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Cai Y, Usher B, Gutierrez C, Tolcan A, Mansour M, Fineran PC, Condon C, Neyrolles O, Genevaux P, Blower TR. A nucleotidyltransferase toxin inhibits growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis through inactivation of tRNA acceptor stems. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eabb6651. [PMID: 32923609 PMCID: PMC7450476 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb6651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Toxin-antitoxin systems are widespread stress-responsive elements, many of whose functions remain largely unknown. Here, we characterize the four DUF1814-family nucleotidyltransferase-like toxins (MenT1-4) encoded by the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Toxin MenT3 inhibited growth of M. tuberculosis when not antagonized by its cognate antitoxin, MenA3. We solved the structures of toxins MenT3 and MenT4 to 1.6 and 1.2 Å resolution, respectively, and identified the biochemical activity and target of MenT3. MenT3 blocked in vitro protein expression and prevented tRNA charging in vivo. MenT3 added pyrimidines (C or U) to the 3'-CCA acceptor stems of uncharged tRNAs and exhibited strong substrate specificity in vitro, preferentially targeting tRNASer from among the 45 M. tuberculosis tRNAs. Our study identifies a previously unknown mechanism that expands the range of enzymatic activities used by bacterial toxins, uncovering a new way to block protein synthesis and potentially treat tuberculosis and other infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiming Cai
- Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaires, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 118 route de Narbonne, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Ben Usher
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Claude Gutierrez
- Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 205 route de Narbonne, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Anastasia Tolcan
- UMR8261 (CNRS, Université de Paris), Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Moise Mansour
- Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaires, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 118 route de Narbonne, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Peter C. Fineran
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
- Genetics Otago, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
- Bio-protection Research Centre, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - Ciarán Condon
- UMR8261 (CNRS, Université de Paris), Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Olivier Neyrolles
- Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, IPBS, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 205 route de Narbonne, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Pierre Genevaux
- Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaires, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 118 route de Narbonne, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Tim R. Blower
- Department of Biosciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
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Stogios PJ, Evdokimova E, Morar M, Koteva K, Wright GD, Courvalin P, Savchenko A. Structural and functional plasticity of antibiotic resistance nucleotidylyltransferases revealed by molecular characterization of lincosamide nucleotidylyltransferases lnu(A) and lnu(D). J Mol Biol 2015; 427:2229-43. [PMID: 25900373 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2015.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2015] [Revised: 04/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
One of the main mechanisms of resistance to lincosamide and aminoglycoside antibiotics is their inactivation by O-nucleotidylyltransferases (NTases). Significant sequence variation of lincomycin nucleotidylyltransferase (Lnu) and aminoglycoside nucleotidylyltransferase (ANT) enzymes plus lack of detailed information about the molecular basis for specificity of these enzymes toward chemically distinct antibiotic scaffolds hinders development of a general strategy to curb this resistance mechanism. We conducted an extensive sequence analysis identifying 129 putative antibiotic NTases constituting six distinct subfamilies represented by Lnu(A), Lnu(B), Lnu(C), Lnu(D), Lnu(F)/(G) plus ANT(2") enzymes. Since only the Lnu(B) enzyme has been previously studied in detail, we biochemically characterized the Lnu(A) and Lnu(D) enzymes, with the former representing the most sequence distinct Lnu ortholog. We also determined the crystal structure of the Lnu(A) enzyme in complex with a lincosamide. These data suggested that, while sharing the N-terminal nucleotidylyltransferase domain, the groups of antibiotic NTases feature structurally distinct C-terminal domains (CTDs) adapted to accommodate antibiotics. Comparative structural analysis among antibiotic NTases rationalized their specificity toward lincosamides versus aminoglycosides through active-site plasticity, which allows retention of general catalytic activity while accepting alterations at multiple, specific positions contributed by both domains. Based on this structural analysis, we suggest that antibiotic NTases evolved from an ancestral nucleotidylyltransferase along independent paths according to the identified groups, characterized by structural changes in the active site and recruitment of structurally diverse CTDs. These data show the complexity of enzyme-driven antibiotic resistance and provide a basis for broadly active inhibitors by identifying the key unifying features of antibiotic NTases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Stogios
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1L6; Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases (CSGID)
| | - Elena Evdokimova
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1L6; Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases (CSGID)
| | - Mariya Morar
- M. G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, MDCL 2301, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5
| | - Kalinka Koteva
- M. G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, MDCL 2301, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5
| | - Gerard D Wright
- M. G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, MDCL 2301, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5
| | - Patrice Courvalin
- Unité des Agents Antibacteriens, Institut Pasteur, 25, rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France
| | - Alexei Savchenko
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1L6; Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases (CSGID).
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