Transition-State Interactions in a Promiscuous Enzyme: Sulfate and Phosphate Monoester Hydrolysis by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Arylsulfatase.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa arylsulfatase (PAS) hydrolyzes sulfate and, promiscuously, phosphate monoesters. Enzyme-catalyzed sulfate transfer is crucial to a wide variety of biological processes, but detailed studies of the mechanistic contributions to its catalysis are lacking. We present linear free energy relationships (LFERs) and kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) of PAS and analyses of active site mutants that suggest a key role for leaving group (LG) stabilization. In LFERs PASWT has a much less negative Brønsted coefficient (ßleaving groupobs-Enz = -0.33) than the uncatalyzed reaction (ßleaving groupobs = -1.81). This situation is diminished when cationic active site groups are exchanged for alanine. The considerable degree of bond breaking during the transition state (TS) is evidenced by an 18Obridge KIE of 1.0088. LFER and KIE data for several active site mutants point to leaving group stabilization by active site K375, in cooperation with H211. 15N KIEs and the increased sensitivity to leaving group ability of the sulfatase activity in neat D2O (Δßleaving groupH-D = +0.06) suggest that the mechanism for S-Obridge bond fission shifts, with decreasing leaving group ability, from charge compensation via Lewis acid interactions toward direct proton donation. 18Ononbridge KIEs indicate that the TS for PAS-catalyzed sulfate monoester hydrolysis has a significantly more associative character compared to the uncatalyzed reaction, while PAS-catalyzed phosphate monoester hydrolysis does not show this shift. This difference in enzyme-catalyzed TSs appears to be the major factor favoring specificity toward sulfate over phosphate esters by this promiscuous hydrolase, since other features are either too similar (uncatalyzed TS) or inherently favor phosphate (charge).

Balancing Specificity and Promiscuity in Enzyme Evolution: Multidimensional Activity Transitions in the Alkaline Phosphatase Superfamily.

Highly proficient, promiscuous enzymes can be springboards for functional evolution, able to avoid loss of function during adaptation by their capacity to promote multiple reactions. We employ a systematic comparative study of structure, sequence, and substrate specificity to track the evolution of specificity and reactivity between promiscuous members of clades of the alkaline phosphatase (AP) superfamily. Construction of a phylogenetic tree of protein sequences maps out the likely transition zone between arylsulfatases (ASs) and phosphonate monoester hydrolases (PMHs). Kinetic analysis shows that all enzymes characterized have four chemically distinct phospho- and sulfoesterase activities, with rate accelerations ranging from 1011- to 1017-fold for their primary and 109- to 1012-fold for their promiscuous reactions, suggesting that catalytic promiscuity is widespread in the AP-superfamily. This functional characterization and crystallography reveal a novel class of ASs that is so similar in sequence to known PMHs that it had not been recognized as having diverged in function. Based on analysis of snapshots of catalytic promiscuity "in transition", we develop possible models that would allow functional evolution and determine scenarios for trade-off between multiple activities. For the new ASs, we observe largely invariant substrate specificity that would facilitate the transition from ASs to PMHs via trade-off-free molecular exaptation, that is, evolution without initial loss of primary activity and specificity toward the original substrate. This ability to bypass low activity generalists provides a molecular solution to avoid adaptive conflict.

Evolutionary repurposing of a sulfatase: A new Michaelis complex leads to efficient transition state charge offset.

