Construction of a Chassis for a Tripartite Protein-Based Molecular Motor.

Improving our understanding of biological motors, both to fully comprehend their activities in vital processes, and to exploit their impressive abilities for use in bionanotechnology, is highly desirable. One means of understanding these systems is through the production of synthetic molecular motors. We demonstrate the use of orthogonal coiled-coil dimers (including both parallel and antiparallel coiled coils) as a hub for linking other components of a previously described synthetic molecular motor, the Tumbleweed. We use circular dichroism, analytical ultracentrifugation, dynamic light scattering, and disulfide rearrangement studies to demonstrate the ability of this six-peptide set to form the structure designed for the Tumbleweed motor. The successful formation of a suitable hub structure is both a test of the transferability of design rules for protein folding as well as an important step in the production of a synthetic protein-based molecular motor.

Cryo-EM analysis of a domain antibody bound rotary ATPase complex.

The bacterial A/V-type ATPase/synthase rotary motor couples ATP hydrolysis/synthesis with proton translocation across biological membranes. The A/V-type ATPase/synthase from Thermus thermophilus has been extensively studied both structurally and functionally for many years. Here we provide an 8.7Å resolution cryo-electron microscopy 3D reconstruction of this complex bound to single-domain antibody fragments, small monomeric antibodies containing just the variable heavy domain. Docking of known structures into the density revealed the molecular orientation of the domain antibodies, suggesting that structure determination of co-domain antibody:protein complexes could be a useful avenue for unstable or smaller proteins. Although previous studies suggested that the presence of fluoroaluminate in this complex could change the rotary state of this enzyme, we observed no gross structural rearrangements under these conditions.

Structural characterization suggests models for monomeric and dimeric forms of full-length ezrin.

Ezrin is a member of the ERM (ezrin-radixin-moesin) family of proteins that have been conserved through metazoan evolution. These proteins have dormant and active forms, where the latter links the actin cytoskeleton to membranes. ERM proteins have three domains: an N-terminal FERM [band Four-point-one (4.1) ERM] domain comprising three subdomains (F1, F2, and F3); a helical domain; and a C-terminal actin-binding domain. In the dormant form, FERM and C-terminal domains form a stable complex. We have determined crystal structures of the active FERM domain and the dormant FERM:C-terminal domain complex of human ezrin. We observe a bistable array of phenylalanine residues in the core of subdomain F3 that is mobile in the active form and locked in the dormant form. As subdomain F3 is pivotal in binding membrane proteins and phospholipids, these transitions may facilitate activation and signaling. Full-length ezrin forms stable monomers and dimers. We used small-angle X-ray scattering to determine the solution structures of these species. As expected, the monomer shows a globular domain with a protruding helical coiled coil. The dimer shows an elongated dumbbell structure that is twice as long as the monomer. By aligning ERM sequences spanning metazoan evolution, we show that the central helical region is conserved, preserving the heptad repeat. Using this, we have built a dimer model where each monomer forms half of an elongated antiparallel coiled coil with domain-swapped FERM:C-terminal domain complexes at each end. The model suggests that ERM dimers may bind to actin in a parallel fashion.

Ion mobility-mass spectrometry of a rotary ATPase reveals ATP-induced reduction in conformational flexibility.

Rotary ATPases play fundamental roles in energy conversion as their catalytic rotation is associated with interdomain fluctuations and heterogeneity of conformational states. Using ion mobility mass spectrometry we compared the conformational dynamics of the intact ATPase from Thermus thermophilus with those of its membrane and soluble subcomplexes. Our results define regions with enhanced flexibility assigned to distinct subunits within the overall assembly. To provide a structural context for our experimental data we performed molecular dynamics simulations and observed conformational changes of the peripheral stalks that reflect their intrinsic flexibility. By isolating complexes at different phases of cell growth and manipulating nucleotides, metal ions and pH during isolation, we reveal differences that can be related to conformational changes in the Vo complex triggered by ATP binding. Together these results implicate nucleotides in modulating flexibility of the stator components and uncover mechanistic detail that underlies operation and regulation in the context of the holoenzyme.