1
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Tagami S. Why we are made of proteins and nucleic acids: Structural biology views on extraterrestrial life. Biophys Physicobiol 2023; 20:e200026. [PMID: 38496239 PMCID: PMC10941967 DOI: 10.2142/biophysico.bppb-v20.0026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Is it a miracle that life exists on the Earth, or is it a common phenomenon in the universe? If extraterrestrial organisms exist, what are they like? To answer these questions, we must understand what kinds of molecules could evolve into life, or in other words, what properties are generally required to perform biological functions and store genetic information. This review summarizes recent findings on simple ancestral proteins, outlines the basic knowledge in textbooks, and discusses the generally required properties for biological molecules from structural biology viewpoints (e.g., restriction of shapes, and types of intra- and intermolecular interactions), leading to the conclusion that proteins and nucleic acids are at least one of the simplest (and perhaps very common) forms of catalytic and genetic biopolymers in the universe. This review article is an extended version of the Japanese article, On the Origin of Life: Coevolution between RNA and Peptide, published in SEIBUTSU BUTSURI Vol. 61, p. 232-235 (2021).
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunsuke Tagami
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
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2
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Gupta MN, Uversky VN. Pre-Molten, Wet, and Dry Molten Globules en Route to the Functional State of Proteins. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24032424. [PMID: 36768742 PMCID: PMC9916686 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Transitions between the unfolded and native states of the ordered globular proteins are accompanied by the accumulation of several intermediates, such as pre-molten globules, wet molten globules, and dry molten globules. Structurally equivalent conformations can serve as native functional states of intrinsically disordered proteins. This overview captures the characteristics and importance of these molten globules in both structured and intrinsically disordered proteins. It also discusses examples of engineered molten globules. The formation of these intermediates under conditions of macromolecular crowding and their interactions with nanomaterials are also reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munishwar Nath Gupta
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Vladimir N. Uversky
- Department of Molecular Medicine and USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Research Institute, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-813-494-5816
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3
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Abstract
α-Amino acids are essential molecular constituents of life, twenty of which are privileged because they are encoded by the ribosomal machinery. The question remains open as to why this number and why this 20 in particular, an almost philosophical question that cannot be conclusively resolved. They are closely related to the evolution of the genetic code and whether nucleic acids, amino acids, and peptides appeared simultaneously and were available under prebiotic conditions when the first self-sufficient complex molecular system emerged on Earth. This report focuses on prebiotic and metabolic aspects of amino acids and proteins starting with meteorites, followed by their formation, including peptides, under plausible prebiotic conditions, and the major biosynthetic pathways in the various kingdoms of life. Coenzymes play a key role in the present analysis in that amino acid metabolism is linked to glycolysis and different variants of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA, rTCA, and the incomplete horseshoe version) as well as the biosynthesis of the most important coenzymes. Thus, the report opens additional perspectives and facets on the molecular evolution of primary metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Kirschning
- Institute of Organic ChemistryLeibniz University HannoverSchneiderberg 1B30167HannoverGermany
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4
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Magi Meconi G, Sasselli IR, Bianco V, Onuchic JN, Coluzza I. Key aspects of the past 30 years of protein design. REPORTS ON PROGRESS IN PHYSICS. PHYSICAL SOCIETY (GREAT BRITAIN) 2022; 85:086601. [PMID: 35704983 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6633/ac78ef] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Proteins are the workhorse of life. They are the building infrastructure of living systems; they are the most efficient molecular machines known, and their enzymatic activity is still unmatched in versatility by any artificial system. Perhaps proteins' most remarkable feature is their modularity. The large amount of information required to specify each protein's function is analogically encoded with an alphabet of just ∼20 letters. The protein folding problem is how to encode all such information in a sequence of 20 letters. In this review, we go through the last 30 years of research to summarize the state of the art and highlight some applications related to fundamental problems of protein evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Magi Meconi
- Computational Biophysics Lab, Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo de Miramon 182, 20014, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Ivan R Sasselli
- Computational Biophysics Lab, Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo de Miramon 182, 20014, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | | | - Jose N Onuchic
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Department of Chemistry, Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, TX 77251, United States of America
| | - Ivan Coluzza
- BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, Bld. Martina Casiano, UPV/EHU Science Park, Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, Spain
- Basque Foundation for Science, Ikerbasque, 48009, Bilbao, Spain
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5
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Zheng L, Liu D, Li YA, Yang S, Liang Y, Xing Y, Zuo Y. RaacFold: a webserver for 3D visualization and analysis of protein structure by using reduced amino acid alphabets. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:W633-W638. [PMID: 35639512 PMCID: PMC9252778 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein structure exhibits greater complexity and diversity than DNA structure, and usually affects the interpretation of the function, interactions and biological annotations. Reduced amino acid alphabets (Raaa) exhibit a powerful ability to decrease protein complexity and identify functional conserved regions, which motivated us to create RaacFold. The RaacFold provides 687 reduced amino acid clusters (Raac) based on 58 reduction methods and offers three analysis tools: Protein Analysis, Align Analysis, and Multi Analysis. The Protein Analysis and Align Analysis provide reduced representations of sequence-structure according to physicochemical similarities and computational biology strategies. With the simplified representations, the protein structure can be viewed more concise and clearer to capture biological insight than the unreduced structure. Thus, the design of artificial protein will be more convenient, and redundant interference is avoided. In addition, Multi Analysis allows users to explore biophysical variation and conservation in the evolution of protein structure and function. This supplies important information for the identification and exploration of the nonhomologous functions of paralogs. Simultaneously, RaacFold provides powerful 2D and 3D rendering performance with advanced parameters for sequences, structures, and related annotations. RaacFold is freely available at http://bioinfor.imu.edu.cn/raacfold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zheng
- State key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010070, China
| | - Dongyang Liu
- Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | | | - Siqi Yang
- State key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010070, China
| | - Yuchao Liang
- State key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010070, China
| | - Yongqiang Xing
- The Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Functional Genome Bioinformatics, School of Life Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou 014010, China.,Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Systems Biology, the University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080-3021, USA
| | - Yongchun Zuo
- State key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010070, China
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6
