Structure-function analyses of isochorismate-pyruvate lyase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa suggest differing catalytic mechanisms for the two pericyclic reactions of this bifunctional enzyme

Enzymatic reconstitution of salicylate formation in promysalin biosynthesis

Promysalin is an amphipathic antibiotic isolated from Pseudomonas promysalinigenes (previously Pseudomonas putida RW10S1) which shows potent antibacterial activities against Gram-negative pathogens by inactivating succinate dehydrogenase. Based on the in-vivo studies, promysalin is hypothesized to be assembled from three building blocks: salicylic acid, proline, and myristic acid via a proposed but uncharacterized hybrid NRPS-PKS biosynthetic pathway. So far, no in-vitro biosynthetic studies have been reported for this promising antibiotic. Here, we report the first in-vitro reconstitution and biochemical characterization of two early enzymes on the pathway: PpgH, an isochorismate synthase (IS), and PpgG, an isochorismate pyruvate lyase (IPL) which are involved in the biosynthesis of salicylic acid, the polar fragment of promysalin. We also report a secondary chorismate mutase (CM) activity for PpgG. Based on our biochemical experiments, preliminary mechanistic proposals have been postulated for PpgH and PpgG. We believe this study will lay a strong foundation for elucidating the functions and mechanisms of other intriguing enzymes of the promysalin biosynthesis pathway, which may potentially unravel interesting enzyme chemistries and promote pathway engineering in the future.

Chorismate- and isochorismate converting enzymes: versatile catalysts acting on an important metabolic node

Chorismate and isochorismate represent an important branching point connecting primary and secondary metabolism in bacteria, fungi, archaea and plants. Chorismate- and isochorismate-converting enzymes are potential targets for new bioactive compounds, as well as valuable biocatalysts for the in vivo and in vitro synthesis of fine chemicals. The diversity of the products of chorismate- and isochorismate-converting enzymes is reflected in the enzymatic three-dimensional structures and molecular mechanisms. Due to the high reactivity of chorismate and its derivatives, these enzymes have evolved to be accurately tailored to their respective reaction; at the same time, many of them exhibit a fascinating flexibility regarding side reactions and acceptance of alternative substrates. Here, we give an overview of the different (sub)families of chorismate- and isochorismate-converting enzymes, their molecular mechanisms, and three-dimensional structures. In addition, we highlight important results of mutagenetic approaches that generate a broader understanding of the influence of distinct active site residues for product formation and the conversion of one subfamily into another. Based on this, we discuss to what extent the recent advances in the field might influence the general mechanistic understanding of chorismate- and isochorismate-converting enzymes. Recent discoveries of new chorismate-derived products and pathways, as well as biocatalytic conversions of non-physiological substrates, highlight how this vast field is expected to continue developing in the future.

Understanding the entropic effect in chorismate mutase reaction catalyzed by isochorismate-pyruvate lyase fromPseudomonas aeruginosa(PchB)

The substrate preorganization process in the entropically driven PchB-catalyzed chorismate mutase reaction leads to a remarkable apparent entropic effect.

Nonribosomal peptides for iron acquisition: pyochelin biosynthesis as a case study

Microbes synthesize small, iron-chelating molecules known as siderophores to acquire iron from the environment. One way siderophores are generated is by nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs). The bioactive peptides generated by NRPS enzymes have unique chemical features, which are incorporated by accessory and tailoring domains or proteins. The first part of this review summarizes recent progress in NRPS structural biology. The second part uses the biosynthesis of pyochelin, a siderophore from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as a case study to examine enzymatic methods for generating the observed diversity in NRPS-derived natural products.

