Elucidation of the anaerobic pathway for the corrin component of cobalamin (vitamin B12)

Elucidation of the biosynthesis of the methane catalyst coenzyme F430

Methane biogenesis in methanogens is mediated by methyl-coenzyme M reductase, an enzyme that is also responsible for the utilisation of methane through anaerobic methane oxidation. The enzyme employs an ancillary factor called coenzyme F₄₃₀, a nickel-containing modified tetrapyrrole that promotes catalysis through a novel methyl radical/Ni(II)-thiolate intermediate. However, the biosynthesis of coenzyme F₄₃₀ from the common primogenitor uroporphyrinoge III, incorporating 11 steric centres into the macrocycle, has remained poorly understood although the pathway must involve chelation, amidation, macrocyclic ring reduction, lactamisation and carbocyclic ring formation. We have now identified the proteins that catalyse coenzyme F₄₃₀ biosynthesis from sirohydrochlorin, termed CfbA-E, and shown their activity. The research completes our understanding of how nature is able to construct its repertoire of tetrapyrrole-based life pigments, permitting the development of recombinant systems to utilise these metalloprosthetic groups more widely.

Solution state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for biological metabolism and pathway intermediate analysis

Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in the study of metabolism has been immensely popular in medical- and health-related research but has yet to be widely applied to more fundamental biological problems. This review provides some NMR background relevant to metabolism, describes why ¹H NMR spectra are complex as well as introducing relevant terminology and definitions. The applications and practical considerations of NMR metabolic profiling and ¹³C NMR-based flux analyses are discussed together with the elegant 'enzyme trap' approach for identifying novel metabolic pathway intermediates. The importance of sample preparation and data analysis are also described and explained with reference to data precision and multivariate analysis to introduce researchers unfamiliar with NMR and metabolism to consider this technique for their research interests. Finally, a brief glance into the future suggests NMR-based metabolism has room to expand in the 21st century through new isotope labels, and NMR technologies and methodologies.

The SMUL_1544 Gene Product Governs Norcobamide Biosynthesis in the Tetrachloroethene-Respiring Bacterium Sulfurospirillum multivorans

The tetrachloroethene (PCE)-respiring bacterium Sulfurospirillum multivorans produces a unique cobamide, namely, norpseudo-B12, which, in comparison to other cobamides, e.g., cobalamin and pseudo-B12, lacks the methyl group in the linker moiety of the nucleotide loop. In this study, the protein SMUL_1544 was shown to be responsible for the formation of the unusual linker moiety, which is most probably derived from ethanolamine-phosphate (EA-P) as the precursor. The product of the SMUL_1544 gene successfully complemented a Salmonella enterica ΔcobD mutant. The cobD gene encodes an l-threonine-O-3-phosphate (l-Thr-P) decarboxylase responsible for the synthesis of (R)-1-aminopropan-2-ol O-2-phosphate (AP-P), required specifically for cobamide biosynthesis. When SMUL_1544 was produced in the heterologous host lacking CobD, norpseudo-B12 was formed, which pointed toward the formation of EA-P rather than AP-P. Guided cobamide biosynthesis experiments with minimal medium supplemented with l-Thr-P supported cobamide biosynthesis in S. enterica producing SMUL_1544 or S. multivorans Under these conditions, both microorganisms synthesized pseudo-B12 This observation indicated a flexibility in the SMUL_1544 substrate spectrum. From the formation of catalytically active PCE reductive dehalogenase (PceA) in S. multivorans cells producing pseudo-B12, a compatibility of the respiratory enzyme with the cofactor was deduced. This result might indicate a structural flexibility of PceA in cobamide binding. Feeding of l-[3-(13)C]serine to cultures of S. multivorans resulted in isotope labeling of the norpseudo-B12 linker moiety, which strongly supports the hypothesis of EA-P formation from l-serine-O-phosphate (l-Ser-P) in this organism.

IMPORTANCE

The identification of the gene product SMUL_1544 as a putative l-Ser-P decarboxylase involved in norcobamide biosynthesis in S. multivorans adds a novel module to the assembly line of cobamides (complete corrinoids) in prokaryotes. Selected cobamide-containing enzymes (e.g., reductive dehalogenases) showed specificity for their cobamide cofactors. It has recently been proposed that the structure of the linker moiety of norpseudo-B12 and the mode of binding of the EA-P linker to the PceA enzyme reflect the high specificity of the enzyme for its cofactor. Data reported herein do not support this idea. In fact, norpseudo-B12 was functional in the cobamide-dependent methionine biosynthesis of S. enterica, raising questions about the role of norcobamides in nature.

