1
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Mallimadugula UL, Cruz MA, Vithani N, Zimmerman MI, Bowman GR. Opening and closing of a cryptic pocket in VP35 toggles it between two different RNA-binding modes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.22.609218. [PMID: 39229186 PMCID: PMC11370563 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.22.609218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2024]
Abstract
Cryptic pockets are of growing interest as potential drug targets, particularly to control protein-nucleic acid interactions that often occur via flat surfaces. However, it remains unclear whether cryptic pockets contribute to protein function or if they are merely happenstantial features that can easily be evolved away to achieve drug resistance. Here, we explore whether a cryptic pocket in the Interferon Inhibitory Domain (IID) of viral protein 35 (VP35) of Zaire ebolavirus aids its ability to bind double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). We use simulations and experiments to study the relationship between cryptic pocket opening and dsRNA binding of the IIDs of two other filoviruses, Reston and Marburg. These homologs have nearly identical structures but block different interferon pathways due to different affinities for blunt ends and backbone of the dsRNA. Simulations and thiol-labeling experiments demonstrate that the homologs have varying probabilities of pocket opening. Subsequent dsRNA-binding assays suggest that closed conformations preferentially bind dsRNA blunt ends while open conformations prefer binding the backbone. Point mutations that modulate pocket opening proteins further confirm this preference. These results demonstrate the open cryptic pocket has a function, suggesting cryptic pockets are under selective pressure and may be difficult to evolve away to achieve drug resistance.
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2
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Chisholm LO, Orlandi KN, Phillips SR, Shavlik MJ, Harms MJ. Ancestral Reconstruction and the Evolution of Protein Energy Landscapes. Annu Rev Biophys 2024; 53:127-146. [PMID: 38134334 PMCID: PMC11192866 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biophys-030722-125440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
A protein's sequence determines its conformational energy landscape. This, in turn, determines the protein's function. Understanding the evolution of new protein functions therefore requires understanding how mutations alter the protein energy landscape. Ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) has proven a valuable tool for tackling this problem. In ASR, one phylogenetically infers the sequences of ancient proteins, allowing characterization of their properties. When coupled to biophysical, biochemical, and functional characterization, ASR can reveal how historical mutations altered the energy landscape of ancient proteins, allowing the evolution of enzyme activity, altered conformations, binding specificity, oligomerization, and many other protein features. In this article, we review how ASR studies have been used to dissect the evolution of energy landscapes. We also discuss ASR studies that reveal how energy landscapes have shaped protein evolution. Finally, we propose that thinking about evolution from the perspective of an energy landscape can improve how we approach and interpret ASR studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren O Chisholm
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA;
- Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Kona N Orlandi
- Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Sophia R Phillips
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA;
- Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Michael J Shavlik
- Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | - Michael J Harms
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA;
- Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
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3
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Nixon C, Lim SA, Sternke M, Barrick D, Harms MJ, Marqusee S. The importance of input sequence set to consensus-derived proteins and their relationship to reconstructed ancestral proteins. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e5011. [PMID: 38747388 PMCID: PMC11094778 DOI: 10.1002/pro.5011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
A protein sequence encodes its energy landscape-all the accessible conformations, energetics, and dynamics. The evolutionary relationship between sequence and landscape can be probed phylogenetically by compiling a multiple sequence alignment of homologous sequences and generating common ancestors via Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction or a consensus protein containing the most common amino acid at each position. Both ancestral and consensus proteins are often more stable than their extant homologs-questioning the differences between them and suggesting that both approaches serve as general methods to engineer thermostability. We used the Ribonuclease H family to compare these approaches and evaluate how the evolutionary relationship of the input sequences affects the properties of the resulting consensus protein. While the consensus protein derived from our full Ribonuclease H sequence alignment is structured and active, it neither shows properties of a well-folded protein nor has enhanced stability. In contrast, the consensus protein derived from a phylogenetically-restricted set of sequences is significantly more stable and cooperatively folded, suggesting that cooperativity may be encoded by different mechanisms in separate clades and lost when too many diverse clades are combined to generate a consensus protein. To explore this, we compared pairwise covariance scores using a Potts formalism as well as higher-order sequence correlations using singular value decomposition (SVD). We find the SVD coordinates of a stable consensus sequence are close to coordinates of the analogous ancestor sequence and its descendants, whereas the unstable consensus sequences are outliers in SVD space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Nixon
