1
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Le T, Zhang D, Martini RM, Biswas S, van der Donk WA. Use of a head-to-tail peptide cyclase to prepare hybrid RiPPs. Chem Commun (Camb) 2024; 60:6508-6511. [PMID: 38833296 PMCID: PMC11189026 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc04919a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
Cyclotides and lanthipeptides are cyclic peptide natural products with promising bioengineering potential. No peptides have been isolated that contain both structural motifs defining these two families, an N-to-C cyclised backbone and lanthionine linkages. We combined their biosynthetic machineries to produce hybrid structures that possess improved activity or stability, demonstrate how the AEP-1 plant cyclase can be utilised to complete the maturation of the sactipeptide subtilosin A, and present head-to-tail cyclisation of the glycocin sublancin. These studies show the plasticity of AEP-1 and its utilisation alongside other post-translational modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tung Le
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
| | - Dongtianyu Zhang
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
| | - Rachel M Martini
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Subhanip Biswas
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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2
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Eslami SM, van der Donk WA. Proteases Involved in Leader Peptide Removal during RiPP Biosynthesis. ACS BIO & MED CHEM AU 2024; 4:20-36. [PMID: 38404746 PMCID: PMC10885120 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomedchemau.3c00059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) have received much attention in recent years because of their promising bioactivities and the portability of their biosynthetic pathways. Heterologous expression studies of RiPP biosynthetic enzymes identified by genome mining often leave a leader peptide on the final product to prevent toxicity to the host and to allow the attachment of a genetically encoded affinity purification tag. Removal of the leader peptide to produce the mature natural product is then carried out in vitro with either a commercial protease or a protease that fulfills this task in the producing organism. This review covers the advances in characterizing these latter cognate proteases from bacterial RiPPs and their utility as sequence-dependent proteases. The strategies employed for leader peptide removal have been shown to be remarkably diverse. They include one-step removal by a single protease, two-step removal by two dedicated proteases, and endoproteinase activity followed by aminopeptidase activity by the same protease. Similarly, the localization of the proteolytic step varies from cytoplasmic cleavage to leader peptide removal during secretion to extracellular leader peptide removal. Finally, substrate recognition ranges from highly sequence specific with respect to the leader and/or modified core peptide to nonsequence specific mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara M. Eslami
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, University of
Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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3
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Nguyen NA, Vidya FNU, Yennawar NH, Wu H, McShan AC, Agarwal V. Disordered regions in proteusin peptides guide post-translational modification by a flavin-dependent RiPP brominase. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1265. [PMID: 38341413 PMCID: PMC10858898 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45593-5] [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: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
To biosynthesize ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs), enzymes recognize and bind to the N-terminal leader region of substrate peptides which enables catalytic modification of the C-terminal core. Our current understanding of RiPP leaders is that they are short and largely unstructured. Proteusins are RiPP precursor peptides that defy this characterization as they possess unusually long leaders. Proteusin peptides have not been structurally characterized, and we possess scant understanding of how these atypical leaders engage with modifying enzymes. Here, we determine the structure of a proteusin peptide which shows that unlike other RiPP leaders, proteusin leaders are preorganized into a rigidly structured region and a smaller intrinsically disordered region. With residue level resolution gained from NMR titration experiments, the intermolecular peptide-protein interactions between proteusin leaders and a flavin-dependent brominase are mapped onto the disordered region, leaving the rigidly structured region of the proteusin leader to be functionally dispensable. Spectroscopic observations are biochemically validated to identify a binding motif in proteusin peptides that is conserved among other RiPP leaders as well. This study provides a structural characterization of the proteusin peptides and extends the paradigm of RiPP modification enzymes using not only unstructured peptides, but also structured proteins as substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nguyet A Nguyen
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - F N U Vidya
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Neela H Yennawar
- The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Hongwei Wu
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Andrew C McShan
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
| | - Vinayak Agarwal
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
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4
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Choi B, Acuna A, Koos JD, Link AJ. Large-scale Bioinformatic Study of Graspimiditides and Structural Characterization of Albusimiditide. ACS Chem Biol 2023; 18:2394-2404. [PMID: 37856788 PMCID: PMC10993234 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.3c00365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Graspetides are a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) that exhibit an impressive diversity in patterns of side chain-to-side chain ω-ester or ω-amide linkages. Recent studies have uncovered a significant portion of graspetides to contain an additional post-translational modification involving aspartimidylation catalyzed by an O-methyltransferase, predominantly found in the genomes of actinomycetota. Here, we present a comprehensive bioinformatic analysis focused on graspetides harboring aspartimide, for which we propose the name graspimiditides. From protein BLAST results of 5000 methyltransferase sequences, we identified 962 unique putative graspimiditides, which we further classified into eight main clusters based on sequence similarity along with several smaller clusters and singletons. The previously studied graspimiditides, fuscimiditide, and amycolimiditide, are identified in this analysis; fuscimiditide is a singleton, while amycolimiditide is in the fifth largest cluster. Cluster 1, by far the largest cluster, contains 641 members, encoded almost exclusively in the Streptomyces genus. To characterize an example of a graspimiditide in Cluster 1, we conducted experimental studies on the peptide from Streptomyces albus J1074, which we named albusimiditide. By tandem mass spectrometry, hydrazinolysis, and amino acid substitution experiments, we elucidated the structure of albusimiditide to be a large tetracyclic peptide with four ω-ester linkages generating a stem-loop structure with one aspartimide. The ester cross-links form 22-, 46-, 22-, and 44-atom macrocycles, the last of which, the loop, contains the enzymatically installed aspartimide. Further in vitro experiments revealed that the aspartimide hydrolyzes in a 3:1 ratio of isoaspartate to aspartate residues. Overall, this study offers comprehensive insight into the diversity and structural features of graspimiditides, paving the way for future investigations of this unique class of natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Choi
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
| | - Arthur Acuna
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
| | - Joseph D. Koos
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
| | - A. James Link
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States
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5
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Wang H, Han Y, Wang X, Jia Y, Zhang Y, Müller R, Huo L. Genome Mining of Myxopeptins Reveals a Class of Lanthipeptide-Derived Linear Dehydroamino Acid-Containing Peptides from Myxococcus sp. MCy9171. ACS Chem Biol 2023; 18:2163-2169. [PMID: 37703191 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.3c00265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Myxobacteria exhibit a substantial capacity to produce bioactive natural products. The biosynthetic potential of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) from myxobacteria remains largely underexplored. In our study, we identified a novel lanthipeptide-like biosynthetic pathway, mcy from Myxococcus sp. MCy9171, which was reconstituted in E. coli and in vitro proteolysis. Structural elucidation demonstrated that a series of dehydroamino acids were installed by an orphan McyB dehydratase onto the five McyA core peptides, named myxopeptins. Interestingly, compared with the canonical biosynthetic machinery of class I lanthipeptides, neither Cys residues existed in the diverse core regions, nor any LanC cyclase homologue was encoded in the mcy pathway. Thus, we propose myxopeptins as members of a new subclass of RiPPs, named lanthipeptide-derived linear dehydroamino acid-containing peptides (LDPs), which contain dehydrated amino acids as the class-defining post-translational modifications. Furthermore, sequence similarity network (SSN) analysis revealed the wide distribution of the biosynthetic potential of LDPs in various microbial phyla, implying a co-evolutionary scenario between the precursor peptide and class I lanthipeptide biosynthetic enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huimei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Yu Han
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Xiaotong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Yujia Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Youming Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Rolf Müller
- Helmholtz International Laboratory, Department of Microbial Natural Products (MINS), Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Campus E8 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Campus E8 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Liujie Huo
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
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6
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Fernandez-Cantos MV, Garcia-Morena D, Yi Y, Liang L, Gómez-Vázquez E, Kuipers OP. Bioinformatic mining for RiPP biosynthetic gene clusters in Bacteroidales reveals possible new subfamily architectures and novel natural products. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1219272. [PMID: 37469430 PMCID: PMC10352776 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1219272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The Bacteroidales order, widely distributed among diverse human populations, constitutes a key component of the human microbiota. Members of this Gram-negative order have been shown to modulate the host immune system, play a fundamental role in the gut's microbial food webs, or be involved in pathogenesis. Bacteria inhabiting such a complex environment as the human microbiome are expected to display social behaviors and, hence, possess factors that mediate cooperative and competitive interactions. Different types of molecules can mediate interference competition, including non-ribosomal peptides (NRPs), polyketides, and bacteriocins. The present study investigates the potential of Bacteroidales bacteria to biosynthesize class I bacteriocins, which are ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). For this purpose, 1,136 genome-sequenced strains from this order were mined using BAGEL4. A total of 1,340 areas of interest (AOIs) were detected. The most commonly identified enzymes involved in RiPP biosynthesis were radical S-adenosylmethionine (rSAM), either alone or in combination with other biosynthetic enzymes such as YcaO. A more comprehensive analysis of a subset of 9 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) revealed a consistent association in Bacteroidales BGCs between peptidase-containing ATP-binding transporters (PCATs) and precursor peptides with GG-motifs. This finding suggests a possibly shared mechanism for leader peptide cleavage and transport of mature products. Notably, human metagenomic studies showed a high prevalence and abundance of the RiPP BGCs from Phocaeicola vulgatus and Porphyromonas gulae. The mature product of P. gulae BGC is hypothesized to display γ-thioether linkages and a C-terminal backbone amidine, a potential new combination of post-translational modifications (PTM). All these findings highlight the RiPP biosynthetic potential of Bacteroidales bacteria, as a rich source of novel peptide structures of possible relevance in the human microbiome context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Victoria Fernandez-Cantos
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Diego Garcia-Morena
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Yunhai Yi
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | | | - Emilio Gómez-Vázquez
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Oscar P. Kuipers
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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7
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Mi X, Desormeaux EK, Le TT, van der Donk WA, Shukla D. Sequence controlled secondary structure is important for the site-selectivity of lanthipeptide cyclization. Chem Sci 2023; 14:6904-6914. [PMID: 37389248 PMCID: PMC10306099 DOI: 10.1039/d2sc06546k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Lanthipeptides are ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides that are generated from precursor peptides through a dehydration and cyclization process. ProcM, a class II lanthipeptide synthetase, demonstrates high substrate tolerance. It is enigmatic that a single enzyme can catalyze the cyclization process of many substrates with high fidelity. Previous studies suggested that the site-selectivity of lanthionine formation is determined by substrate sequence rather than by the enzyme. However, exactly how substrate sequence contributes to site-selective lanthipeptide biosynthesis is not clear. In this study, we performed molecular dynamic simulations for ProcA3.3 variants to explore how the predicted solution structure of the substrate without enzyme correlates to the final product formation. Our simulation results support a model in which the secondary structure of the core peptide is important for the final product's ring pattern for the substrates investigated. We also demonstrate that the dehydration step in the biosynthesis pathway does not influence the site-selectivity of ring formation. In addition, we performed simulation for ProcA1.1 and 2.8, which are well-suited candidates to investigate the connection between order of ring formation and solution structure. Simulation results indicate that in both cases, C-terminal ring formation is more likely which was supported by experimental results. Our findings indicate that the substrate sequence and its solution structure can be used to predict the site-selectivity and order of ring formation, and that secondary structure is a crucial factor influencing the site-selectivity. Taken together, these findings will facilitate our understanding of the lanthipeptide biosynthetic mechanism and accelerate bioengineering efforts for lanthipeptide-derived products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuenan Mi
