Hexamerization of Geranylgeranylglyceryl Phosphate Synthase Ensures Structural Integrity and Catalytic Activity at High Temperatures

Optogenetics with Atomic Precision─A Comprehensive Review of Optical Control of Protein Function through Genetic Code Expansion

Conditional control of protein activity is important in order to elucidate the particular functions and interactions of proteins, their regulators, and their substrates, as well as their impact on the behavior of a cell or organism. Optical control provides a perhaps optimal means of introducing spatiotemporal control over protein function as it allows for tunable, rapid, and noninvasive activation of protein activity in its native environment. One method of introducing optical control over protein activity is through the introduction of photocaged and photoswitchable noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) through genetic code expansion in cells and animals. Genetic incorporation of photoactive ncAAs at key residues in a protein provides a tool for optical activation, or sometimes deactivation, of protein activity. Importantly, the incorporation site can typically be rationally selected based on structural, mechanistic, or computational information. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the applications of photocaged lysine, tyrosine, cysteine, serine, histidine, glutamate, and aspartate derivatives, as well as photoswitchable phenylalanine analogues. The extensive and diverse list of proteins that have been placed under optical control demonstrates the broad applicability of this methodology.

Biocatalytic Ether Lipid Synthesis by an Archaeal Glycerolprenylase

Although ethers are common in secondary natural products, they are an underrepresented functional group in primary metabolism. As such, there are comparably few enzymes capable of constructing ether bonds in a general fashion. However, such enzymes are highly sought after for synthetic applications as they typically operate with higher regioselectivity and under milder conditions than traditional organochemical approaches. To expand the repertoire of well characterized ether synthases, we herein report on a promiscuous archaeal prenyltransferase from the scarcely researched family of geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthases (GGGPSs or G3PSs). We show that the ultrastable Archaeoglobus fulgidus G3PS makes various (E)- and (Z)-configured prenyl glycerol ethers from the corresponding pyrophosphates while exerting perfect control over the configuration at the glycerol unit. Based on experimental and computational data, we propose a mechanism for this enzyme which involves an intermediary prenyl carbocation equivalent. As such, this study provides the fundamental understanding and methods to introduce G3PSs into the biocatalytic alkylation toolbox.

The catalytic and structural basis of archaeal glycerophospholipid biosynthesis

Archaeal glycerophospholipids are the main constituents of the cytoplasmic membrane in the archaeal domain of life and fundamentally differ in chemical composition compared to bacterial phospholipids. They consist of isoprenyl chains ether-bonded to glycerol-1-phosphate. In contrast, bacterial glycerophospholipids are composed of fatty acyl chains ester-bonded to glycerol-3-phosphate. This largely domain-distinguishing feature has been termed the “lipid-divide”. The chemical composition of archaeal membranes contributes to the ability of archaea to survive and thrive in extreme environments. However, ether-bonded glycerophospholipids are not only limited to extremophiles and found also in mesophilic archaea. Resolving the structural basis of glycerophospholipid biosynthesis is a key objective to provide insights in the early evolution of membrane formation and to deepen our understanding of the molecular basis of extremophilicity. Many of the glycerophospholipid enzymes are either integral membrane proteins or membrane-associated, and hence are intrinsically difficult to study structurally. However, in recent years, the crystal structures of several key enzymes have been solved, while unresolved enzymatic steps in the archaeal glycerophospholipid biosynthetic pathway have been clarified providing further insights in the lipid-divide and the evolution of early life.

How DNA affects the hyperthermophilic protein Ape10b2 for oligomerization: an investigation using multiple short molecular dynamics simulations

Alba2 is a hyperthermophilic DNA-binding protein, and DNA plays a crucial role in the Alba2 oligomerization process. It is a pity that there is limited research in terms of how DNA affects the conformational change of Alba2 in oligomerization. Herein, we complement the crystal structure of the Ape10b2 (belongs to Alba2)-dsDNA complex (PDB ID: 3U6Y) and employ multiple short molecular dynamics (MSMD) simulations to illuminate the influence of DNA on Ape10b2 at four temperatures (300, 343, 363, and 373 K). Our results indicate that DNA could cause the conformational changes of two important regions (loop1 and loop5), which may be beneficial for protein oligomerization. The results of hydrogen bond analysis show that the increasing number of hydrogen bonds between two monomers of Ape10b2 may also be a favorable factor for oligomerization. In addition, Ape10b2 can stabilize DNA by electrostatic interactions with an increase in temperature, and five residues (Arg40, Arg42, Asn43, Asn45, and Arg46) play a stabilizing role during protein binding to DNA. Our findings could help in understanding the favorable factors leading to protein oligomerization, which contributes to enzyme engineering research from an industrial perspective.