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCaliforniaUSA
| | - Shion A. Lim
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCaliforniaUSA
| | - Matt Sternke
- The T.C. Jenkins Department of BiophysicsJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Doug Barrick
- The T.C. Jenkins Department of BiophysicsJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Michael J. Harms
- Department of Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of OregonEugeneOregonUSA
| | - Susan Marqusee
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCaliforniaUSA
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCaliforniaUSA
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3)BerkeleyCaliforniaUSA
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4
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Li ZL, Sun CQ, Qing ZL, Li ZM, Liu HL. Engineering the thermal stability of a polyphosphate kinase by ancestral sequence reconstruction to expand the temperature boundary for an industrially applicable ATP regeneration system. Appl Environ Microbiol 2024; 90:e0157423. [PMID: 38236018 PMCID: PMC10880597 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01574-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
ATP-dependent energy-consuming enzymatic reactions are widely used in cell-free biocatalysis. However, the direct addition of large amounts of expensive ATP can greatly increase cost, and enzymatic production is often difficult to achieve as a result. Although a polyphosphate kinase (PPK)-polyphosphate-based ATP regeneration system has the potential to solve this challenge, the generally poor thermal stability of PPKs limits the widespread use of this method. In this paper, we evaluated the thermal stability of a PPK from Sulfurovum lithotrophicum (SlPPK2). After directed evolution and computation-supported design, we found that SlPPK2 is very recalcitrant and cannot acquire beneficial mutations. Inspired by the usually outstanding stability of ancestral enzymes, we reconstructed the ancestral sequence of the PPK family and used it as a guide to construct three heat-stable variants of SlPPK2, of which the L35F/T144S variant has a half-life of more than 14 h at 60°C. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed on all enzymes to analyze the reasons for the increased thermal stability. The results showed that mutations at these two positions act synergistically from the interior and surface of the protein, leading to a more compact structure. Finally, the robustness of the L35F/T144S variant was verified in the synthesis of nucleotides at high temperature. In practice, the use of this high-temperature ATP regeneration system can effectively avoid byproduct accumulation. Our work extends the temperature boundary of ATP regeneration and has great potential for industrial applications.IMPORTANCEATP regeneration is an important basic applied study in the field of cell-free biocatalysis. Polyphosphate kinase (PPK) is an enzyme tool widely used for energy regeneration during enzymatic reactions. However, the thermal stability of the PPKs reported to date that can efficiently regenerate ATP is usually poor, which greatly limits their application. In this study, the thermal stability of a difficult-to-engineer PPK from Sulfurovum lithotrophicum was improved, guided by an ancestral sequence reconstruction strategy. The optimal variant has a 4.5-fold longer half-life at 60°C than the wild-type enzyme, thus enabling the extension of the temperature boundary for ATP regeneration. The ability of this variant to regenerate ATP was well demonstrated during high-temperature enzymatic production of nucleotides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zong-Lin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Chuan-Qi Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhou-Lei Qing
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhi-Min Li
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Hong-Lai Liu
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
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5
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Bhatia S, Udgaonkar JB. Understanding the heterogeneity intrinsic to protein folding. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2024; 84:102738. [PMID: 38041993 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2023.102738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/04/2023]
Abstract
Relating the native fold of a protein to its amino acid sequence remains a fundamental problem in biology. While computer algorithms have demonstrated recently their prowess in predicting what structure a particular amino acid sequence will fold to, an understanding of how and why a specific protein fold is achieved remains elusive. A major challenge is to define the role of conformational heterogeneity during protein folding. Recent experimental studies, utilizing time-resolved FRET, hydrogen-exchange coupled to mass spectrometry, and single-molecule force spectroscopy, often in conjunction with simulation, have begun to reveal how conformational heterogeneity evolves during folding, and whether an intermediate ensemble of defined free energy consists of different sub-populations of molecules that may differ significantly in conformation, energy and entropy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandhya Bhatia
- Department of Biophysics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390, United States. https://twitter.com/Sandhyabhatia_5
| | - Jayant B Udgaonkar
- Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune, Pashan, Pune 41008, India.
