PilF is an outer membrane lipoprotein required for multimerization and localization of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Type IV pilus secretin.

Type IV pili (T4P) are retractile appendages that contribute to the virulence of bacterial pathogens. PilF is a Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipoprotein that is essential for T4P biogenesis. Phenotypic characterization of a pilF mutant confirmed that T4P-mediated functions are abrogated: T4P were no longer present on the cell surface, twitching motility was abolished, and the mutant was resistant to infection by T4P retraction-dependent bacteriophage. The results of cellular fractionation studies indicated that PilF is the outer membrane pilotin required for the localization and multimerization of the secretin, PilQ. Mutation of the putative PilF lipidation site untethered the protein from the outer membrane, causing secretin assembly in both inner and outer membranes. T4P-mediated twitching motility and bacteriophage susceptibility were moderately decreased in the lipidation site mutant, while cell surface piliation was substantially reduced. The tethering of PilF to the outer membrane promotes the correct localization of PilQ and appears to be required for the formation of stable T4P. Our 2.0-A structure of PilF revealed a superhelical arrangement of six tetratricopeptide protein-protein interaction motifs that may mediate the contacts with PilQ during secretin assembly. An alignment of pseudomonad PilF sequences revealed three highly conserved surfaces that may be involved in PilF function.

Structure of Arabidopsis thaliana 5-methylthioribose kinase reveals a more occluded active site than its bacterial homolog.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic variations exist between the methionine salvage pathway of humans and a number of plants and microbial pathogens. 5-Methylthioribose (MTR) kinase is a key enzyme required for methionine salvage in plants and many bacteria. The absence of a mammalian homolog suggests that MTR kinase is a good target for the design of specific herbicides or antibiotics. RESULTS: The structure of Arabidopsis thaliana MTR kinase co-crystallized with ATPgammaS and MTR has been determined at 1.9 A resolution. The structure is similar to B. subtilis MTR kinase and has the same protein kinase fold observed in other evolutionarily related protein kinase-like phosphotransferases. The active site is comparable between the two enzymes with the DXE-motif coordinating the nucleotide-Mg, the D238 of the HGD catalytic loop polarizing the MTR O1 oxygen, and the RR-motif interacting with the substrate MTR. Unlike its bacterial homolog, however, the Gly-rich loop (G-loop) of A. thaliana MTR kinase has an extended conformation, which shields most of the active site from solvent, a feature that resembles eukaryotic protein kinases more than the bacterial enzyme. The G- and W-loops of A. thaliana and B. subtilis MTR kinase adopt different conformations despite high sequence similarity. The ATPgammaS analog was hydrolyzed during the co-crystallization procedure, resulting in ADP in the active site. This suggests that the A. thaliana enzyme, like its bacterial homolog, may have significant ATPase activity in the absence of MTR. CONCLUSION: The structure of A. thaliana MTR kinase provides a template for structure-based design of agrochemicals, particularly herbicides whose effectiveness could be regulated by nutrient levels. Features of the MTR binding site offer an opportunity for a simple organic salt of an MTR analog to specifically inhibit MTR kinase.

Structures of 5-methylthioribose kinase reveal substrate specificity and unusual mode of nucleotide binding.

The methionine salvage pathway is ubiquitous in all organisms, but metabolic variations exist between bacteria and mammals. 5-Methylthioribose (MTR) kinase is a key enzyme in methionine salvage in bacteria and the absence of a mammalian homolog suggests that it is a good target for the design of novel antibiotics. The structures of the apo-form of Bacillus subtilis MTR kinase, as well as its ADP, ADP-PO(4), AMPPCP, and AMPPCP-MTR complexes have been determined. MTR kinase has a bilobal eukaryotic protein kinase fold but exhibits a number of unique features. The protein lacks the DFG motif typically found at the beginning of the activation loop and instead coordinates magnesium via a DXE motif (Asp(250)-Glu(252)). In addition, the glycine-rich loop of the protein, analogous to the "Gly triad" in protein kinases, does not interact extensively with the nucleotide. The MTR substrate-binding site consists of Asp(233) of the catalytic HGD motif, a novel twin arginine motif (Arg(340)/Arg(341)), and a semi-conserved W-loop, which appears to regulate MTR binding specificity. No lobe closure is observed for MTR kinase upon substrate binding. This is probably because the enzyme lacks the lobe closure/inducing interactions between the C-lobe of the protein and the ribosyl moiety of the nucleotide that are typically responsible for lobe closure in protein kinases. The current structures suggest that MTR kinase has a dissociative mechanism.