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana IL 61801 USA
| | - Emily K Desormeaux
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana IL 61801 USA
| | - Tung T Le
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana IL 61801 USA
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana IL 61801 USA
| | - Diwakar Shukla
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana IL 61801 USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana IL 61801 USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana IL 61801 USA
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8
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Ozhelvaci F, Steczkiewicz K. Identification and Classification of Papain-like Cysteine Proteinases. J Biol Chem 2023:104801. [PMID: 37164157 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.104801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Papain-like cysteine peptidases form a big and highly diverse superfamily of proteins involved in many important biological functions, such as protein turnover, deubiquitination, tissue remodeling, blood clotting, virulence, defense, and cell wall remodeling. High sequence and structure diversity observed within these proteins hinders their comprehensive classification as well as the identification of new representatives. Moreover, in general protein databases, many families already classified as papain-like lack details regarding their mechanism of action or biological function. Here, we use transitive remote homology searches and 3D modeling to newly classify 21 families to the papain-like cysteine peptidase superfamily. We attempt to predict their biological function, and provide structural chacterization of 89 protein clusters defined based on sequence similarity altogether spanning 106 papain-like families. Moreover, we systematically discuss observed diversity in sequences, structures, and catalytic sites. Eventually, we expand the list of human papain-related proteins by seven representatives, including dopamine receptor-interacting protein (DRIP1) as potential deubiquitinase, and centriole duplication regulating CEP76 as retaining catalytically active peptidase-like domain. The presented results not only provide structure-based rationales to already existing peptidase databases but also may inspire further experimental research focused on peptidase-related biological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatih Ozhelvaci
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Kamil Steczkiewicz
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
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9
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Vagstad AL. Engineering ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptides as new antibiotics. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2023; 80:102891. [PMID: 36702077 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2023.102891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The rise of antimicrobial resistance is an urgent public health threat demanding the invention of new drugs to combat infections. Naturally sourced nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) have a long history as antimicrobial drugs. Through recent advances in genome mining and engineering technologies, their ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptide (RiPP) counterparts are poised to further contribute to the arsenal of anti-infectives. As natural products from diverse organisms involved in interspecies competition, many RiPPs already possess antimicrobial activities that can be further optimized as drug candidates. Owing to the mutability of precursor protein genes that encode their core structures and the availability of diverse posttranslational modification (PTM) enzymes with broad substrate tolerances, RiPP systems are well suited to engineer complex peptides with desired functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna L Vagstad
- Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
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10
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Kretsch AM, Gadgil MG, DiCaprio AJ, Barrett SE, Kille BL, Si Y, Zhu L, Mitchell DA. Peptidase Activation by a Leader Peptide-Bound RiPP Recognition Element. Biochemistry 2023; 62:956-967. [PMID: 36734655 PMCID: PMC10126823 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The RiPP precursor recognition element (RRE) is a conserved domain found in many prokaryotic ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). RREs bind with high specificity and affinity to a recognition sequence within the N-terminal leader region of RiPP precursor peptides. Lasso peptide biosynthesis involves an RRE-dependent leader peptidase, which is discretely encoded or fused to the RRE as a di-domain protein. Here we leveraged thousands of predicted BGCs to define the RRE:leader peptidase interaction through evolutionary covariance analysis. Each interacting domain contributes a three-stranded β-sheet to form a hydrophobic β-sandwich-like interface. The bioinformatics-guided predictions were experimentally confirmed using proteins from discrete and fused lasso peptide BGC architectures. Support for the domain-domain interface derived from chemical shift perturbation, paramagnetic relaxation enhancement experiments, and rapid variant activity screening using cell-free biosynthesis. Further validation of selected variants was performed with purified proteins. We developed a p-nitroanilide-based leader peptidase assay to illuminate the role of RRE domains. Our data show that RRE domains play a dual function. RRE domains deliver the precursor peptide to the leader peptidase, and the rate is saturable as expected for a substrate. RRE domains also partially compose the elusive S2 proteolytic pocket that binds the penultimate threonine of lasso leader peptides. Because the RRE domain is required to form the active site, leader peptidase activity is greatly diminished when the RRE domain is supplied at substoichiometric levels. Full proteolytic activation requires RRE engagement with the recognition sequence-containing portion of the leader peptide. Together, our observations define a new mechanism for protease activity regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley M. Kretsch
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Mayuresh G. Gadgil
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Adam J. DiCaprio
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Susanna E. Barrett
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Bryce L. Kille
- Department of Computer Science, Rice University, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Yuanyuan Si
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Lingyang Zhu
- School of Chemical Sciences, NMR Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Douglas A. Mitchell
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
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11
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Kim SY, Parker JK, Gonzalez-Magaldi M, Telford MS, Leahy DJ, Davies BW. Export of diverse and bioactive peptides through a type I secretion system. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.26.525739. [PMID: 36747863 PMCID: PMC9900886 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.26.525739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Microcins are peptide antibiotics secreted by Gram-negative bacteria that inhibit the growth of neighboring microbes. They are exported from the cytosol to the environment in a one-step process through a specific type I secretion system (T1SS). While the rules governing export of natural or non-native substrates have been resolved for T1SSs that secrete large proteins, relatively little is known about substrate requirements for peptides exported through T1SSs that secrete microcins. Here, we investigate the prototypic microcin V T1SS from Escherichia coli and show it can export a remarkably wide range of natural and synthetic peptides. We demonstrate that secretion through this system is not affected by peptide charge or hydrophobicity and appears only constrained by peptide length. A varied range of bioactive peptides, including an antibacterial peptide, a microbial signaling factor, a protease inhibitor, and a human hormone, can all be secreted and elicit their intended biological effect. Secretion through this system is not limited to E. coli , and we demonstrate its function in additional Gram-negative species that can inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. Our findings uncover the highly promiscuous nature of peptide export thorough the microcin V T1SS, which has implications for native cargo capacity and use of Gram-negative bacteria for peptide research and delivery. Importance Microcin type I secretion systems in Gram-negative bacteria transport antibacterial peptides from the cytoplasm to the extracellular environment in single step. In nature, each microcin secretion system is generally paired with a specific peptide. We know little about the export capacity of these transporters and how peptide sequence influences secretion. Here, we investigate the microcin V type I secretion system. Remarkably, our studies show this system can export diverse peptides and is only limited by peptide length. Furthermore, we demonstrate that various bioactive peptides can be secreted, and this system can be used in Gram-negative species that colonize the gastrointestinal tract. These finding expand our understanding of secretion through type I systems and their potential uses in peptide applications.
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12
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Arias-Orozco P, Yi Y, Ruijne F, Cebrián R, Kuipers OP. Investigating the Specificity of the Dehydration and Cyclization Reactions in Engineered Lanthipeptides by Synechococcal SyncM. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 12:164-177. [PMID: 36520855 PMCID: PMC9872173 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
ProcM-like enzymes are class II promiscuous lanthipeptide synthetases that are an attractive tool in synthetic biology for producing lanthipeptides with biotechnological or clinically desired properties. SyncM is a recently described modification enzyme from this family used to develop a versatile expression platform for engineering lanthipeptides. Most remarkably, SyncM can modify up to 79 SyncA substrates in a single strain. Six SyncAs were previously characterized from this pool of substrates. They showed particular characteristics, such as the presence of one or two lanthionine rings, different flanking residues influencing ring formation, and different ring directions, demonstrating the relaxed specificity of SyncM toward its precursor peptides. To gain a deeper understanding of the potential of SyncM as a biosynthetic tool, we further explored the enzyme's capabilities and limits in dehydration and ring formation. We used different SyncA scaffolds for peptide engineering, including changes in the ring's directionality (relative position of Ser/Thr to Cys in the peptide) and size. We further aimed to rationally design mimetics of cyclic antimicrobials and introduce macrocycles in prochlorosin-related and nonrelated substrates. This study highlights the largest lanthionine ring with 15 amino acids (ring-forming residues included) described to date. Taking advantage of the amino acid substrate tolerance of SyncM, we designed the first single-SyncA-based antimicrobial. The insights gained from this work will aid future bioengineering studies. Additionally, it broadens SyncM's application scope for introducing macrocycles in other bioactive molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Arias-Orozco
- Department
of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborg 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Yunhai Yi
- Department
of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborg 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Fleur Ruijne
- Department
of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborg 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rubén Cebrián
- Department
of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborg 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands,Department
of Clinical Microbiology, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria,
ibs. GRANADA, San Cecilio University Hospital, Av. De la Innovación s/n, 18016 Granada, Spain
| | - Oscar P. Kuipers
- Department
of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborg 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands,
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13
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Abstract
Microcins are a class of antimicrobial peptides produced by certain Gram-negative bacterial species to kill or inhibit the growth of competing bacteria. Only 10 unique, experimentally validated class II microcins have been identified, and the majority of these come from Escherichia coli. Although the current representation of microcins is sparse, they exhibit a diverse array of molecular functionalities, uptake mechanisms, and target specificities. This broad diversity from such a small representation suggests that microcins may have untapped potential for bioprospecting peptide antibiotics from genomic data sets. We used a systematic bioinformatics approach to search for verified and novel class II microcins in E. coli and other species within its family, Enterobacteriaceae. Nearly one-quarter of the E. coli genome assemblies contained one or more microcins, where the prevalence of hits to specific microcins varied by isolate phylogroup. E. coli isolates from human extraintestinal and poultry meat sources were enriched for microcins, while those from freshwater were depleted. Putative microcins were found in various abundances across all five distinct phylogenetic lineages of Enterobacteriaceae, with a particularly high prevalence in the "Klebsiella" clade. Representative genome assemblies from species across the Enterobacterales order, as well as a few outgroup species, also contained putative microcin sequences. This study suggests that microcins have a complicated evolutionary history, spanning far beyond our limited knowledge of the currently validated microcins. Efforts to functionally characterize these newly identified microcins have great potential to open a new field of peptide antibiotics and microbiome modulators and elucidate the ways in which bacteria compete with each other. IMPORTANCE Class II microcins are small bacteriocins produced by strains of Gram-negative bacteria in the Enterobacteriaceae. They are generally understood to play a role in interbacterial competition, although direct evidence of this is limited, and they could prove informative in developing new peptide antibiotics. However, few examples of verified class II microcins exist, and novel microcins are difficult to identify due to their sequence diversity, making it complicated to study them as a group. Here, we overcome this limitation by developing a bioinformatics pipeline to detect microcins in silico. Using this pipeline, we demonstrate that both verified and novel class II microcins are widespread within and outside the Enterobacteriaceae, which has not been systematically shown previously. The observed prevalence of class II microcins suggests that they are ecologically important, and the elucidation of novel microcins provides a resource that can be used to expand our knowledge of the structure and function of microcins as antibacterials.