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6
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Nixon C, Lim SA, Sternke M, Barrick D, Harms M, Marqusee S. The importance of input sequence set to consensus-derived proteins and their relationship to reconstructed ancestral proteins. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.29.547063. [PMID: 37425932 PMCID: PMC10327145 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.29.547063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
A protein sequence encodes its energy landscape - all the accessible conformations, energetics, and dynamics. The evolutionary relationship between sequence and landscape can be probed phylogenetically by compiling a multiple sequence alignment of homologous sequences and generating common ancestors via Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction or a consensus protein containing the most common amino acid at each position. Both ancestral and consensus proteins are often more stable than their extant homologs - questioning the differences and suggesting that both approaches serve as general methods to engineer thermostability. We used the Ribonuclease H family to compare these approaches and evaluate how the evolutionary relationship of the input sequences affects the properties of the resulting consensus protein. While the overall consensus protein is structured and active, it neither shows properties of a well-folded protein nor has enhanced stability. In contrast, the consensus protein derived from a phylogenetically-restricted region is significantly more stable and cooperatively folded, suggesting that cooperativity may be encoded by different mechanisms in separate clades and lost when too many diverse clades are combined to generate a consensus protein. To explore this, we compared pairwise covariance scores using a Potts formalism as well as higher-order couplings using singular value decomposition (SVD). We find the SVD coordinates of a stable consensus sequence are close to coordinates of the analogous ancestor sequence and its descendants, whereas the unstable consensus sequences are outliers in SVD space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Nixon
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Shion A Lim
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Matt Sternke
- The T.C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218
| | - Doug Barrick
- The T.C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218
| | - Mike Harms
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403
| | - Susan Marqusee
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), Berkeley
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7
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Kaur U, Kihn KC, Ke H, Kuo W, Gierasch LM, Hebert DN, Wintrode PL, Deredge D, Gershenson A. The conformational landscape of a serpin N-terminal subdomain facilitates folding and in-cell quality control. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.24.537978. [PMID: 37163105 PMCID: PMC10168285 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.24.537978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Many multi-domain proteins including the serpin family of serine protease inhibitors contain non-sequential domains composed of regions that are far apart in sequence. Because proteins are translated vectorially from N- to C-terminus, such domains pose a particular challenge: how to balance the conformational lability necessary to form productive interactions between early and late translated regions while avoiding aggregation. This balance is mediated by the protein sequence properties and the interactions of the folding protein with the cellular quality control machinery. For serpins, particularly α 1 -antitrypsin (AAT), mutations often lead to polymer accumulation in cells and consequent disease suggesting that the lability/aggregation balance is especially precarious. Therefore, we investigated the properties of progressively longer AAT N-terminal fragments in solution and in cells. The N-terminal subdomain, residues 1-190 (AAT190), is monomeric in solution and efficiently degraded in cells. More β -rich fragments, 1-290 and 1-323, form small oligomers in solution, but are still efficiently degraded, and even the polymerization promoting Siiyama (S53F) mutation did not significantly affect fragment degradation. In vitro, the AAT190 region is among the last regions incorporated into the final structure. Hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry and enhanced sampling molecular dynamics simulations show that AAT190 has a broad, dynamic conformational ensemble that helps protect one particularly aggregation prone β -strand from solvent. These AAT190 dynamics result in transient exposure of sequences that are buried in folded, full-length AAT, which may provide important recognition sites for the cellular quality control machinery and facilitate degradation and, under favorable conditions, reduce the likelihood of polymerization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Upneet Kaur
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Kyle C. Kihn
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201
| | - Haiping Ke
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Weiwei Kuo
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Lila M. Gierasch