An Open and Shut Case: The Interaction of Magnesium with MST Enzymes

The shikimate pathway of bacteria, fungi, and plants generates chorismate, which is drawn into biosynthetic pathways that form aromatic amino acids and other important metabolites, including folates, menaquinone, and siderophores. Many of the pathways initiated at this branch point transform chorismate using an MST enzyme. The MST enzymes (menaquinone, siderophore, and tryptophan biosynthetic enzymes) are structurally homologous and magnesium-dependent, and all perform similar chemical permutations to chorismate by nucleophilic addition (hydroxyl or amine) at the 2-position of the ring, inducing displacement of the 4-hydroxyl. The isomerase enzymes release isochorismate or aminodeoxychorismate as the product, while the synthase enzymes also have lyase activity that displaces pyruvate to form either salicylate or anthranilate. This has led to the hypothesis that the isomerase and lyase activities performed by the MST enzymes are functionally conserved. Here we have developed tailored pre-steady-state approaches to establish the kinetic mechanisms of the isochorismate and salicylate synthase enzymes of siderophore biosynthesis. Our data are centered on the role of magnesium ions, which inhibit the isochorismate synthase enzymes but not the salicylate synthase enzymes. Prior structural data have suggested that binding of the metal ion occludes access or egress of substrates. Our kinetic data indicate that for the production of isochorismate, a high magnesium ion concentration suppresses the rate of release of product, accounting for the observed inhibition and establishing the basis of the ordered-addition kinetic mechanism. Moreover, we show that isochorismate is channeled through the synthase reaction as an intermediate that is retained in the active site by the magnesium ion. Indeed, the lyase-active enzyme has 3 orders of magnitude higher affinity for the isochorismate complex relative to the chorismate complex. Apparent negative-feedback inhibition by ferrous ions is documented at nanomolar concentrations, which is a potentially physiologically relevant mode of regulation for siderophore biosynthesis in vivo.

Conversion of aminodeoxychorismate synthase into anthranilate synthase with Janus mutations: mechanism of pyruvate elimination catalyzed by chorismate enzymes

The central importance of chorismate enzymes in bacteria, fungi, parasites, and plants combined with their absence in mammals makes them attractive targets for antimicrobials and herbicides. Two of these enzymes, anthranilate synthase (AS) and aminodeoxychorismate synthase (ADCS), are structurally and mechanistically similar. The first catalytic step, amination at C2, is common between them, but AS additionally catalyzes pyruvate elimination, aromatizing the aminated intermediate to anthranilate. Despite prior attempts, the conversion of a pyruvate elimination-deficient enzyme into an elimination-proficient one has not been reported. Janus, a bioinformatics method for predicting mutations required to functionally interconvert homologous enzymes, was employed to predict mutations to convert ADCS into AS. A genetic selection on a library of Janus-predicted mutations was performed. Complementation of an AS-deficient strain of Escherichia coli grown on minimal medium led to several ADCS mutants that allow growth in 6 days compared to 2 days for wild-type AS. The purified mutant enzymes catalyze the conversion of chorismate to anthranilate at rates that are ∼50% of the rate of wild-type ADCS-catalyzed conversion of chorismate to aminodeoxychorismate. The residues mutated do not contact the substrate. Molecular dynamics studies suggest that pyruvate elimination is controlled by the conformation of the C2-aminated intermediate. Enzymes that catalyze elimination favor the equatorial conformation, which presents the C2-H to a conserved active site lysine (Lys424) for deprotonation and maximizes stereoelectronic activation. Acid/base catalysis of pyruvate elimination was confirmed in AS and salicylate synthase by showing incorporation of a solvent-derived proton into the pyruvate methyl group and by solvent kinetic isotope effects on pyruvate elimination catalyzed by AS.

Expanding the results of a high throughput screen against an isochorismate-pyruvate lyase to enzymes of a similar scaffold or mechanism

Antibiotic resistance is a growing health concern, and new avenues of antimicrobial drug design are being actively sought. One suggested pathway to be targeted for inhibitor design is that of iron scavenging through siderophores. Here we present a high throughput screen to the isochorismate-pyruvate lyase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an enzyme required for the production of the siderophore pyochelin. Compounds identified in the screen are high nanomolar to low micromolar inhibitors of the enzyme and produce growth inhibition in PAO1 P. aeruginosa in the millimolar range under iron-limiting conditions. The identified compounds were also tested for enzymatic inhibition of Escherichia coli chorismate mutase, a protein of similar fold and similar chemistry, and of Yersinia enterocolitica salicylate synthase, a protein of differing fold but catalyzing the same lyase reaction. In both cases, subsets of the inhibitors from the screen were found to be inhibitory to enzymatic activity (mutase or synthase) in the micromolar range and capable of growth inhibition in their respective organisms (E. coli or Y. enterocolitica).