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Furukawa R, Yokobori SI, Sato R, Kumagawa T, Nakagawa M, Katoh K, Yamagishi A. Amino Acid Specificity of Ancestral Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetase Prior to the Last Universal Common Ancestor Commonote commonote. J Mol Evol 2022; 90:73-94. [PMID: 35084522 PMCID: PMC8821087 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-021-10043-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Extant organisms commonly use 20 amino acids in protein synthesis. In the translation system, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (ARS) selectively binds an amino acid and transfers it to the cognate tRNA. It is postulated that the amino acid repertoire of ARS expanded during the development of the translation system. In this study we generated composite phylogenetic trees for seven ARSs (SerRS, ProRS, ThrRS, GlyRS-1, HisRS, AspRS, and LysRS) which are thought to have diverged by gene duplication followed by mutation, before the evolution of the last universal common ancestor. The composite phylogenetic tree shows that the AspRS/LysRS branch diverged from the other five ARSs at the deepest node, with the GlyRS/HisRS branch and the other three ARSs (ThrRS, ProRS and SerRS) diverging at the second deepest node. ThrRS diverged next, and finally ProRS and SerRS diverged from each other. Based on the phylogenetic tree, sequences of the ancestral ARSs prior to the evolution of the last universal common ancestor were predicted. The amino acid specificity of each ancestral ARS was then postulated by comparison with amino acid recognition sites of ARSs of extant organisms. Our predictions demonstrate that ancestral ARSs had substantial specificity and that the number of amino acid types amino-acylated by proteinaceous ARSs was limited before the appearance of a fuller range of proteinaceous ARS species. From an assumption that 10 amino acid species are required for folding and function, proteinaceous ARS possibly evolved in a translation system composed of preexisting ribozyme ARSs, before the evolution of the last universal common ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryutaro Furukawa
- Department of Applied Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan.,Faculty of Human Science, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichi Yokobori
- Department of Applied Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Riku Sato
- Department of Applied Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Taimu Kumagawa
- Department of Applied Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mizuho Nakagawa
- Department of Applied Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazutaka Katoh
- Department of Genome Informatics, Genome Information Research Center, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, 3-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Akihiko Yamagishi
- Department of Applied Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan.
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7
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Bhosale H, Ramakrishnan V, Jayaraman VK. Support vector machine-based prediction of pore-forming toxins (PFT) using distributed representation of reduced alphabets. J Bioinform Comput Biol 2021; 19:2150028. [PMID: 34693886 DOI: 10.1142/s0219720021500281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Bacterial virulence can be attributed to a wide variety of factors including toxins that harm the host. Pore-forming toxins are one class of toxins that confer virulence to the bacteria and are one of the promising targets for therapeutic intervention. In this work, we develop a sequence-based machine learning framework for the prediction of pore-forming toxins. For this, we have used distributed representation of the protein sequence encoded by reduced alphabet schemes based on conformational similarity and hydropathy index as input features to Support Vector Machines (SVMs). The choice of conformational similarity and hydropathy indices is based on the functional mechanism of pore-forming toxins. Our methodology achieves about 81% accuracy indicating that conformational similarity, an indicator of the flexibility of amino acids, along with hydrophobic index can capture the intrinsic features of pore-forming toxins that distinguish it from other types of transporter proteins. Increased understanding of the mechanisms of pore-forming toxins can further contribute to the use of such "mechanism-informed" features that may increase the prediction accuracy further.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hrushikesh Bhosale
- Department of Computer Science, FLAME University, Pune, Maharashtra, India
| | - Vigneshwar Ramakrishnan
- School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed-to-be University, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India
| | - Valadi K Jayaraman
- Department of Computer Science, FLAME University, Pune, Maharashtra, India
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8
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Yagi S, Padhi AK, Vucinic J, Barbe S, Schiex T, Nakagawa R, Simoncini D, Zhang KYJ, Tagami S. Seven Amino Acid Types Suffice to Create the Core Fold of RNA Polymerase. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:15998-16006. [PMID: 34559526 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c05367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The extant complex proteins must have evolved from ancient short and simple ancestors. The double-ψ β-barrel (DPBB) is one of the oldest protein folds and conserved in various fundamental enzymes, such as the core domain of RNA polymerase. Here, by reverse engineering a modern DPBB domain, we reconstructed its plausible evolutionary pathway started by "interlacing homodimerization" of a half-size peptide, followed by gene duplication and fusion. Furthermore, by simplifying the amino acid repertoire of the peptide, we successfully created the DPBB fold with only seven amino acid types (Ala, Asp, Glu, Gly, Lys, Arg, and Val), which can be coded by only GNN and ARR (R = A or G) codons in the modern translation system. Thus, the DPBB fold could have been materialized by the early translation system and genetic code.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sota Yagi
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Aditya K Padhi
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Jelena Vucinic
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse, ANITI, INRAE-UR 875, 31000 Toulouse, France.,TBI, Université Fédérale de Toulouse, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, ANITI, 31000 Toulouse, France.,Université Fédérale de Toulouse, ANITI, IRIT-UMR 5505, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Sophie Barbe
- TBI, Université Fédérale de Toulouse, CNRS, INRAE, INSA, ANITI, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Thomas Schiex
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse, ANITI, INRAE-UR 875, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Reiko Nakagawa
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 2-2-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan
| | - David Simoncini
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse, ANITI, IRIT-UMR 5505, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Kam Y J Zhang
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Tagami
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
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9
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Abstract
Minimally evolved codes are constructed here; these have randomly chosen standard genetic code (SGC) triplets, completed with completely random triplet assignments. Such "genetic codes" have not evolved, but retain SGC qualities. Retained qualities are basic, part of the underpinning of coding. For example, the sensitivity of coding to arbitrary assignments, which must be < ∼10%, is intrinsic. Such sensitivity comes from the elementary combinatorial properties of coding and constrains any SGC evolution hypothesis. Similarly, assignment of last-evolved functions is difficult because of late kinetic phenomena, likely common across codes. Census of minimally evolved code assignments shows that shape and size of wobble domains controls the code's fit into a coding table, strongly shifting accuracy of codon assignments. Access to the SGC therefore requires a plausible pathway to limited randomness, avoiding difficult completion while fitting a highly ordered, degenerate code into a preset three-dimensional space. Three-dimensional late Crick wobble in a genetic code assembled by lateral transfer between early partial codes satisfies these varied, simultaneous requirements. By allowing parallel evolution of SGC domains, this origin can yield shortened evolution to SGC-level order and allow the code to arise in smaller populations. It effectively yields full codes. Less obviously, it unifies previously studied chemical, biochemical, and wobble order in amino acid assignment, including a stereochemical minority of triplet-amino acid associations. Finally, fusion of intermediates into the final SGC is credible, mirroring broadly accepted later cellular evolution.