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
- Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
- Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Daniel N. Hebert
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
- Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
| | - Patrick L. Wintrode
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201
| | - Daniel Deredge
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, MD 21201
| | - Anne Gershenson
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
- Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003
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8
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Mascotti ML. Resurrecting Enzymes by Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction. METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2022; 2397:111-136. [PMID: 34813062 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1826-4_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction (ASR) allows one to infer the sequences of extinct proteins using the phylogeny of extant proteins. It consists of disclosing the evolutionary history-i.e., the phylogeny-of a protein family of interest and then inferring the sequences of its ancestors-i.e., the nodes in the phylogeny. Assisted by gene synthesis, the selected ancestors can be resurrected in the lab and experimentally characterized. The crucial step to succeed with ASR is starting from a reliable phylogeny. At the same time, it is of the utmost importance to have a clear idea on the evolutionary history of the family under study and the events that influenced it. This allows us to implement ASR with well-defined hypotheses and to apply the appropriate experimental methods. In the last years, ASR has become popular to test hypotheses about the origin of functionalities, changes in activities, understanding physicochemical properties of proteins, among others. In this context, the aim of this chapter is to present the ASR approach applied to the reconstruction of enzymes-i.e., proteins with catalytic roles. The spirit of this contribution is to provide a basic, hands-to-work guide for biochemists and biologists who are unfamiliar with molecular phylogenetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Laura Mascotti
- Molecular Enzymology group, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. .,IMIBIO-SL CONICET, Facultad de Química Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, San Luis, Argentina.
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9
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Opening of a cryptic pocket in β-lactamase increases penicillinase activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2106473118. [PMID: 34799442 PMCID: PMC8617505 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2106473118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A protein is a shape-shifter, but it is currently unclear which of the many structures a protein can adopt are relevant for its function. Here, we examine conformations that contain a “cryptic” pocket (i.e., a pocket absent in ligand-free structures). Cryptic pockets have potential utility in drug discovery efforts because they provide a means to target “undruggable” proteins (i.e., proteins lacking known pockets) or enhance rather than inhibit protein function. In this study, we use a combination of thiol-labeling and kinetic assays, NMR, and molecular dynamic simulations to identify the function of the Ω-loop cryptic pocket in β-lactamase enzymes. We find that an open pocket population is beneficial for hydrolysis of the substrate benzylpenicillin. Understanding the functional role of protein-excited states has important implications in protein design and drug discovery. However, because these states are difficult to find and study, it is still unclear if excited states simply result from thermal fluctuations and generally detract from function or if these states can actually enhance protein function. To investigate this question, we consider excited states in β-lactamases and particularly a subset of states containing a cryptic pocket which forms under the Ω-loop. Given the known importance of the Ω-loop and the presence of this pocket in at least two homologs, we hypothesized that these excited states enhance enzyme activity. Using thiol-labeling assays to probe Ω-loop pocket dynamics and kinetic assays to probe activity, we find that while this pocket is not completely conserved across β-lactamase homologs, those with the Ω-loop pocket have a higher activity against the substrate benzylpenicillin. We also find that this is true for TEM β-lactamase variants with greater open Ω-loop pocket populations. We further investigate the open population using a combination of NMR chemical exchange saturation transfer experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. To test our understanding of the Ω-loop pocket’s functional role, we designed mutations to enhance/suppress pocket opening and observed that benzylpenicillin activity is proportional to the probability of pocket opening in our designed variants. The work described here suggests that excited states containing cryptic pockets can be advantageous for function and may be favored by natural selection, increasing the potential utility of such cryptic pockets as drug targets.