The recruitment and evolutionary optimization of promiscuous enzymes is key to the rapid adaptation of organisms to changing environments. Our understanding of the precise mechanisms underlying enzyme repurposing is, however, limited: What are the active-site features that enable the molecular recognition of multiple substrates with contrasting catalytic requirements? To gain insights into the molecular determinants of adaptation in promiscuous enzymes, we performed the laboratory evolution of an arylsulfatase to improve its initially weak phenylphosphonate hydrolase activity. The evolutionary trajectory led to a 100,000-fold enhancement of phenylphosphonate hydrolysis, while the native sulfate and promiscuous phosphate mono- and diester hydrolyses were only marginally affected (≤50-fold). Structural, kinetic, and in silico characterizations of the evolutionary intermediates revealed that two key mutations, T50A and M72V, locally reshaped the active site, improving access to the catalytic machinery for the phosphonate. Measured transition state (TS) charge changes along the trajectory suggest the creation of a new Michaelis complex (E•S, enzyme-substrate), with enhanced leaving group stabilization in the TS for the promiscuous phosphonate (ßleavinggroup from -1.08 to -0.42). Rather than altering the catalytic machinery, evolutionary repurposing was achieved by fine-tuning the molecular recognition of the phosphonate in the Michaelis complex, and by extension, also in the TS. This molecular scenario constitutes a mechanistic alternative to adaptation solely based on enzyme flexibility and conformational selection. Instead, rapid functional transitions between distinct chemical reactions rely on the high reactivity of permissive active-site architectures that allow multiple substrate binding modes.

Ultrahigh-throughput discovery of promiscuous enzymes by picodroplet functional metagenomics.

Unculturable bacterial communities provide a rich source of biocatalysts, but their experimental discovery by functional metagenomics is difficult, because the odds are stacked against the experimentor. Here we demonstrate functional screening of a million-membered metagenomic library in microfluidic picolitre droplet compartments. Using bait substrates, new hydrolases for sulfate monoesters and phosphotriesters were identified, mostly based on promiscuous activities presumed not to be under selection pressure. Spanning three protein superfamilies, these break new ground in sequence space: promiscuity now connects enzymes with only distantly related sequences. Most hits could not have been predicted by sequence analysis, because the desired activities have never been ascribed to similar sequences, showing how this approach complements bioinformatic harvesting of metagenomic sequencing data. Functional screening of a library of unprecedented size with excellent assay sensitivity has been instrumental in identifying rare genes constituting catalytically versatile hubs in sequence space as potential starting points for the acquisition of new functions.

Evolution of enzyme catalysts caged in biomimetic gel-shell beads.

Natural evolution relies on the improvement of biological entities by rounds of diversification and selection. In the laboratory, directed evolution has emerged as a powerful tool for the development of new and improved biomolecules, but it is limited by the enormous workload and cost of screening sufficiently large combinatorial libraries. Here we describe the production of gel-shell beads (GSBs) with the help of a microfluidic device. These hydrogel beads are surrounded with a polyelectrolyte shell that encloses an enzyme, its encoding DNA and the fluorescent reaction product. Active clones in these man-made compartments can be identified readily by fluorescence-activated sorting at rates >10(7) GSBs per hour. We use this system to perform the directed evolution of a phosphotriesterase (a bioremediation catalyst) caged in GSBs and isolate a 20-fold faster mutant in less than one hour. We thus establish a practically undemanding method for ultrahigh-throughput screening that results in functional hybrid composites endowed with evolvable protein components.

Efficient, crosswise catalytic promiscuity among enzymes that catalyze phosphoryl transfer.

The observation that one enzyme can accelerate several chemically distinct reactions was at one time surprising because the enormous efficiency of catalysis was often seen as inextricably linked to specialization for one reaction. Originally underreported, and considered a quirk rather than a fundamental property, enzyme promiscuity is now understood to be important as a springboard for adaptive evolution. Owing to the large number of promiscuous enzymes that have been identified over the last decade, and the increased appreciation for promiscuity's evolutionary importance, the focus of research has shifted to developing a better understanding of the mechanistic basis for promiscuity and the origins of tolerant or restrictive specificity. We review the evidence for widespread crosswise promiscuity amongst enzymes that catalyze phosphoryl transfer, including several members of the alkaline phosphatase superfamily, where large rate accelerations between 10(6) and 10(17) are observed for both native and multiple promiscuous reactions. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Chemistry and mechanism of phosphatases, diesterases and triesterases.

