, biosynthesis pathways of 15 amino acids were constructed based on the mass isotopomer distributions of the detected protein-derived amino acids, genomic information, and public databases. Among them, the presence of alternative enzymes of alanine dehydrogenase, ornithine cyclodeaminase, and homoserine kinase was suggested in the biosynthesis pathways of alanine, proline, and threonine, respectively. To our knowledge, the novel 13C tracer-based metabolomics using CE-MS can be considered the most efficient method to identify central carbon metabolism and amino acid biosynthesis pathways and is applicable to any kind of isolated microbe.

First crystal structure of an NADP+-dependent l-arginine dehydrogenase belonging to the μ-crystallin family

Crystal structures of Pseudomonas veroniil-arginine dehydrogenase (l-ArgDH), belonging to the μ-crystallin/ornithine cyclodeaminase family, were determined for the enzyme in complex with l-lysine and NADP+ and with l-arginine and NADPH. The main chain coordinates of the P. veroniil-ArgDH monomer showed notable similarity to those of Archaeoglobus fulgidusl-AlaDH, belonging to the same family, and pro-R specificity similar to l-AlaDH for hydride transfer to NADP+ was postulated. However, the residues recognizing the α-amino group of the substrates differed between the two enzymes. Based on a substrate modeling study, it was proposed that in A. fulgidusl-AlaDH, the amino group of l-alanine interacts via a water molecule (W510) with the side chains of Lys41 and Arg52. By contrast, the α-amino group of l-arginine formed hydrogen bonds with the side chains of Thr224 and Asn225 in P. veroniil-ArgDH. Moreover, the guanidino group of l-arginine was fixed into the active site via hydrogen bonds with the side chain of Asp54. Site-directed mutagenesis suggested that Asp54 plays an important role in maintaining high reactivity against the substrate and that Tyr58 and Lys71 play critical roles in enzyme catalysis.

Alanine dehydrogenases from four different microorganisms: characterization and their application in L-alanine production

BACKGROUND

Alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH) belongs to oxidoreductases, and it exists in several different bacteria species and plays a key role in microbial carbon and nitrogen metabolism, spore formation and photosynthesis. In addition, AlaDH can also be applied in biosynthesis of L-alanine from cheap carbon source, such as glucose.

RESULTS

To achieve a better performance of L-alanine accumulation, system evaluation and comparison of different AlaDH with potential application value are essential. In this study, enzymatic properties of AlaDH from Bacillus subtilis 168 (BsAlaDH), Bacillus cereus (BcAlaDH), Mycobacterium smegmatis MC2 155 (MsAlaDH) and Geobacillus stearothermophilus (GsAlaDH) were firstly carefully investigated. Four different AlaDHs have few similarities in optimum temperature and optimum pH, while they also exhibited significant differences in enzyme activity, substrate affinity and enzymatic reaction rate. The wild E. coli BL21 with these four AlaDHs could produce 7.19 g/L, 7.81 g/L, 6.39 g/L and 6.52 g/L of L-alanine from 20 g/L glucose, respectively. To further increase the L-alanine titer, competitive pathways for L-alanine synthesis were completely blocked in E. coli. The final strain M-6 could produce 80.46 g/L of L-alanine with a yield of 1.02 g/g glucose after 63 h fed-batch fermentation, representing the highest yield for microbial L-alanine production.

CONCLUSIONS

Enzyme assay, biochemical characterization and structure analysis of BsAlaDH, BcAlaDH, MsAlaDH and GsAlaDH were carried out. In addition, application potential of these four AlaDHs in L-alanine productions were explored. The strategies here can be applied for developing L-alanine producing strains with high titers.

Two different alanine dehydrogenases from Geobacillus kaustophilus: Their biochemical characteristics and differential expression in vegetative cells and spores

Two putative alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH) genes (GK2752 and GK3448) were found in the genome of a thermophilic spore-forming bacterium, Geobacillus kaustophilus. The amino acid sequences deduced from the two genes showed mutually high homology (71%), and the phylogenetic tree based on the amino acid sequences of the two putative AlaDHs and the homologous proteins showed that the two putative AlaDH genes (GK2752 and GK3448) belong to different groups. Both of the recombinant gene products exhibited high NAD+-dependent AlaDH activity and were purified to homogeneity and characterized in detail. Both enzymes showed high stability against low and high pHs and high temperatures (70 °C). Kinetic analyses showed that the activities of both enzymes proceeded according to the same sequentially ordered Bi-Ter mechanism. X-ray crystallographic analysis showed the two AlaDHs to have similar homohexameric structures. Notably, GK3448-AlaDH was detected in vegetative cells of G. kaustophilus but not spores, while GK2752-AlaDH was present only in the spores. This is the first report showing the presence of two AlaDHs separately expressed in vegetative cells and spores.