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10
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Appel M, Longwell SA, Morri M, Neff N, Herschlag D, Fordyce PM. uPIC-M: Efficient and Scalable Preparation of Clonal Single Mutant Libraries for High-Throughput Protein Biochemistry. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:30542-30554. [PMID: 34805683 PMCID: PMC8600632 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c04180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
New high-throughput biochemistry techniques complement selection-based approaches and provide quantitative kinetic and thermodynamic data for thousands of protein variants in parallel. With these advances, library generation rather than data collection has become rate-limiting. Unlike pooled selection approaches, high-throughput biochemistry requires mutant libraries in which individual sequences are rationally designed, efficiently recovered, sequence-validated, and separated from one another, but current strategies are unable to produce these libraries at the needed scale and specificity at reasonable cost. Here, we present a scalable, rapid, and inexpensive approach for creating User-designed Physically Isolated Clonal-Mutant (uPIC-M) libraries that utilizes recent advances in oligo synthesis, high-throughput sample preparation, and next-generation sequencing. To demonstrate uPIC-M, we created a scanning mutant library of SpAP, a 541 amino acid alkaline phosphatase, and recovered 94% of desired mutants in a single iteration. uPIC-M uses commonly available equipment and freely downloadable custom software and can produce a 5000 mutant library at 1/3 the cost and 1/5 the time of traditional techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mason
J. Appel
- Department
of Biochemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Scott A. Longwell
- Department
of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Maurizio Morri
- Chan
Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, California 94110, United States
| | - Norma Neff
- Chan
Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, California 94110, United States
| | - Daniel Herschlag
- Department
of Biochemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Polly M. Fordyce
- Department
of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
- Chan
Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, California 94110, United States
- Department
of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
- ChEM-H
Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
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11
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Romero-Romero S, Kordes S, Michel F, Höcker B. Evolution, folding, and design of TIM barrels and related proteins. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2021; 68:94-104. [PMID: 33453500 PMCID: PMC8250049 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2020.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 12/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Proteins are chief actors in life that perform a myriad of exquisite functions. This diversity has been enabled through the evolution and diversification of protein folds. Analysis of sequences and structures strongly suggest that numerous protein pieces have been reused as building blocks and propagated to many modern folds. This information can be traced to understand how the protein world has diversified. In this review, we discuss the latest advances in the analysis of protein evolutionary units, and we use as a model system one of the most abundant and versatile topologies, the TIM-barrel fold, to highlight the existing common principles that interconnect protein evolution, structure, folding, function, and design.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sina Kordes
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Florian Michel
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Birte Höcker
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
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12
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Spence MA, Kaczmarski JA, Saunders JW, Jackson CJ. Ancestral sequence reconstruction for protein engineers. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2021; 69:131-141. [PMID: 34023793 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2021.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
In addition to its value in the study of molecular evolution, ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) has emerged as a useful methodology for engineering proteins with enhanced properties. Proteins generated by ASR often exhibit unique or improved activity, stability, and/or promiscuity, all of which are properties that are valued by protein engineers. Comparison between extant proteins and evolutionary intermediates generated by ASR also allows protein engineers to identify substitutions that have contributed to functional innovation or diversification within protein families. As ASR becomes more widely adopted as a protein engineering approach, it is important to understand the applications, limitations, and recent developments of this technique. This review highlights recent exemplifications of ASR, as well as technical aspects of the reconstruction process that are relevant to protein engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Spence
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Joe A Kaczmarski
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Jake W Saunders
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Colin J Jackson
- Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide & Protein Science, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Synthetic Biology, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
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13