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10
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Makarov M, Meng J, Tretyachenko V, Srb P, Březinová A, Giacobelli VG, Bednárová L, Vondrášek J, Dunker AK, Hlouchová K. Enzyme catalysis prior to aromatic residues: Reverse engineering of a dephospho-CoA kinase. Protein Sci 2021; 30:1022-1034. [PMID: 33739538 PMCID: PMC8040869 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The wide variety of protein structures and functions results from the diverse properties of the 20 canonical amino acids. The generally accepted hypothesis is that early protein evolution was associated with enrichment of a primordial alphabet, thereby enabling increased protein catalytic efficiencies and functional diversification. Aromatic amino acids were likely among the last additions to genetic code. The main objective of this study was to test whether enzyme catalysis can occur without the aromatic residues (aromatics) by studying the structure and function of dephospho-CoA kinase (DPCK) following aromatic residue depletion. We designed two variants of a putative DPCK from Aquifex aeolicus by substituting (a) Tyr, Phe and Trp or (b) all aromatics (including His). Their structural characterization indicates that substituting the aromatics does not markedly alter their secondary structures but does significantly loosen their side chain packing and increase their sizes. Both variants still possess ATPase activity, although with 150-300 times lower efficiency in comparison with the wild-type phosphotransferase activity. The transfer of the phosphate group to the dephospho-CoA substrate becomes heavily uncoupled and only the His-containing variant is still able to perform the phosphotransferase reaction. These data support the hypothesis that proteins in the early stages of life could support catalytic activities, albeit with low efficiencies. An observed significant contraction upon ligand binding is likely important for appropriate organization of the active site. Formation of firm hydrophobic cores, which enable the assembly of stably structured active sites, is suggested to provide a selective advantage for adding the aromatic residues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikhail Makarov
- Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of ScienceCharles University, BIOCEVPragueCzech Republic
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of ScienceCharles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | - Jingwei Meng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Computational Biology and BioinformaticsIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
| | - Vyacheslav Tretyachenko
- Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of ScienceCharles University, BIOCEVPragueCzech Republic
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of ScienceCharles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | - Pavel Srb
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, IOCB Research Centre & Gilead Sciences, Academy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicPragueCzech Republic
| | - Anna Březinová
- Proteomics Core Facility, BIOCEV, Faculty of Science, Charles UniversityPragueCzech Republic
| | | | - Lucie Bednárová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, IOCB Research Centre & Gilead Sciences, Academy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicPragueCzech Republic
| | - Jiří Vondrášek
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, IOCB Research Centre & Gilead Sciences, Academy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicPragueCzech Republic
| | - A. Keith Dunker
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Computational Biology and BioinformaticsIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
| | - Klára Hlouchová
- Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of ScienceCharles University, BIOCEVPragueCzech Republic
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, IOCB Research Centre & Gilead Sciences, Academy of Sciences of the Czech RepublicPragueCzech Republic
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11
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Zheng L, Liu D, Yang W, Yang L, Zuo Y. RaacLogo: a new sequence logo generator by using reduced amino acid clusters. Brief Bioinform 2020; 22:5855392. [PMID: 32524143 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbaa096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Sequence logos give a fast and concise display in visualizing consensus sequence. Protein exhibits greater complexity and diversity than DNA, which usually affects the graphical representation of the logo. Reduced amino acids perform powerful ability for simplifying complexity of sequence alignment, which motivated us to establish RaacLogo. As a new sequence logo generator by using reduced amino acid alphabets, RaacLogo can easily generate many different simplified logos tailored to users by selecting various reduced amino acid alphabets that consisted of more than 40 clustering algorithms. This current web server provides 74 types of reduced amino acid alphabet, which were manually extracted to generate 673 reduced amino acid clusters (RAACs) for dealing with protein alignment. A two-dimensional selector was proposed for easily selecting desired RAACs with underlying biology knowledge. It is anticipated that the RaacLogo web server will play more high-potential roles for protein sequence alignment, topological estimation and protein design experiments. RaacLogo is freely available at http://bioinfor.imu.edu.cn/raaclogo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zheng
- State key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, College of life sciences, Inner Mongolia University
| | - Dongyang Liu
- State key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, College of life sciences, Inner Mongolia University
| | - Wuritu Yang
- State key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, College of life sciences, Inner Mongolia University
| | - Lei Yang
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University
| | - Yongchun Zuo
- State key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, College of life sciences, Inner Mongolia University
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12
