The structure of yeast glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase and modeling of its interaction with tRNA

Allosteric inhibition of tRNA synthetase Gln4 by N-pyrimidinyl-β-thiophenylacrylamides exerts highly selective antifungal activity

Candida species are among the most prevalent causes of systemic fungal infections, which account for ∼1.5 million annual fatalities. Here, we build on a compound screen that identified the molecule N-pyrimidinyl-β-thiophenylacrylamide (NP-BTA), which strongly inhibits Candida albicans growth. NP-BTA was hypothesized to target C. albicans glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase, Gln4. Here, we confirmed through in vitro amino-acylation assays NP-BTA is a potent inhibitor of Gln4, and we defined how NP-BTA arrests Gln4's transferase activity using co-crystallography. This analysis also uncovered Met496 as a critical residue for the compound's species-selective target engagement and potency. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies demonstrated the NP-BTA scaffold is subject to oxidative and non-oxidative metabolism, making it unsuitable for systemic administration. In a mouse dermatomycosis model, however, topical application of the compound provided significant therapeutic benefit. This work expands the repertoire of antifungal protein synthesis target mechanisms and provides a path to develop Gln4 inhibitors.

Unraveling the peculiarities and development of novel inhibitors of leishmanial arginyl-tRNA synthetase

Aminoacylation by tRNA synthetase is a crucial part of protein synthesis and is widely recognized as a therapeutic target for drug development. Unlike the arginyl-tRNA synthetases (ArgRSs) reported previously, here, we report an ArgRS of Leishmania donovani (LdArgRS) that can follow the canonical two-step aminoacylation process. Since a previously uncharacterized insertion region is present within its catalytic domain, we implemented the splicing by overlap extension PCR (SOE-PCR) method to create a deletion mutant (ΔIns-LdArgRS) devoid of this region to investigate its function. Notably, the purified LdArgRS and ΔIns-LdArgRS exhibited different oligomeric states along with variations in their enzymatic activity. The full-length protein showed better catalytic efficiency than ΔIns-LdArgRS, and the insertion region was identified as the tRNA binding domain. In addition, a benzothiazolo-coumarin derivative (Comp-7j) possessing high pharmacokinetic properties was recognized as a competitive and more specific inhibitor of LdArgRS than its human counterpart. Removal of the insertion region altered the mode of inhibition for ΔIns-LdArgRS and caused a reduction in the inhibitor's binding affinity. Both purified proteins depicted variances in the secondary structural content upon ligand binding and thus, thermostability. Apart from the trypanosomatid-specific insertion and Rossmann fold motif, LdArgRS revealed typical structural characteristics of ArgRSs, and Comp-7j was found to bind within the ATP binding pocket. Furthermore, the placement of tRNAArg near the insertion region enhanced the stability and compactness of LdArgRS compared to other ligands. This study thus reports a unique ArgRS with respect to catalytic as well as structural properties, which can be considered a plausible drug target for the derivation of novel anti-leishmanial agents.

Leveraging machine learning essentiality predictions and chemogenomic interactions to identify antifungal targets

Fungal pathogens pose a global threat to human health, with Candida albicans among the leading killers. Systematic analysis of essential genes provides a powerful strategy to discover potential antifungal targets. Here, we build a machine learning model to generate genome-wide gene essentiality predictions for C. albicans and expand the largest functional genomics resource in this pathogen (the GRACE collection) by 866 genes. Using this model and chemogenomic analyses, we define the function of three uncharacterized essential genes with roles in kinetochore function, mitochondrial integrity, and translation, and identify the glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase Gln4 as the target of N-pyrimidinyl-β-thiophenylacrylamide (NP-BTA), an antifungal compound.

RNA Structural Dynamics As Captured by Molecular Simulations: A Comprehensive Overview

With both catalytic and genetic functions, ribonucleic acid (RNA) is perhaps the most pluripotent chemical species in molecular biology, and its functions are intimately linked to its structure and dynamics. Computer simulations, and in particular atomistic molecular dynamics (MD), allow structural dynamics of biomolecular systems to be investigated with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. We here provide a comprehensive overview of the fast-developing field of MD simulations of RNA molecules. We begin with an in-depth, evaluatory coverage of the most fundamental methodological challenges that set the basis for the future development of the field, in particular, the current developments and inherent physical limitations of the atomistic force fields and the recent advances in a broad spectrum of enhanced sampling methods. We also survey the closely related field of coarse-grained modeling of RNA systems. After dealing with the methodological aspects, we provide an exhaustive overview of the available RNA simulation literature, ranging from studies of the smallest RNA oligonucleotides to investigations of the entire ribosome. Our review encompasses tetranucleotides, tetraloops, a number of small RNA motifs, A-helix RNA, kissing-loop complexes, the TAR RNA element, the decoding center and other important regions of the ribosome, as well as assorted others systems. Extended sections are devoted to RNA-ion interactions, ribozymes, riboswitches, and protein/RNA complexes. Our overview is written for as broad of an audience as possible, aiming to provide a much-needed interdisciplinary bridge between computation and experiment, together with a perspective on the future of the field.