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Zou T, Woodrum BW, Halloran N, Campitelli P, Bobkov AA, Ghirlanda G, Ozkan SB. Local Interactions That Contribute Minimal Frustration Determine Foldability. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:2617-2626. [PMID: 33687216 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c00364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Earlier experiments suggest that the evolutionary information (conservation and coevolution) encoded in protein sequences is necessary and sufficient to specify the fold of a protein family. However, there is no computational work to quantify the effect of such evolutionary information on the folding process. Here we explore the role of early folding steps for sequences designed using coevolution and conservation through a combination of computational and experimental methods. We simulated a repertoire of native and designed WW domain sequences to analyze early local contact formation and found that the N-terminal β-hairpin turn would not form correctly due to strong non-native local contacts in unfoldable sequences. Through a maximum likelihood approach, we identified five local contacts that play a critical role in folding, suggesting that a small subset of amino acid pairs can be used to solve the "needle in the haystack" problem to design foldable sequences. Thus, using the contact probability of those five local contacts that form during the early stage of folding, we built a classification model that predicts the foldability of a WW sequence with 81% accuracy. This classification model was used to redesign WW domain sequences that could not fold due to frustration and make them foldable by introducing a few mutations that led to the stabilization of these critical local contacts. The experimental analysis shows that a redesigned sequence folds and binds to polyproline peptides with a similar affinity as those observed for native WW domains. Overall, our analysis shows that evolutionary-designed sequences should not only satisfy the folding stability but also ensure a minimally frustrated folding landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taisong Zou
- Department of Physics and Center for Biological Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Brian W Woodrum
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Nicholas Halloran
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Paul Campitelli
- Department of Physics and Center for Biological Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Andrey A Bobkov
- Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Giovanna Ghirlanda
- School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Sefika Banu Ozkan
- Department of Physics and Center for Biological Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
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14
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Ando N, Barquera B, Bartlett DH, Boyd E, Burnim AA, Byer AS, Colman D, Gillilan RE, Gruebele M, Makhatadze G, Royer CA, Shock E, Wand AJ, Watkins MB. The Molecular Basis for Life in Extreme Environments. Annu Rev Biophys 2021; 50:343-372. [PMID: 33637008 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-biophys-100120-072804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Sampling and genomic efforts over the past decade have revealed an enormous quantity and diversity of life in Earth's extreme environments. This new knowledge of life on Earth poses the challenge of understandingits molecular basis in such inhospitable conditions, given that such conditions lead to loss of structure and of function in biomolecules from mesophiles. In this review, we discuss the physicochemical properties of extreme environments. We present the state of recent progress in extreme environmental genomics. We then present an overview of our current understanding of the biomolecular adaptation to extreme conditions. As our current and future understanding of biomolecular structure-function relationships in extremophiles requires methodologies adapted to extremes of pressure, temperature, and chemical composition, advances in instrumentation for probing biophysical properties under extreme conditions are presented. Finally, we briefly discuss possible future directions in extreme biophysics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nozomi Ando
- Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
| | - Blanca Barquera
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA;
| | - Douglas H Bartlett
- Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0202, USA
| | - Eric Boyd
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Audrey A Burnim
- Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Amanda S Byer
- Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Daniel Colman
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Richard E Gillilan
- Center for High Energy X-ray Sciences (CHEXS), Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Martin Gruebele
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA.,Department of Physics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA.,Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - George Makhatadze
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA;
| | - Catherine A Royer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA;
| | - Everett Shock
- GEOPIG, School of Earth & Space Exploration, School of Molecular Sciences, Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA
| | - A Joshua Wand
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77845, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77845, USA.,Department of Molecular & Cellular Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77845, USA
| | - Maxwell B Watkins
- Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
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15
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Modi T, Campitelli P, Kazan IC, Ozkan SB. Protein folding stability and binding interactions through the lens of evolution: a dynamical perspective. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2020; 66:207-215. [PMID: 33388636 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2020.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
While the function of a protein depends heavily on its ability to fold into a correct 3D structure, billions of years of evolution have tailored proteins from highly stable objects to flexible molecules as they adapted to environmental changes. Nature maintains the fine balance of protein folding and stability while still evolving towards new function through generations of fine-tuning necessary interactions with other proteins and small molecules. Here we focus on recent computational and experimental studies that shed light onto how evolution molds protein folding and the functional landscape from a conformational dynamics' perspective. Particularly, we explore the importance of dynamic allostery throughout protein evolution and discuss how the protein anisotropic network can give rise to allosteric and epistatic interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tushar Modi
- Department of Physics and Center for Biological Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Paul Campitelli
- Department of Physics and Center for Biological Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Ismail Can Kazan
- Department of Physics and Center for Biological Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Sefika Banu Ozkan
- Department of Physics and Center for Biological Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA.