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Kato K, Nakayoshi T, Sato M, Kurimoto E, Oda A. Molecular Dynamics Simulations for Three-Dimensional Structures of Orotate Phosphoribosyltransferases Constructed from a Simplified Amino Acid Set. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:13069-13076. [PMID: 32548492 PMCID: PMC7288596 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c01012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Proteins of modern terrestrial organisms are composed of nearly 20 amino acids; however, the amino acid sets of primitive organisms may have contained fewer than 20 amino acids. Furthermore, the full set of 20 amino acids is not required by some proteins to encode their function. Indeed, simplified variants of Escherichia coli (E. coli) orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRTase) constructed by Akanuma et al. and composed of a limited amino acid set exhibit significant catalytic activity for the growth of E. coli. However, its structural details are currently unclear. Here, we predict the structures of simplified variants of OPRTase using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and evaluate the accuracy of the MD simulations for simplified proteins. The three-dimensional structure of the wild-type was largely maintained in the simplified variants, but differences in the catalyst loop and C-terminal helix were observed. These results are considered sufficient to elucidate the differences in catalytic activity between the wild-type and simplified OPRTase variants. Thus, using MD simulations to make structural predictions appears to be a useful strategy when investigating non-wild-type proteins composed of reduced amino acid sets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koichi Kato
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama,
Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-8503, Japan
- Department
of Pharmacy, Kinjo Gakuin University, 2-1723 Omori, Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 463-8521, Japan
| | - Tomoki Nakayoshi
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama,
Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-8503, Japan
| | - Mizuha Sato
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama,
Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-8503, Japan
| | - Eiji Kurimoto
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama,
Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-8503, Japan
| | - Akifumi Oda
- Faculty
of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama,
Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 468-8503, Japan
- Institute
for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
- .
Phone: +81-52-832-1151
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13
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Kimura M, Akanuma S. Reconstruction and Characterization of Thermally Stable and Catalytically Active Proteins Comprising an Alphabet of ~ 13 Amino Acids. J Mol Evol 2020; 88:372-381. [PMID: 32201904 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-020-09938-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
While extant organisms synthesize proteins using approximately 20 kinds of genetically coded amino acids, the earliest protein synthesis system is likely to have been much simpler, utilizing a reduced set of amino acids. However, which types of building blocks were involved in primordial protein synthesis remains unclear. Herein, we reconstructed three convergent sequences of an ancestral nucleoside diphosphate kinase, each comprising a 10 amino acid "alphabet," and found that two of these variants folded into soluble and stable tertiary structures. Therefore, an alphabet consisting of 10 amino acids contains sufficient information for creating stable proteins. Furthermore, re-incorporation of a few more amino acid types into the active site of the 10 amino acid variants improved the catalytic activity, although the specific activity was not as high as that of extant proteins. Collectively, our results provide experimental support for the idea that robust protein scaffolds can be built with a subset of the current 20 amino acids that might have existed abundantly in the prebiotic environment, while the other amino acids, especially those with functional sidechains, evolved to contribute to efficient enzyme catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madoka Kimura
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan
| | - Satoshi Akanuma
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-1192, Japan.
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14
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Nerattini F, Tubiana L, Cardelli C, Bianco V, Dellago C, Coluzza I. Protein design under competing conditions for the availability of amino acids. Sci Rep 2020; 10:2684. [PMID: 32060385 PMCID: PMC7021711 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59401-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Isolating the properties of proteins that allow them to convert sequence into the structure is a long-lasting biophysical problem. In particular, studies focused extensively on the effect of a reduced alphabet size on the folding properties. However, the natural alphabet is a compromise between versatility and optimisation of the available resources. Here, for the first time, we include the impact of the relative availability of the amino acids to extract from the 20 letters the core necessary for protein stability. We present a computational protein design scheme that involves the competition for resources between a protein and a potential interaction partner that, additionally, gives us the chance to investigate the effect of the reduced alphabet on protein-protein interactions. We devise a scheme that automatically identifies the optimal reduced set of letters for the design of the protein, and we observe that even alphabets reduced down to 4 letters allow for single protein folding. However, it is only with 6 letters that we achieve optimal folding, thus recovering experimental observations. Additionally, we notice that the binding between the protein and a potential interaction partner could not be avoided with the investigated reduced alphabets. Therefore, we suggest that aggregation could have been a driving force in the evolution of the large protein alphabet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Nerattini
- Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Luca Tubiana
- Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Chiara Cardelli
- Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Valentino Bianco
- Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christoph Dellago
- Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ivan Coluzza
- Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo Miramon 182, 20014, San Sebastian, Spain. .,IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48013, Bilbao, Spain.
