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Valer L, Rossetto D, Parkkila T, Sebastianelli L, Guella G, Hendricks AL, Cowan JA, Sang L, Mansy SS. Histidine Ligated Iron-Sulfur Peptides. Chembiochem 2022; 23:e202200202. [PMID: 35674331 PMCID: PMC9400863 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202200202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Iron‐sulfur clusters are thought to be ancient cofactors that could have played a role in early protometabolic systems. Thus far, redox active, prebiotically plausible iron‐sulfur clusters have always contained cysteine ligands to the cluster. However, extant iron‐sulfur proteins can be found to exploit other modes of binding, including ligation by histidine residues, as seen with [2Fe‐2S] Rieske and MitoNEET proteins. Here, we investigated the ability of cysteine‐ and histidine‐containing peptides to coordinate a mononuclear Fe2+ center and a [2Fe‐2S] cluster and compare their properties with purified iron‐sulfur proteins. The iron‐sulfur peptides were characterized by UV‐vis, circular dichroism, and paramagnetic NMR spectroscopies and cyclic voltammetry. Small (≤6 amino acids) peptides can coordinate [2Fe‐2S] clusters through a combination of cysteine and histidine residues with similar reduction potentials as their corresponding proteins. Such complexes may have been important for early cell‐like systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Valer
- D-CIBIO, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123, Trento 28123, Italy.,Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, T6G 2G2, Alberta, Canada
| | - Daniele Rossetto
- D-CIBIO, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123, Trento 28123, Italy.,Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, T6G 2G2, Alberta, Canada
| | - Taylor Parkkila
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, T6G 2G2, Alberta, Canada
| | - Lorenzo Sebastianelli
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, T6G 2G2, Alberta, Canada
| | - Graziano Guella
- Department of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, Trento, 38123, Italy
| | - Amber L Hendricks
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - James A Cowan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Lingzi Sang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, T6G 2G2, Alberta, Canada
| | - Sheref S Mansy
- D-CIBIO, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123, Trento 28123, Italy.,Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, T6G 2G2, Alberta, Canada
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Rossetto D, Valer L, Yeh Martín N, Guella G, Hongo Y, Mansy SS. Prebiotic Environments with Mg 2+ and Thiophilic Metal Ions Increase the Thermal Stability of Cysteine and Non-cysteine Peptides. ACS Earth Space Chem 2022; 6:1221-1226. [PMID: 35620317 PMCID: PMC9126146 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.2c00042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Wet-dry cycles driven by heating to high temperatures are frequently invoked for the prebiotic synthesis of peptides. Similarly, iron-sulfur clusters are often cited as an example of an ancient catalyst that helped prune early chemical systems into metabolic-like pathways. Because extant iron-sulfur clusters are metallocofactors of protein enzymes and nearly ubiquitous across biology, a reasonable hypothesis is that prebiotic iron-sulfur peptides formed on the early Earth. However, iron-sulfur clusters are coordinated by multiple cysteine residues, and the stability of cysteines to the heat steps of wet-dry cycles has not been determined. It, therefore, has remained unclear if the peptides needed to stabilize the formation of iron-sulfur clusters could have formed. If not, then iron-sulfur-dependent activity may have emerged later, when milder, more biological-like peptide synthesis machinery took hold. Here, we report the thermal stability of cysteine-containing peptides. We show that temperatures of 150 °C lead to the rapid degradation of cysteinyl peptides. However, the presence of Mg2+ at environmentally reasonable concentrations leads to significant protection. Thiophilic metal ions also protect against degradation at 150 °C but require concentrations not frequently observed in the environment. Nevertheless, cysteine-containing peptides are stable at lower, prebiotically plausible temperatures in seawater, carbonate lake, and ferrous lake conditions. The data are consistent with the persistence of cysteine-containing peptides on the early Earth in environments rich in metal ions. High concentrations of Mg2+ are common intra- and extra-cellularly, suggesting that the protection afforded by Mg2+ may reflect conditions that were present on the prebiotic Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Rossetto
- D-CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo, Italy
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G2, Canada
| | - Luca Valer
- D-CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo, Italy
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G2, Canada
| | - Noël Yeh Martín
- D-CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo, Italy
| | - Graziano Guella
- Department
of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, 38123 Povo, Italy
| | - Yayoi Hongo
- Earth-Life
Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Okinawa
Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Kunigami, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Sheref S. Mansy
- D-CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo, Italy
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G2, Canada
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Valer L, Rossetto D, Scintilla S, Hu YJ, Tomar A, Nader S, Betinol IO, Mansy S. Methods to identify and characterize iron-sulfur oligopeptides in water. CAN J CHEM 2022. [DOI: 10.1139/cjc-2021-0237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Iron-sulfur clusters are ubiquitous cofactors that mediate central biological processes. However, despite their long history, these metallocofactors remain challenging to investigate when coordinated to small (≤ six amino acids) oligopeptides in aqueous solution. In addition to being often unstable in vitro, iron-sulfur clusters can be found in a wide variety of forms with varied characteristics, which makes it difficult to easily discern what is in solution. This difficulty is compounded by the dynamics of iron-sulfur peptides, which frequently coordinate multiple types of clusters simultaneously. To aid investigations of such complex samples, a summary of data from multiple techniques used to characterize both iron-sulfur proteins and peptides is provided. Although not all spectroscopic techniques are equally insightful, it is possible to use several, readily available methods to gain insight into the complex composition of aqueous solutions of iron-sulfur peptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Valer