Metagenomic analysis of sediments under seaports influence in the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean

Maritime ports are anthropogenic interventions capable of causing serious alterations in coastal ecosystems. In this study, we examined the benthic microbial diversity and community structure under the influence of two maritime ports, Mucuripe (MUC) and Pecém (PEC), at Equatorial Atlantic Ocean in Northeast Brazil. Those seaports differ in architecture, time of functioning, cargo handling and contamination. The microbiomes from MUC and PEC were also compared in silico to 11 other globally distributed marine microbiomes. The comparative analysis of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) retrieved by PCR-DGGE showed that MUC presents greater richness and β diversity of Bacteria and Archaea than PEC. In line with these results, metagenomic analysis showed that MUC and PEC benthic microbial communities share the main common bacterial phyla found in coastal environments, although can be distinguish by greater abundance of Cyanobacteria in MUC and Deltaproteobacteria in PEC. Both ports differed in Archaea composition, being PEC port sediments dominated by Thaumarchaeota. The microbiomes showed little divergence in their potential metabolic pathways, although shifts on the microbial taxonomic signatures involved in nitrogen and sulphur metabolic pathways were observed. The comparative analysis of different benthic marine metagenomes from Brazil, Australia and Mexico grouped them by the geographic location rather than by the type of ecosystem, although at phylum level seaport sediments share a core microbiome constituted by Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, Tenericuteres, Firmicutes, Bacteriodetes and Euryarchaeota. Our results suggest that multiple physical and chemical factors acting on sediments as a result of at least 60years of port operation play a role in shaping the benthic microbial communities at taxonomic level, but not at functional level.

The metabolism and biotechnological application of betaine in microorganism

Glycine betaine (betaine) is widely distributed in nature and can be found in many microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Due to its particular functions, many microorganisms utilize betaine as a functional chemical and have evolved different metabolic pathways for the biosynthesis and catabolism of betaine. As in animals and plants, the principle role of betaine is to protect microbial cells against drought, osmotic stress, and temperature stress. In addition, the role of betaine in methyl group metabolism has been observed in a variety of microorganisms. Recent studies have shown that betaine supplementation can improve the performance of microbial strains used for the fermentation of lactate, ethanol, lysine, pyruvate, and vitamin B12, during which betaine can act as stress protectant or methyl donor for the biosynthesis of structurally complex compounds. In this review, we summarize the transport, synthesis, catabolism, and functions of betaine in microorganisms and discuss potential engineering strategies that employ betaine as a methyl donor for the biosynthesis of complex secondary metabolites such as a variety of vitamins, coenzymes, and antibiotics. In conclusion, the biocompatibility, C/N ratio, abundance, and comprehensive metabolic information of betaine collectively indicate that this molecule has great potential for broad applications in microbial biotechnology.

A Bacillus megaterium System for the Production of Recombinant Proteins and Protein Complexes

For many years the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus megaterium has been used for the production and secretion of recombinant proteins. For this purpose it was systematically optimized. Plasmids with different inducible promoter systems, with different compatible origins, with small tags for protein purification and with various specific signals for protein secretion were combined with genetically improved host strains. Finally, the development of appropriate cultivation conditions for the production strains established this organism as a bacterial cell factory even for large proteins. Along with the overproduction of individual proteins the organism is now also used for the simultaneous coproduction of up to 14 recombinant proteins, multiple subsequently interacting or forming protein complexes. Some of these recombinant strains are successfully used for bioconversion or the biosynthesis of valuable components including vitamins. The titers in the g per liter scale for the intra- and extracellular recombinant protein production prove the high potential of B. megaterium for industrial applications. It is currently further enhanced for the production of recombinant proteins and multi-subunit protein complexes using directed genetic engineering approaches based on transcriptome, proteome, metabolome and fluxome data.

