Preparation of isotopically labeled spinach acyl-acyl carrier protein for NMR structural studies

NMR as a Tool to Investigate the Processes of Mitochondrial and Cytosolic Iron-Sulfur Cluster Biosynthesis

Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters, the ubiquitous protein cofactors found in all kingdoms of life, perform a myriad of functions including nitrogen fixation, ribosome assembly, DNA repair, mitochondrial respiration, and metabolite catabolism. The biogenesis of Fe-S clusters is a multi-step process that involves the participation of many protein partners. Recent biophysical studies, involving X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), have greatly improved our understanding of these steps. In this review, after describing the biological importance of iron sulfur proteins, we focus on the contributions of NMR spectroscopy has made to our understanding of the structures, dynamics, and interactions of proteins involved in the biosynthesis of Fe-S cluster proteins.

A high yield optimized method for the production of acylated ACPs enabling the analysis of enzymes involved in P. falciparum fatty acid biosynthesis

The natural substrates of the enzymes involved in type-II fatty acid biosynthesis (FAS-II) are acylated acyl carrier proteins (acyl-ACPs). The state of the art method to produce acyl-ACPs involves the transfer of a phosphopantetheine moiety from CoA to apo-ACP by E. coli holo-ACP synthase (EcACPS), yielding holo-ACP which subsequently becomes thioesterified with free fatty acids by the E. coli acyl-ACP synthase (EcAAS). Alternatively, acyl-ACPs can be synthesized by direct transfer of acylated phosphopantetheine moieties from acyl-CoA to apo-ACP by means of EcACPS. The need for native substrates to characterize the FAS-II enzymes of P. falciparum prompted us to investigate the potential and limit of the two methods to efficiently acylate P. falciparum ACP (PfACP) with respect to chain length and β-modification and in preparative amounts. The EcAAS activity is found to be independent from the oxidation state at the β-position and accepts fatty acids as substrates with chain lengths starting from C8 to C20, whereas EcACPS accepts very efficiently acyl-CoAs with chain lengths up to C16, and with decreasing activity also longer chains (C18 to C20). Methods were developed to synthesize and purify preparative amounts of high quality natural substrates that are fully functional for the enzymes of the P. falciparum FAS-II system.

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The apo-form of P. falciparum ACP (PfACP) has been purified to homogeneity.

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PfACP can be acylated very efficiently and in preparative amounts using the improved EcACPS and EcAAS methods.

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Small and long chain fatty acids can be transferred.

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The acylation reaction is independent of the oxidation state at the β-position of the acyl-chains.

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Acyl-PfACPs are fully functional substrates of the corresponding P. falciparum FAS-II enzymes.

Versatility of acyl-acyl carrier protein synthetases

The acyl carrier protein (ACP) requires posttranslational modification with a 4'-phosphopantetheine arm for activity, and this thiol-terminated modification carries cargo between enzymes in ACP-dependent metabolic pathways. We show that acyl-ACP synthetases (AasSs) from different organisms are able to load even, odd, and unnatural fatty acids onto E. coli ACP in vitro. Vibrio harveyi AasS not only shows promiscuity for the acid substrate, but also is active upon various alternate carrier proteins. AasS activity also extends to functional activation in living organisms. We show that exogenously supplied carboxylic acids are loaded onto ACP and extended by the E. coli fatty acid synthase, including unnatural fatty acid analogs. These analogs are further integrated into cellular lipids. In vitro characterization of four different adenylate-forming enzymes allowed us to disambiguate CoA-ligases and AasSs, and further in vivo studies show the potential for functional application in other organisms.

The structural role of the carrier protein--active controller or passive carrier

Common to all FASs, PKSs and NRPSs is a remarkable component, the acyl or peptidyl carrier protein (A/PCP). These take the form of small individual proteins in type II systems or discrete folded domains in the multi-domain type I systems and are characterized by a fold consisting of three major α-helices and between 60-100 amino acids. This protein is central to these biosynthetic systems and it must bind and transport a wide variety of functionalized ligands as well as mediate numerous protein-protein interactions, all of which contribute to efficient enzyme turnover. This review covers the structural and biochemical characterization of carrier proteins, as well as assessing their interactions with different ligands, and other synthase components. Finally, their role as an emerging tool in biotechnology is discussed.