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15
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Newton MS, Morrone DJ, Lee KH, Seelig B. Genetic Code Evolution Investigated through the Synthesis and Characterisation of Proteins from Reduced-Alphabet Libraries. Chembiochem 2019; 20:846-856. [PMID: 30511381 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201800668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The universal genetic code of 20 amino acids is the product of evolution. It is believed that earlier versions of the code had fewer residues. Many theories for the order in which amino acids were integrated into the code have been proposed, considering factors ranging from prebiotic chemistry to codon capture. Several meta-analyses combined these theories to yield a feasible consensus chronology of the genetic code's evolution, but there is a dearth of experimental data to test the hypothesised order. We used combinatorial chemistry to synthesise libraries of random polypeptides that were based on different subsets of the 20 standard amino acids, thus representing different stages of a plausible history of the alphabet. Four libraries were comprised of the five, nine, and 16 most ancient amino acids, and all 20 extant residues for a direct side-by-side comparison. We characterised numerous variants from each library for their solubility and propensity to form secondary, tertiary or quaternary structures. Proteins from the two most ancient libraries were more likely to be soluble than those from the extant library. Several individual protein variants exhibited inducible protein folding and other traits typical of intrinsically disordered proteins. From these libraries, we can infer how primordial protein structure and function might have evolved with the genetic code.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matilda S Newton
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.,BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Avenue, 140 Gortner Laboratory, St. Paul, MN, 55108-6106, USA
| | - Dana J Morrone
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.,BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Avenue, 140 Gortner Laboratory, St. Paul, MN, 55108-6106, USA
| | - Kun-Hwa Lee
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.,BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Avenue, 140 Gortner Laboratory, St. Paul, MN, 55108-6106, USA
| | - Burckhard Seelig
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.,BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, 1479 Gortner Avenue, 140 Gortner Laboratory, St. Paul, MN, 55108-6106, USA
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16
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Yao A, Reed SA, Koh M, Yu C, Luo X, Mehta AP, Schultz PG. Progress toward a reduced phage genetic code. Bioorg Med Chem 2018; 26:5247-5252. [PMID: 29609949 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2018.03.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2018] [Revised: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
All known living organisms use at least 20 amino acids as the basic building blocks of life. Efforts to reduce the number of building blocks in a replicating system to below the 20 canonical amino acids have not been successful to date. In this work, we use filamentous phage as a model system to investigate the feasibility of removing methionine (Met) from the proteome. We show that all 24 elongation Met sites in the M13 phage genome can be replaced by other canonical amino acids. Most of these changes involve substitution of methionine by leucine (Leu), but in some cases additional compensatory mutations are required. Combining Met substituted sites in the proteome generally led to lower viability/infectivity of the mutant phages, which remains the major challenge in eliminating all methionines from the phage proteome. To date a total of 15 (out of all 24) elongation Mets have been simultaneously deleted from the M13 proteome, providing a useful foundation for future efforts to minimize the genetic code.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anzhi Yao
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Sean A Reed
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Minseob Koh
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Chenguang Yu
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Xiaozhou Luo
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Angad P Mehta
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States
| | - Peter G Schultz
- The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States.
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17
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Fujishima K, Wang KM, Palmer JA, Abe N, Nakahigashi K, Endy D, Rothschild LJ. Reconstruction of cysteine biosynthesis using engineered cysteine-free enzymes. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1776. [PMID: 29379050 PMCID: PMC5788988 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-19920-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2016] [Accepted: 01/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Amino acid biosynthesis pathways observed in nature typically require enzymes that are made with the amino acids they produce. For example, Escherichia coli produces cysteine from serine via two enzymes that contain cysteine: serine acetyltransferase (CysE) and O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase (CysK/CysM). To solve this chicken-and-egg problem, we substituted alternate amino acids in CysE, CysK and CysM for cysteine and methionine, which are the only two sulfur-containing proteinogenic amino acids. Using a cysteine-dependent auxotrophic E. coli strain, CysE function was rescued by cysteine-free and methionine-deficient enzymes, and CysM function was rescued by cysteine-free enzymes. CysK function, however, was not rescued in either case. Enzymatic assays showed that the enzymes responsible for rescuing the function in CysE and CysM also retained their activities in vitro. Additionally, substitution of the two highly conserved methionines in CysM decreased but did not eliminate overall activity. Engineering amino acid biosynthetic enzymes to lack the so-produced amino acids can provide insights into, and perhaps eventually fully recapitulate via a synthetic approach, the biogenesis of biotic amino acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kosuke Fujishima
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 1528550, Japan.,Universities Space Research Association, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, 94035, USA.,Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, Tsuruoka, 9970035, Japan
| | - Kendrick M Wang
- Stanford University Department of Bioengineering, Stanford, California, 94305, USA
| | - Jesse A Palmer
- Universities Space Research Association, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, 94035, USA
| | - Nozomi Abe
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, Tsuruoka, 9970035, Japan
| | - Kenji Nakahigashi
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, Tsuruoka, 9970035, Japan.,Spiber Inc. 234-1 Mizukami, Kakuganji, Tsuruoka, 9970052, Japan
| | - Drew Endy
- Stanford University Department of Bioengineering, Stanford, California, 94305, USA
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18
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Comprehensive reduction of amino acid set in a protein suggests the importance of prebiotic amino acids for stable proteins. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1227. [PMID: 29352156 PMCID: PMC5775292 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-19561-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 01/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern organisms commonly use the same set of 20 genetically coded amino acids for protein synthesis with very few exceptions. However, earlier protein synthesis was plausibly much simpler than modern one and utilized only a limited set of amino acids. Nevertheless, few experimental tests of this issue with arbitrarily chosen amino acid sets had been reported prior to this report. Herein we comprehensively and systematically reduced the size of the amino acid set constituting an ancestral nucleoside kinase that was reconstructed in our previous study. We eventually found that two convergent sequences, each comprised of a 13-amino acid alphabet, folded into soluble, stable and catalytically active structures, even though their stabilities and activities were not as high as those of the parent protein. Notably, many but not all of the reduced-set amino acids coincide with those plausibly abundant in primitive Earth. The inconsistent amino acids appeared to be important for catalytic activity but not for stability. Therefore, our findings suggest that the prebiotically abundant amino acids were used for creating stable protein structures and other amino acids with functional side chains were recruited to achieve efficient catalysis.