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14
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Cruz-Cosme R, Zhang J, Liu D, Mahase V, Sallapalli BT, Chang P, Zhang Y, Teng S, Zhao RY, Tang Q. A novel diG motif in ORF3a protein of SARS-Cov-2 for intracellular transport. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:1011221. [PMID: 36506095 PMCID: PMC9727819 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.1011221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The ongoing SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic caused a global public health crisis. Yet, everyone's response to SARS-CoV-2 infection varies, and different viral variants confer diverse pathogenicity. Thus, it is imperative to understand how viral determinants contribute to COVID-19. Viral ORF3a protein is one of those viral determinants, as its functions are linked to induction of cell and tissues damages, disease severity and cytokine storm that is a major cause of COVID-19-related death. ORF3a is a membrane-associated protein. Upon synthesis, it is transported from endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus to plasma membrane and subcellular endomembranes including endosomes and lysosomes. However, how ORF3a is transported intracellularly remains elusive. The goal of this study was to carry out a systematic mutagenesis study to determine the structural relationship of ORF3a protein with its subcellular locations. Single amino acid (aa) and deletion mutations were generated in the putative function-relevant motifs and other regions of interest. Immunofluorescence and ImageJ analyses were used to determine and quantitate subcellular locations of ORF3a mutants in comparison with wildtype ORF3a. The wildtype ORF3a localizes predominantly (Pearson's coefficients about 0.8) on the membranes of endosomes and lysosomes. Consistent with earlier findings, deletion of the YXXΦ motif, which is required for protein export, retained ORF3a in the Golgi apparatus. Interestingly, mutations in a double glycine (diG) region (aa 187-188) displayed a similar phenotype to the YXXΦ deletion, implicating a similar role of the diG motif in intracellular transport. Indeed, interrupting any one of the two glycine residues such as deletion of a single (dG188), both (dG187/dG188) or substitution (G188Y) of these residues led to ORF3a retention in the Golgi apparatus (Pearson's coefficients ≥0.8). Structural analyses further suggest that the diG motif supports a type-II β-turn between the anti-parallel β4 and β5 sheets and connects to the YXXΦ motif via hydrogen bonds between two monomers. The diG- YXXΦ interaction forms a hand-in-hand configuration that could facilitate dimerization. Together, these observations suggest a functional role of the diG motif in intracellular transport of ORF3a.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Cruz-Cosme
- Department of Microbiology, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Jiantao Zhang
- Department of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Research and Development Service, VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Dongxiao Liu
- Department of Microbiology, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Vidhyanand Mahase
- Department of Biology, Howard University, Washington, DC, United States
| | | | - Peixi Chang
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Yanjin Zhang
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Shaolei Teng
- Department of Biology, Howard University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Richard Y. Zhao
- Department of Pathology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Research and Development Service, VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Human Virology, Institute of Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Qiyi Tang
- Department of Microbiology, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
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15
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Ayikpoe RS, Shi C, Battiste AJ, Eslami SM, Ramesh S, Simon MA, Bothwell IR, Lee H, Rice AJ, Ren H, Tian Q, Harris LA, Sarksian R, Zhu L, Frerk AM, Precord TW, van der Donk WA, Mitchell DA, Zhao H. A scalable platform to discover antimicrobials of ribosomal origin. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6135. [PMID: 36253467 PMCID: PMC9576775 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33890-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a promising source of new antimicrobials in the face of rising antibiotic resistance. Here, we report a scalable platform that combines high-throughput bioinformatics with automated biosynthetic gene cluster refactoring for rapid evaluation of uncharacterized gene clusters. As a proof of concept, 96 RiPP gene clusters that originate from diverse bacterial phyla involving 383 biosynthetic genes are refactored in a high-throughput manner using a biological foundry with a success rate of 86%. Heterologous expression of all successfully refactored gene clusters in Escherichia coli enables the discovery of 30 compounds covering six RiPP classes: lanthipeptides, lasso peptides, graspetides, glycocins, linear azol(in)e-containing peptides, and thioamitides. A subset of the discovered lanthipeptides exhibit antibiotic activity, with one class II lanthipeptide showing low µM activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae, an ESKAPE pathogen. Overall, this work provides a robust platform for rapidly discovering RiPPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard S Ayikpoe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Chengyou Shi
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Alexander J Battiste
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Sara M Eslami
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Sangeetha Ramesh
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Max A Simon
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Ian R Bothwell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Hyunji Lee
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Andrew J Rice
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Hengqian Ren
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Qiqi Tian
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Lonnie A Harris
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Raymond Sarksian
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Lingyang Zhu
- School of Chemical Sciences NMR Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Autumn M Frerk
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Timothy W Precord
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, 20815, MD, USA.
| | - Douglas A Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
| | - Huimin Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, 61801, IL, USA.
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16
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Scott TA, Verest M, Farnung J, Forneris CC, Robinson SL, Ji X, Hubrich F, Chepkirui C, Richter DU, Huber S, Rust P, Streiff AB, Zhang Q, Bode JW, Piel J. Widespread microbial utilization of ribosomal β-amino acid-containing peptides and proteins. Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2022.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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17
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Sukmarini L. Marine Bacterial Ribosomal Peptides: Recent Genomics- and Synthetic Biology-Based Discoveries and Biosynthetic Studies. Mar Drugs 2022; 20:md20090544. [PMID: 36135733 PMCID: PMC9505594 DOI: 10.3390/md20090544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine biodiversity is represented by an exceptional and ample array of intriguing natural product chemistries. Due to their extensive post-translational modifications, ribosomal peptides—also known as ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs)—exemplify a widely diverse class of natural products, endowing a broad range of pharmaceutically and biotechnologically relevant properties for therapeutic or industrial applications. Most RiPPs are of bacterial origin, yet their marine derivatives have been quite rarely investigated. Given the rapid advancement engaged in a more powerful genomics approach, more biosynthetic gene clusters and pathways for these ribosomal peptides continue to be increasingly characterized. Moreover, the genome-mining approach in integration with synthetic biology techniques has markedly led to a revolution of RiPP natural product discovery. Therefore, this present short review article focuses on the recent discovery of RiPPs from marine bacteria based on genome mining and synthetic biology approaches during the past decade. Their biosynthetic studies are discussed herein, particularly the organization of targeted biosynthetic gene clusters linked to the encoded RiPPs with potential bioactivities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Sukmarini
- Research Center for Applied Microbiology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Bogor, Km. 46, Cibinong 16911, West Java, Indonesia
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18
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Abstract
Natural microbial communities are phylogenetically and metabolically diverse. In addition to underexplored organismal groups1, this diversity encompasses a rich discovery potential for ecologically and biotechnologically relevant enzymes and biochemical compounds2,3. However, studying this diversity to identify genomic pathways for the synthesis of such compounds4 and assigning them to their respective hosts remains challenging. The biosynthetic potential of microorganisms in the open ocean remains largely uncharted owing to limitations in the analysis of genome-resolved data at the global scale. Here we investigated the diversity and novelty of biosynthetic gene clusters in the ocean by integrating around 10,000 microbial genomes from cultivated and single cells with more than 25,000 newly reconstructed draft genomes from more than 1,000 seawater samples. These efforts revealed approximately 40,000 putative mostly new biosynthetic gene clusters, several of which were found in previously unsuspected phylogenetic groups. Among these groups, we identified a lineage rich in biosynthetic gene clusters (‘Candidatus Eudoremicrobiaceae’) that belongs to an uncultivated bacterial phylum and includes some of the most biosynthetically diverse microorganisms in this environment. From these, we characterized the phospeptin and pythonamide pathways, revealing cases of unusual bioactive compound structure and enzymology, respectively. Together, this research demonstrates how microbiomics-driven strategies can enable the investigation of previously undescribed enzymes and natural products in underexplored microbial groups and environments. Global ocean microbiome survey reveals the bacterial family ‘Candidatus Eudoremicrobiaceae’, which includes some of the most biosynthetically diverse microorganisms in the ocean environment.