ADP-2Ho as a phasing tool for nucleotide-containing proteins.

Trivalent holmium ions were shown to isomorphously replace magnesium ions to form an ADP-2Ho complex in the nucleotide-binding domain of Bacillus subtilis 5-methylthioribose (MTR) kinase. This nucleotide-holmium complex provided sufficient phasing power to allow SAD and SIRAS phasing of this previously unknown structure using the L(III) absorption edge of holmium. The structure of ADP-2Ho reveals that the two Ho ions are approximately 4 A apart and are likely to share their ligands: the phosphoryl O atoms of ADP and a water molecule. The structure determination of MTR kinase using data collected using Cu Kalpha X-radiation was also attempted. Although the heavy-atom substructure determination was successful, interpretation of the map was more challenging. The isomorphous substitution of holmium for magnesium in the MTR kinase-nucleotide complex suggests that this could be a useful phasing tool for other metal-dependent nucleotide-containing proteins.

Structure of Escherichia coli tryptophanase.

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent tryptophanase has been isolated from Escherichia coli and its crystal structure has been determined. The structure shares the same fold with and has similar quaternary structure to Proteus vulgaris tryptophanase and tyrosine-phenol lyase, but is found in a closed conformation when compared with these two enzymes. The tryptophanase structure, solved in its apo form, does not have covalent PLP bound in the active site, but two sulfate ions. The sulfate ions occupy the phosphoryl-binding site of PLP and the binding site of the alpha-carboxyl of the natural substrate tryptophan. One of the sulfate ions makes extensive interactions with both the transferase and PLP-binding domains of the protein and appears to be responsible for holding the enzyme in its closed conformation. Based on the sulfate density and the structure of the P. vulgaris enzyme, PLP and the substrate tryptophan were modeled into the active site. The resulting model is consistent with the roles of Arg419 in orienting the substrate to PLP and acidifying the alpha-proton of the substrate for beta-elimination, Lys269 in the formation and decomposition of the PLP quinonoid intermediate, Arg230 in orienting the substrate-PLP intermediates in the optimal conformation for catalysis, and His463 and Tyr74 in determining substrate specificity and suggests that the closed conformation observed in the structure could be induced by substrate binding and that significant conformational changes occur during catalysis. A catalytic mechanism for tryptophanase is proposed. Since E. coli tryptophanase has resisted forming diffraction-quality crystals for many years, the molecular surface of tryptophanase has been analyzed in various crystal forms and it was rationalized that strong crystal contacts occur on the flat surface of the protein and that the size of crystal contact surface seems to correlate with the diffraction quality of the crystal.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of 5'-methylthioribose kinase from Bacillus subtilis and Arabidopsis thaliana.

Recombinant Bacillus subtilis 5'-methylthioribose (MTR) kinase has been expressed, purified and subsequently crystallized using the hanging-drop vapor-diffusion technique. With PEG 2000MME as the precipitant, two different crystal forms have been grown in the absence and presence of the detergent CHAPS. These crystals belong to space groups P2(1)2(1)2(1) (unit-cell parameters a = 193.7, b = 83.2, c = 51.6 A) and P2(1)2(1)2 (unit-cell parameters a = 213.8, b = 83.2, c = 51.5 A), respectively. The crystals grown in the presence of CHAPS diffract to 2.2 A resolution at Station X8C, National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). For both crystal forms, the presence of two monomers per asymmetric unit is predicted (Matthews coefficient V(M) = 2.29 and 2.52 A(3) Da(-1), respectively). Recombinant C-terminally histidine-tagged Arabidopsis thaliana MTR kinase has also been expressed, purified and refolded into its active form. Rod-shaped crystals of this protein were grown from PEG 8000 using the hanging-drop vapor-diffusion technique. These crystals exhibit the symmetry of space group C2 (unit-cell parameters a = 162.3, b = 83.3, c = 91.0 A, beta = 117.8 degrees ) and diffract to 1.9 A resolution at Station X8C, NSLS. Two monomers are estimated to be present in the asymmetric unit (V(M) = 2.82 A(3) Da(-1)).