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19
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Granold M, Hajieva P, Toşa MI, Irimie FD, Moosmann B. Modern diversification of the amino acid repertoire driven by oxygen. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:41-46. [PMID: 29259120 PMCID: PMC5776824 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1717100115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
All extant life employs the same 20 amino acids for protein biosynthesis. Studies on the number of amino acids necessary to produce a foldable and catalytically active polypeptide have shown that a basis set of 7-13 amino acids is sufficient to build major structural elements of modern proteins. Hence, the reasons for the evolutionary selection of the current 20 amino acids out of a much larger available pool have remained elusive. Here, we have analyzed the quantum chemistry of all proteinogenic and various prebiotic amino acids. We find that the energetic HOMO-LUMO gap, a correlate of chemical reactivity, becomes incrementally closer in modern amino acids, reaching the level of specialized redox cofactors in the late amino acids tryptophan and selenocysteine. We show that the arising prediction of a higher reactivity of the more recently added amino acids is correct as regards various free radicals, particularly oxygen-derived peroxyl radicals. Moreover, we demonstrate an immediate survival benefit conferred by the enhanced redox reactivity of the modern amino acids tyrosine and tryptophan in oxidatively stressed cells. Our data indicate that in demanding building blocks with more versatile redox chemistry, biospheric molecular oxygen triggered the selective fixation of the last amino acids in the genetic code. Thus, functional rather than structural amino acid properties were decisive during the finalization of the universal genetic code.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Granold
- Evolutionary Biochemistry and Redox Medicine, Institute for Pathobiochemistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Parvana Hajieva
- Cellular Adaptation Group, Institute for Pathobiochemistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Monica Ioana Toşa
- Group of Biocatalysis and Biotransformations, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca 400028, Romania
| | - Florin-Dan Irimie
- Group of Biocatalysis and Biotransformations, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca 400028, Romania
| | - Bernd Moosmann
- Evolutionary Biochemistry and Redox Medicine, Institute for Pathobiochemistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, 55128 Mainz, Germany;
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20
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Islam MM, Yohda M, Kidokoro SI, Kuroda Y. Crystal structures of highly simplified BPTIs provide insights into hydration-driven increase of unfolding enthalpy. Sci Rep 2017; 7:41205. [PMID: 28266637 PMCID: PMC5339861 DOI: 10.1038/srep41205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2016] [Accepted: 12/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We report a thermodynamic and structural analysis of six extensively simplified bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) variants containing 19–24 alanines out of 58 residues. Differential scanning calorimetry indicated a two-state thermal unfolding, typical of a native protein with densely packed interior. Surprisingly, increasing the number of alanines induced enthalpy stabilization, which was however over-compensated by entropy destabilization. X-ray crystallography indicated that the alanine substitutions caused the recruitment of novel water molecules facilitating the formation of protein–water hydrogen bonds and improving the hydration shells around the alanine’s methyl groups, both of which presumably contributed to enthalpy stabilization. There was a strong correlation between the number of water molecules and the thermodynamic parameters. Overall, our results demonstrate that, in contrast to our initial expectation, a protein sequence in which over 40% of the residues are alanines can retain a densely packed structure and undergo thermal denaturation with a large enthalpy change, mainly contributed by hydration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Monirul Islam
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Nakamachi, Koganei-shi, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chittagong, Chittagong-4331, Bangladesh
| | - Masafumi Yohda
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Nakamachi, Koganei-shi, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
| | - Shun-Ichi Kidokoro
- Department of Bioengineering, Nagaoka University of Technology, Kamitomioka-cho, Nagaoka, Niigata 940-2188, Japan
| | - Yutaka Kuroda
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Nakamachi, Koganei-shi, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan
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21
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Berezovsky IN, Guarnera E, Zheng Z. Basic units of protein structure, folding, and function. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 128:85-99. [PMID: 27697476 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2016.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2016] [Revised: 09/05/2016] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Study of the hierarchy of domain structure with alternative sets of domains and analysis of discontinuous domains, consisting of remote segments of the polypeptide chain, raised a question about the minimal structural unit of the protein domain. The hypothesis on the decisive role of the polypeptide backbone in determining the elementary units of globular proteins have led to the discovery of closed loops. It is reviewed here how closed loops form the loop-n-lock structure of proteins, providing the foundation for stability and designability of protein folds/domain and underlying their co-translational folding. Simplified protein sequences are considered here with the aim to explore the basic principles that presumably dominated the folding and stability of proteins in the early stages of structural evolution. Elementary functional loops (EFLs), closed loops with one or few catalytic residues, are, in turn, units of the protein function. They are apparent descendants of the prebiotic ring-like peptides, which gave rise to the first functional folds/domains being fused in the beginning of the evolution of protein structure. It is also shown how evolutionary relations between protein functional superfamilies and folds delineated with the help of EFLs can contribute to establishing the rules for design of desired enzymatic functions. Generalized descriptors of the elementary functions are proposed to be used as basic units in the future computational design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor N Berezovsky
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore; Department of Biological Sciences (DBS), National University of Singapore (NUS), 8 Medical Drive, 117579, Singapore.
