Modulation of the substrate specificity of Escherichia coli dimethylsulfoxide reductase

Emerging Chemical Diversity and Potential Applications of Enzymes in the DMSO Reductase Superfamily

Molybdenum- and tungsten-dependent proteins catalyze essential processes in living organisms and biogeochemical cycles. Among these enzymes, members of the dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) reductase superfamily are considered the most diverse, facilitating a wide range of chemical transformations that can be categorized as oxygen atom installation, removal, and transfer. Importantly, DMSO reductase enzymes provide high efficiency and excellent selectivity while operating under mild conditions without conventional oxidants such as oxygen or peroxides. Despite the potential utility of these enzymes as biocatalysts, such applications have not been fully explored. In addition, the vast majority of DMSO reductase enzymes still remain uncharacterized. In this review, we describe the reactivities, proposed mechanisms, and potential synthetic applications of selected enzymes in the DMSO reductase superfamily. We also highlight emerging opportunities to discover new chemical activity and current challenges in studying and engineering proteins in the DMSO reductase superfamily. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biochemistry, Volume 91 is June 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Biogenesis of Escherichia coli DMSO Reductase: A Network of Participants for Protein Folding and Complex Enzyme Maturation

Protein folding and structure have been of interest since the dawn of protein chemistry. Following translation from the ribosome, a protein must go through various steps to become a functional member of the cellular society. Every protein has a unique function in the cell and is classified on this basis. Proteins that are involved in cellular respiration are the bioenergetic workhorses of the cell. Bacteria are resilient organisms that can survive in diverse environments by fine tuning these workhorses. One class of proteins that allow survival under anoxic conditions are anaerobic respiratory oxidoreductases, which utilize many different compounds other than oxygen as its final electron acceptor. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is one such compound. Respiration using DMSO as a final electron acceptor is performed by DMSO reductase, converting it to dimethyl sulfide in the process. Microbial respiration using DMSO is reviewed in detail by McCrindle et al. (Adv Microb Physiol 50:147-198, 2005). In this chapter, we discuss the biogenesis of DMSO reductase as an example of the participant network for complex iron-sulfur molybdoenzyme maturation pathways.

S- and N-Oxide Reductases

Escherichia coli is a versatile facultative anaerobe that can respire on a number of terminal electron acceptors, including oxygen, fumarate, nitrate, and S- and N-oxides. Anaerobic respiration using S- and N-oxides is accomplished by enzymatic reduction of these substrates by dimethyl sulfoxide reductase (DmsABC) and trimethylamine N-oxide reductase (TorCA). Both DmsABC and TorCA are membrane-associated redox enzymes that couple the oxidation of menaquinol to the reduction of S- and N-oxides in the periplasm. DmsABC is membrane bound and is composed of a membrane-extrinsic dimer with a 90.4-kDa catalytic subunit (DmsA) and a 23.1-kDa electron transfer subunit (DmsB). These subunits face the periplasm and are held to the membrane by a 30.8-kDa membrane anchor subunit (DmsC). The enzyme provides the scaffold for an electron transfer relay composed of a quinol binding site, five [4Fe-4S] clusters, and a molybdo-bis(molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide) (present nomenclature: Mo-bis-pyranopterin) (Mo-bisMGD) cofactor. TorCA is composed of a soluble periplasmic subunit (TorA, 92.5 kDa) containing a Mo-bis-MGD. TorA is coupled to the quinone pool via a pentaheme c subunit (TorC, 40.4 kDa) in the membrane. Both DmsABC and TorCA require system-specific chaperones (DmsD or TorD) for assembly, cofactor insertion, and/or targeting to the Tat translocon. In this chapter, we discuss the complex regulation of the dmsABC and torCAD operons, the poorly understood paralogues, and what is known about the assembly and translocation to the periplasmic space by the Tat translocon.

The prokaryotic Mo/W-bisPGD enzymes family: a catalytic workhorse in bioenergetic

Over the past two decades, prominent importance of molybdenum-containing enzymes in prokaryotes has been put forward by studies originating from different fields. Proteomic or bioinformatic studies underpinned that the list of molybdenum-containing enzymes is far from being complete with to date, more than fifty different enzymes involved in the biogeochemical nitrogen, carbon and sulfur cycles. In particular, the vast majority of prokaryotic molybdenum-containing enzymes belong to the so-called dimethylsulfoxide reductase family. Despite its extraordinary diversity, this family is characterized by the presence of a Mo/W-bis(pyranopterin guanosine dinucleotide) cofactor at the active site. This review highlights what has been learned about the properties of the catalytic site, the modular variation of the structural organization of these enzymes, and their interplay with the isoprenoid quinones. In the last part, this review provides an integrated view of how these enzymes contribute to the bioenergetics of prokaryotes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Metals in Bioenergetics and Biomimetics Systems.