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19
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Nguyen NA, Cong Y, Hurrell RC, Arias N, Garg N, Puri AW, Schmidt EW, Agarwal V. A Silent Biosynthetic Gene Cluster from a Methanotrophic Bacterium Potentiates Discovery of a Substrate Promiscuous Proteusin Cyclodehydratase. ACS Chem Biol 2022; 17:1577-1585. [PMID: 35666841 PMCID: PMC9746716 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.2c00251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Natural product-encoding biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) within microbial genomes far outnumber the known natural products; chemical products from such BGCs remain cryptic. These silent BGCs hold promise not only for the elaboration of new natural products but also for the discovery of useful biosynthetic enzymes. Here, we describe a genome mining strategy targeted toward the discovery of substrate promiscuous natural product biosynthetic enzymes. In the genome of the methanotrophic bacterium Methylovulum psychrotolerans Sph1T, we discover a transcriptionally silent natural product BGC that encoded numerous ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) natural products. These cryptic RiPP natural products were accessed using heterologous expression of the substrate peptide and biosynthetic enzyme-encoded genes. In line with our genome mining strategy, the RiPP biosynthetic enzymes in this BGC were found to be substrate promiscuous, which allowed us to use them in a combinatorial fashion with a similarly substrate-tolerant cyanobactin biosynthetic enzyme to introduce head-to-tail macrocyclization in the proteusin family of RiPP natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nguyet A. Nguyen
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA, USA 30332
| | - Ying Cong
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City UT, USA 84112
| | - Rachel C. Hurrell
- Department of Chemistry and the Henry Eyring Center for Cell and Genome Science, University of Utah, Salt Lake City UT, USA 84112
| | - Natalie Arias
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA, USA 30332
| | - Neha Garg
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA, USA 30332
| | - Aaron W. Puri
- Department of Chemistry and the Henry Eyring Center for Cell and Genome Science, University of Utah, Salt Lake City UT, USA 84112
| | - Eric W. Schmidt
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City UT, USA 84112
| | - Vinayak Agarwal
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA, USA 30332,School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA, USA 30332,correspondence:
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20
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Substrate specificity and reaction directionality of a three-residue cyclophane forming enzyme PauB. CHINESE CHEM LETT 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2022.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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21
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Viel JH, Kuipers OP. Mutational Studies of the Mersacidin Leader Reveal the Function of Its Unique Two-Step Leader Processing Mechanism. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:1949-1957. [PMID: 35504017 PMCID: PMC9127955 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
![]()
The class II lanthipeptide
mersacidin, a ribosomally synthesized
and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP), displays unique
intramolecular structures, including a very small lanthionine ring.
When applied in the growing field of RiPP engineering, these can add
unique features to new-to-nature compounds with novel properties.
Recently, a heterologous expression system for mersacidin in Escherichia coli was developed to add its modification
enzymes to the RiPP engineering toolbox and further explore mersacidin
biosynthesis and leader-processing. The dedicated mersacidin transporter
and leader protease MrsT was shown to cleave the leader peptide only
partially upon export, transporting GDMEAA-mersacidin out of the cell.
The extracellular Bacillus amyloliquefaciens protease AprE was shown to release active mersacidin in a second
leader-processing step after transport. The conserved LanT cleavage
site in the mersacidin leader is present in many other class II lanthipeptides.
In contrast to mersacidin, the leader of these peptides is fully processed
in one step. This difference with mersacidin leader-processing raises
fundamentally interesting questions about the specifics of mersacidin
modification and processing, which is also crucial for its application
in RiPP engineering. Here, mutational studies of the mersacidin leader–core
interface were performed to answer these questions. Results showed
the GDMEAA sequence is crucial for both mersacidin modification and
leader processing, revealing a unique leader layout in which a LanM
recognition site is positioned downstream of the conserved leader-protease
LanT cleavage site. Moreover, by identifying residues and regions
that are crucial for mersacidin-type modifications, the wider application
of mersacidin modifications in RiPP engineering has been enabled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob H. Viel
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Oscar P. Kuipers
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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22
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Han Y, Wang X, Zhang Y, Huo L. Discovery and Characterization of Marinsedin, a New Class II Lanthipeptide Derived from Marine Bacterium Marinicella sediminis F2 T. ACS Chem Biol 2022; 17:785-790. [PMID: 35293716 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.2c00021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Microbial natural products provide a large number of drug leads. It is believed that abundant unexploited marine microorganisms also exhibit great potential for discovering compounds with novel chemical scaffolds and bioactivities. Lanthipeptides are a group of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides exhibiting a variety of biological functionalities. They are characterized by the presence of the thioether-containing bis-amino acids lanthionine and methyllanthionine. However, marine-derived lanthipeptides remain underexplored. Here we identified, heterologously expressed, and structurally characterized the unprecedented class II lanthipeptide marinsedin from the rare marine bacterium Marinicella sediminis F2T. Marinsedin consists of 19 amino acids and contains a rare 2-oxobutyryl group blocking the N-terminus of the peptide chain and two overlapping intramolecular thioether rings including an unusual 12-membered macro-thioether ring. Furthermore, we also evaluated the biological activity of marinsedin, demonstrating that it exhibits moderate cytotoxicity against HeLa cells and weak cytotoxicity against HCT-116 cell lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Han
- Helmholtz International Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Xiaotong Wang
- Helmholtz International Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Youming Zhang
- Helmholtz International Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
| | - Liujie Huo
- Helmholtz International Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
- Suzhou Research Institute, Shandong University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, P.R.China
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23
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Parker JK, Davies BW. Microcins reveal natural mechanisms of bacterial manipulation to inform therapeutic development. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2022; 168:001175. [PMID: 35438625 PMCID: PMC10233263 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Microcins are an understudied and poorly characterized class of antimicrobial peptides. Despite the existence of only 15 examples, all identified from the Enterobacteriaceae, microcins display diversity in sequence, structure, target cell uptake, cytotoxic mechanism of action and target specificity. Collectively, these features describe some of the unique means nature has contrived for molecules to cross the 'impermeable' barrier of the Gram-negative bacterial outer membrane and inflict cytotoxic effects. Microcins appear to be widely dispersed among different species and in different environments, where they function in regulating microbial communities in diverse ways, including through competition. Growing evidence suggests that microcins may be adapted for therapeutic uses such as antimicrobial drugs, microbiome modulators or facilitators of peptide uptake into cells. Advancing our biological, ecological and biochemical understanding of the roles of microcins in bacterial interactions, and learning how to regulate and modify microcin activity, is essential to enable such therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bryan William Davies
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
- John Ring LaMontagne Center for Infectious Diseases, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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24
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Zhang SS, Xiong J, Cui JJ, Ma KL, Wu WL, Li Y, Luo S, Gao K, Dong SH. Lanthipeptides from the Same Core Sequence: Characterization of a Class II Lanthipeptide Synthetase from Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-88. Org Lett 2022; 24:2226-2231. [PMID: 35293207 DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.2c00573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Class II lanthipeptide synthetases (LanMs) are relatively promiscuous to core peptide variations. Previous studies have shown that different LanMs catalyze identical reactions on the same core sequence fused to their respective cognate leaders. We characterized a new LanM enzyme from Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-88, MalM, and demonstrated that MalM and ProcM exhibited disparate dehydration and cyclization patterns on identical core peptides. Our study provided new insights into the regioselectivity of LanMs and showcased an appropriate strategy for lanthipeptide structural diversity engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sha-Sha Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiang Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiao-Jiao Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Kai-Liang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Wen-Liang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Ya Li
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Shangwen Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Kun Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
| | - Shi-Hui Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, People's Republic of China
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25
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Thetsana C, Ijichi S, Kaweewan I, Nakagawa H, Kodani S. Heterologous expression of a cryptic gene cluster from a marine proteobacterium Thalassomonas actiniarum affords new lanthipeptides thalassomonasins A and B. J Appl Microbiol 2022; 132:3629-3639. [PMID: 35157343 DOI: 10.1111/jam.15491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AIMS The aim of this study was to utilize a cryptic biosynthetic gene cluster of a marine proteobacterium Thalassomonas actiniarum for production of new lanthipeptides by heterologous expression system. METHODS AND RESULTS Based on genome-mining, a new biosynthetic gene cluster of class I lanthipeptide was found in the genome sequence of a marine proteobacterium Thalassomonas actiniarum. Molecular cloning was performed to construct expression vector derived from commercial available plasmid pET-41a(+). Heterologous production of new lanthipeptides named thalassomonasins A and B was performed using the host Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) harboring the expression vector. The structure of thalassomonasin A was determined by interpretation of NMR and MS data. As a result, thalassomonasin A was determined to be a lanthipeptide with three units of lanthionine. The bridging pattern of the lanthionine rings in thalassomonasin A was determined by interpretation of NOESY data. The structure of thalassomonasin B was proposed by MS/MS experiment. CONCLUSIONS We succeeded in heterologous production of new class I lanthipeptides using a biosynthetic gene cluster of a marine proteobacterium Thalassomonas actiniarum. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of heterologous production of lanthipeptides derived from proteobacterial origin. There are many cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters of this class of lanthipeptides in proteobacterial genomes. This study may lead to production of new lanthipeptides by utilizing the biosynthetic gene clusters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chanaphat Thetsana
- Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Shinta Ijichi
- Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Issara Kaweewan
- Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Nakagawa
- Research center for Advanced Analysis, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Shinya Kodani
- Graduate School of Integrated Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan.,Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan.,Shizuoka Institute for the Study of Marine Biology and Chemistry, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan.,College of Agriculture, Academic Institute, Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan
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26
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Bhattacharya S, Palillo A. Structural and dynamic studies of the peptidase domain from Clostridium thermocellum PCAT1. Protein Sci 2022; 31:498-512. [PMID: 34865273 PMCID: PMC8820281 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The export of antimicrobial peptides is mediated by diverse mechanisms in bacterial quorum sensing pathways. One such binary system employed by gram-positive bacteria is the PCAT1 ABC transporter coupled to a cysteine protease. The focus of this study is the N-terminal C39 peptidase (PEP) domain from Clostridium thermocellum PCAT1 that processes its natural substrate CtA by cleaving a conserved -GG- motif to separate the cargo from the leader peptide prior to secretion. In this study, we are primarily interested in elucidating the dynamic and structural determinants of CtA binding and how it is coupled to cleavage efficiency in the PCAT1 PEP domain. To this end, we have characterized CtA interactions with PEP domain and PCAT1 transporter in detergent micelles using solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The bound CtA structure revealed the disordered C-terminal cargo peptide is linked by a sterically hindered cleavage site to a helix docked within a hydrophobic cavity in the PEP domain. The wide range of internal motions detected by amide nitrogen (N15 ) relaxation measurements in the free enzyme and substrate-bound complex suggests the binding site is relatively floppy. This flexibility plays a key role in the structural rearrangement necessary to relax steric inhibition in the bound substrate. In conjunction with previously reported PCAT1 structures, we offer fresh insight into the ATP-mediated association between PEP and transmembrane domains as a putative mechanism to optimize peptide cleavage by regulating the width and flexibility of the enzyme active site.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anthony Palillo
- Laboratory of Membrane Biology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA,Joan and Sanford I Weill Medical College of Cornell UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
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27
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Ribosomally derived lipopeptides containing distinct fatty acyl moieties. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:2113120119. [PMID: 35027450 PMCID: PMC8784127 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2113120119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Lipopeptides represent a large group of microbial natural products that include important antibacterial and antifungal drugs and some of the most-powerful known biosurfactants. The vast majority of lipopeptides comprise cyclic peptide backbones N-terminally equipped with various fatty acyl moieties. The known compounds of this type are biosynthesized by nonribosomal peptide synthetases, giant enzyme complexes that assemble their products in a non-gene-encoded manner. Here, we report the genome-guided discovery of ribosomally derived, fatty-acylated lipopeptides, termed selidamides. Heterologous reconstitution of three pathways, two from cyanobacteria and one from an arctic, ocean-derived alphaproteobacterium, allowed structural characterization of the probable natural products and suggest that selidamides are widespread over various bacterial phyla. The identified representatives feature cyclic peptide moieties and fatty acyl units attached to (hydroxy)ornithine or lysine side chains by maturases of the GCN5-related N-acetyltransferase superfamily. In contrast to nonribosomal lipopeptides that are usually produced as congener mixtures, the three selidamides are selectively fatty acylated with C10, C12, or C16 fatty acids, respectively. These results highlight the ability of ribosomal pathways to emulate products with diverse, nonribosomal-like features and add to the biocatalytic toolbox for peptide drug improvement and targeted discovery.