Application of reductive amination by heterologously expressed Thermomicrobium roseumL-alanine dehydrogenase to synthesize L-alanine derivatives

Unnatural amino acids are unique building blocks in modern medicinal chemistry as they contain an amino and a carboxylic acid functional group, and a variable side chain. Synthesis of pure unnatural amino acids can be made through chemical modification of natural amino acids or by employing enzymes that can lead to novel molecules used in the manufacture of various pharmaceuticals. The NAD+ -dependent alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH) enzyme catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to L-alanine by transferring ammonium in a reversible reductive amination activity. Although AlaDH enzymes have been widely studied in terms of oxidative deamination activity, reductive amination activity studies have been limited to the use of pyruvate as a substrate. The reductive amination potential of heterologously expressed, highly pure Thermomicrobium roseum alanine dehydrogenase (TrAlaDH) was examined with regard to pyruvate, α-ketobutyrate, α-ketovalerate and α-ketocaproate. The biochemical properties were studied, which included the effects of 11 metal ions on enzymatic activity for both reactions. The enzyme accepted both derivatives of L-alanine (in oxidative deamination) and pyruvate (in reductive amination) as substrates. While the kinetic K_M values associated with the pyruvate derivatives were similar to pyruvate values, the kinetic k_cat values were significantly affected by the side chain increase. In contrast, K_M values associated with the derivatives of L-alanine (L-α-aminobutyrate, L-norvaline, and L-norleucine) were approximately two orders of magnitude greater, which would indicate that they bind very poorly in a reactive way to the active site. The modeled enzyme structure revealed differences in the molecular orientation between L-alanine/pyruvate and L-norleucine/α-ketocaproate. The reductive activity observed would indicate that TrAlaDH has potential for the synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant amino acids.

Emerging role of T3-binding protein μ-crystallin (CRYM) in health and disease

Thyroid hormones are essential metabolic and developmental regulators that exert a huge variety of effects in different organs. Triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) are synthesized in the thyroid gland and constitute unique iodine-containing hormones that are constantly regulated by a homeostatic feedback mechanism. T3/T4 activity in cells is mainly determined by specific transporters, cytosolic binding proteins, deiodinases (DIOs), and nuclear receptors. Modulation of intracellular T3/T4 level contributes to the maintenance of this regulatory feedback. μ-Crystallin (CRYM) is an important intracellular high-affinity T3-binding protein that buffers the amount of T3 freely available in the cytosol, thereby controlling its action. In this review, we focus on the molecular and pathological properties of CRYM in thyroid hormone signaling, with emphasis on its critical role in malignancies.

Imine reduction by an Ornithine cyclodeaminase/μ-crystallin homolog purified from Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330

•

Novel imine reductase from yeast Candida parapsilosis purified and characterized.

•

CpIM1 belongs to unexplored Ornithine cyclodeaminase/Mu crystallin protein family

•

CpIM1 catalyzed stereospecific alkylamination of α-ketoacids/ketoesters.

•

CpIM1 also reduced cyclic and aryl imines.

•

First report on enzymatic alkylamination of α-ketoesters and reduction of arylimines.

We report a stereospecific imine reductase from Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330 (CpIM1), a versatile biocatalyst and a rich source of highly stereospecific oxidoreductases. The recombinant gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and the protein CpIM1 was purified to homogeneity. This protein belongs to the Ornithine cyclodeaminase/ μ-crystallin (OCD-Mu) family of proteins which has only a few characterized members. CpIM1 catalyzed the alkylamination of α-keto acids/esters producing exclusively (S)-N-alkyl amino acids/esters e.g. N-methyl-l-alanine with > 90% conversion and > 99% enantiomeric excess (ee). The enzyme showed the highest activity for the alkylamination of pyruvate and methylamine leading to N-methyl-l-alanine with an apparent K_M of 15.04 ± 2.8 mM and V_max of 13.75 ± 1.07 μmol/min/mg. CpIM1 also catalyzed (i) the reduction of imines e.g. 2-methyl-1-pyrroline to (S)-2-methylpyrrolidine with ∼30% conversion and 75% ee and (ii) the dehydrogenation of cyclic amino acids e.g. l-Proline (as monitered by reduction of cofactor NADP⁺ spectrophotometrically).

A novel type alanine dehydrogenase from Helicobacter aurati: Molecular characterization and application

A novel alanine dehydrogenase (ADH; EC.1.4.1.1) with high pyruvate reduced activity was isolated from Helicobacter aurati and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The optimum pH of the reduction and oxidation reaction were 8.0 and 9.0, respectively, and the optimum temperature was 55 °C. With pyruvate and alanine as substrates, the specific activity of HAADH1 were 268 U·mg^-1 and 26 U·mg^-1, respectively. HAADH1 had a prominent substrate specificity for alanine (K_m = 2.23 mM, k_cat/K_m = 8.1 s^-1·mM^-1). In the reduction reaction, HAADH1 showed the highest substrate affinity for pyruvate (K_m = 0.56 mM, k_cat/K_m = 364 s^-1·mM^-1). Compared to pyruvate, oxaloacetic acid, 2-ketobutyric acid, 3-fluoropyruvate, α-ketoglutaric acids, glyoxylic acid showed a residual activity of 93.30%, 8.93%, 5.62%, 2.57%, 2.51%, respectively. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that this is a new type of ADH which have a low sequence similarity to available ADH reported in references. 3-Fluoropyruvate was effectively reduced to 3-fluoro-L-alanine by whole-cell catalysis.