Molecular mechanism of energy conservation in polysulfide respiration

Bacterial polysulfide reductase (PsrABC) is an integral membrane protein complex responsible for quinone-coupled reduction of polysulfide, a process important in extreme environments such as deep-sea vents and hot springs. We determined the structure of polysulfide reductase from Thermus thermophilus at 2.4-A resolution, revealing how the PsrA subunit recognizes and reduces its unique polyanionic substrate. The integral membrane subunit PsrC was characterized using the natural substrate menaquinone-7 and inhibitors, providing a comprehensive representation of a quinone binding site and revealing the presence of a water-filled cavity connecting the quinone binding site on the periplasmic side to the cytoplasm. These results suggest that polysulfide reductase could be a key energy-conserving enzyme of the T. thermophilus respiratory chain, using polysulfide as the terminal electron acceptor and pumping protons across the membrane via a previously unknown mechanism.

The 1.38 A crystal structure of DmsD protein from Salmonella typhimurium, a proofreading chaperone on the Tat pathway

The DmsD protein is necessary for the biogenesis of dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) reductase in many prokaryotes. It performs a critical chaperone function initiated through its binding to the twin-arginine signal peptide of DmsA, the catalytic subunit of DMSO reductase. Upon binding to DmsD, DmsA is translocated to the periplasm via the so-called twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway. Here we report the 1.38 A crystal structure of the protein DmsD from Salmonella typhimurium and compare it with a close functional homolog, TorD. DmsD has an all-alpha fold structure with a notable helical extension located at its N-terminus with two solvent exposed hydrophobic residues. A major difference between DmsD and TorD is that TorD structure is a domain-swapped dimer, while DmsD exists as a monomer. Nevertheless, these two proteins have a number of common features suggesting they function by using similar mechanisms. A possible signal peptide-binding site is proposed based on structural similarities. Computational analysis was used to identify a potential GTP binding pocket on similar surfaces of DmsD and TorD structures.

Microbial Dimethylsulfoxide and Trimethylamine-N-Oxide Respiration

Over the last two decades, the biochemistry and genetics of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) respiration has been characterised, particularly in Escherichia coli marine bacteria of the genus Shewanella and the purple phototrophic bacteria, Rhodobacter sphaeroides and R. capsulatus. All of the enzymes (or catalytic subunits) involved the final step in DMSO and TMAO respiration contain a pterin molybdenum cofactor and are members of the DMSO reductase family of molybdoenzymes. In E. coli, the dimethylsulfoxide reductase (DmsABC) can be purified from membranes as a complex, which exhibits quinol-DMSO oxidoreductase activity. The enzyme is anchored to the membrane via the DmsC subunit and its catalytic subunit DmsA is now considered to face the periplasm. Electron transfer to DmsA involves the DmsB subunit, which is a polyferredoxin related to subunits found in other molybdoenzymes such as nitrate reductase and formate dehydrogenase. A characteristic of the DmsAB-type DMSO reductase is its ability to reduce a variety of S- and N-oxides. E. coli contains a trimethylamine-N-oxide reductase (TorA) that is highly specific for N-oxides. This enzyme is located in the periplasm and is connected to the quinone pool via a membrane-bound penta-haem cytochrome (TorC). DorCA in purple phototrophic bacteria of the genus Rhodobacter is very similar to TorCA with the critical difference that DorA catalyses reduction of both DMSO and TMAO. It is known as a DMSO reductase because the S-oxide is the best substrate. Crystal structures of DorA and TorA have revealed critical differences at the Mo active site that may explain the differences between substrate specificity between the two enzymes. DmsA, TorA and DorA possess a "twin arginine" N-terminal signal sequence consistent with their secretion via the TAT secretory system and not the Sec system. The enzymes are secreted with their bound prosthetic groups: this take place in the cytoplasm and the biogenesis involves a chaperone protein, which is cognate for each enzyme. Expression of the DMSO and TMAO respiratory operons is induced in response to a fall in oxygen tension. dmsABC expression is positively controlled by the oxygen-responsive transcription factor, Fnr and ModE, a transcription factor that binds molybdate. In contrast, torCAD expression is not under Fnr- or ModE-control but is dependent upon a sensor histidine kinase-response regulator pair, TorSR, which activate gene expression under conditions of low oxygen tension in the presence of N- or S-oxide. Regulation of dorCDA expression is similar to that seen for torCAD but it appears that the expression of the sensor histidine kinase-response regulator pair, DorSR is regulated by Fnr and there is an additional tier of regulation involving the ModE-homologue MopB, molybdate and the transcription factor DorX. Analysis of microbial genomes has revealed the presence of dms and tor operons in a wide variety of bacteria and in some archaea and duplicate dms and tor operons have been identified in E. coli. Challenges ahead will include the determination of the significance of the presence of the dms operon in bacterial pathogens and the determination of the significance of DMSO respiration in the global turnover of marine organo-sulfur compounds.