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28
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Ramesh S, Guo X, DiCaprio AJ, De Lio AM, Harris LA, Kille BL, Pogorelov TV, Mitchell DA. Bioinformatics-Guided Expansion and Discovery of Graspetides. ACS Chem Biol 2021; 16:2787-2797. [PMID: 34766760 PMCID: PMC8688276 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.1c00672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Graspetides are a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide natural products featuring ATP-grasp ligase-dependent formation of macrolactones/macrolactams. These modifications arise from serine, threonine, or lysine donor residues linked to aspartate or glutamate acceptor residues. Characterized graspetides include serine protease inhibitors such as the microviridins and plesiocin. Here, we report an update to Rapid ORF Description and Evaluation Online (RODEO) for the automated detection of graspetides, which identified 3,923 high-confidence graspetide biosynthetic gene clusters. Sequence and co-occurrence analyses doubled the number of graspetide groups from 12 to 24, defined based on core consensus sequence and putative secondary modification. Bioinformatic analyses of the ATP-grasp ligase superfamily suggest that extant graspetide synthetases diverged once from an ancestral ATP-grasp ligase and later evolved to introduce a variety of ring connectivities. Furthermore, we characterized thatisin and iso-thatisin, two graspetides related by conformational stereoisomerism from Lysobacter antibioticus. Derived from a newly identified graspetide group, thatisin and iso-thatisin feature two interlocking macrolactones with identical ring connectivity, as determined by a combination of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), methanolytic, and mutational analyses. NMR spectroscopy of thatisin revealed a cis conformation for a key proline residue, while molecular dynamics simulations, solvent-accessible surface area calculations, and partial methanolytic analysis coupled with MS/MS support a trans conformation for iso-thatisin at the same position. Overall, this work provides a comprehensive overview of the graspetide landscape, and the improved RODEO algorithm will accelerate future graspetide discoveries by enabling open-access analysis of existing and emerging genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangeetha Ramesh
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Xiaorui Guo
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Adam J. DiCaprio
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Ashley M. De Lio
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 South Mathews Ave, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1205 West Clark Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Lonnie A. Harris
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Bryce L. Kille
- Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 201 North Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Taras V. Pogorelov
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 South Mathews Ave, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1205 West Clark Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Douglas A. Mitchell
- Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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29
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Viel JH, van Tilburg AY, Kuipers OP. Characterization of Leader Processing Shows That Partially Processed Mersacidin Is Activated by AprE After Export. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:765659. [PMID: 34777321 PMCID: PMC8581636 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.765659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide mersacidin is a class II lanthipeptide with good activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The intramolecular lanthionine rings, that give mersacidin its stability and antimicrobial activity, are specific structures with potential applications in synthetic biology. To add the mersacidin modification enzymes to the synthetic biology toolbox, a heterologous expression system for mersacidin in Escherichia coli has recently been developed. While this system was able to produce fully modified mersacidin precursor peptide that could be activated by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens supernatant and showed that mersacidin was activated in an additional proteolytic step after transportation out of the cell, it lacked a mechanism for clean and straightforward leader processing. Here, the protease responsible for activating mersacidin was identified and heterologously produced in E. coli, improving the previously reported heterologous expression system. By screening multiple proteases, the stringency of proteolytic activity directly next to a very small lanthionine ring is demonstrated, and the full two-step proteolytic activation of mersacidin was elucidated. Additionally, the effect of partial leader processing on diffusion and antimicrobial activity is assessed, shedding light on the function of two-step leader processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob H Viel
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Amanda Y van Tilburg
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Oscar P Kuipers
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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30
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Rebuffat S. Ribosomally synthesized peptides, foreground players in microbial interactions: recent developments and unanswered questions. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 39:273-310. [PMID: 34755755 DOI: 10.1039/d1np00052g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
It is currently well established that multicellular organisms live in tight association with complex communities of microorganisms including a large number of bacteria. These are immersed in complex interaction networks reflecting the relationships established between them and with host organisms; yet, little is known about the molecules and mechanisms involved in these mutual interactions. Ribosomally synthesized peptides, among which bacterial antimicrobial peptides called bacteriocins and microcins have been identified as contributing to host-microbe interplays, are either unmodified or post-translationally modified peptides. This review will unveil current knowledge on these ribosomal peptide-based natural products, their interplay with the host immune system, and their roles in microbial interactions and symbioses. It will include their major structural characteristics and post-translational modifications, the main rules of their maturation pathways, and the principal ecological functions they ensure (communication, signalization, competition), especially in symbiosis, taking select examples in various organisms. Finally, we address unanswered questions and provide a framework for deciphering big issues inspiring future directions in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvie Rebuffat
- Laboratory Molecules of Communication and Adaptation of Microorganisms (MCAM, UMR 7245 CNRS-MNHN), National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS), CP 54, 57 rue Cuvier 75005, Paris, France.
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31
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Le T, Jeanne Dit Fouque K, Santos-Fernandez M, Navo CD, Jiménez-Osés G, Sarksian R, Fernandez-Lima FA, van der Donk WA. Substrate Sequence Controls Regioselectivity of Lanthionine Formation by ProcM. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:18733-18743. [PMID: 34724611 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c09370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Lanthipeptides belong to the family of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). The (methyl)lanthionine cross-links characteristic to lanthipeptides are essential for their stability and bioactivities. In most bacteria, lanthipeptides are maturated from single precursor peptides encoded in the corresponding biosynthetic gene clusters. However, cyanobacteria engage in combinatorial biosynthesis and encode as many as 80 substrate peptides with highly diverse sequences that are modified by a single lanthionine synthetase into lanthipeptides of different lengths and ring patterns. It is puzzling how a single enzyme could exert control over the cyclization processes of such a wide range of substrates. Here, we used a library of ProcA3.3 precursor peptide variants and show that it is not the enzyme ProcM but rather its substrate sequences that determine the regioselectivity of lanthionine formation. We also demonstrate the utility of trapped ion mobility spectrometry-tandem mass spectrometry (TIMS-MS/MS) as a fast and convenient method to efficiently separate lanthipeptide constitutional isomers, particularly in cases where the isomers cannot be resolved by conventional liquid chromatography. Our data allowed identification of factors that are important for the cyclization outcome, but also showed that there are no easily identifiable predictive rules for all sequences. Our findings provide a platform for future deep learning approaches to allow such prediction of ring patterns of products of combinatorial biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tung Le
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Kevin Jeanne Dit Fouque
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, 11200 SW Eighth Street, Miami, Florida 33199, United States
| | - Miguel Santos-Fernandez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, 11200 SW Eighth Street, Miami, Florida 33199, United States
| | - Claudio D Navo
- Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Bizkaia Technology Park, Building 800, 48160 Derio, Spain.,Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48013 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Jiménez-Osés
- Center for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Bizkaia Technology Park, Building 800, 48160 Derio, Spain.,Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48013 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Raymond Sarksian
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Francisco Alberto Fernandez-Lima
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, 11200 SW Eighth Street, Miami, Florida 33199, United States
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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32
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Hegemann JD, Fouque KJD, Santos-Fernandez M, Fernandez-Lima F. A Bifunctional Leader Peptidase/ABC Transporter Protein Is Involved in the Maturation of the Lasso Peptide Cochonodin I from Streptococcus suis. JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS 2021; 84:2683-2691. [PMID: 34597519 PMCID: PMC9390802 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c00514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Lasso peptides are members of the natural product superfamily of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). Here, we describe the first lasso peptide originating from a biosynthetic gene cluster belonging to a unique lasso peptide subclade defined by the presence of a bifunctional protein harboring both a leader peptidase (B2) and an ABC transporter (D) domain. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that these clusters also encode homologues of the NisR/NisK regulatory system and the NisF/NisE/NisG immunity factors, which are usually associated with the clusters of antimicrobial class I lanthipeptides, such as nisin, another distinct RiPP subfamily. The cluster enabling the heterologous production of the lasso peptide cochonodin I in E. coli originated from Streptococcus suis LSS65, and the threaded structure of cochonodin I was evidenced through extensive MS/MS analysis and stability assays. It was shown that the ABC transporter domain from SsuB2/D is not essential for lasso peptide maturation. By extensive genome mining dedicated exclusively to other lasso peptide biosynthetic gene clusters featuring bifunctional B2/D proteins, it was furthermore revealed that many bacteria associated with human or animal microbiota hold the biosynthetic potential to produce cochonodin-like lasso peptides, implying that these natural products might play roles in human and animal health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian D. Hegemann
- Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Saarland University Campus, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- Corresponding Author: (J. D. Hegemann):
| | - Kevin Jeanne Dit Fouque
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, United States
| | - Miguel Santos-Fernandez
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, United States
| | - Francisco Fernandez-Lima
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, United States
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33