Diversification and niche adaptations of Nitrospina-like bacteria in the polyextreme interfaces of Red Sea brines

Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) of the genus Nitrospina have exclusively been found in marine environments. In the brine–seawater interface layer of Atlantis II Deep (Red Sea), Nitrospina-like bacteria constitute up to one-third of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences. This is much higher compared with that reported in other marine habitats (~10% of all bacteria), and was unexpected because no NOB culture has been observed to grow above 4.0% salinity, presumably due to the low net energy gained from their metabolism that is insufficient for both growth and osmoregulation. Using phylogenetics, single-cell genomics and metagenomic fragment recruitment approaches, we document here that these Nitrospina-like bacteria, designated as Candidatus Nitromaritima RS, are not only highly diverged from the type species Nitrospina gracilis (pairwise genome identity of 69%) but are also ubiquitous in the deeper, highly saline interface layers (up to 11.2% salinity) with temperatures of up to 52 °C. Comparative pan-genome analyses revealed that less than half of the predicted proteome of Ca. Nitromaritima RS is shared with N. gracilis. Interestingly, the capacity for nitrite oxidation is also conserved in both genomes. Although both lack acidic proteomes synonymous with extreme halophiles, the pangenome of Ca. Nitromaritima RS specifically encodes enzymes with osmoregulatory and thermoprotective roles (i.e., ectoine/hydroxyectoine biosynthesis) and of thermodynamic importance (i.e., nitrate and nitrite reductases). Ca. Nitromaritima RS also possesses many hallmark traits of microaerophiles and high-affinity NOB. The abundance of the uncultured Ca. Nitromaritima lineage in marine oxyclines suggests their unrecognized ecological significance in deoxygenated areas of the global ocean.

Crystal structure of CobK reveals strand-swapping between Rossmann-fold domains and molecular basis of the reduced precorrin product trap

CobK catalyzes the essential reduction of the precorrin ring in the cobalamin biosynthetic pathway. The crystal structure of CobK reveals that the enzyme, despite not having the signature sequence, comprises two Rossmann fold domains which bind coenzyme and substrate respectively. The two parallel β-sheets have swapped their last β-strands giving a novel sheet topology which is an interesting variation on the Rossmann-fold. The trapped ternary complex with coenzyme and product reveals five conserved basic residues that bind the carboxylates of the tetrapyrrole tightly anchoring the product. A loop, disordered in both the apoenzyme and holoenzyme structures, closes around the product further tightening binding. The structure is consistent with a mechanism involving protonation of C18 and pro-R hydride transfer from NADPH to C19 of precorrin-6A and reveals the interactions responsible for the specificity of CobK. The almost complete burial of the reduced precorrin product suggests a remarkable form of metabolite channeling where the next enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway triggers product release.

The Role of ESR Spectroscopy in Advancing Catalytic Science: Some Recent Developments

Recent progress is surveyed in regard to the importance of molecular species containing unpaired electrons in catalytic systems, as revealed using ESR spectroscopy. The review begins with studies of enzymes and their role directly in biological systems, and then discusses investigations of various artificially created catalysts with potential human and environmental significance, including zeolites. Among the specific types of catalytic media considered are those for photocatalysis, water splitting, the degradation of environmental pollutants, hydrocarbon conversions, fuel cells, ionic liquids and sensor devices employing graphene. Studies of muonium-labelled radicals in zeolites are also reviewed, as a means for determining the dynamics of transient radicals in these nanoporous materials.

Epoxyqueuosine Reductase Structure Suggests a Mechanism for Cobalamin-dependent tRNA Modification

Queuosine (Q) is a hypermodified RNA base that replaces guanine in the wobble positions of 5′-GUN-3′ tRNA molecules. Q is exclusively made by bacteria, and the corresponding queuine base is a micronutrient salvaged by eukaryotic species. The final step in Q biosynthesis is the reduction of the epoxide precursor, epoxyqueuosine, to yield the Q cyclopentene ring. The epoxyqueuosine reductase responsible, QueG, shares distant homology with the cobalamin-dependent reductive dehalogenase (RdhA), however the role played by cobalamin in QueG catalysis has remained elusive. We report the solution and structural characterization of Streptococcus thermophilus QueG, revealing the enzyme harbors a redox chain consisting of two [4Fe-4S] clusters and a cob(II)alamin in the base-off form, similar to RdhAs. In contrast to the shared redox chain architecture, the QueG active site shares little homology with RdhA, with the notable exception of a conserved Tyr that is proposed to function as a proton donor during reductive dehalogenation. Docking of an epoxyqueuosine substrate suggests the QueG active site places the substrate cyclopentane moiety in close proximity of the cobalt. Both the Tyr and a conserved Asp are implicated as proton donors to the epoxide leaving group. This suggests that, in contrast to the unusual carbon-halogen bond chemistry catalyzed by RdhAs, QueG acts via Co-C bond formation. Our study establishes the common features of Class III cobalamin-dependent enzymes, and reveals an unexpected diversity in the reductive chemistry catalyzed by these enzymes.