Solution structure of 4'-phosphopantetheine - GmACP3 from Geobacter metallireducens: a specialized acyl carrier protein with atypical structural features and a putative role in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis

GmACP3 from Geobacter metallireducens is a specialized acyl carrier protein (ACP) whose gene, gmet_2339, is located near genes encoding many proteins involved in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis, indicating a likely function for GmACP3 in LPS production. By overexpression in Escherichia coli, about 50% holo-GmACP3 and 50% apo-GmACP3 were obtained. Apo-GmACP3 exhibited slow precipitation and non-monomeric behavior by (15)N NMR relaxation measurements. Addition of 4'-phosphopantetheine (4'-PP) via enzymatic conversion by E. coli holo-ACP synthase resulted in stable >95% holo-GmACP3 that was characterized as monomeric by (15)N relaxation measurements and had no indication of conformational exchange. We have determined a high-resolution solution structure of holo-GmACP3 by standard NMR methods, including refinement with two sets of NH residual dipolar couplings, allowing for a detailed structural analysis of the interactions between 4'-PP and GmACP3. Whereas the overall four helix bundle topology is similar to previously solved ACP structures, this structure has unique characteristics, including an ordered 4'-PP conformation that places the thiol at the entrance to a central hydrophobic cavity near a conserved hydrogen-bonded Trp-His pair. These residues are part of a conserved WDSLxH/N motif found in GmACP3 and its orthologs. The helix locations and the large hydrophobic cavity are more similar to medium- and long-chain acyl-ACPs than to other apo- and holo-ACP structures. Taken together, structural characterization along with bioinformatic analysis of nearby genes suggests that GmACP3 is involved in lipid A acylation, possibly by atypical long-chain hydroxy fatty acids, and potentially is involved in synthesis of secondary metabolites.

The length of the bound fatty acid influences the dynamics of the acyl carrier protein and the stability of the thioester bond

Acyl carrier proteins involved in fatty acid biosynthesis have been shown to exhibit a high degree of conformational flexibility, in that they are able to sequester fatty acid intermediates between 4 and 18 carbons in length. This flexibility has been observed in X-ray and NMR structures of acyl carrier proteins attached to different fatty acids. NMR studies comparing decanoyl-ACP and stearoyl-ACP indicated that ACP exhibits more dynamic motions when bound to longer fatty acids. We have used complementary chemical and NMR methods as an approach to improving our understanding of the effect of fatty acid length on the dynamics of acyl carrier protein. A chemical assay of the accessibility of the acyl thioester to solvent revealed a positive correlation between chain length and rate of hydrolysis. Surprisingly, this linear correlation was biphasic, with accelerated hydrolysis observed for fatty acids longer than 15 carbons. To further understand the motions associated with this acceleration, we collected ¹⁵N relaxation dispersion data for 14:0-, 15:0-, and 16:0-ACP. The greatest dispersions were exhibited by residues that form the entrance to the fatty acid binding pocket. In addition, these dispersions were observed to increase with the length of the fatty acid. Because the exchange rates derived from fitting the data to a two-state model varied from residue to residue, a more complex motional model appears to be required to adequately explain the dynamics. Thus, acyl-ACP offers an interesting system for future investigations of complex protein motions on the micro- and millisecond time scales.

Solution structures of spinach acyl carrier protein with decanoate and stearate

Acyl carrier protein (ACP) is a cofactor in a variety of biosynthetic pathways, including fatty acid metabolism. Thus, it is of interest to determine structures of physiologically relevant ACP-fatty acid complexes. We report here the NMR solution structures of spinach ACP with decanoate (10:0-ACP) and stearate (18:0-ACP) attached to the 4'-phosphopantetheine prosthetic group. The protein in the fatty acid complexes adopts a single conformer, unlike apo- and holo-ACP, which interconvert in solution between two major conformers. The protein component of both 10:0- and 18:0-ACP adopts the four-helix bundle topology characteristic of ACP, and a fatty acid binding cavity was identified in both structures. Portions of the protein close in space to the fatty acid and the 4'-phosphopantetheine were identified using filtered/edited NOESY experiments. A docking protocol was used to generate protein structures containing bound fatty acid for 10:0- and 18:0-ACP. In both cases, the predominant structure contained fatty acid bound down the center of the helical bundle, in agreement with the location of the fatty acid binding pockets. These structures demonstrate the conformational flexibility of spinach ACP and suggest how the protein changes to accommodate its myriad binding partners.