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Fujinami D, Garcia de Gonzalo CV, Biswas S, Hao Y, Wang H, Garg N, Lukk T, Nair SK, van der Donk WA. Structural and mechanistic investigations of protein S-glycosyltransferases. Cell Chem Biol 2021; 28:1740-1749.e6. [PMID: 34283964 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Attachment of sugars to nitrogen and oxygen in peptides is ubiquitous in biology, but glycosylation of sulfur atoms has only been recently described. Here, we characterize two S-glycosyltransferases SunS and ThuS that selectively glycosylate one of five Cys residues in their substrate peptides; substitution of this Cys with Ser results in a strong decrease in glycosylation activity. Crystal structures of SunS and ThuS in complex with UDP-glucose or a derivative reveal an unusual architecture in which a glycosyltransferase type A (GTA) fold is decorated with additional domains to support homodimerization. Dimer formation creates an extended cavity for the substrate peptide, drawing functional analogy with O-glycosyltransferases involved in cell wall biosynthesis. This extended cavity contains a sharp bend that may explain the site selectivity of the glycosylation because the target Cys is in a Gly-rich stretch that can accommodate the bend. These studies establish a molecular framework for understanding the unusual S-glycosyltransferases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daisuke Fujinami
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Roger Adams Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Chantal V Garcia de Gonzalo
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Roger Adams Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Subhanip Biswas
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Roger Adams Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Yue Hao
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Huan Wang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Roger Adams Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Neha Garg
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Tiit Lukk
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Satish K Nair
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Roger Adams Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
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34
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Nguyen NA, Lin Z, Mohanty I, Garg N, Schmidt EW, Agarwal V. An Obligate Peptidyl Brominase Underlies the Discovery of Highly Distributed Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in Marine Sponge Microbiomes. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:10221-10231. [PMID: 34213321 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c03474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Marine sponges are prolific sources of bioactive natural products, several of which are produced by bacteria symbiotically associated with the sponge host. Bacteria-derived natural products, and the specialized bacterial symbionts that synthesize them, are not shared among phylogenetically distant sponge hosts. This is in contrast to nonsymbiotic culturable bacteria in which the conservation of natural products and natural product biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) is well established. Here, we demonstrate the widespread conservation of a BGC encoding a cryptic ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) in microbiomes of phylogenetically and geographically dispersed sponges from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Detection of this BGC was enabled by mining for halogenating enzymes in sponge metagenomes, which, in turn, allowed for the description of a broad-spectrum regiospecific peptidyl tryptophan-6-brominase which possessed no chlorination activity. In addition, we demonstrate the cyclodehydrative installation of azoline heterocycles in proteusin RiPPs. This is the first demonstration of halogenation and cyclodehydration for proteusin RiPPs and the enzymes catalyzing these transformations were found to competently interact with other previously described proteusin substrate peptides. Within a sponge microbiome, many different generalized bacterial taxa harbored this BGC with often more than 50 copies of the BGC detected in individual sponge metagenomes. Moreover, the BGC was found in all sponges queried that possess high diversity microbiomes but it was not detected in other marine invertebrate microbiomes. These data shed light on conservation of cryptic natural product biosynthetic potential in marine sponges that was not detected by traditional natural product-to-BGC (meta)genome mining.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nguyet A Nguyen
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Zhenjian Lin
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | - Ipsita Mohanty
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Neha Garg
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Eric W Schmidt
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | - Vinayak Agarwal
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.,School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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35
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Bothwell IR, Caetano T, Sarksian R, Mendo S, van der Donk WA. Structural Analysis of Class I Lanthipeptides from Pedobacter lusitanus NL19 Reveals an Unusual Ring Pattern. ACS Chem Biol 2021; 16:1019-1029. [PMID: 34085816 PMCID: PMC9845027 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.1c00106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Lanthipeptides are ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide natural products characterized by the presence of lanthionine and methyllanthionine cross-linked amino acids formed by dehydration of Ser/Thr residues followed by conjugate addition of Cys to the resulting dehydroamino acids. Class I lanthipeptide dehydratases utilize glutamyl-tRNAGlu as a cosubstrate to glutamylate Ser/Thr followed by glutamate elimination. A vast majority of lanthipeptides identified from class I synthase systems have been from Gram-positive bacteria. Herein, we report the heterologous expression and modification in Escherichia coli of two lanthipeptides from the Gram-negative Bacteroidetes Pedobacter lusitanus NL19. These peptides are representative of a group of compounds frequently encoded in Pedobacter genomes. Structural characterization of the lanthipeptides revealed a novel ring pattern as well as an unusual ll-lanthionine stereochemical configuration and a cyclase that lacks the canonical zinc ligands found in most LanC enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian R. Bothwell
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61822
| | - Tânia Caetano
- Molecular Biotechnology Laboratory, CESAM & Departamento de Biologia
- Campus de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-189 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Raymond Sarksian
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61822
| | - Sónia Mendo
- Molecular Biotechnology Laboratory, CESAM & Departamento de Biologia
- Campus de Santiago, University of Aveiro, 3810-189 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61822
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Exploring structural signatures of the lanthipeptide prochlorosin 2.8 using tandem mass spectrometry and trapped ion mobility-mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem 2021; 413:4815-4824. [PMID: 34105020 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-021-03437-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Lanthipeptides are a family of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) characterized by intramolecular thioether cross-links formed between a dehydrated serine/threonine (dSer/dThr) and a cysteine residue. Prochlorosin 2.8 (Pcn2.8) is a class II lanthipeptide that exhibits a non-overlapping thioether ring pattern, for which no biological activity has been reported yet. The variant Pcn2.8[16RGD] has been shown to bind tightly to the αvβ3 integrin receptor. In the present work, tandem mass spectrometry, using collision-induced dissociation (CID) and electron capture dissociation (ECD), and trapped ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (TIMS-MS) were used to investigate structural signatures for the non-overlapping thioether ring pattern of Pcn2.8. CID experiments on Pcn2.8 yielded bi and yj fragments between the thioether cross-links, evidencing the presence of a non-overlapping thioether ring pattern. ECD experiments of Pcn2.8 showed a significant increase of hydrogen migration events near the residues involved in the thioether rings with a more pronounced effect at the dehydrated residues as compared to the cysteine residues. The high-resolution mobility analysis, aided by site-directed mutagenesis ([P8A], [P11A], [P12A], [P8A/P11A], [P8A/P12A], [P11A/P12A], and [P8A/P11A/P12A] variants), demonstrated that Pcn2.8 adopts cis/trans-conformations at Pro8, Pro11, and Pro12 residues. These observations were complementary to recent NMR findings, for which only the Pro8 residue was evidenced to adopt cis/trans-orientations. This study highlights the analytical power of the TIMS-MS/MS workflow for the structural characterization of lanthipeptides and could be a useful tool in our understanding of the biologically important structural elements that drive the thioether cyclization process.
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Alav I, Kobylka J, Kuth MS, Pos KM, Picard M, Blair JMA, Bavro VN. Structure, Assembly, and Function of Tripartite Efflux and Type 1 Secretion Systems in Gram-Negative Bacteria. Chem Rev 2021; 121:5479-5596. [PMID: 33909410 PMCID: PMC8277102 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Tripartite efflux pumps and the related type 1 secretion systems (T1SSs) in Gram-negative organisms are diverse in function, energization, and structural organization. They form continuous conduits spanning both the inner and the outer membrane and are composed of three principal components-the energized inner membrane transporters (belonging to ABC, RND, and MFS families), the outer membrane factor channel-like proteins, and linking the two, the periplasmic adaptor proteins (PAPs), also known as the membrane fusion proteins (MFPs). In this review we summarize the recent advances in understanding of structural biology, function, and regulation of these systems, highlighting the previously undescribed role of PAPs in providing a common architectural scaffold across diverse families of transporters. Despite being built from a limited number of basic structural domains, these complexes present a staggering variety of architectures. While key insights have been derived from the RND transporter systems, a closer inspection of the operation and structural organization of different tripartite systems reveals unexpected analogies between them, including those formed around MFS- and ATP-driven transporters, suggesting that they operate around basic common principles. Based on that we are proposing a new integrated model of PAP-mediated communication within the conformational cycling of tripartite systems, which could be expanded to other types of assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilyas Alav
- Institute
of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Jessica Kobylka
- Institute
of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe Universität
Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 9, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Miriam S. Kuth
- Institute
of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe Universität
Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 9, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Klaas M. Pos
- Institute
of Biochemistry, Biocenter, Goethe Universität
Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 9, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Martin Picard
- Laboratoire
de Biologie Physico-Chimique des Protéines Membranaires, CNRS
UMR 7099, Université de Paris, 75005 Paris, France
- Fondation
Edmond de Rothschild pour le développement de la recherche
Scientifique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Jessica M. A. Blair
- Institute
of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Vassiliy N. Bavro
- School
of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ United Kingdom
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Abstract
Lanthipeptides are a class of ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptide (RiPP) natural products characterized by the presence of lanthionine and methyllanthionine. During the maturation of select lanthipeptides, five different alterations have been observed to the chemical structure of the peptide backbone. First, dehydratases generate dehydroalanine and dehydrobutyrine from Ser or Thr residues, respectively. A second example of introduction of unsaturation is the oxidative decarboxylation of C-terminal Cys residues catalyzed by the decarboxylase LanD. Both modifications result in loss of chirality at the α-carbon of the amino acid residues. Attack of a cysteine thiol onto a dehydrated amino acid results in thioether crosslink formation with either inversion or retention of the l-stereochemical configuration at the α-carbon of former Ser and Thr residues. A fourth modification of the protein backbone is the hydrogenation of dehydroamino acids to afford d-amino acids catalyzed by NAD(P)H-dependent reductases. A fifth modification is the conversion of Asp to isoAsp. Herein, the methods used to produce and characterize the lanthipeptide bicereucin will be described in detail along with a brief overview of other lanthipeptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard S Ayikpoe
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States.