Detection and interpretation of redox potential optima in the catalytic activity of enzymes

It is no surprise that the catalytic activity of electron-transport enzymes may be optimised at certain electrochemical potentials in ways that are analogous to observations of pH-rate optima. This property is observed clearly in experiments in which an enzyme is adsorbed on an electrode surface which can supply or receive electrons rapidly and in a highly controlled manner. In such a way, the rate of catalysis can be measured accurately as a function of the potential (driving force) that is applied. In this paper, we draw attention to a few examples in which this property has been observed in enzymes that are associated with membrane-bound respiratory chains, and we discuss its possible origins and implications for in vivo regulation.

An active site tyrosine influences the ability of the dimethyl sulfoxide reductase family of molybdopterin enzymes to reduce S-oxides

Dimethyl sulfoxide reductase (DMSOR), trimethylamine-N-oxide reductase (TMAOR), and biotin sulfoxide reductase (BSOR) are members of a class of bacterial oxotransferases that contain the bis(molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide)molybdenum cofactor. The presence of a Tyr residue in the active site of DMSOR and BSOR that is missing in TMAOR has been implicated in the inability of TMAOR, unlike DMSOR and BSOR, to utilize S-oxides. To test this hypothesis, Escherichia coli TMAOR was cloned and expressed at high levels, and site-directed mutagenesis was utilized to generate the Tyr-114 --> Ala and Phe variants of Rhodobacter sphaeroides DMSOR and insert a Tyr residue into the equivalent position in TMAOR. Although all of the mutants turn over in a manner similar to their respective wild-type enzymes, mutation of Tyr-114 in DMSOR results in a decreased specificity for S-oxides and an increased specificity for trimethylamine-N-oxide (Me(3)NO), with a greater change observed for DMSOR-Y114A. Insertion of a Tyr into TMAOR results in a decreased preference for Me(3)NO relative to dimethyl sulfoxide. Kinetic analysis and UV-visible absorption spectra indicate that the ability of DMSOR to be reduced by dimethyl sulfide is lost upon mutation of Tyr-114 and that TMAOR does not exhibit this activity even in the Tyr insertion mutant.

Determination of an optimal potential window for catalysis by E. coli dimethyl sulfoxide reductase and hypothesis on the role of Mo(V) in the reaction pathway

Protein film voltammetry (PFV) of Escherichia coli dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) reductase (DmsABC) adsorbed at a graphite electrode reveals that the catalytic activity of this complex Mo-pterin/Fe-S enzyme is optimized within a narrow window of electrode potential. The upper and lower limits of this window are determined from the potential dependences of catalytic activity in reducing and oxidizing directions; i.e., for reduction of DMSO (or trimethylamine-N-oxide) and oxidation of trimethylphosphine (PMe(3)). At either limit, the catalytic activity drops despite the increase in driving force: as the potential is lowered below -200 mV (pH 7.0-8.9), the rate of reduction of DMSO decreases abruptly, while for PMe(3), an oxidative current is observed that vanishes as the potential is raised above +20 mV (pH 9.0). Analysis of the waveshapes reveals that both activity thresholds result from one-electron redox reactions that arise, most likely, from groups within the enzyme; if so, they represent "switches" that reflect the catalytic mechanism and may be of physiological relevance. The potential window of activity coincides approximately with the appearance of the Mo(V) EPR signal observed in potentiometric titrations, suggesting that crucial stages of catalysis are facilitated while the active site is in the intermediate Mo(V) oxidation state.