CuA-based chimeric T1 copper sites allow for independent modulation of reorganization energy and reduction potential

Substitution of the Axial Type 1 Cu Ligand Affords Binding of a Water Molecule in Axial Position Affecting Kinetics, Spectral, and Structural Properties of the Small Laccase Ssl1

Multicopper oxidases use Cu ions as cofactors to oxidize various substrates. High reduction potential at Type 1 Cu is considered as crucial for effective catalysis. Previous studies have shown that replacing the axial methionine ligand of the Type 1 Cu with leucine or phenylalanine leads to an increased reduction potential, but not always to higher enzyme activity. Here we present a study on six variants of the small laccase Ssl1 from Streptomyces sviceus, where the axial methionine ligand was substituted, and the effect of the axial ligand on reduction potential, activity, spectral properties and structure was investigated. Absorption, electronic circular dichroism and EPR spectra revealed the presence of a stronger coordinating axial ligand like oxygen, which influences the electronic and catalytic properties more than the nature of the amino acid side chain. The crystal structures of the Ssl1 variants were solved, which show that none of the amino acid side chains coordinate to the Cu. Instead, a water molecule is found in the axial coordination site, which support the spectroscopic data. Our findings highlight the importance of combining structural and spectroscopic methods to investigate the effect of amino acid exchange on multicopper oxidases.

Electrostatic regulation of blue copper sites

In the last 50 years, the blue copper proteins became central targets of investigation. Extensive experiments focused on the Cu coordination to probe the effect of local perturbations on its properties. We found that local electric fields, generated by charged residues evolutionarily placed throughout the protein edifice, mainly second sphere, but also more remotely, constitute an additional significant factor regulating blue copper proteins. These fields are not random, but exhibit a highly specific directionality, negative with respect to the and vectors in the Cu first shell. The field magnitude contributes to fine-tuning of the geometric and electronic properties of Cu sites in individual blue copper proteins. Specifically, the local electric fields evidently control the Cu–S_Met bond distance, Cu(ii)–S_Cys bond covalency, and the energies of the frontier molecular orbitals, which, in turn, govern the Cu(ii/i) reduction potential and the relative absorption intensities at 450 nm and 600 nm.

Intramolecular electric fields in blue copper proteins are oriented in a fixed way to modulate properties of their copper sites: they control the first-shell copper interactions to influence geometric, spectroscopic, and redox behavior.