| | - Enrico Guarnera
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore
| | - Zejun Zheng
- Bioinformatics Institute (BII), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 30 Biopolis Street, #07-01, Matrix, 138671, Singapore
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22
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Sun Z, Salas PT, Siirola E, Lonsdale R, Reetz MT. Exploring productive sequence space in directed evolution using binary patterning versus conventional mutagenesis strategies. BIORESOUR BIOPROCESS 2016. [DOI: 10.1186/s40643-016-0122-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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23
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Sun Z, Lonsdale R, Li G, Reetz MT. Comparing Different Strategies in Directed Evolution of Enzyme Stereoselectivity: Single- versus Double-Code Saturation Mutagenesis. Chembiochem 2016; 17:1865-1872. [DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201600296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhoutong Sun
- Department of Synthetic Organic Chemistry; Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung; Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Germany
- Fachbereich Chemie, Philipps-; Universität Marburg; Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 35032 Marburg Germany
| | - Richard Lonsdale
- Department of Synthetic Organic Chemistry; Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung; Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Germany
- Fachbereich Chemie, Philipps-; Universität Marburg; Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 35032 Marburg Germany
| | - Guangyue Li
- Department of Synthetic Organic Chemistry; Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung; Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Germany
- Fachbereich Chemie, Philipps-; Universität Marburg; Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 35032 Marburg Germany
| | - Manfred T. Reetz
- Department of Synthetic Organic Chemistry; Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung; Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Germany
- Fachbereich Chemie, Philipps-; Universität Marburg; Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 35032 Marburg Germany
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24
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Acevedo-Rocha CG, Budisa N. Xenomicrobiology: a roadmap for genetic code engineering. Microb Biotechnol 2016; 9:666-76. [PMID: 27489097 PMCID: PMC4993186 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.12398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Accepted: 07/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Biology is an analytical and informational science that is becoming increasingly dependent on chemical synthesis. One example is the high‐throughput and low‐cost synthesis of DNA, which is a foundation for the research field of synthetic biology (SB). The aim of SB is to provide biotechnological solutions to health, energy and environmental issues as well as unsustainable manufacturing processes in the frame of naturally existing chemical building blocks. Xenobiology (XB) goes a step further by implementing non‐natural building blocks in living cells. In this context, genetic code engineering respectively enables the re‐design of genes/genomes and proteins/proteomes with non‐canonical nucleic (XNAs) and amino (ncAAs) acids. Besides studying information flow and evolutionary innovation in living systems, XB allows the development of new‐to‐nature therapeutic proteins/peptides, new biocatalysts for potential applications in synthetic organic chemistry and biocontainment strategies for enhanced biosafety. In this perspective, we provide a brief history and evolution of the genetic code in the context of XB. We then discuss the latest efforts and challenges ahead for engineering the genetic code with focus on substitutions and additions of ncAAs as well as standard amino acid reductions. Finally, we present a roadmap for the directed evolution of artificial microbes for emancipating rare sense codons that could be used to introduce novel building blocks. The development of such xenomicroorganisms endowed with a ‘genetic firewall’ will also allow to study and understand the relation between code evolution and horizontal gene transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos G Acevedo-Rocha
- Biosyntia ApS, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark.,Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, 2970, Hørsholm, Denmark
| | - Nediljko Budisa
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University Berlin, Müller-Breslau-Str. 10, Berlin, 10623, Germany
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25
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Højgaard C, Kofoed C, Espersen R, Johansson KE, Villa M, Willemoës M, Lindorff-Larsen K, Teilum K, Winther JR. A Soluble, Folded Protein without Charged Amino Acid Residues. Biochemistry 2016; 55:3949-56. [PMID: 27307139 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.6b00269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Charges are considered an integral part of protein structure and function, enhancing solubility and providing specificity in molecular interactions. We wished to investigate whether charged amino acids are indeed required for protein biogenesis and whether a protein completely free of titratable side chains can maintain solubility, stability, and function. As a model, we used a cellulose-binding domain from Cellulomonas fimi, which, among proteins of more than 100 amino acids, presently is the least charged in the Protein Data Bank, with a total of only four titratable residues. We find that the protein shows a surprising resilience toward extremes of pH, demonstrating stability and function (cellulose binding) in the pH range from 2 to 11. To ask whether the four charged residues present were required for these properties of this protein, we altered them to nontitratable ones. Remarkably, this chargeless protein is produced reasonably well in Escherichia coli, retains its stable three-dimensional structure, and is still capable of strong cellulose binding. To further deprive this protein of charges, we removed the N-terminal charge by acetylation and studied the protein at pH 2, where the C-terminus is effectively protonated. Under these conditions, the protein retains its function and proved to be both soluble and have a reversible folding-unfolding transition. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a soluble, functional protein with no titratable side chains has been produced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casper Højgaard
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen , DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Christian Kofoed
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen , DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Roall Espersen
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen , DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Kristoffer Enøe Johansson
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen , DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Mara Villa
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen , DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Martin Willemoës
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen , DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen , DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Kaare Teilum
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen , DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Jakob R Winther
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen , DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
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26
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Lajoie MJ, Söll D, Church GM. Overcoming Challenges in Engineering the Genetic Code. J Mol Biol 2016; 428:1004-21. [PMID: 26348789 PMCID: PMC4779434 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2015.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2015] [Revised: 08/19/2015] [Accepted: 09/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Withstanding 3.5 billion years of genetic drift, the canonical genetic code remains such a fundamental foundation for the complexity of life that it is highly conserved across all three phylogenetic domains. Genome engineering technologies are now making it possible to rationally change the genetic code, offering resistance to viruses, genetic isolation from horizontal gene transfer, and prevention of environmental escape by genetically modified organisms. We discuss the biochemical, genetic, and technological challenges that must be overcome in order to engineer the genetic code.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Lajoie
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Program in Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
| | - D Söll
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8114, USA
| | - G M Church
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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27