Multicopy Single-Stranded DNA Directs Intestinal Colonization of Enteric Pathogens

Multicopy single-stranded DNAs (msDNAs) are hybrid RNA-DNA molecules encoded on retroelements called retrons and produced by the action of retron reverse transcriptases. Retrons are widespread in bacteria but the natural function of msDNA has remained elusive despite 30 years of study. The major roadblock to elucidation of the function of these unique molecules has been the lack of any identifiable phenotypes for mutants unable to make msDNA. We report that msDNA of the zoonotic pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium is necessary for colonization of the intestine. Similarly, we observed a defect in intestinal persistence in an enteropathogenic E. coli mutant lacking its retron reverse transcriptase. Under anaerobic conditions in the absence of msDNA, proteins of central anaerobic metabolism needed for Salmonella colonization of the intestine are dysregulated. We show that the msDNA-deficient mutant can utilize nitrate, but not other alternate electron acceptors in anaerobic conditions. Consistent with the availability of nitrate in the inflamed gut, a neutrophilic inflammatory response partially rescued the ability of a mutant lacking msDNA to colonize the intestine. These findings together indicate that the mechanistic basis of msDNA function during Salmonella colonization of the intestine is proper production of proteins needed for anaerobic metabolism. We further conclude that a natural function of msDNA is to regulate protein abundance, the first attributable function for any msDNA. Our data provide novel insight into the function of this mysterious molecule that likely represents a new class of regulatory molecules.

5-Aminolevulinic acid production in engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum via C5 biosynthesis pathway

ALA (5-aminolevulinic acid) is an important intermediate in the synthesis of tetrapyrroles and the use of ALA has been gradually increasing in many fields, including medicine and agriculture. In this study, improved biological production of ALA in Corynebacterium glutamicum was achieved by overexpressing glutamate-initiated C5 pathway. For this purpose, copies of the glutamyl t-RNA reductase HemA from several bacteria were mutated by site-directed mutagenesis of which a HemA version from Salmonella typhimurium exhibited the highest ALA production. Cultivation of the HemA-expressing strain produced approximately 204 mg/L of ALA, while co-expression with HemL (glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminotransferase) increased ALA concentration to 457 mg/L, representing 11.6- and 25.9-fold increases over the control strain (17 mg/L of ALA). Further effects of metabolic perturbation were investigated, leading to penicillin addition that further improves ALA production to 584 mg/L. In an optimized flask fermentation, engineered C. glutamicum strains expressing the HemA and hemAL operon produced up to 1.1 and 2.2g/L ALA, respectively, under glutamate-producing conditions. The final yields represent 10.7- and 22.0-fold increases over the control strain (0.1g/L of ALA). From these findings, ALA biosynthesis from glucose was successfully demonstrated and this study is the first to report ALA overproduction in C. glutamicum via metabolic engineering.

Antivitamins for Medicinal Applications

Antivitamins represent a broad class of compounds that counteract the essential effects of vitamins. The symptoms triggered by such antinutritional factors resemble those of vitamin deficiencies, but can be successfully reversed by treating patients with the intact vitamin. Despite being undesirable for healthy organisms, the toxicities of these compounds present considerable interest for biological and medicinal purposes. Indeed, antivitamins played fundamental roles in the development of pioneering antibiotic and antiproliferative drugs, such as prontosil and aminopterin. Their development and optimisation were made possible by the study, throughout the 20th century, of the vitamins' and antivitamins' functions in metabolic processes. However, even with this thorough knowledge, commercialised antivitamin-based drugs are still nowadays limited to antagonists of vitamins B9 and K. The antivitamin field thus still needs to be explored more intensely, in view of the outstanding therapeutic success exhibited by several antivitamin-based medicines. Here we summarise historical achievements and discuss critically recent developments, opportunities and potential limitations of the antivitamin approach, with a special focus on antivitamins K, B9 and B12 .

