Characterization of glutamine synthetase from the ammonium-excreting strain HM053 of Azospirillum brasilense / Caracterização da glutamina sintetase da estipe excretora de amônio HM053 de Azospirillum brasilense

Glutamine synthetase (GS), encoded by glnA, catalyzes the conversion of L-glutamate and ammonium to L-glutamine. This ATP hydrolysis driven process is the main nitrogen assimilation pathway in the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azospirillum brasilense. The A. brasilense strain HM053 has poor GS activity and leaks ammonium into the medium under nitrogen fixing conditions. In this work, the glnA genes of the wild type and HM053 strains were cloned into pET28a, sequenced and overexpressed in E. coli. The GS enzyme was purified by affinity chromatography and characterized. The GS of HM053 strain carries a P347L substitution, which results in low enzyme activity and rendered the enzyme insensitive to adenylylation by the adenilyltransferase GlnE.

A glutamina sintetase (GS), codificada por glnA, catalisa a conversão de L-glutamato e amônio em L-glutamina. Este processo dependente da hidrólise de ATP é a principal via de assimilação de nitrogênio na bactéria fixadora de nitrogênio Azospirillum brasilense. A estirpe HM053 de A. brasilense possui baixa atividade GS e excreta amônio no meio sob condições de fixação de nitrogênio. Neste trabalho, os genes glnA das estirpes do tipo selvagem e HM053 foram clonados em pET28a, sequenciados e superexpressos em E. coli. A enzima GS foi purificada por cromatografia de afinidade e caracterizada. A GS da estirpe HM053 possui uma substituição P347L que resulta em baixa atividade enzimática e torna a enzima insensível à adenililação pela adenililtransferase GlnE.

Characterization of glutamine synthetase from the ammonium-excreting strain HM053 of Azospirillum brasilense

Abstract Glutamine synthetase (GS), encoded by glnA, catalyzes the conversion of L-glutamate and ammonium to L-glutamine. This ATP hydrolysis driven process is the main nitrogen assimilation pathway in the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azospirillum brasilense. The A. brasilense strain HM053 has poor GS activity and leaks ammonium into the medium under nitrogen fixing conditions. In this work, the glnA genes of the wild type and HM053 strains were cloned into pET28a, sequenced and overexpressed in E. coli. The GS enzyme was purified by affinity chromatography and characterized. The GS of HM053 strain carries a P347L substitution, which results in low enzyme activity and rendered the enzyme insensitive to adenylylation by the adenilyltransferase GlnE.

Resumo A glutamina sintetase (GS), codificada por glnA, catalisa a conversão de L-glutamato e amônio em L-glutamina. Este processo dependente da hidrólise de ATP é a principal via de assimilação de nitrogênio na bactéria fixadora de nitrogênio Azospirillum brasilense. A estirpe HM053 de A. brasilense possui baixa atividade GS e excreta amônio no meio sob condições de fixação de nitrogênio. Neste trabalho, os genes glnA das estirpes do tipo selvagem e HM053 foram clonados em pET28a, sequenciados e superexpressos em E. coli. A enzima GS foi purificada por cromatografia de afinidade e caracterizada. A GS da estirpe HM053 possui uma substituição P347L que resulta em baixa atividade enzimática e torna a enzima insensível à adenililação pela adenililtransferase GlnE.

Characterization of glutamine synthetase from the ammonium-excreting strain HM053 of Azospirillum brasilense.

Glutamine synthetase (GS), encoded by glnA, catalyzes the conversion of L-glutamate and ammonium to L-glutamine. This ATP hydrolysis driven process is the main nitrogen assimilation pathway in the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Azospirillum brasilense. The A. brasilense strain HM053 has poor GS activity and leaks ammonium into the medium under nitrogen fixing conditions. In this work, the glnA genes of the wild type and HM053 strains were cloned into pET28a, sequenced and overexpressed in E. coli. The GS enzyme was purified by affinity chromatography and characterized. The GS of HM053 strain carries a P347L substitution, which results in low enzyme activity and rendered the enzyme insensitive to adenylylation by the adenilyltransferase GlnE.