The crystal structure of human GlnRS provides basis for the development of neurological disorders

Cytosolic glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase (GlnRS) is the singular enzyme responsible for translation of glutamine codons. Compound heterozygous mutations in GlnRS cause severe brain disorders by a poorly understood mechanism. Herein, we present crystal structures of the wild type and two pathological mutants of human GlnRS, which reveal, for the first time, the domain organization of the intact enzyme and the structure of the functionally important N-terminal domain (NTD). Pathological mutations mapping in the NTD alter the domain structure, and decrease catalytic activity and stability of GlnRS, whereas missense mutations in the catalytic domain induce misfolding of the enzyme. Our results suggest that the reduced catalytic efficiency and a propensity of GlnRS mutants to misfold trigger the disease development. This report broadens the spectrum of brain pathologies elicited by protein misfolding and provides a paradigm for understanding the role of mutations in aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in neurological diseases.

MD Simulations of tRNA and Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases: Dynamics, Folding, Binding, and Allostery

While tRNA and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are classes of biomolecules that have been extensively studied for decades, the finer details of how they carry out their fundamental biological functions in protein synthesis remain a challenge. Recent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are verifying experimental observations and providing new insight that cannot be addressed from experiments alone. Throughout the review, we briefly discuss important historical events to provide a context for how far the field has progressed over the past few decades. We then review the background of tRNA molecules, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and current state of the art MD simulation techniques for those who may be unfamiliar with any of those fields. Recent MD simulations of tRNA dynamics and folding and of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase dynamics and mechanistic characterizations are discussed. We highlight the recent successes and discuss how important questions can be addressed using current MD simulations techniques. We also outline several natural next steps for computational studies of AARS:tRNA complexes.

Recombinant expression, purification, and crystallization of the glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase from Toxoplasma gondii

Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases play a critical role in protein synthesis by providing precursor transfer-RNA molecules correctly charged with their cognate amino-acids. The essential nature of these enzymes make them attractive targets for designing new drugs against important pathogenic protozoans like Toxoplasma. Because no structural data currently exists for a protozoan glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase (QRS), an understanding of its potential as a drug target and its function in the assembly of the Toxoplasma multi-aminoacyl tRNA (MARS) complex is therefore lacking. Here we describe the optimization of expression and purification conditions that permitted the recovery and crystallization of both domains of the Toxoplasma QRS enzyme from a heterologous Escherichia coli expression system. Expression of full-length QRS was only achieved after the addition of an N-terminal histidine affinity tag and the isolated protein was active on both cellular and in vitro produced Toxoplasma tRNA. Taking advantage of the proteolytic susceptibility of QRS to cleavage into component domains, N-terminal glutathione S-transferase (GST) motif-containing domain fragments were isolated and crystallization conditions discovered. Isolation of the C-terminal catalytic domain was accomplished after subcloning the domain and optimizing expression conditions. Purified catalytic domain survived cryogenic storage and yielded large diffraction-quality crystals over-night after optimization of screening conditions. This work will form the basis of future structural studies into structural-functional relationships of both domains including potential targeted drug-design studies and investigations into the assembly of the Toxoplasma MARS complex.

Structure of the ArgRS-GlnRS-AIMP1 complex and its implications for mammalian translation

In higher eukaryotes, one of the two arginyl-tRNA synthetases (ArgRSs) has evolved to have an extended N-terminal domain that plays a crucial role in protein synthesis and cell growth and in integration into the multisynthetase complex (MSC). Here, we report a crystal structure of the MSC subcomplex comprising ArgRS, glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase (GlnRS), and the auxiliary factor aminoacyl tRNA synthetase complex-interacting multifunctional protein 1 (AIMP1)/p43. In this complex, the N-terminal domain of ArgRS forms a long coiled-coil structure with the N-terminal helix of AIMP1 and anchors the C-terminal core of GlnRS, thereby playing a central role in assembly of the three components. Mutation of AIMP1 destabilized the N-terminal helix of ArgRS and abrogated its catalytic activity. Mutation of the N-terminal helix of ArgRS liberated GlnRS, which is known to control cell death. This ternary complex was further anchored to AIMP2/p38 through interaction with AIMP1. These findings demonstrate the importance of interactions between the N-terminal domains of ArgRS and AIMP1 for the catalytic and noncatalytic activities of ArgRS and for the assembly of the higher-order MSC protein complex.