Picoliter cell lysate assays in microfluidic droplet compartments for directed enzyme evolution.

We demonstrate the utility of a microfluidic platform in which water-in-oil droplet compartments serve to miniaturize cell lysate assays by a million-fold for directed enzyme evolution. Screening hydrolytic activities of a promiscuous sulfatase demonstrates that this extreme miniaturization to the single-cell level does not come at a high price in signal quality. Moreover, the quantitative readout delivers a level of precision previously limited to screening methodologies with restricted throughput. The sorting of 3 × 10(7) monodisperse droplets per round of evolution leads to the enrichment of clones with improvements in activity (6-fold) and expression (6-fold). The detection of subtle differences in a larger number of screened clones provides the combination of high sensitivity and high-throughput needed to rescue a stalled directed evolution experiment and make it viable.

Solvent induced cooperativity of Zn(II) complexes cleaving a phosphate diester RNA analog in methanol.

The kinetics of cyclization of 2-hydroxypropyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate (1) promoted by two mononuclear Zn(II) catalytic complexes of bis(2-pyridylmethyl)benzylamine (4) and bis(2-methyl 6-pyridylmethyl)benzylamine (5) in methanol were studied under (s)(s)pH-controlled conditions (where (s)(s)pH refers to [H(+)] activity in methanol). Potentiometric titrations of the ligands in the absence and presence of Zn(2+) and a non-reactive model for 1 (2-hydroxylpropyl isopropyl phosphate (HPIPP, 6)) indicate that the phosphate is bound tightly to the 4:Zn(II) and 5:Zn(II) complexes as L:Zn(II):6(-), and that each of these undergoes an additional ionization to produce L:Zn(II):6(-):((-)OCH(3)) or a bound deprotonated form of the phosphate, L:Zn(II):6(2-). Kinetic studies as a function of [L:Zn(II)] indicate that the rate is linear in [L:Zn(II)] at concentrations well above those required for complete binding of the substrate. Plots of the second order rate constants (defined as the gradient of the rate constant vs. [complex] plot) vs. (s)(s)pH in methanol are bell-shaped with rate maxima of 23 dm mol(-1) s(-1) and 146 dm mol(-1) s(-1) for 4:Zn(II) and 5:Zn(II), respectively, at their (s)(s)pH maxima of 10.5 and 10. A mechanism is proposed that involves binding of one molecule of complex to the phosphate to yield a poorly reactive 1 : 1 complex, which associates with a second molecule of complex to produce a transient cooperative 2 : 1 complex within which the cyclization of 1 is rapid. The observations support an effect of the reduced polarity solvent that encourages the cooperative association of phosphate and two independent mononuclear complexes to give a reactive entity.

Cleavage of an RNA model catalyzed by dinuclear Zn(II) complexes containing rate-accelerating pendants. Comparison of the catalytic benefits of H-bonding and hydrophobic substituents.