High-yield whole cell biosynthesis of Nylon 12 monomer with self-sufficient supply of multiple cofactors

Biosynthesis of Nylon 12 monomer using dodecanoic acid (DDA) or its esters as the renewable feedstock typically involves ω-hydroxylation, oxidation and ω-amination. The dependence of hydroxylation and oxidation-catalyzing enzymes on redox cofactors, and the requirement of L-alanine as the co-substrate and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) as the coenzyme for transamination, raise the issue of redox imbalance and cofactor shortage, challenging the development of efficient biocatalysts. Simultaneous regeneration of the redox equivalents, PLP and L-alanine required in the artificial pathway was enabled by its interfacing with the native metabolism of the host using glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), L-alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH) and an exogenous ribose 5-phosphate (R5P)-dependent PLP synthesis pathway as bridges. Further engineering of the host by blocking β-oxidation and enhancing substrate uptake improved the ω-aminododecanoic acid (ω-AmDDA) yield to 96.5%. This study offers a strategy to resolve the cofactor imbalance issue commonly encountered in whole-cell biocatalysis and meanwhile lays a solid foundation for Nylon 12 bioproduction.

Gene Expression of Haloferax volcanii on Intermediate and Abundant Sources of Fixed Nitrogen

Haloferax volcanii, a well-developed model archaeon for genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses, can grow on a defined medium of abundant and intermediate levels of fixed nitrogen. Here we report a global profiling of gene expression of H. volcanii grown on ammonium as an abundant source of fixed nitrogen compared to l-alanine, the latter of which exemplifies an intermediate source of nitrogen that can be obtained from dead cells in natural habitats. By comparing the two growth conditions, 30 genes were found to be differentially expressed, including 16 genes associated with amino acid metabolism and transport. The gene expression profiles contributed to mapping ammonium and l-alanine usage with respect to transporters and metabolic pathways. In addition, conserved DNA motifs were identified in the putative promoter regions and transcription factors were found to be in synteny with the differentially expressed genes, leading us to propose regulons of transcriptionally co-regulated operons. This study provides insight to how H. volcanii responds to and utilizes intermediate vs. abundant sources of fixed nitrogen for growth, with implications for conserved functions in related halophilic archaea.

Optimization of a reduced enzymatic reaction cascade for the production of L-alanine

Cell-free enzymatic reaction cascades combine the advantages of well-established in vitro biocatalysis with the power of multi-step in vivo pathways. The absence of a regulatory cell environment enables direct process control including methods for facile bottleneck identification and process optimization. Within this work, we developed a reduced, enzymatic reaction cascade for the direct production of L-alanine from D-glucose and ammonium sulfate. An efficient, activity based enzyme selection is demonstrated for the two branches of the cascade. The resulting redox neutral cascade is composed of a glucose dehydrogenase, two dihydroxyacid dehydratases, a keto-deoxy-aldolase, an aldehyde dehydrogenase and an L-alanine dehydrogenase. This artificial combination of purified biocatalysts eliminates the need for phosphorylation and only requires NAD as cofactor. We provide insight into in detail optimization of the process parameters applying a fluorescamine based L-alanine quantification assay. An optimized enzyme ratio and the necessary enzyme load were identified and together with the optimal concentrations of cofactor (NAD), ammonium and buffer yields of >95% for the main branch and of 8% for the side branch were achieved.

Alanine dehydrogenase and its applications - A review

Alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH) (E.C.1.4.1.1) is a microbial enzyme that catalyzes a reversible conversion of L-alanine to pyruvate. Inter-conversion of alanine and pyruvate by AlaDH is central to metabolism in microorganisms. Its oxidative deamination reaction produces pyruvate which plays a pivotal role in the generation of energy through the tricarboxylic acid cycle for sporulation in the microorganisms. Its reductive amination reaction provides a route for the incorporation of ammonia and produces L-alanine which is required for synthesis of the peptidoglycan layer, proteins, and other amino acids. Also, AlaDH helps in redox balancing as its deamination/amination reaction is linked to the reduction/oxidation of NAD⁺/NADH in microorganisms. AlaDH from a few microorganisms can also reduce glyoxylate into glycine (aminoacetate) in a nonreversible reaction. Both its oxidative and reductive reactions exhibit remarkable applications in the pharmaceutical, environmental, and food industries. The literature addressing the characteristics and applications of AlaDH from a wide range of microorganisms is summarized in the current review.