Exploration of swapping enzymatic function between two proteins: a simulation study of chorismate mutase and isochorismate pyruvate lyase

The enzyme chorismate mutase EcCM from Escherichia coli catalyzes one of the few pericyclic reactions in biology, the transformation of chorismate to prephenate. The isochorismate pyruvate lyase PchB from Pseudomonas aeroginosa catalyzes another pericyclic reaction, the isochorismate to salicylate transformation. Interestingly, PchB possesses weak chorismate mutase activity as well thus being able to catalyze two distinct pericyclic reactions in a single active site. EcCM and PchB possess very similar folds, despite their low sequence identity. Using molecular dynamics simulations of four combinations of the two enzymes (EcCM and PchB) with the two substrates (chorismate and isochorismate) we show that the electrostatic field due to EcCM at atoms of chorismate favors the chorismate to prephenate transition and that, analogously, the electrostatic field due to PchB at atoms of isochorismate favors the isochorismate to salicylate transition. The largest differences between EcCM and PchB in electrostatic field strengths at atoms of the substrates are found to be due to residue side chains at distances between 0.6 and 0.8 nm from particular substrate atoms. Both enzymes tend to bring their non-native substrate in the same conformation as their native substrate. EcCM and to a lower extent PchB fail in influencing the forces on and conformations of the substrate such as to favor the other chemical reaction (isochorismate pyruvate lyase activity for EcCM and chorismate mutase activity for PchB). These observations might explain the difficulty of engineering isochorismate pyruvate lyase activity in EcCM by solely mutating active site residues.

Redesign of MST enzymes to target lyase activity instead promotes mutase and dehydratase activities

The isochorismate and salicylate synthases are members of the MST family of enzymes. The isochorismate synthases establish an equilibrium for the conversion chorismate to isochorismate and the reverse reaction. The salicylate synthases convert chorismate to salicylate with an isochorismate intermediate; therefore, the salicylate synthases perform isochorismate synthase and isochorismate-pyruvate lyase activities sequentially. While the active site residues are highly conserved, there are two sites that show trends for lyase-activity and lyase-deficiency. Using steady state kinetics and HPLC progress curves, we tested the "interchange" hypothesis that interconversion of the amino acids at these sites would promote lyase activity in the isochorismate synthases and remove lyase activity from the salicylate synthases. An alternative, "permute" hypothesis, that chorismate-utilizing enzymes are designed to permute the substrate into a variety of products and tampering with the active site may lead to identification of adventitious activities, is tested by more sensitive NMR time course experiments. The latter hypothesis held true. The variant enzymes predominantly catalyzed chorismate mutase-prephenate dehydratase activities, sequentially generating prephenate and phenylpyruvate, augmenting previously debated (mutase) or undocumented (dehydratase) adventitious activities.

Lysine221 is the general base residue of the isochorismate synthase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PchA) in a reaction that is diffusion limited

The isochorismate synthase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PchA) catalyzes the conversion of chorismate to isochorismate, which is subsequently converted by a second enzyme (PchB) to salicylate for incorporation into the salicylate-capped siderophore pyochelin. PchA is a member of the MST family of enzymes, which includes the structurally homologous isochorismate synthases from Escherichia coli (EntC and MenF) and salicylate synthases from Yersinia enterocolitica (Irp9) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MbtI). The latter enzymes generate isochorismate as an intermediate before generating salicylate and pyruvate. General acid-general base catalysis has been proposed for isochorismate synthesis in all five enzymes, but the residues required for the isomerization are a matter of debate, with both lysine221 and glutamate313 proposed as the general base (PchA numbering). This work includes a classical characterization of PchA with steady state kinetic analysis, solvent kinetic isotope effect analysis and by measuring the effect of viscosogens on catalysis. The results suggest that isochorismate production from chorismate by the MST enzymes is the result of general acid-general base catalysis with a lysine as the base and a glutamic acid as the acid, in reverse protonation states. Chemistry is determined to not be rate limiting, favoring the hypothesis of a conformational or binding step as the slow step.

Modification of residue 42 of the active site loop with a lysine-mimetic side chain rescues isochorismate-pyruvate lyase activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PchB

PchB is an isochorismate-pyruvate lyase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A positively charged lysine residue is located in a flexible loop that behaves as a lid to the active site, and the lysine residue is required for efficient production of salicylate. A variant of PchB that lacks the lysine at residue 42 has a reduced catalytic free energy of activation of up to 4.4 kcal/mol. Construction of a lysine isosteric residue bearing a positive charge at the appropriate position leads to the recovery of 2.5-2.7 kcal/mol (about 60%) of the 4.4 kcal/mol by chemical rescue. Exogenous addition of ethylamine to the K42A variant leads to a neglible recovery of activity (0.180 kcal/mol, roughly 7% rescue), whereas addition of propylamine caused an additional modest loss in catalytic power (0.056 kcal/mol, or 2% loss). This is consistent with the view that (a) the lysine-42 residue is required in a specific conformation to stabilize the transition state and (b) the correct conformation is achieved for a lysine-mimetic side chain at site 42 in the course of loop closure, as expected for transition-state stabilization by the side chain ammonio function. That the positive charge is the main effector of transition state stabilization is shown by the construction of a lysine-isosteric residue capable of exerting steric effects and hydrogen bonding but not electrostatic effects, leading to a modest increase of catalytic power (0.267-0.505 kcal/mol of catalytic free energy, or roughly 6-11% rescue).