The transesterification of a simple RNA model, 2-hydroxypropyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate (2, HpNPP) promoted by seven dinuclear Zn(II) catalysts (3,4,5,6,7,8,9:Zn(II)2:(-OCH3)) based on the bis[bis(2-substituted-pyridinyl-6-methyl)]amine ligand system was investigated in methanol under sspH-controlled conditions at 25.0 ± 0.1 °C. The two metal complexing ligands were joined together via the amino N connected to a m-xylyl linker (3, 4, 5, 6, 7) where the 2-pyridinyl substituent = H, CH3, (CH)4, NH2, and NH(C═O)CH3, respectively, and a propyl linker (8, 9) where the ring substituent = H and CH3. All of the dinuclear complexes except 8:Zn(II)2 exhibit saturation kinetics for the kobs versus [catalyst] plots from which one can determine catalyst:substrate binding constants (KM), the catalytic rate constants for their decomposition (kcat), and the second order catalytic rate constants (k2cat = kcat/KM). In the case of 8:Zn(II)2, the plots of kobs versus [catalyst] as a function of sspH are linear, and the catalytic rate constants (k2cat) are defined as the gradients of the plots. Analysis of all of the data at the sspH optimum for each reaction indicates that the presence of the amino and acetamido H-bonding groups and the CH3 group provides similar increases of the kcat terms of 25−50 times that exhibited by the parent complex 3:Zn(II)2. However, in terms of substrate catalyst binding (KM), there is no clear trend that H-bonding groups or the CH3 group provides stronger binding than the parent complex. In terms of the overall second order catalytic rate constant, the CH3, amino, and NH(C═O)CH3 groups provide 20, 10, and 68 times the k2cat observed for the parent complex. In the case of 9:Zn(II)2, the presence of the methyl groups provides a 1000-fold increase in activity (judged by k2cat) over the parent complex 8:Zn(II)2. The results are interpreted to indicate that H-bonding effects may be important for catalysis and less so for substrate binding, but the steric effect and impact on the local polarity provided by a methyl substituent is just as effective and in fact may form part of the acceleratory effect attributed to H-bonding in related systems.

Investigation of the effect of oxy bridging groups in dinuclear Zn(II) complexes that catalyze the cleavage of a simple phosphate diester RNA analogue.

Two sets of dinuclear Zn(II) complexes were prepared to determine the effect of the presence of oxyanionic bridging groups between the metal centers on the catalytic activity toward the methanolysis of the RNA analogue 2-hydroxypropyl-4-nitrophenyl phosphate (HPNPP, 2). The Zn(II)2 complexes of bis(di-(2-pyridylmethyl)amino)-m-xylene (6) and 2,6-bis(di-(2-pyridylmethyl)amino)-4-methylphenol (7) were compared to assess the effect of a bridging phenoxide ligand, while the Zn(II)2 complex of 1,3-bis-N1-(1,5,9-triazacyclododecyl)-propan-2-ol (8) was prepared to determine the effect of the 2-propoxy group compared to the previously studied complex of 1,3-bis-N1-(1,5,9-triazacyclododecyl)-propane (4). Detailed kinetic studies of the cleavage of 2 including k(obs) vs [catalyst] plots and (s)(s)pH-rate profiles were performed for each system along with potentiometric titration experiments to determine the acid dissociation constants for the catalytically relevant groups. The results show that inclusion of the phenoxy bridging group in 7:Zn(II)2 reduces the second-order catalytic rate constant (k2(cat)) for cleavage of 2 by a factor of 160 relative to that of 6:Zn(II)2, while the incorporation of a propoxy group in 8:Zn(II)2 reduces its efficacy by 3.7 x 10(4) times relative to 4:Zn(II)2. Energetics calculations reveal that 6:Zn(II)2 offers a 3.7 kcal/mol greater stabilization of the reaction transition state for the cleavage of 2 than does 7:Zn(II)2 and that 4:Zn(II)2 affords 6.5 kcal/mol greater transition state stabilization than does 8:Zn(II)2. The analyses show that the reduction in the transition state stabilization experienced with the complexes having permanently bridging oxyanion groups stems almost entirely from a weaker binding of the phosphate and catalyst, and a reduced catalytic rate constant. These results indicate that the presence of a bridging oxyanion ligand between the metal centers, a common structural element required for the successful formation of many small molecule dinuclear catalysts that show cooperative activity in water, significantly impairs the catalytic efficiency for cleavage of 2.

An immobilized ortho-palladated dimethylbenzylamine complex as an efficient catalyst for the methanolysis of phosphorothionate pesticides.