Feeding on compatible solutes: A substrate-induced pathway for uptake and catabolism of ectoines and its genetic control by EnuR

Ectoine and 5-hydroxyectoine are widely synthesized microbial osmostress protectants. They are also versatile nutrients but their catabolism and the genetic regulation of the corresponding genes are incompletely understood. Using the marine bacterium Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3, we investigated the utilization of ectoines and propose a seven steps comprising catabolic route that entails an initial conversion of 5-hydroxyectoine to ectoine, the opening of the ectoine ring, and the subsequent degradation of this intermediate to l-aspartate. The catabolic genes are co-transcribed with three genes encoding a 5-hydroxyectoine/ectoine-specific TRAP transporter. A chromosomal deletion of this entire gene cluster abolishes the utilization of ectoines as carbon and nitrogen sources. The presence of ectoines in the growth medium triggers enhanced expression of the importer and catabolic operon, a process dependent on a substrate-inducible promoter that precedes this gene cluster. EnuR, a member of the MocR/GabR-type transcriptional regulators, controls the activity of this promoter and functions as a repressor. EnuR contains a covalently bound pyridoxal-5'-phosphate, and we suggest that this co-factor is critical for the substrate-mediated induction of the 5-hydroxyectoine/ectoine import and catabolic genes. Bioinformatics showed that ectoine consumers are restricted to the Proteobacteria and that EnuR is likely a central regulator for most ectoine/5-hydroxyectoine catabolic genes.

Insights into Enzyme Catalysis and Thyroid Hormone Regulation of Cerebral Ketimine Reductase/μ-Crystallin Under Physiological Conditions

Mammalian ketimine reductase is identical to μ-crystallin (CRYM)-a protein that is also an important thyroid hormone binding protein. This dual functionality implies a role for thyroid hormones in ketimine reductase regulation and also a reciprocal role for enzyme catalysis in thyroid hormone bioavailability. In this research we demonstrate potent sub-nanomolar inhibition of enzyme catalysis at neutral pH by the thyroid hormones L-thyroxine and 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine, whereas other thyroid hormone analogues were shown to be far weaker inhibitors. We also investigated (a) enzyme inhibition by the substrate analogues pyrrole-2-carboxylate, 4,5-dibromopyrrole-2-carboxylate and picolinate, and (b) enzyme catalysis at neutral pH of the cyclic ketimines S-(2-aminoethyl)-L-cysteine ketimine (owing to the complex nomenclature trivial names are used for the sulfur-containing cyclic ketimines as per the original authors' descriptions) (AECK), Δ(1)-piperideine-2-carboxylate (P2C), Δ(1)-pyrroline-2-carboxylate (Pyr2C) and Δ(2)-thiazoline-2-carboxylate. Kinetic data obtained at neutral pH suggests that ketimine reductase/CRYM plays a major role as a P2C/Pyr2C reductase and that AECK is not a major substrate at this pH. Thus, ketimine reductase is a key enzyme in the pipecolate pathway, which is the main lysine degradation pathway in the brain. In silico docking of various ligands into the active site of the X-ray structure of the enzyme suggests an unusual catalytic mechanism involving an arginine residue as a proton donor. Given the critical importance of thyroid hormones in brain function this research further expands on our knowledge of the connection between amino acid metabolism and regulation of thyroid hormone levels.

Ornithine cyclodeaminase/μ-crystallin homolog from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus litoralis functions as a novel Δ(1)-pyrroline-2-carboxylate reductase involved in putative trans-3-hydroxy-l-proline metabolism

•

Ornithine cyclodeaminase homolog from an archeon was characterized biochemically.

•

This protein functions as a novel Δ¹-pyrroline-2-carboxylate reductase.

•

This enzyme is probably involved in trans-3-hydroxy-l-proline metabolism as in bacteria and mammals.

l-Ornithine cyclodeaminase (OCD) is involved in l-proline biosynthesis and catalyzes the unique deaminating cyclization of l-ornithine to l-proline via a Δ¹-pyrroline-2-carboxyrate (Pyr2C) intermediate. Although this pathway functions in only a few bacteria, many archaea possess OCD-like genes (proteins), among which only AF1665 protein (gene) from Archaeoglobus fulgidus has been characterized as an NAD⁺-dependent l-alanine dehydrogenase (AfAlaDH). However, the physiological role of OCD-like proteins from archaea has been unclear. Recently, we revealed that Pyr2C reductase, involved in trans-3-hydroxy-l-proline (T3LHyp) metabolism of bacteria, belongs to the OCD protein superfamily and catalyzes only the reduction of Pyr2C to l-proline (no OCD activity) [FEBS Open Bio (2014) 4, 240–250]. In this study, based on bioinformatics analysis, we assumed that the OCD-like gene from Thermococcus litoralis DSM 5473 is related to T3LHyp and/or proline metabolism (TlLhpI). Interestingly, TlLhpI showed three different enzymatic activities: AlaDH; N-methyl-l-alanine dehydrogenase; Pyr2C reductase. Kinetic analysis suggested strongly that Pyr2C is the preferred substrate. In spite of their similar activity, TlLhpI had a poor phylogenetic relationship to the bacterial and mammalian reductases for Pyr2C and formed a close but distinct subfamily to AfAlaDH, indicating convergent evolution. Introduction of several specific amino acid residues for OCD and/or AfAlaDH by site-directed mutagenesis had marked effects on both AlaDH and Pyr2C reductase activities. The OCC_00387 gene, clustered with the TlLhpI gene on the genome, encoded T3LHyp dehydratase, homologous to the bacterial and mammalian enzymes. To our knowledge, this is the first report of T3LHyp metabolism from archaea.