Reductive dehalogenase structure suggests a mechanism for B12-dependent dehalogenation

Organohalide chemistry underpins many industrial and agricultural processes, and a large proportion of environmental pollutants are organohalides. Nevertheless, organohalide chemistry is not exclusively of anthropogenic origin, with natural abiotic and biological processes contributing to the global halide cycle. Reductive dehalogenases are responsible for biological dehalogenation in organohalide respiring bacteria, with substrates including polychlorinated biphenyls or dioxins. Reductive dehalogenases form a distinct subfamily of cobalamin (B12)-dependent enzymes that are usually membrane associated and oxygen sensitive, hindering detailed studies. Here we report the characterization of a soluble, oxygen-tolerant reductive dehalogenase and, by combining structure determination with EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) spectroscopy and simulation, show that a direct interaction between the cobalamin cobalt and the substrate halogen underpins catalysis. In contrast to the carbon-cobalt bond chemistry catalysed by the other cobalamin-dependent subfamilies, we propose that reductive dehalogenases achieve reduction of the organohalide substrate via halogen-cobalt bond formation. This presents a new model in both organohalide and cobalamin (bio)chemistry that will guide future exploitation of these enzymes in bioremediation or biocatalysis.

Aquatic metagenomes implicate Thaumarchaeota in global cobalamin production

Cobalamin (vitamin B12) is a complex metabolite and essential cofactor required by many branches of life, including most eukaryotic phytoplankton. Algae and other cobalamin auxotrophs rely on environmental cobalamin supplied from a relatively small set of cobalamin-producing prokaryotic taxa. Although several Bacteria have been implicated in cobalamin biosynthesis and associated with algal symbiosis, the involvement of Archaea in cobalamin production is poorly understood, especially with respect to the Thaumarchaeota. Based on the detection of cobalamin synthesis genes in available thaumarchaeotal genomes, we hypothesized that Thaumarchaeota, which are ubiquitous and abundant in aquatic environments, have an important role in cobalamin biosynthesis within global aquatic ecosystems. To test this hypothesis, we examined cobalamin synthesis genes across sequenced thaumarchaeotal genomes and 430 metagenomes from a diverse range of marine, freshwater and hypersaline environments. Our analysis demonstrates that all available thaumarchaeotal genomes possess cobalamin synthesis genes, predominantly from the anaerobic pathway, suggesting widespread genetic capacity for cobalamin synthesis. Furthermore, although bacterial cobalamin genes dominated most surface marine metagenomes, thaumarchaeotal cobalamin genes dominated metagenomes from polar marine environments, increased with depth in marine water columns, and displayed seasonality, with increased winter abundance observed in time-series datasets (e.g., L4 surface water in the English Channel). Our results also suggest niche partitioning between thaumarchaeotal and cyanobacterial ribosomal and cobalamin synthesis genes across all metagenomic datasets analyzed. These results provide strong evidence for specific biogeographical distributions of thaumarchaeotal cobalamin genes, expanding our understanding of the global biogeochemical roles played by Thaumarchaeota in aquatic environments.

Development of a two-step cultivation strategy for the production of vitamin B12 by Bacillus megaterium

Background

Vitamin B12 is a fascinating molecule which acts as a co-factor in the metabolism of many organisms, especially affecting DNA synthesis and regulation, fatty acid synthesis and energy production. The synthesis of vitamin B12 is limited to a few of bacteria and archaea. Therefore, industrial microbial fermentation is used to meet annual demands worldwide of vitamin B12 and as an alternative method to the chemical synthesis which requires at least 60 steps that is uneconomical. Bacillus megaterium is one of vitamin B12 producers and an ideal host for many biotechnology applications and being one of the best tools for the industrial production of several enzymes. Therefore, a two-step optimization strategy was established to produce high yield of vitamin B12 by B. megaterium through the provision of the production requirements and the suitable conditions for the biosynthesis of vitamin B12.

Results

We achieved the optimum conditions for the fermentation process of B. megaterium to produce high yield of vitamin B12 in a practical way based on statistical design and analysis which allowed vitamin B12 production to increase up to 759-fold (204.46 μg/l) as compared with control without parameters (0.26 μg/L). High performance liquid chromatography coupled to variable wavelength detector and mass spectrometry has been used to identify vitamin B12 forms and confirm the results.

Conclusions

We developed the fermentation process of B. megaterium to enhance the production of vitamin B12 by providing the required supplements for the synthesis of vitamin B12 (CoCl₂, δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole (DMB)) and dividing the fermentation process into three stages. In addition, the optimum incubation times of the three fermentation stages were investigated and performed with reducing number of experimental and evaluated multiple parameters and their interactions by using statistical experimental design and analysis. All of these strategies has proven successful in enhancing the production of vitamin B12 up to 204.46 μg/l and demonstrated that B. megaterium could be a good candidate for the industrial production of vitamin B12.

