A data set from flash X-ray imaging of carboxysomes.

Ultra-intense femtosecond X-ray pulses from X-ray lasers permit structural studies on single particles and biomolecules without crystals. We present a large data set on inherently heterogeneous, polyhedral carboxysome particles. Carboxysomes are cell organelles that vary in size and facilitate up to 40% of Earth's carbon fixation by cyanobacteria and certain proteobacteria. Variation in size hinders crystallization. Carboxysomes appear icosahedral in the electron microscope. A protein shell encapsulates a large number of Rubisco molecules in paracrystalline arrays inside the organelle. We used carboxysomes with a mean diameter of 115±26 nm from Halothiobacillus neapolitanus. A new aerosol sample-injector allowed us to record 70,000 low-noise diffraction patterns in 12 min. Every diffraction pattern is a unique structure measurement and high-throughput imaging allows sampling the space of structural variability. The different structures can be separated and phased directly from the diffraction data and open a way for accurate, high-throughput studies on structures and structural heterogeneity in biology and elsewhere.

Comparative analysis of carboxysome shell proteins.

Carboxysomes are metabolic modules for CO(2) fixation that are found in all cyanobacteria and some chemoautotrophic bacteria. They comprise a semi-permeable proteinaceous shell that encapsulates ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) and carbonic anhydrase. Structural studies are revealing the integral role of the shell protein paralogs to carboxysome form and function. The shell proteins are composed of two domain classes: those with the bacterial microcompartment (BMC; Pfam00936) domain, which oligomerize to form (pseudo)hexamers, and those with the CcmL/EutN (Pfam03319) domain which form pentamers in carboxysomes. These two shell protein types are proposed to be the basis for the carboxysome's icosahedral geometry. The shell proteins are also thought to allow the flux of metabolites across the shell through the presence of the small pore formed by their hexameric/pentameric symmetry axes. In this review, we describe bioinformatic and structural analyses that highlight the important primary, tertiary, and quaternary structural features of these conserved shell subunits. In the future, further understanding of these molecular building blocks may provide the basis for enhancing CO(2) fixation in other organisms or creating novel biological nanostructures.

Insights from multiple structures of the shell proteins from the beta-carboxysome.

Carboxysomes are primitive bacterial organelles that function as a part of a carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM) under conditions where inorganic carbon is limiting. The carboxysome enhances the efficiency of cellular carbon fixation by encapsulating together carbonic anhydrase and the CO(2)-fixing enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO). The carboxysome has a roughly icosahedral shape with an outer shell between 800 and 1500 A in diameter, which is constructed from a few thousand small protein subunits. In the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, the previous structure determination of two homologous shell protein subunits, CcmK2 and CcmK4, elucidated how the outer shell is formed by the tight packing of CcmK hexamers into a molecular layer. Here we describe the crystal structure of the hexameric shell protein CcmK1, along with structures of mutants of both CcmK1 and CcmK2 lacking their sometimes flexible C-terminal tails. Variations in the way hexamers pack into layers are noted, while sulfate ions bound in pores through the layer provide further support for the hypothesis that the pores serve for transport of substrates and products into and out of the carboxysome. One of the new structures provides a high-resolution (1.3 A) framework for subsequent computational studies of molecular transport through the pores. Crystal and solution studies of the C-terminal deletion mutants demonstrate the tendency of the terminal segments to participate in protein--protein interactions, thereby providing a clue as to which side of the molecular layer of hexameric shell proteins is likely to face toward the carboxysome interior.

Halothiobacillus neapolitanus carboxysomes sequester heterologous and chimeric RubisCO species.

BACKGROUND: The carboxysome is a bacterial microcompartment that consists of a polyhedral protein shell filled with ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO), the enzyme that catalyzes the first step of CO2 fixation via the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To analyze the role of RubisCO in carboxysome biogenesis in vivo we have created a series of Halothiobacillus neapolitanus RubisCO mutants. We identified the large subunit of the enzyme as an important determinant for its sequestration into alpha-carboxysomes and found that the carboxysomes of H. neapolitanus readily incorporate chimeric and heterologous RubisCO species. Intriguingly, a mutant lacking carboxysomal RubisCO assembles empty carboxysome shells of apparently normal shape and composition. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results indicate that carboxysome shell architecture is not determined by the enzyme they normally sequester. Our study provides, for the first time, clear evidence that carboxysome contents can be manipulated and suggests future nanotechnological applications that are based upon engineered protein microcompartments.

Structural analysis of CsoS1A and the protein shell of the Halothiobacillus neapolitanus carboxysome.

The carboxysome is a bacterial organelle that functions to enhance the efficiency of CO2 fixation by encapsulating the enzymes ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) and carbonic anhydrase. The outer shell of the carboxysome is reminiscent of a viral capsid, being constructed from many copies of a few small proteins. Here we describe the structure of the shell protein CsoS1A from the chemoautotrophic bacterium Halothiobacillus neapolitanus. The CsoS1A protein forms hexameric units that pack tightly together to form a molecular layer, which is perforated by narrow pores. Sulfate ions, soaked into crystals of CsoS1A, are observed in the pores of the molecular layer, supporting the idea that the pores could be the conduit for negatively charged metabolites such as bicarbonate, which must cross the shell. The problem of diffusion across a semiporous protein shell is discussed, with the conclusion that the shell is sufficiently porous to allow adequate transport of small molecules. The molecular layer formed by CsoS1A is similar to the recently observed layers formed by cyanobacterial carboxysome shell proteins. This similarity supports the argument that the layers observed represent the natural structure of the facets of the carboxysome shell. Insights into carboxysome function are provided by comparisons of the carboxysome shell to viral capsids, and a comparison of its pores to the pores of transmembrane protein channels.