Prediction and characterization of enzymatic activities guided by sequence similarity and genome neighborhood networks

Metabolic pathways in eubacteria and archaea often are encoded by operons and/or gene clusters (genome neighborhoods) that provide important clues for assignment of both enzyme functions and metabolic pathways. We describe a bioinformatic approach (genome neighborhood network; GNN) that enables large scale prediction of the in vitro enzymatic activities and in vivo physiological functions (metabolic pathways) of uncharacterized enzymes in protein families. We demonstrate the utility of the GNN approach by predicting in vitro activities and in vivo functions in the proline racemase superfamily (PRS; InterPro IPR008794). The predictions were verified by measuring in vitro activities for 51 proteins in 12 families in the PRS that represent ∼85% of the sequences; in vitro activities of pathway enzymes, carbon/nitrogen source phenotypes, and/or transcriptomic studies confirmed the predicted pathways. The synergistic use of sequence similarity networks³ and GNNs will facilitate the discovery of the components of novel, uncharacterized metabolic pathways in sequenced genomes.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03275.001

DNA molecules are polymers in which four nucleotides—guanine, adenine, thymine, and cytosine—are arranged along a sugar backbone. The sequence of these four nucleotides along the DNA strand determines the genetic code of the organism, and can be deciphered using various genome sequencing techniques. Microbial genomes are particularly easy to sequence as they contain fewer than several million nucleotides, compared with the 3 billion or so nucleotides that are present in the human genome.

Reading a genome sequence is straight forward, but predicting the physiological functions of the proteins encoded by the genes in the sequence can be challenging. In a process called genome annotation, the function of protein is predicted by comparing the relevant gene to the genes of proteins with known functions. However, microbial genomes and proteins are hugely diverse and over 50% of the microbial genomes that have been sequenced have not yet been related to any physiological function. With thousands of microbial genomes waiting to be deciphered, large scale approaches are needed.

Zhao et al. take advantage of a particular characteristic of microbial genomes. DNA sequences that code for two proteins required for the same task tend to be closer to each other in the genome than two sequences that code for unrelated functions. Operons are an extreme example; an operon is a unit of DNA that contains several genes that are expressed as proteins at the same time.

Zhao et al. have developed a bioinformatic method called the genome neighbourhood network approach to work out the function of proteins based on their position relative to other proteins in the genome. When applied to the proline racemase superfamily (PRS), which contains enzymes with similar sequences that can catalyze three distinct chemical reactions, the new approach was able to assign a function to the majority of proteins in a public database of PRS enzymes, and also revealed new members of the PRS family. Experiments confirmed that the proteins behaved as predicted. The next challenge is to develop the genome neighbourhood network approach so that it can be applied to more complex systems.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03275.002

Functional characterization of an ornithine cyclodeaminase-like protein of Arabidopsis thaliana

BACKGROUND

In plants, proline synthesis occurs by two enzymatic steps starting from glutamate as a precursor. Some bacteria, including bacteria such as Agrobacterium rhizogenes have an Ornithine Cyclodeaminase (OCD) which can synthesize proline in a single step by deamination of ornithine. In A. rhizogenes, OCD is one of the genes transferred to the plant genome during the transformation process and plants expressing A. rhizogenes OCD have developmental phenotypes. One nuclear encoded gene of Arabidopsis thaliana has recently been annotated as an OCD (OCD-like; referred to here as AtOCD) but nothing is known of its function. As proline metabolism contributes to tolerance of low water potential during drought, it is of interest to determine if AtOCD affects proline accumulation or low water potential tolerance.

RESULTS

Expression of AtOCD was induced by low water potential stress and by exogenous proline, but not by the putative substrate ornithine. The AtOCD protein was plastid localized. T-DNA mutants of atocd and AtOCD RNAi plants had approximately 15% higher proline accumulation at low water potential while p5cs1-4/atocd double mutants had 40% higher proline than p5cs1 at low water potential but no change in proline metabolism gene expression which could directly explain the higher proline level. AtOCD overexpression did not affect proline accumulation. Enzymatic assays with bacterially expressed AtOCD or AtOCD purified from AtOCD:Flag transgenic plants did not detect any activity using ornithine, proline or several other amino acids as substrates. Moreover, AtOCD mutant or over-expression lines had normal morphology and no difference in root elongation or flowering time, in contrast to previous report of transgenic plants expressing A. rhizogenes OCD. Metabolite analysis found few differences between AtOCD mutants and overexpression lines.