Towards a cell factory for vitamin B12 production in Bacillus megaterium: bypassing of the cobalamin riboswitch control elements

Bacillus megaterium is a bacterium that has been used in the past for the industrial production of vitamin B12 (cobalamin), the anti-pernicious anaemia factor. Cobalamin is a modified tetrapyrrole with a cobalt ion coordinated within its macrocycle. More recently, B. megaterium has been developed as a host for the high-yield production of recombinant proteins using a xylose inducible promoter system. Herein, we revisit cobalamin production in B. megaterium DSM319. We have investigated the importance of cobalt for optimum growth and cobalamin production. The cobaltochelatase (CbiX(L)) is encoded within a 14-gene cobalamin biosynthetic (cbi) operon, whose gene-products oversee the transformation of uroporphyrinogen III into adenosylcobyrinic acid a,c-diamide, a key precursor of cobalamin synthesis. The production of CbiX(L) in response to exogenous cobalt was monitored. The metal was found to stimulate cobalamin biosynthesis and decrease the levels of CbiX(L). From this we were able to show that the entire cbi operon is transcriptionally regulated by a B12-riboswitch, with a switch-off point at approximately 5 nM cobalamin. To bypass the effects of the B12-riboswitch the cbi operon was cloned without these regulatory elements. Growth of these strains on minimal media supplemented with glycerol as a carbon source resulted in significant increases in cobalamin production (up to 200 μg L(-1)). In addition, a range of partially amidated intermediates up to adenosylcobyric acid was detected. These findings outline a potential way to develop B. megaterium as a cell factory for cobalamin production using cheap raw materials.

Unpaired electrons as probes of catalytic systems

An overview is provided of the importance of molecular species containing unpaired electrons in catalytic systems, as revealed using ESR spectroscopy. The review aims to demonstrate the considerable extent of scientific progress that has been made in this broad topic during the past few decades. Studies of catalytically active surfaces, including zeolites, are surveyed, and the detection of radical species, formed as intermediates in their reactions, using matrix isolation and spin-trapping techniques. Radical cation formation in zeolites is discussed, and the employment of muon spin rotation and relaxation techniques to study the mobility of labelled radicals in various porous and catalytic media. Among the specific types of catalytic media considered are those for photocatalysis, water splitting, degradation of environmental pollutants, hydrocarbon conversions, fuel cells and sensor devices employing graphene. The review concludes with recent developments in the study of enzymes and their reactions, using ESR-based methods.

Planar substrate-binding site dictates the specificity of ECF-type nickel/cobalt transporters

The energy-coupling factor (ECF) transporters are multi-subunit protein complexes that mediate uptake of transition-metal ions and vitamins in about 50% of the prokaryotes, including bacteria and archaea. Biological and structural studies have been focused on ECF transporters for vitamins, but the molecular mechanism by which ECF systems transport metal ions from the environment remains unknown. Here we report the first crystal structure of a NikM, TtNikM2, the substrate-binding component (S component) of an ECF-type nickel transporter from Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis. In contrast to the structures of the vitamin-specific S proteins with six transmembrane segments (TSs), TtNikM2 possesses an additional TS at its N-terminal region, resulting in an extracellular N-terminus. The highly conserved N-terminal loop inserts into the center of TtNikM2 and occludes a region corresponding to the substrate-binding sites of the vitamin-specific S components. Nickel binds to NikM via its coordination to four nitrogen atoms, which are derived from Met1, His2 and His67 residues. These nitrogen atoms form an approximately square-planar geometry, similar to that of the metal ion-binding sites in the amino-terminal Cu(2+)- and Ni(2+)-binding (ATCUN) motif. Replacements of residues in NikM contributing to nickel coordination compromised the Ni-transport activity. Furthermore, systematic quantum chemical investigation indicated that this geometry enables NikM to also selectively recognize Co(2+). Indeed, the structure of TtNikM2 containing a bound Co(2+) ion has almost no conformational change compared to the structure that contains a nickel ion. Together, our data reveal an evolutionarily conserved mechanism underlying the metal selectivity of EcfS proteins, and provide insights into the ion-translocation process mediated by ECF transporters.