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Viel JH, Jaarsma AH, Kuipers OP. Heterologous Expression of Mersacidin in Escherichia coli Elucidates the Mode of Leader Processing. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:600-608. [PMID: 33689311 PMCID: PMC7985838 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
![]()
The lanthipeptide
mersacidin is a ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally
modified peptide (RiPP) produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. It has antimicrobial activity against a range of Gram-positive
bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, giving it potential therapeutic relevance. The structure and bioactivity
of mersacidin are derived from a unique combination of lanthionine
ring structures, which makes mersacidin also interesting from a lantibiotic-engineering
point of view. Until now, mersacidin and its derivatives have exclusively
been produced in Bacillus strains and purified from
the supernatant in their bioactive form. However, to fully exploit
its potential in lanthipeptide-engineering, mersacidin would have
to be expressed in a standardized expression system and obtained in
its inactive prepeptide form. In such a system, the mersacidin biosynthetic
enzymes could be employed to create novel peptides, enhanced by the
recent advancements in RiPP engineering, while the leader peptide
prevents activity against the expression host. This system would however
need a means of postpurification in vitro leader
processing to activate the obtained precursor peptides. While mersacidin’s
native leader processing mechanism has not been confirmed, the bifunctional
transporter MrsT and extracellular Bacillus proteases
have been suggested to be responsible. Here, a modular system is presented
for the heterologous expression of mersacidin in Escherichia
coli, which was successfully used to produce and purify inactive
premersacidin. The purified product was used to determine the cleavage
site of MrsT. Additionally, it was concluded from antimicrobial activity
tests that in a second processing step mersacidin is activated by
specific extracellular proteases from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob H. Viel
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ate H. Jaarsma
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Oscar P. Kuipers
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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Optimized Genetic Tools Allow the Biosynthesis of Glycocin F and Analogues Designed To Test the Roles of gcc Cluster Genes in Bacteriocin Production. J Bacteriol 2021; 203:JB.00529-20. [PMID: 33468591 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00529-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens has motivated natural product research to inform the development of new antimicrobial agents. Glycocin F (GccF) is a diglycosylated 43-amino-acid bacteriocin secreted by Lactobacillus plantarum KW30. It displays a moderate phylogenetic target range that includes vancomycin-resistant strains of Enterococcus species and appears to have a novel bacteriostatic mechanism, rapidly inhibiting the growth of the most susceptible bacterial strains at picomolar concentrations. Experimental verification of the predicted role(s) of gcc cluster genes in GccF biosynthesis has been hampered by the inability to produce soluble recombinant Gcc proteins. Here, we report the development of pRV610gcc, an easily modifiable 11.2-kbp plasmid that enables the production of GccF in L. plantarum NC8. gcc gene expression relies on native promoters in the cloned cluster, and NC8(pRV610gcc) produces mature GccF at levels similar to KW30. Key findings are that the glycosyltransferase glycosylates both serine and cysteine at either position in the sequence but glycosylation of the loop serine is both sequence and spatially specific, that glycosylation of the peptide scaffold is not required for export and subsequent disulfide bond formation, that neither of the putative thioredoxin proteins is essential for peptide maturation, and that removal of the entire putative response regulator GccE decreases GccF production less than removal of the LytTR domain alone. Using this system, we have verified the functions of most of the gcc genes and have advanced our understanding of the roles of GccF structure in its maturation and antibacterial activity.IMPORTANCE The entire 7-gene cluster for the diglycosylated bacteriocin glycocin F (GccF), including the natural promoters responsible for gcc gene expression, has been ligated into the Escherichia coli-lactic acid bacteria (LAB) shuttle vector pRV610 to produce the easily modifiable 11.2-kbp plasmid pRV610gcc for the efficient production of glycocin F analogues. In contrast to the refactoring approach, chemical synthesis, or chemoenzymatic synthesis, all of which have been successfully used to probe glycocin structure and function, this plasmid can also be used to probe in vivo the evolutionary constraints on glycocin scaffolds and their processing by the maturation pathway machinery, thus increasing understanding of the enzymes involved, the order in which they act, and how they are regulated.
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Montalbán-López M, Scott TA, Ramesh S, Rahman IR, van Heel AJ, Viel JH, Bandarian V, Dittmann E, Genilloud O, Goto Y, Grande Burgos MJ, Hill C, Kim S, Koehnke J, Latham JA, Link AJ, Martínez B, Nair SK, Nicolet Y, Rebuffat S, Sahl HG, Sareen D, Schmidt EW, Schmitt L, Severinov K, Süssmuth RD, Truman AW, Wang H, Weng JK, van Wezel GP, Zhang Q, Zhong J, Piel J, Mitchell DA, Kuipers OP, van der Donk WA. New developments in RiPP discovery, enzymology and engineering. Nat Prod Rep 2021; 38:130-239. [PMID: 32935693 PMCID: PMC7864896 DOI: 10.1039/d0np00027b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 408] [Impact Index Per Article: 136.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Covering: up to June 2020Ribosomally-synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a large group of natural products. A community-driven review in 2013 described the emerging commonalities in the biosynthesis of RiPPs and the opportunities they offered for bioengineering and genome mining. Since then, the field has seen tremendous advances in understanding of the mechanisms by which nature assembles these compounds, in engineering their biosynthetic machinery for a wide range of applications, and in the discovery of entirely new RiPP families using bioinformatic tools developed specifically for this compound class. The First International Conference on RiPPs was held in 2019, and the meeting participants assembled the current review describing new developments since 2013. The review discusses the new classes of RiPPs that have been discovered, the advances in our understanding of the installation of both primary and secondary post-translational modifications, and the mechanisms by which the enzymes recognize the leader peptides in their substrates. In addition, genome mining tools used for RiPP discovery are discussed as well as various strategies for RiPP engineering. An outlook section presents directions for future research.
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42
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Smits SHJ, Schmitt L, Beis K. Self-immunity to antibacterial peptides by ABC transporters. FEBS Lett 2020; 594:3920-3942. [PMID: 33040342 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.13953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Bacteria produce under certain stress conditions bacteriocins and microcins that display antibacterial activity against closely related species for survival. Bacteriocins and microcins exert their antibacterial activity by either disrupting the membrane or inhibiting essential intracellular processes of the bacterial target. To this end, they can lyse bacterial membranes and cause subsequent loss of their integrity or nutrients, or hijack membrane receptors for internalisation. Both bacteriocins and microcins are ribosomally synthesised and several are posttranslationally modified, whereas others are not. Such peptides are also toxic to the producer bacteria, which utilise immunity proteins or/and dedicated ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters to achieve self-immunity and peptide export. In this review, we discuss the structure and mechanism of self-protection that is conferred by these ABC transporters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sander H J Smits
- Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany.,Center for Structural Studies, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Lutz Schmitt
- Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Konstantinos Beis
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, UK.,Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Research Complex at Harwell, Didcot, UK
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43
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Hegemann JD, Süssmuth RD. Matters of class: coming of age of class III and IV lanthipeptides. RSC Chem Biol 2020; 1:110-127. [PMID: 34458752 PMCID: PMC8341899 DOI: 10.1039/d0cb00073f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Lanthipeptides belong to the superfamily of ribosomally-synthesized and posttranslationally-modified peptides (RiPPs). Despite the fact that they represent one of the longest known RiPP subfamilies, their youngest members, classes III and IV, have only been described more recently. Since then, a plethora of studies furthered the understanding of their biosynthesis. While there are commonalities between classes III and IV due to the similar domain architectures of their processing enzymes, there are also striking differences that allow their discrimination. In this concise review article, we summarize what is known about the underlying biosynthetic principles of these lanthipeptides and discuss open questions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian D Hegemann
- Institute of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 124 10623 Berlin Germany
| | - Roderich D Süssmuth
- Institute of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 124 10623 Berlin Germany
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44
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Bobeica SC, Zhu L, Acedo JZ, Tang W, van der Donk WA. Structural determinants of macrocyclization in substrate-controlled lanthipeptide biosynthetic pathways. Chem Sci 2020; 11:12854-12870. [PMID: 34094481 PMCID: PMC8163290 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc01651a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Lanthipeptides are characterized by thioether crosslinks formed by post-translational modifications. The cyclization process that favors a single ring pattern over many other possible ring patterns has been the topic of much speculation. Recent studies suggest that for some systems the cyclization pattern and stereochemistry is determined not by the enzyme, but by the sequence of the precursor peptide. However, the factors that govern the outcome of the cyclization process are not understood. This study presents the three-dimensional structures of seven lanthipeptides determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, including five prochlorosins and the two peptides that make up cytolysin, a virulence factor produced by Enterococcus faecalis that is directly linked to human disease. These peptides were chosen because their substrate sequence determines either the ring pattern (prochlorosins) or the stereochemistry of cyclization (cytolysins). We present the structures of prochlorosins 1.1, 2.1, 2.8, 2.10 and 2.11, the first three-dimensional structures of prochlorosins. Our findings provide insights into the molecular determinants of cyclization as well as why some prochlorosins may be better starting points for library generation than others. The structures of the large and small subunits of the enterococcal cytolysin show that these peptides have long helical stretches, a rare observation for lanthipeptides characterized to date. These helices may explain their pore forming activity and suggest that the small subunit may recognize a molecular target followed by recruitment of the large subunit to span the membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia C Bobeica
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 600 South Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA +1-217-244-8533 +1-217-244-5360
| | - Lingyang Zhu
- School of Chemical Sciences NMR Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 505 South Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA
| | - Jeella Z Acedo
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 600 South Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA +1-217-244-8533 +1-217-244-5360
| | - Weixin Tang
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 600 South Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA +1-217-244-8533 +1-217-244-5360
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 600 South Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA +1-217-244-8533 +1-217-244-5360
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45
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Walker MC, Eslami SM, Hetrick KJ, Ackenhusen SE, Mitchell DA, van der Donk WA. Precursor peptide-targeted mining of more than one hundred thousand genomes expands the lanthipeptide natural product family. BMC Genomics 2020; 21:387. [PMID: 32493223 PMCID: PMC7268733 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-06785-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Lanthipeptides belong to the ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide group of natural products and have a variety of biological activities ranging from antibiotics to antinociceptives. These peptides are cyclized through thioether crosslinks and can bear other secondary post-translational modifications. While lanthipeptide biosynthetic gene clusters can be identified by the presence of genes encoding characteristic enzymes involved in the post-translational modification process, locating the precursor peptides encoded within these clusters is challenging due to their short length and high sequence variability, which limits the high-throughput exploration of lanthipeptide biosynthesis. To address this challenge, we enhanced the predictive capabilities of Rapid ORF Description & Evaluation Online (RODEO) to identify members of all four known classes of lanthipeptides. Results Using RODEO, we mined over 100,000 bacterial and archaeal genomes in the RefSeq database. We identified nearly 8500 lanthipeptide precursor peptides. These precursor peptides were identified in a broad range of bacterial phyla as well as the Euryarchaeota phylum of archaea. Bacteroidetes were found to encode a large number of these biosynthetic gene clusters, despite making up a relatively small portion of the genomes in this dataset. A number of these precursor peptides are similar to those of previously characterized lanthipeptides, but even more were not, including potential antibiotics. One such new antimicrobial lanthipeptide was purified and characterized. Additionally, examination of the biosynthetic gene clusters revealed that enzymes installing secondary post-translational modifications are more widespread than initially thought. Conclusion Lanthipeptide biosynthetic gene clusters are more widely distributed and the precursor peptides encoded within these clusters are more diverse than previously appreciated, demonstrating that the lanthipeptide sequence-function space remains largely underexplored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark C Walker