CONCLUSIONS

The Arabidopsis OCD-like protein (AtOCD) may not catalyze ornithine to proline conversion and this is consistent with observation that three residues critical for activity of bacterial OCDs are not conserved in AtOCD. AtOCD was, however, stress and proline induced and lack of AtOCD expression increased proline accumulation by an unknown mechanism which did not require expression of P5CS1, the main enzyme responsible for stress-induced proline synthesis from glutamate. The results suggest that AtOCD may have function distinct from bacterial OCDs.

Enhancing E. coli tolerance towards oxidative stress via engineering its global regulator cAMP receptor protein (CRP)

Oxidative damage to microbial hosts often occurs under stressful conditions during bioprocessing. Classical strain engineering approaches are usually both time-consuming and labor intensive. Here, we aim to improve E. coli performance under oxidative stress via engineering its global regulator cAMP receptor protein (CRP), which can directly or indirectly regulate redox-sensing regulators SoxR and OxyR, and other ~400 genes in E. coli. Error-prone PCR technique was employed to introduce modifications to CRP, and three mutants (OM1~OM3) were identified with improved tolerance via H(2)O(2) enrichment selection. The best mutant OM3 could grow in 12 mM H(2)O(2) with the growth rate of 0.6 h(-1), whereas the growth of wild type was completely inhibited at this H(2)O(2) concentration. OM3 also elicited enhanced thermotolerance at 48°C as well as resistance against cumene hydroperoxide. The investigation about intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which determines cell viability, indicated that the accumulation of ROS in OM3 was always lower than in WT with or without H(2)O(2) treatment. Genome-wide DNA microarray analysis has shown not only CRP-regulated genes have demonstrated great transcriptional level changes (up to 8.9-fold), but also RpoS- and OxyR-regulated genes (up to 7.7-fold). qRT-PCR data and enzyme activity assay suggested that catalase (katE) could be a major antioxidant enzyme in OM3 instead of alkyl hydroperoxide reductase or superoxide dismutase. To our knowledge, this is the first work on improving E. coli oxidative stress resistance by reframing its transcription machinery through its native global regulator. The positive outcome of this approach may suggest that engineering CRP can be successfully implemented as an efficient strain engineering alternative for E. coli.

L-aspartate dehydrogenase: features and applications

L-amino acid dehydrogenases are a group of enzymes that catalyze the reversible oxidative deamination of L-amino acids to their corresponding 2-oxoacids, using either nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP(+)) as cofactors. These enzymes have been studied widely because of their potential applications in the synthesis of amino acids for use in production of pharmaceutical peptides, herbicides and insecticides, in biosensors or diagnostic kits, and development of coenzyme regeneration systems for industrial processes. This article presents a review of the currently available data about the recently discovered amino acid dehydrogenase superfamily member L-aspartate dehydrogenase (L-AspDH), their relevant catalytic properties and speculated physiological roles, and potential for biotechnological applications. The proposed classification of L-AspDH on the basis of bioinformatic information and potential role in vivo into NadB (NAD biosynthesis-related) and non-NadB type is unique. In particular, the mesophilic non-NadB type L-AspDH is a novel group of amino acid dehydrogenases with great promise as potential industrial biocatalysts owing to their relatively high catalytic properties at room temperature. Considering that only a few L-AspDH homologs have been characterized so far, identification and prodigious enzymological research of the new members will be necessary to shed light on the gray areas pertaining to these enzymes.

Determination of ammonium ion using a reagentless amperometric biosensor based on immobilized alanine dehydrogenase

The use of the enzyme alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH) for the determination of ammonium ion (NH(4)(+)) usually requires the addition of pyruvate substrate and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) simultaneously to effect the reaction. This addition of reagents is inconvenient when an enzyme biosensor based on AlaDH is used. To resolve the problem, a novel reagentless amperometric biosensor using a stacked methacrylic membrane system coated onto a screen-printed carbon paste electrode (SPE) for NH(4)(+) ion determination is described. A mixture of pyruvate and NADH was immobilized in low molecular weight poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) membrane, which was then deposited over a photocured pHEMA membrane (photoHEMA) containing alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH) enzyme. Due to the enzymatic reaction of AlaDH and the pyruvate substrate, NH(4)(+) was consumed in the process and thus the signal from the electrocatalytic oxidation of NADH at an applied potential of +0.55 V was proportional to the NH(4)(+) ion concentration under optimal conditions. The stacked methacrylate membranes responded rapidly and linearly to changes in NH(4)(+) ion concentrations between 10-100 mM, with a detection limit of 0.18 mM NH(4)(+) ion. The reproducibility of the amperometrical NH(4)(+) biosensor yielded low relative standard deviations between 1.4-4.9%. The stacked membrane biosensor has been successfully applied to the determination of NH(4)(+) ion in spiked river water samples without pretreatment. A good correlation was found between the analytical results for NH(4)(+) obtained from the biosensor and the Nessler spectrophotometric method.