Controlling Enzymatic Activity by Modulating the Oligomerization State via Chemical Rescue and Optical Control

Selective switching of enzymatic activity has been a longstanding goal in synthetic biology. Drastic changes in activity upon mutational manipulation of the oligomerization state of enzymes have frequently been reported in the literature, but scarcely exploited for switching. Using geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase as a model, we demonstrate that catalytic activity can be efficiently controlled by exogenous modulation of the association state. We introduced a lysine‐to‐cysteine mutation, leading to the breakdown of the active hexamer into dimers with impaired catalytic efficiency. Addition of bromoethylamine chemically rescued the enzyme by restoring hexamerization and activity. As an alternative method, we incorporated the photosensitive unnatural amino acid o‐nitrobenzyl‐O‐tyrosine (ONBY) into the hexamerization interface. This again led to inactive dimers, but the hexameric state and activity could be recovered by UV‐light induced cleavage of ONBY. For both approaches, we obtained switching factors greater than 350‐fold, which compares favorably with previously reported activity changes that were caused by site‐directed mutagenesis.

Hexamerization and thermostability emerged very early during geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase evolution

A large number of archaea live in hyperthermophilic environments. In consequence, their proteins need to adopt to these harsh conditions, including the enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of their membrane ether lipids. The enzyme that catalyzes the formation of the first ether bond in these lipids, geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase (GGGPS), exists as a hexamer in many hyperthermophilic archaea, and a recent study suggested that hexamerization serves for a fine‐tuning of the flexibility – stability trade‐off under hyperthermophilic conditions. We have recently reconstructed the sequences of ancestral group II GGGPS enzymes and now present a detailed biochemical characterization of nine of these predecessors, which allowed us to trace back the evolution of hexameric GGGPS and to draw conclusions about the properties of extant GGGPS branches that were not accessible to experiments up to now. Almost all ancestral GGGPS proteins formed hexamers, which demonstrates that hexamerization is even more widespread among the GGGPS family than previously assumed. Furthermore, all experimentally studied ancestral proteins showed high thermostability. Our results indicate that the hexameric oligomerization state and thermostability were present very early during the evolution of group II GGGPS, while the fine tuning of the flexibility – stability trade‐off developed very late, independent of the emergence of hexamerization.

Structural studies of geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase, a prenyltransferase found in thermophilic Euryarchaeota

Archaea are uniquely adapted to thrive in harsh environments, and one of these adaptations involves the archaeal membrane lipids, which are characterized by their isoprenoid alkyl chains connected via ether linkages to glycerol 1-phosphate. The membrane lipids of the thermophilic and acidophilic euryarchaeota Thermoplasma volcanium are exclusively glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers. The first committed step in the biosynthetic pathway of these archaeal lipids is the formation of the ether linkage between glycerol 1-phosphate and geranylgeranyl diphosphate, and is catalyzed by the enzyme geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase (GGGPS). The 1.72 Å resolution crystal structure of GGGPS from T. volcanium (TvGGGPS) in complex with glycerol and sulfate is reported here. The crystal structure reveals TvGGGPS to be a dimer, which is consistent with the absence of the aromatic anchor residue in helix α5a that is required for hexamerization in other GGGPS homologs; the hexameric quaternary structure in GGGPS is thought to provide thermostability. A phylogenetic analysis of the Euryarchaeota and a parallel ancestral state reconstruction investigated the relationship between optimal growth temperature and the ancestral sequences. The presence of an aromatic anchor residue is not explained by temperature as an ecological parameter. An examination of the active site of the TvGGGPS dimer revealed that it may be able to accommodate longer isoprenoid substrates, supporting an alternative pathway of isoprenoid membrane-lipid synthesis.

Library Selection with a Randomized Repertoire of (βα)8-Barrel Enzymes Results in Unexpected Induction of Gene Expression