Pericyclic reactions catalyzed by chorismate-utilizing enzymes

One of the fundamental questions of enzymology is how catalytic power is derived. This review focuses on recent developments in the structure--function relationships of chorismate-utilizing enzymes involved in siderophore biosynthesis to provide insight into the biocatalysis of pericyclic reactions. Specifically, salicylate synthesis by the two-enzyme pathway in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is examined. The isochorismate-pyruvate lyase is discussed in the context of its homologues, the chorismate mutases, and the isochorismate synthase is compared to its homologues in the MST family (menaquinone, siderophore, or tryptophan biosynthesis) of enzymes. The tentative conclusion is that the activities observed cannot be reconciled by inspection of the active site participants alone. Instead, individual activities must arise from unique dynamic properties of each enzyme that are tuned to promote specific chemistries.

pH Dependence of catalysis by Pseudomonas aeruginosa isochorismate-pyruvate lyase: implications for transition state stabilization and the role of lysine 42

An isochorismate-pyruvate lyase with adventitious chorismate mutase activity from Pseudomonas aerugionsa (PchB) achieves catalysis of both pericyclic reactions in part by the stabilization of reactive conformations and in part by electrostatic transition-state stabilization. When the active site loop Lys42 is mutated to histidine, the enzyme develops a pH dependence corresponding to a loss of catalytic power upon deprotonation of the histidine. Structural data indicate that the change is not due to changes in active site architecture, but due to the difference in charge at this key site. With loss of the positive charge on the K42H side chain at high pH, the enzyme retains lyase activity at ∼100-fold lowered catalytic efficiency but loses detectable mutase activity. We propose that both substrate organization and electrostatic transition state stabilization contribute to catalysis. However, the dominant reaction path for catalysis is dependent on reaction conditions, which influence the electrostatic properties of the enzyme active site amino acid side chains.

Entropic and enthalpic components of catalysis in the mutase and lyase activities of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PchB

The isochorismate-pyruvate lyase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PchB) catalyzes two pericyclic reactions, demonstrating the eponymous activity and also chorismate mutase activity. The thermodynamic parameters for these enzyme-catalyzed activities, as well as the uncatalyzed isochorismate decomposition, are reported from temperature dependence of k(cat) and k(uncat) data. The entropic effects do not contribute to enzyme catalysis as expected from previously reported chorismate mutase data. Indeed, an entropic penalty for the enzyme-catalyzed mutase reaction (ΔS(++) = -12.1 ± 0.6 cal/(mol K)) is comparable to that of the previously reported uncatalyzed reaction, whereas that of the enzyme-catalyzed lyase reaction (ΔS(++) = -24.3 ± 0.2 cal/(mol K)) is larger than that of the uncatalyzed lyase reaction (-15.77 ± 0.02 cal/(mol K)) documented here. With the assumption that chemistry is rate-limiting, we propose that a reactive substrate conformation is formed upon loop closure of the active site and that ordering of the loop contributes to the entropic penalty for converting the enzyme substrate complex to the transition state.

Mechanism and plasticity of isochorismate pyruvate lyase: a computational study

The isochorismate pyruvate lyase (IPL) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, designated as PchB, catalyzes the transformation of isochorismate into pyruvate and salicylate, but it also catalyzes the rearrangement of chorismate into prephenate, suggesting that both reactions may proceed by a pericyclic mechanism. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations employing hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics methods have been carried out to get a detailed knowledge of the reaction mechanism of PchB. The results provide a theoretical rate constant enhancement by comparison with the reaction in solution, in agreement with the experimental data, and confirm the pericyclic nature of the reaction mechanism. The robustness of this promiscuous enzyme has been checked by considering the impact of Ala37Ile mutation, previously proposed by us to improve the secondary chorismate mutase (CM) activity. The effect of this mutation, which was shown to increase the rate constant for the CM activity by a factor of 10(3), also increases the IPL catalytic efficiency, although only by a factor of 6.