Novel insights into the diversity of catabolic metabolism from ten haloarchaeal genomes

BACKGROUND

The extremely halophilic archaea are present worldwide in saline environments and have important biotechnological applications. Ten complete genomes of haloarchaea are now available, providing an opportunity for comparative analysis.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

We report here the comparative analysis of five newly sequenced haloarchaeal genomes with five previously published ones. Whole genome trees based on protein sequences provide strong support for deep relationships between the ten organisms. Using a soft clustering approach, we identified 887 protein clusters present in all halophiles. Of these core clusters, 112 are not found in any other archaea and therefore constitute the haloarchaeal signature. Four of the halophiles were isolated from water, and four were isolated from soil or sediment. Although there are few habitat-specific clusters, the soil/sediment halophiles tend to have greater capacity for polysaccharide degradation, siderophore synthesis, and cell wall modification. Halorhabdus utahensis and Haloterrigena turkmenica encode over forty glycosyl hydrolases each, and may be capable of breaking down naturally occurring complex carbohydrates. H. utahensis is specialized for growth on carbohydrates and has few amino acid degradation pathways. It uses the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway instead of the oxidative pathway, giving it more flexibility in the metabolism of pentoses.

CONCLUSIONS

These new genomes expand our understanding of haloarchaeal catabolic pathways, providing a basis for further experimental analysis, especially with regard to carbohydrate metabolism. Halophilic glycosyl hydrolases for use in biofuel production are more likely to be found in halophiles isolated from soil or sediment.

Reconstruction of the archaeal isoprenoid ether lipid biosynthesis pathway in Escherichia coli through digeranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate

The membrane lipids of archaea are characterized by unique isoprenoid biochemistry, which typically is based on two core lipid structures, sn-2,3-diphytanylglycerol diether (archaeol) and sn-2,3-dibiphytanyldiglycerol tetraether (caldarchaeol). The biosynthetic pathway for the tetraether lipid entails unprecedented head-to-head coupling of isoprenoid intermediates by an unknown mechanism involving unidentified enzymes. To investigate the isoprenoid ether lipid biosynthesis pathway of the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Archaeoglobus fulgidus, its lipid synthesis machinery was reconstructed in an engineered Escherichia coli strain in an effort to demonstrate, for the first time, efficient isoprenoid ether lipid biosynthesis for the production of the intermediate, digeranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate (DGGGP). The biosynthesis of DGGGP was verified using an LC/MS/MS technique and was accomplished by cloning and expressing the native E. coli gene for isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) isomerase (idi), along with the A. fulgidus genes for G1P dehydrogenase (egsA) and GGPP synthase (gps), under the control of the lac promoter. The A. fulgidus genes for GGGP synthase (GGGPS) and DGGGP synthase (DGGGPS), under the control of the araBAD promoter, were then introduced and expressed to enable DGGGP biosynthesis in vivo. This investigation established roles for four A. fulgidus genes in the isoprenoid ether lipid pathway for DGGGP biosynthesis and provides a platform useful for identification of subsequent, currently unknown, steps in tetraether lipid biosynthesis proceeding from DGGGP, which is the presumed substrate for the head-to-head coupling reaction yielding unsaturated caldarchaeol.

Characterization of a key trifunctional enzyme for aromatic amino acid biosynthesis in Archaeoglobus fulgidus

In the aromatic amino acid biosynthesis pathway, chorismate presents a branch point intermediate that is converted to tryptophan, phenylalanine (Phe), and tyrosine (Tyr). In bacteria, three enzymes catalyze the conversion of chorismate to hydroxyphenylpyruvate or pyruvate. The enzymes, chorismate mutase (CM), prephenate dehydratase (PDT), and prephenate dehydrogenase (PDHG) are either present as distinct proteins or fusions combining two activities. Gene locus AF0227 of Archaeoglobus fulgidus is predicted to encode a fusion protein, AroQ, containing all three enzymatic domains. This work describes the first characterization of a trifunctional AroQ. The A. fulgidus aroQ gene was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein purified as a homohexamer with specific activities of 10, 0.51, and 50 U/mg for CM, PDT, and PDHG, respectively. Tyr at 0.5 mM concentration inhibited PDHG activity by 50%, while at 1 mM PDT was activated by 70%. Phe at 5 muM inhibited PDT activity by 66% without affecting the activity of PDHG. A fusion of CM, PDT, and PDHG domains is evident in the genome of only one other organism sequenced to date, that of the hyperthermophilic archaeon, Nanoarchaeum equitans. Such fusions of contiguous activities in a biosynthetic pathway may constitute a primitive strategy for the efficient processing of labile metabolites.