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of New Mexico, 346 Clark Hall, 300 Terrace St. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA. .,Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
| | - Sara M Eslami
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Kenton J Hetrick
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Sarah E Ackenhusen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Douglas A Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.,Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 601 S. Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Roger Adams Laboratory, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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Chorev DS, Tang H, Rouse SL, Bolla JR, von Kügelgen A, Baker LA, Wu D, Gault J, Grünewald K, Bharat TAM, Matthews SJ, Robinson CV. The use of sonicated lipid vesicles for mass spectrometry of membrane protein complexes. Nat Protoc 2020; 15:1690-1706. [PMID: 32238951 PMCID: PMC7305028 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-020-0303-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Recent applications of mass spectrometry (MS) to study membrane protein complexes are yielding valuable insights into the binding of lipids and their structural and functional roles. To date, most native MS experiments with membrane proteins are based on detergent solubilization. Many insights into the structure and function of membrane proteins have been obtained using detergents; however, these can promote local lipid rearrangement and can cause fluctuations in the oligomeric state of protein complexes. To overcome these problems, we developed a method that does not use detergents or other chemicals. Here we report a detailed protocol that enables direct ejection of protein complexes from membranes for analysis by native MS. Briefly, lipid vesicles are prepared directly from membranes of different sources and subjected to sonication pulses. The resulting destabilized vesicles are concentrated, introduced into a mass spectrometer and ionized. The mass of the observed protein complexes is determined and this information, in conjunction with 'omics'-based strategies, is used to determine subunit stoichiometry as well as cofactor and lipid binding. Within this protocol, we expand the applications of the method to include peripheral membrane proteins of the S-layer and amyloid protein export machineries overexpressed in membranes from which the most abundant components have been removed. The described experimental procedure takes approximately 3 d from preparation to MS. The time required for data analysis depends on the complexity of the protein assemblies embedded in the membrane under investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dror S Chorev
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Haiping Tang
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Sarah L Rouse
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Jani Reddy Bolla
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Andriko von Kügelgen
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Central Oxford Structural Microscopy Imaging Centre, Oxford, UK
| | - Lindsay A Baker
- Division of Structural Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Di Wu
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Joseph Gault
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Kay Grünewald
- Division of Structural Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz-Institut für Experimentelle Virologie, Centre for Structural Systems Biology, c/o DESY, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tanmay A M Bharat
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Central Oxford Structural Microscopy Imaging Centre, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Carol V Robinson
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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Reconstitution of polythioamide antibiotic backbone formation reveals unusual thiotemplated assembly strategy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:8850-8858. [PMID: 32265283 PMCID: PMC7183216 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1918759117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) are a vast class of natural products and an important source of therapeutics. Typically, these secondary metabolites are assembled by NRP synthetases (NRPSs) that function on substrates covalently linked to the enzyme by a thioester, in a process known as thiotemplated biosynthesis. Although NRPS-independent assembly pathways are known, all are nonthiotemplated. Here we report an NRPS-independent yet thiotemplated pathway for NRP biosynthesis and demonstrate that members of the ATP-grasp and cysteine protease families form the β-peptide backbone of an antibiotic. Armed with this knowledge, we provide genomic evidence that this noncanonical assembly pathway is widespread in bacteria. Our results will inspire future genome mining efforts for the discovery of potential therapeutics that otherwise would be overlooked. Closthioamide (CTA) is a rare example of a thioamide-containing nonribosomal peptide and is one of only a handful of secondary metabolites described from obligately anaerobic bacteria. Although the biosynthetic gene cluster responsible for CTA production and the thioamide synthetase that catalyzes sulfur incorporation were recently discovered, the logic for peptide backbone assembly has remained a mystery. Here, through the use of in vitro biochemical assays, we demonstrate that the amide backbone of CTA is assembled in an unusual thiotemplated pathway involving the cooperation of a transacylating member of the papain-like cysteine protease family and an iteratively acting ATP-grasp protein. Using the ATP-grasp protein as a bioinformatic handle, we identified hundreds of such thiotemplated yet nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS)-independent biosynthetic gene clusters across diverse bacterial phyla. The data presented herein not only clarify the pathway for the biosynthesis of CTA, but also provide a foundation for the discovery of additional secondary metabolites produced by noncanonical biosynthetic pathways.
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Wang CY, Medlin JS, Nguyen DR, Disbennett WM, Dawid S. Molecular Determinants of Substrate Selectivity of a Pneumococcal Rgg-Regulated Peptidase-Containing ABC Transporter. mBio 2020; 11:e02502-19. [PMID: 32047125 PMCID: PMC7018657 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02502-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Peptidase-containing ABC transporters (PCATs) are a widely distributed family of transporters which secrete double-glycine (GG) peptides. In the opportunistic pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), the PCATs ComAB and BlpAB have been shown to secrete quorum-sensing pheromones and bacteriocins related to the competence and pneumocin pathways. Here, we describe another pneumococcal PCAT, RtgAB, encoded by the rtg locus and found intact in 17% of strains. The Rgg/SHP-like quorum-sensing system RtgR/S, which uses a peptide pheromone with a distinctive Trp-X-Trp motif, regulates expression of the rtg locus and provides a competitive fitness advantage in a mouse model of nasopharyngeal colonization. RtgAB secretes a set of coregulated rtg GG peptides. ComAB and BlpAB, which share a substrate pool, do not secrete the rtg GG peptides. Similarly, RtgAB does not efficiently secrete ComAB/BlpAB substrates. We examined the molecular determinants of substrate selectivity between ComAB, BlpAB, and RtgAB and found that the GG peptide signal sequences contain all the information necessary to direct secretion through specific transporters. Secretion through ComAB and BlpAB depends largely on the identity of four conserved hydrophobic signal sequence residues previously implicated in substrate recognition by PCATs. In contrast, a motif situated at the N-terminal end of the signal sequence, found only in rtg GG peptides, directs secretion through RtgAB. These findings illustrate the complexity in predicting substrate-PCAT pairings by demonstrating specificity that is not dictated solely by signal sequence residues previously implicated in substrate recognition.IMPORTANCE The export of peptides from the cell is a fundamental process carried out by all bacteria. One method of bacterial peptide export relies on a family of transporters called peptidase-containing ABC transporters (PCATs). PCATs export so-called GG peptides which carry out diverse functions, including cell-to-cell communication and interbacterial competition. In this work, we describe a PCAT-encoding genetic locus, rtg, in the pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). The rtg locus is linked to increased competitive fitness advantage in a mouse model of nasopharyngeal colonization. We also describe how the rtg PCAT preferentially secretes a set of coregulated GG peptides but not GG peptides secreted by other pneumococcal PCATs. These findings illuminate a relatively understudied part of PCAT biology: how these transporters discriminate between different subsets of GG peptides. Ultimately, expanding our knowledge of PCATs will advance our understanding of the many microbial processes dependent on these transporters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Y Wang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Jennifer S Medlin
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Don R Nguyen
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | | | - Suzanne Dawid
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Huo L, Zhao X, Acedo JZ, Estrada P, Nair SK, van der Donk WA. Characterization of a Dehydratase and Methyltransferase in the Biosynthesis of Ribosomally Synthesized and Post-translationally Modified Peptides in Lachnospiraceae. Chembiochem 2020; 21:190-199. [PMID: 31532570 PMCID: PMC6980331 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201900483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
As a result of the exponential increase in genomic data, discovery of novel ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide natural products (RiPPs) has progressed rapidly in the past decade. The lanthipeptides are a major subset of RiPPs. Through genome mining we identified a novel lanthipeptide biosynthetic gene cluster (lah) from Lachnospiraceae bacterium C6A11, an anaerobic bacterium that is a member of the human microbiota and which is implicated in the development of host disease states such as type 2 diabetes and resistance to Clostridium difficile colonization. The lah cluster encodes at least seven putative precursor peptides and multiple post-translational modification (PTM) enzymes. Two unusual class II lanthipeptide synthetases LahM1/M2 and a substrate-tolerant S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM)-dependent methyltransferase LahSB are biochemically characterized in this study. We also present the crystal structure of LahSB in complex with product S-adenosylhomocysteine. This study sets the stage for further exploration of the final products of the lah pathway as well as their potential physiological functions in human/animal gut microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liujie Huo
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- State Key Laboratory for Microbial Technology (SKLMT), Institute of Microbial Technology, Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, P. R. China
| | - Xiling Zhao
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Jeella Z Acedo
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Paola Estrada
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Satish K Nair
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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Kieuvongngam V, Olinares PDB, Palillo A, Oldham ML, Chait BT, Chen J. Structural basis of substrate recognition by a polypeptide processing and secretion transporter. eLife 2020; 9:51492. [PMID: 31934861 PMCID: PMC6959990 DOI: 10.7554/elife.51492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The peptidase-containing ATP-binding cassette transporters (PCATs) are unique members of the ABC transporter family that proteolytically process and export peptides and proteins. Each PCAT contains two peptidase domains that cleave off the secretion signal, two transmembrane domains forming a translocation pathway, and two nucleotide-binding domains that hydrolyze ATP. Previously the crystal structures of a PCAT from Clostridium thermocellum (PCAT1) were determined in the absence and presence of ATP, revealing how ATP binding regulates the protease activity and access to the translocation pathway. However, how the substrate CtA, a 90-residue polypeptide, is recognized by PCAT1 remained elusive. To address this question, we determined the structure of the PCAT1-CtA complex by electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) to 3.4 Å resolution. The structure shows that two CtAs are bound via their N-terminal leader peptides, but only one is positioned for cleavage and translocation. Based on these results, we propose a model of how substrate cleavage, ATP hydrolysis, and substrate translocation are coordinated in a transport cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virapat Kieuvongngam
- Laboratory of Membrane Biophysics and Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States
| | - Paul Dominic B Olinares
- Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry and Gaseous Ion Chemistry, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States
| | - Anthony Palillo
- Laboratory of Membrane Biophysics and Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States
| | - Michael L Oldham
- Laboratory of Membrane Biophysics and Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, United States
| | - Brian T Chait
- Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry and Gaseous Ion Chemistry, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States
| | - Jue Chen
- Laboratory of Membrane Biophysics and Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, United States
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