NAD+ biosynthesis in bacteria is controlled by global carbon/nitrogen levels via PII signaling.

NAD+ is a central metabolite participating in core metabolic redox reactions. The prokaryotic NAD synthetase enzyme NadE catalyzes the last step of NAD+ biosynthesis, converting nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide (NaAD) to NAD+ Some members of the NadE family use l-glutamine as a nitrogen donor and are named NadEGln Previous gene neighborhood analysis has indicated that the bacterial nadE gene is frequently clustered with the gene encoding the regulatory signal transduction protein PII, suggesting a functional relationship between these proteins in response to the nutritional status and the carbon/nitrogen ratio of the bacterial cell. Here, using affinity chromatography, bioinformatics analyses, NAD synthetase activity, and biolayer interferometry assays, we show that PII and NadEGln physically interact in vitro, that this complex relieves NadEGln negative feedback inhibition by NAD+ This mechanism is conserved in distantly related bacteria. Of note, the PII protein allosteric effector and cellular nitrogen level indicator 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) inhibited the formation of the PII-NadEGln complex within a physiological range. These results indicate an interplay between the levels of ATP, ADP, 2-OG, PII-sensed glutamine, and NAD+, representing a metabolic hub that may balance the levels of core nitrogen and carbon metabolites. Our findings support the notion that PII proteins act as a dissociable regulatory subunit of NadEGln, thereby enabling the control of NAD+ biosynthesis according to the nutritional status of the bacterial cell.

Biophysical characterization and molecular phylogeny of human KIN protein.

The DNA/RNA-binding KIN protein was discovered in 1989, and since then, it has been found to participate in several processes, e.g., as a transcription factor in bacteria, yeasts, and plants, in immunoglobulin isotype switching, and in the repair and resolution of double-strand breaks caused by ionizing radiation. However, the complete three-dimensional structure and biophysical properties of KIN remain important information for clarifying its function and to help elucidate mechanisms associated with it not yet completely understood. The present study provides data on phylogenetic analyses of the different domains, as well as a biophysical characterization of the human KIN protein (HSAKIN) using bioinformatics techniques, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry to estimate the composition of secondary structure elements; further studies were performed to determine the biophysical parameters ΔHm and Tm. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that the zinc-finger and winged helix domains are highly conserved in KIN, with mean identity of 90.37% and 65.36%, respectively. The KOW motif was conserved only among the higher eukaryotes, indicating that this motif emerged later on the evolutionary timescale. HSAKIN has more than 50% of its secondary structure composed by random coil and ß-turns. The highest values of ΔHm and Tm were found at pH 7.4 suggesting a stable structure at physiological conditions. The characteristics found for HSAKIN are primarily due to its relatively low composition of α-helices and ß-strands, making up less than half of the protein structure.

Kinetics and structural features of dimeric glutamine-dependent bacterial NAD+ synthetases suggest evolutionary adaptation to available metabolites.

NADH (NAD+) and its reduced form NADH serve as cofactors for a variety of oxidoreductases that participate in many metabolic pathways. NAD+ also is used as substrate by ADP-ribosyl transferases and by sirtuins. NAD+ biosynthesis is one of the most fundamental biochemical pathways in nature, and the ubiquitous NAD+ synthetase (NadE) catalyzes the final step in this biosynthetic route. Two different classes of NadE have been described to date: dimeric single-domain ammonium-dependent NadENH3 and octameric glutamine-dependent NadEGln, and the presence of multiple NadE isoforms is relatively common in prokaryotes. Here, we identified a novel dimeric group of NadEGln in bacteria. Substrate preferences and structural analyses suggested that dimeric NadEGln enzymes may constitute evolutionary intermediates between dimeric NadENH3 and octameric NadEGln The characterization of additional NadE isoforms in the diazotrophic bacterium Azospirillum brasilense along with the determination of intracellular glutamine levels in response to an ammonium shock led us to propose a model in which these different NadE isoforms became active accordingly to the availability of nitrogen. These data may explain the selective pressures that support the coexistence of multiple isoforms of NadE in some prokaryotes.