Crystal structure of human micro-crystallin complexed with NADPH

Human cytosolic 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine-binding protein, also called mu-crystallin or CRYM, plays important physiological roles in transporting 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine (T(3)) into nuclei and regulating thyroid-hormone-related gene expression. The crystal structure of human CRYM's bacterial homolog Pseudomonas putida ornithine cyclodeaminase and Archaeoglobus fulgidus alanine dehydrogenase have been available, but no CRYM structure has been reported. Here, we report the crystal structure of human CRYM bound with NADPH refined to 2.6 A, and there is one dimer in the asymmetric unit. The structure contains two domains: a Rossmann fold-like NADPH-binding domain and a dimerization domain. Different conformations of the loop Arg83-His92 have been observed in two monomers of human CRYM in the same asymmetric unit. The peptide bond of Val89-Pro90 is a trans-configuration in one monomer but a cis-configuration in the other. A detailed comparison of the human mu-crystallin structure with its structurally characterized homologs including the overall comparison and superposition of active sites was conducted. Finally, a putative T(3)-binding site in human CRYM is proposed based on comparison with structural homologs.

Identification of Staphylococcus aureus proteins recognized by the antibody-mediated immune response to a biofilm infection

Staphylococcus aureus causes persistent, recurrent infections (e.g., osteomyelitis) by forming biofilms. To survey the antibody-mediated immune response and identify those proteins that are immunogenic in an S. aureus biofilm infection, the tibias of rabbits were infected with methicillin-resistant S. aureus to produce chronic osteomyelitis. Sera were collected prior to infection and at 14, 28, and 42 days postinfection. The sera were used to perform Western blot assays on total protein from biofilm grown in vitro and separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Those proteins recognized by host antibodies in the harvested sera were identified via matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight analysis. Using protein from mechanically disrupted total and fractionated biofilm protein samples, we identified 26 and 22 immunogens, respectively. These included a cell surface-associated beta-lactamase, lipoprotein, lipase, autolysin, and an ABC transporter lipoprotein. Studies were also performed using microarray analyses and confirmed the biofilm-specific up-regulation of most of these genes. Therefore, although the biofilm antigens are recognized by the immune system, the biofilm infection can persist. However, these proteins, when delivered as vaccines, may be important in directing the immune system toward an early and effective antibody-mediated response to prevent chronic S. aureus infections. Previous works have identified S. aureus proteins that are immunogenic during acute infections, such as sepsis. However, this is the first work to identify these immunogens during chronic S. aureus biofilm infections and to simultaneously show the global relationship between the antigens expressed during an in vivo infection and the corresponding in vitro transcriptomic and proteomic gene expression levels.

Tauropine dehydrogenase from the marine sponge Halichondria japonica is a homolog of ornithine cyclodeaminase/mu-crystallin

The partial amino acid sequence including the N- and C-terminal portions of tauropine dehydrogenase (EC 1.5.1.23) from the marine sponge Halichondria japonica was determined by enzymatic cleavages followed by peptide sequencing. This information was used to design degenerate primers for amplification of cDNA encoding the tauropine dehydrogenase. The cDNA included 1231 nucleotides with an open reading frame of 1002 nucleotides that encodes a protein of 334 amino acid residues. From the peptide and nucleotide sequencing, the mature tauropine dehydrogenase was estimated to consist of 333 amino acid residues with an acetylated N-terminal serine residue and no intrachain disulfide bonds. The primary structure of the H. japonica enzyme showed apparent similarity with a homolog of ornithine cyclodeaminase from Rhizobium meliloti and other proteins of the ornithine cyclodeaminase/mu-crystallin family, but it showed no significant similarity with the known sequences of octopine dehydrogenases and tauropine dehydrogenases from marine invertebrates. These findings indicate that opine dehydrogenases in marine invertebrates are not all homologous.

Structure of alanine dehydrogenase from Archaeoglobus: active site analysis and relation to bacterial cyclodeaminases and mammalian mu crystallin

The hyperthermophilic archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus contains an L-Ala dehydrogenase (AlaDH, EC 1.4.1.1) that is not homologous to known bacterial dehydrogenases and appears to represent a previously unrecognized archaeal group of NAD-dependent dehydrogenases. The gene (Genbank; TIGR AF1665) was annotated initially as an ornithine cyclodeaminase (OCD) on the basis of strong homology with the mu crystallin/OCD protein family. We report the structure of the NAD-bound AF1665 AlaDH (AF-AlaDH) at 2.3 A in a C2 crystal form with the 70 kDa dimer in the asymmetric unit, as the first structural representative of this family. Consistent with its lack of homology to bacterial AlaDH proteins, which are mostly hexameric, the archaeal dimer has a novel structure. Although both types of AlaDH enzyme include a Rossmann-type NAD-binding domain, the arrangement of strands in the C-terminal half of this domain is novel, and the other (catalytic) domain in the archaeal protein has a new fold. The active site presents a cluster of conserved Arg and Lys side-chains over the pro-R face of the cofactor. In addition, the best ordered of the 338 water molecules in the structure is positioned well for mechanistic interaction. The overall structure and active site are compared with other dehydrogenases, including the AlaDH from Phormidium lapideum. Implications for the catalytic mechanism and for the structures of homologs are considered. The archaeal AlaDH represents an ancient and previously undescribed subclass of Rossmann-fold proteins that includes bacterial ornithine and lysine cyclodeaminases, marsupial lens proteins and, in man, a thyroid hormone-binding protein that exhibits 30% sequence identity with AF1665.