The methanolysis of a series of P=S phosphorothionate pesticides (fenitrothion, coumaphos, diazinon, and dichlofenthion) catalyzed by an ortho-palladated complex covalently attached to two different solid supports, macroporous polystyrene and amorphous silica gel, was studied. Both the polystyrene and the silica-based catalysts showed excellent activity in methanol near neutral pH (neutral s(s)pH = 8.38) at ambient temperature. These heterogeneous catalysts can be readily recovered and reused without significant loss of activity. Fifty milligrams of the silica-supported catalyst SiPd1 offered an acceleration of up to 8.6 x 10(9)-fold for the methanolysis of fenitrothion (2) over the methoxide-promoted background reaction at s(s)pH = 8.8. For the same reaction, 50 mg of polystyrene-supported complex PSPd2 provided a 3.7 x 10(9)-fold acceleration at s(s)pH = 8.8. When accounting for the amount of palladium in the solid, the slight superiority of silica over polystyrene as a solid support is believed to be a result of several possible factors including a higher concentration of active sites accessible to the reaction solvent and a more hydrophilic surface environment that allows better interaction of the methanol solvent with the attached palladacycle. Unlike the behavior in homogeneous solution, the rate of methanolysis of the substrates catalyzed by the solid catalysts was relatively insensitive to the nature of the substrate, probably indicating that a mass transport process is rate limiting. The solid-supported materials effectively decompose malathion at roughly stoichiometric ratios, but they are strongly inhibited by the thiol product resulting from the cleavage of the P=S(SR) linkage.

Combination of a dinuclear Zn2+ complex and a medium effect exerts a 10(12)-fold rate enhancement of cleavage of an RNA and DNA model system.

The catalytic ability of a dinuclear Zn2+ complex of 1,3-bis-N1-(1,5,9-triazacyclododecyl)propane (3) in promoting the cleavage of an RNA model, 2-hydroxypropyl-p-nitrophenyl phosphate (HPNPP, 1), and a DNA model, methyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate (MNPP, 4), was studied in methanol solution in the presence of added CH3O- at 25 degrees C. The di-Zn2+ complex (Zn2 :3), in the presence of 1 equiv of added methoxide, exhibits a second-order rate constant of (2.75 +/- 0.10) x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) for the reaction with 1 at s(s)pH 9.5, this being 10(8)-fold larger than the k2 value for the CH3O- promoted reaction (kOCH3 = (2.56 +/- 0.16) x 10(-3) M(-1) s(-1)). The complex is also active toward the DNA model 4, exhibiting Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a KM and kmax of 0.37 +/- 0.07 mM and (4.1 +/- 0.3) x 10(-2) s(-1), respectively. Relative to the background reactions at s(s)pH 9.5, Zn2 :3 accelerates cleavage of each phosphate diester by a remarkable factor of 1012-fold. A kinetic scheme common to both substrates is discussed. The study shows that a simple model system comprising a dinuclear Zn2+ complex and a medium effect of the alcohol solvent achieves a catalytic reactivity that approaches enzymatic rates and is well beyond anything seen to date in water for the cleavage of these phosphate diesters.

Potentiometric titration of metal ions in ethanol.

The potentiometric titrations of Zn2+, Cu2+ and 12 Ln3+ metal ions were obtained in ethanol to determine the titration constants (defined as the at which the [-OEt]/[Mx+]t ratios are 0.5, 1.5, and 2.5) and in two cases (La3+ and Zn2+) a complete speciation diagram. Several simple monobasic acids and aminium ions were also titrated to test the validity of experimental titration measurements and to establish new constants in this medium that will be useful for the preparation of buffers and standard solutions. The dependence of the titration constants on the concentration and type of metal ion and specific counterion effects is discussed. In selected cases, the titration profiles were analyzed using a commercially available fitting program to obtain information about the species present in solution, including La3+ for which a dimer model is proposed. The fitting provides the microscopic values for deprotonation of one to four metal-bound ethanol molecules. Kinetics for the La3+-catalyzed ethanolysis of paraoxon as a function of are presented and analyzed in terms of La3+ speciation as determined by the analysis of potentiometric titration curves. The stability constants for the formation of Zn2+ and Cu2+ complexes with 1,5,9-triazacyclododecane as determined by potentiometric titration are presented.