- University of Trento, 19034, Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
| | | | | | - Yin Juan Hu
- University of Alberta, 3158, Chemistry, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Anju Tomar
- University of Trento, 19034, Trento, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
| | - Serge Nader
- University of Alberta, 3158, Chemistry, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - Sheref Mansy
- University of Alberta, 3158, Chemistry, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Groaz A, Galvan S, Valer L, Rossetto D, Benedetti F, Guella G, Toparlak ÖD, Mansy SS. Cell-Free Synthesis of Dopamine and Serotonin in Two Steps with Purified Enzymes. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 4:e2000118. [PMID: 33107224 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202000118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The synthesis of serotonin and dopamine with purified enzymes is described. Both pathways start from an amino acid substrate and synthesize the monoamine neurotransmitter in two enzymatic steps. The enzymes human tryptophan hydroxylase isoform 2, Rattus norvegicus tyrosine hydroxylase, Chlamydia pneumoniae Cpn1046, and aromatic amino acid decarboxylase from Drosophila melanogaster are recombinantly expressed, purified, and shown to be functional in vitro. The hydroxylases efficiently convert L-DOPA (L-dihydroxy-phenylalanine) and 5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) from L-tyrosine and L-tryptophan, respectively. A single aromatic amino acid decarboxylase is capable of converting both hydroxylated intermediates into the final neurotransmitter. The platform described here may facilitate future efforts to generate medically useful artificial cells and nanofactories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Groaz
- CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, Trento, 38123, Italy
| | - Silvia Galvan
- CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, Trento, 38123, Italy
| | - Luca Valer
- CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, Trento, 38123, Italy
| | - Daniele Rossetto
- CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, Trento, 38123, Italy
| | | | - Graziano Guella
- Department of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, Trento, 38123, Italy
| | | | - Sheref S Mansy
- CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, Trento, 38123, Italy.,Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Dr, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G2, Canada
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Yeh Martín N, Valer L, Mansy SS. Toward long-lasting artificial cells that better mimic natural living cells. Emerg Top Life Sci 2019; 3:597-607. [PMID: 33523164 PMCID: PMC7288992 DOI: 10.1042/etls20190026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Revised: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Chemical communication is ubiquitous in biology, and so efforts in building convincing cellular mimics must consider how cells behave on a population level. Simple model systems have been built in the laboratory that show communication between different artificial cells and artificial cells with natural, living cells. Examples include artificial cells that depend on purely abiological components and artificial cells built from biological components and are driven by biological mechanisms. However, an artificial cell solely built to communicate chemically without carrying the machinery needed for self-preservation cannot remain active for long periods of time. What is needed is to begin integrating the pathways required for chemical communication with metabolic-like chemistry so that robust artificial systems can be built that better inform biology and aid in the generation of new technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noël Yeh Martín
- Systems Biophysics, Physics Department, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Amalienstraße 54, 80799 München, Germany
| | - Luca Valer
- Department CIBIO, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo, Italy
| | - Sheref S Mansy
- Department CIBIO, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo, Italy
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G2
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Bonfio C, Valer L, Scintilla S, Shah S, Evans DJ, Jin L, Szostak JW, Sasselov DD, Sutherland JD, Mansy SS. UV-light-driven prebiotic synthesis of iron-sulfur clusters. Nat Chem 2017; 9:1229-1234. [PMID: 29168482 DOI: 10.1038/nchem.2817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2016] [Accepted: 06/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Iron-sulfur clusters are ancient cofactors that play a fundamental role in metabolism and may have impacted the prebiotic chemistry that led to life. However, it is unclear whether iron-sulfur clusters could have been synthesized on prebiotic Earth. Dissolved iron on early Earth was predominantly in the reduced ferrous state, but ferrous ions alone cannot form polynuclear iron-sulfur clusters. Similarly, free sulfide may not have been readily available. Here we show that UV light drives the synthesis of [2Fe-2S] and [4Fe-4S] clusters through the photooxidation of ferrous ions and the photolysis of organic thiols. Iron-sulfur clusters coordinate to and are stabilized by a wide range of cysteine-containing peptides and the assembly of iron-sulfur cluster-peptide complexes can take place within model protocells in a process that parallels extant pathways. Our experiments suggest that iron-sulfur clusters may have formed easily on early Earth, facilitating the emergence of an iron-sulfur-cluster-dependent metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Bonfio
- CIBIO, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo, Italy
| | - Luca Valer
- CIBIO, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo, Italy
| | | | - Sachin Shah
- Chemistry, School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
| | - David J Evans
- Chemistry, School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
| | - Lin Jin
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
| | - Jack W Szostak
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, and Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA
| | - Dimitar D Sasselov
- Department of Astronomy, Harvard University, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - John D Sutherland
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK
| | - Sheref S Mansy
- CIBIO, University of Trento, via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo, Italy
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