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16
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Bhunia A, Ilyas H, Bhattacharjya S. Salt Dependence Conformational Stability of the Dimeric SAM Domain of MAPKKK Ste11 from Budding Yeast: A Native-State H/D Exchange NMR Study. Biochemistry 2020; 59:2849-2858. [PMID: 32667811 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The sterile α motif, also called the SAM domain, is known to form homo or heterocomplexes that modulate diverse biological functions through the regulation of specific protein-protein interactions. The MAPK pathway of budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is comprised of a three-tier kinase system akin to mammals. The MAPKKK Ste11 protein of yeast contains a homodimer SAM domain, which is critical for transmitting cues to the downstream kinases. The structural stability of the dimeric Ste11 SAM is maintained by hydrophobic and ionic interactions at the interfacial amino acids. The urea-induced equilibrium-unfolding process of the Ste11 SAM domain is cooperative without evidence of any intermediate states. The native-state H/D exchange under subdenaturing conditions is a useful method for the detection of intermediate states of proteins. In the present study, we investigated the effect of ionic strength on the conformational stability of the dimer using the H/D exchange experiments. The hydrogen exchange behavior of the Ste11 dimer under physiological salt concentrations reveals two partially unfolded metastable intermediate states, which may be generated by a sequential and cooperative unfolding of the five helices present in the domain. These intermediates appear to be significant for the reversible unfolding kinetics via hydrophobic collapse. In contrast, higher ionic concentrations eliminate this cooperative interactions that stabilize the pairs of helices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anirban Bhunia
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551, Singapore.,Department of Biophysics, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VII (M), Kolkata 700 054, India
| | - Humaira Ilyas
- Department of Biophysics, Bose Institute, P-1/12 CIT Scheme VII (M), Kolkata 700 054, India
| | - Surajit Bhattacharjya
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551, Singapore
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17
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Oltrogge LM, Chaijarasphong T, Chen AW, Bolin ER, Marqusee S, Savage DF. Multivalent interactions between CsoS2 and Rubisco mediate α-carboxysome formation. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2020; 27:281-287. [PMID: 32123388 PMCID: PMC7337323 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-020-0387-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Carboxysomes are bacterial microcompartments that function as the centerpiece of the bacterial CO2-concentrating mechanism by facilitating high CO2 concentrations near the carboxylase Rubisco. The carboxysome self-assembles from thousands of individual proteins into icosahedral-like particles with a dense enzyme cargo encapsulated within a proteinaceous shell. In the case of the α-carboxysome, there is little molecular insight into protein-protein interactions that drive the assembly process. Here, studies on the α-carboxysome from Halothiobacillus neapolitanus demonstrate that Rubisco interacts with the N-terminus of CsoS2, a multivalent, intrinsically disordered protein. X-ray structural analysis of the CsoS2 interaction motif bound to Rubisco reveals a series of conserved electrostatic interactions that are only made with properly assembled hexadecameric Rubisco. Although biophysical measurements indicate this single interaction is weak, its implicit multivalency induces high-affinity binding through avidity. Taken together, our results indicate CsoS2 acts as an interaction hub to condense Rubisco and enable efficient α-carboxysome formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke M Oltrogge
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Thawatchai Chaijarasphong
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Allen W Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Eric R Bolin
- Biophysics Graduate Program, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.,California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Susan Marqusee
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.,Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.,California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - David F Savage
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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18
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Guin D, Gruebele M. Weak Chemical Interactions That Drive Protein Evolution: Crowding, Sticking, and Quinary Structure in Folding and Function. Chem Rev 2019; 119:10691-10717. [PMID: 31356058 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, better instrumentation and greater computing power have enabled the imaging of elusive biomolecule dynamics in cells, driving many advances in understanding the chemical organization of biological systems. The focus of this Review is on interactions in the cell that affect both biomolecular stability and function and modulate them. The same protein or nucleic acid can behave differently depending on the time in the cell cycle, the location in a specific compartment, or the stresses acting on the cell. We describe in detail the crowding, sticking, and quinary structure in the cell and the current methods to quantify them both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, we discuss protein evolution in the cell in light of current biophysical evidence. We describe the factors that drive protein evolution and shape protein interaction networks. These interactions can significantly affect the free energy, ΔG, of marginally stable and low-population proteins and, due to epistasis, direct the evolutionary pathways in an organism. We finally conclude by providing an outlook on experiments to come and the possibility of collaborative evolutionary biology and biophysical efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Drishti Guin
- Department of Chemistry , University of Illinois , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
| | - Martin Gruebele
- Department of Chemistry , University of Illinois , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States.,Department of Physics , University of Illinois , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States.,Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology , University of Illinois , Urbana , Illinois 61801 , United States
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