Coevolution of specificity determinants in eukaryotic glutamyl- and glutaminyl-tRNA synthetases

The glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase (GlnRS) enzyme, which pairs glutamine with tRNA(Gln) for protein synthesis, evolved by gene duplication in early eukaryotes from a nondiscriminating glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (GluRS) that aminoacylates both tRNA(Gln) and tRNA(Glu) with glutamate. This ancient GluRS also separately differentiated to exclude tRNA(Gln) as a substrate, and the resulting discriminating GluRS and GlnRS further acquired additional protein domains assisting function in cis (the GlnRS N-terminal Yqey domain) or in trans (the Arc1p protein associating with GluRS). These added domains are absent in contemporary bacterial GlnRS and GluRS. Here, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae enzymes as models, we find that the eukaryote-specific protein domains substantially influence amino acid binding, tRNA binding and aminoacylation efficiency, but they play no role in either specific nucleotide readout or discrimination against noncognate tRNA. Eukaryotic tRNA(Gln) and tRNA(Glu) recognition determinants are found in equivalent positions and are mutually exclusive to a significant degree, with key nucleotides located adjacent to portions of the protein structure that differentiated during the evolution of archaeal nondiscriminating GluRS to GlnRS. These findings provide important corroboration for the evolutionary model and suggest that the added eukaryotic domains arose in response to distinctive selective pressures associated with the greater complexity of the eukaryotic translational apparatus. We also find that the affinity of GluRS for glutamate is significantly increased when Arc1p is not associated with the enzyme. This is consistent with the lower concentration of intracellular glutamate and the dissociation of the Arc1p:GluRS complex upon the diauxic shift to respiratory conditions.

A new view on crystal harvesting

X-ray crystallography typically requires the mounting of crystals, which can make the sample difficult to manipulate when it is small and the microscope objective is close to the crystallization plate. By simply moving the objective to the bottom of a clear crystallization plate (inverting the normal view), crystals were able to be manipulated and harvested from wells having a 0.9 mm diameter and 5.0 mm depth. The mounting system enabled the structural solution of the 187 amino acid N-terminal domain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase from crystals that appeared during high-throughput screening but proved recalcitrant to scale-up and optimization. While not a general mounting solution, the simple expedient of removing the objective lens from the area where manipulation and harvesting occur greatly facilitates the manual, or even automated, process.

Evolutionary insights about bacterial GlxRS from whole genome analyses: is GluRS2 a chimera?

Background

Evolutionary histories of glutamyl-tRNA synthetase (GluRS) and glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase (GlnRS) in bacteria are convoluted. After the divergence of eubacteria and eukarya, bacterial GluRS glutamylated both tRNA^Gln and tRNA^Glu until GlnRS appeared by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from eukaryotes or a duplicate copy of GluRS (GluRS2) that only glutamylates tRNA^Gln appeared. The current understanding is based on limited sequence data and not always compatible with available experimental results. In particular, the origin of GluRS2 is poorly understood.

Results

A large database of bacterial GluRS, GlnRS, tRNA^Gln and the trimeric aminoacyl-tRNA-dependent amidotransferase (gatCAB), constructed from whole genomes by functionally annotating and classifying these enzymes according to their mutual presence and absence in the genome, was analyzed. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the catalytic and the anticodon-binding domains of functional GluRS2 (as in Helicobacter pylori) were independently acquired from evolutionarily distant hosts by HGT. Non-functional GluRS2 (as in Thermotoga maritima), on the other hand, was found to contain an anticodon-binding domain appended to a gene-duplicated catalytic domain. Several genomes were found to possess both GluRS2 and GlnRS, even though they share the common function of aminoacylating tRNA^Gln. GlnRS was widely distributed among bacterial phyla and although phylogenetic analyses confirmed the origin of most bacterial GlnRS to be through a single HGT from eukarya, many GlnRS sequences also appeared with evolutionarily distant phyla in phylogenetic tree. A GlnRS pseudogene could be identified in Sorangium cellulosum.

Conclusions

Our analysis broadens the current understanding of bacterial GlxRS evolution and highlights the idiosyncratic evolution of GluRS2. Specifically we show that: i) GluRS2 is a chimera of mismatching catalytic and anticodon-binding domains, ii) the appearance of GlnRS and GluRS2 in a single bacterial genome indicating that the evolutionary histories of the two enzymes are distinct, iii) GlnRS is more widespread in bacteria than is believed, iv) bacterial GlnRS appeared both by HGT from eukarya and intra-bacterial HGT, v) presence of GlnRS pseudogene shows that many bacteria could not retain the newly acquired eukaryal GlnRS. The functional annotation of GluRS, without recourse to experiments, performed in this work, demonstrates the inherent and unique advantages of using whole genome over isolated sequence databases.