The potential of the frequently encountered (βα)₈-barrel fold to acquire new functions was tested by an approach combining random mutagenesis and selection in vivo. For this purpose, the genes encoding 52 different phosphate-binding (βα)₈-barrel proteins were subjected to error-prone PCR and cloned into an expression plasmid. The resulting mixed repertoire was used to transform different auxotrophic Escherichia coli strains, each lacking an enzyme with a phosphate-containing substrate. After plating of the different transformants on minimal medium, growth was observed only for two strains, lacking either the gene for the serine phosphatase SerB or the phosphoserine aminotransferase SerC. The same mutants of the E. coli genes nanE (encoding a putative N-acetylmannosamine-6-phosphate 2-epimerase) and pdxJ (encoding the pyridoxine 5'-phosphate synthase) were responsible for rescuing both ΔserB and ΔserC. Unexpectedly, the complementing NanE and PdxJ variants did not catalyze the SerB or SerC reactions in vitro. Instead, RT-qPCR, RNAseq, and transcriptome analysis showed that they rescue the deletions by enlisting the help of endogenous E. coli enzymes HisB and HisC through exclusive up-regulation of histidine operon transcription. While the promiscuous SerB activity of HisB is well-established, our data indicate that HisC is promiscuous for the SerC reaction, as well. The successful rescue of ΔserB and ΔserC through point mutations and recruitment of additional amino acids in NanE and PdxJ provides another example for the adaptability of the (βα)₈-barrel fold.

Crystal structure of (S)-3-O-geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase from Thermoplasma acidophilum in complex with the substrate sn-glycerol 1-phosphate

(S)-3-O-Geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase (GGGPS) catalyzes the initial ether-bond formation between sn-glycerol 1-phosphate (G1P) and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate to synthesize (S)-3-O-geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate in the production of an archaeal cell-membrane lipid molecule. Archaeal GGGPS proteins are divided into two groups (group I and group II). In this study, the crystal structure of the archaeal group II GGGPS from Thermoplasma acidophilum (TaGGGPS) was determined at 2.35 Å resolution. The structure of TaGGGPS showed that it has a TIM-barrel fold, the third helix of which is disordered (α3*), and that it forms a homodimer, although a pre-existing structure of an archaeal group II GGGPS (from Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus) showed a hexameric form. The structure of TaGGGPS showed the precise G1P-recognition mechanism of an archaeal group II GGGPS. The structure of TaGGGPS and molecular-dynamics simulation analysis showed fluctuation of the β2-α2, α3* and α5a regions, which is predicted to be important for substrate uptake and/or product release by TaGGGPS.

Sequence selection by FitSS4ASR alleviates ancestral sequence reconstruction as exemplified for geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase

For evolutionary studies, but also for protein engineering, ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) has become an indispensable tool. The first step of every ASR protocol is the preparation of a representative sequence set containing at most a few hundred recent homologs whose composition determines decisively the outcome of a reconstruction. A common approach for sequence selection consists of several rounds of manual recompilation that is driven by embedded phylogenetic analyses of the varied sequence sets. For ASR of a geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase, we additionally utilized FitSS4ASR, which replaces this time-consuming protocol with an efficient and more rational approach. FitSS4ASR applies orthogonal filters to a set of homologs to eliminate outlier sequences and those bearing only a weak phylogenetic signal. To demonstrate the usefulness of FitSS4ASR, we determined experimentally the oligomerization state of eight predecessors, which is a delicate and taxon-specific property. Corresponding ancestors deduced in a manual approach and by means of FitSS4ASR had the same dimeric or hexameric conformation; this concordance testifies to the efficiency of FitSS4ASR for sequence selection. FitSS4ASR-based results of two other ASR experiments were added to the Supporting Information. Program and documentation are available at https://gitlab.bioinf.ur.de/hek61586/FitSS4ASR.

Contribution of the Oligomeric State to the Thermostability of Isoenzyme 3 from Candida rugosa

Thermophilic proteins have evolved different strategies to maintain structure and function at high temperatures; they have large, hydrophobic cores, and feature increased electrostatic interactions, with disulfide bonds, salt-bridging, and surface charges. Oligomerization is also recognized as a mechanism for protein stabilization to confer a thermophilic adaptation. Mesophilic proteins are less thermostable than their thermophilic homologs, but oligomerization plays an important role in biological processes on a wide variety of mesophilic enzymes, including thermostabilization. The mesophilic yeast Candida rugosa contains a complex family of highly related lipase isoenzymes. Lip3 has been purified and characterized in two oligomeric states, monomer (mLip3) and dimer (dLip3), and crystallized in a dimeric conformation, providing a perfect model for studying the effects of homodimerization on mesophilic enzymes. We studied kinetics and stability at different pHs and temperatures, using the response surface methodology to compare both forms. At the kinetic level, homodimerization expanded Lip3 specificity (serving as a better catalyst on soluble substrates). Indeed, dimerization increased its thermostability by more than 15 °C (maximum temperature for dLip3 was out of the experimental range; >50 °C), and increased the pH stability by nearly one pH unit, demonstrating that oligomerization is a viable strategy for the stabilization of mesophilic enzymes.