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Sun Z, Wikmark Y, Bäckvall JE, Reetz MT. New Concepts for Increasing the Efficiency in Directed Evolution of Stereoselective Enzymes. Chemistry 2016; 22:5046-54. [DOI: 10.1002/chem.201504406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhoutong Sun
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung; Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Germany
- Fachbereich Chemie; Philipps-Universität Marburg; Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 4 35032 Marburg Germany
| | - Ylva Wikmark
- Department of Organic Chemistry; Arrhenius Laboratory; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Jan-E. Bäckvall
- Department of Organic Chemistry; Arrhenius Laboratory; Stockholm University; 106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Manfred T. Reetz
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung; Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr Germany
- Fachbereich Chemie; Philipps-Universität Marburg; Hans-Meerwein-Strasse 4 35032 Marburg Germany
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28
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Solis AD. Amino acid alphabet reduction preserves fold information contained in contact interactions in proteins. Proteins 2015; 83:2198-216. [DOI: 10.1002/prot.24936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2015] [Revised: 09/04/2015] [Accepted: 09/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Armando D. Solis
- Biological Sciences Department, New York City College of Technology; the City University of New York (CUNY); Brooklyn New York 11201
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Huang JT, Wang T, Huang SR, Li X. Reduced alphabet for protein folding prediction. Proteins 2015; 83:631-9. [PMID: 25641420 DOI: 10.1002/prot.24762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Revised: 11/07/2014] [Accepted: 12/21/2014] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
What are the key building blocks that would have been needed to construct complex protein folds? This is an important issue for understanding protein folding mechanism and guiding de novo protein design. Twenty naturally occurring amino acids and eight secondary structures consist of a 28-letter alphabet to determine folding kinetics and mechanism. Here we predict folding kinetic rates of proteins from many reduced alphabets. We find that a reduced alphabet of 10 letters achieves good correlation with folding rates, close to the one achieved by full 28-letter alphabet. Many other reduced alphabets are not significantly correlated to folding rates. The finding suggests that not all amino acids and secondary structures are equally important for protein folding. The foldable sequence of a protein could be designed using at least 10 folding units, which can either promote or inhibit protein folding. Reducing alphabet cardinality without losing key folding kinetic information opens the door to potentially faster machine learning and data mining applications in protein structure prediction, sequence alignment and protein design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jitao T Huang
- Department of Chemistry and National Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, People's Republic of China
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Longo LM, Tenorio CA, Kumru OS, Middaugh CR, Blaber M. A single aromatic core mutation converts a designed "primitive" protein from halophile to mesophile folding. Protein Sci 2014; 24:27-37. [PMID: 25297559 DOI: 10.1002/pro.2580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The halophile environment has a number of compelling aspects with regard to the origin of structured polypeptides (i.e., proteogenesis) and, instead of a curious niche that living systems adapted into, the halophile environment is emerging as a candidate "cradle" for proteogenesis. In this viewpoint, a subsequent halophile-to-mesophile transition was a key step in early evolution. Several lines of evidence indicate that aromatic amino acids were a late addition to the codon table and not part of the original "prebiotic" set comprising the earliest polypeptides. We test the hypothesis that the availability of aromatic amino acids could facilitate a halophile-to-mesophile transition by hydrophobic core-packing enhancement. The effects of aromatic amino acid substitutions were evaluated in the core of a "primitive" designed protein enriched for the 10 prebiotic amino acids (A,D,E,G,I,L,P,S,T,V)-having an exclusively prebiotic core and requiring halophilic conditions for folding. The results indicate that a single aromatic amino acid substitution is capable of eliminating the requirement of halophile conditions for folding of a "primitive" polypeptide. Thus, the availability of aromatic amino acids could have facilitated a critical halophile-to-mesophile protein folding adaptation-identifying a selective advantage for the incorporation of aromatic amino acids into the codon table.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam M Longo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306-4300
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31
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Abstract
Genome engineering strategies--such as genome editing, reduction and shuffling, and de novo genome synthesis--enable the modification of specific genomic locations in a directed and combinatorial manner. These approaches offer an unprecedented opportunity to study central evolutionary issues in which natural genetic variation is limited or biased, which sheds light on the evolutionary forces driving complex and extremely slowly evolving traits; the selective constraints on genome architecture; and the reconstruction of ancestral states of cellular structures and networks.
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32
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Zayas H, Holdsworth CI, Bowyer MC, McCluskey A. Evaluation of 4-substituted styrenes as functional monomers for the synthesis of theophylline-specific molecularly imprinted polymers. Org Biomol Chem 2014; 12:6994-7003. [DOI: 10.1039/c4ob00517a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Six novel functional monomers (M1–M6) were examined for their ability to imprint theophylline (1). The best selectivity was observed with M2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hazit Zayas
- Discipline of Chemistry
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan, Australia
| | | | - Michael C. Bowyer
- Discipline of Applied Sciences
- School of Environmental & Life Sciences
- University of Newcastle
- Ourimbah, Australia
| | - Adam McCluskey
- Discipline of Chemistry
- University of Newcastle
- Callaghan, Australia
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Improvement of biocatalysts for industrial and environmental purposes by saturation mutagenesis. Biomolecules 2013; 3:778-811. [PMID: 24970191 PMCID: PMC4030971 DOI: 10.3390/biom3040778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2013] [Revised: 09/22/2013] [Accepted: 09/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Laboratory evolution techniques are becoming increasingly widespread among protein engineers for the development of novel and designed biocatalysts. The palette of different approaches ranges from complete randomized strategies to rational and structure-guided mutagenesis, with a wide variety of costs, impacts, drawbacks and relevance to biotechnology. A technique that convincingly compromises the extremes of fully randomized vs. rational mutagenesis, with a high benefit/cost ratio, is saturation mutagenesis. Here we will present and discuss this approach in its many facets, also tackling the issue of randomization, statistical evaluation of library completeness and throughput efficiency of screening methods. Successful recent applications covering different classes of enzymes will be presented referring to the literature and to research lines pursued in our group. The focus is put on saturation mutagenesis as a tool for designing novel biocatalysts specifically relevant to production of fine chemicals for improving bulk enzymes for industry and engineering technical enzymes involved in treatment of waste, detoxification and production of clean energy from renewable sources.
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34
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A metabolic prototype for eliminating tryptophan from the genetic code. Sci Rep 2013; 3:1359. [PMID: 23447021 PMCID: PMC3584311 DOI: 10.1038/srep01359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2012] [Accepted: 02/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We set out to reduce the chemical constitution of a living organism to 19 amino acids. A strain was constructed for reassigning the tryptophan codon UGG to histidine and eliminating tryptophan from Escherichia coli. Histidine codons in the gene for an essential enzyme were replaced with tryptophan codons and the restoration of catalytic activity by missense suppressor His-tRNA bearing a CCA anticodon was selected. We used automated cultivation to assess the stability of this genetic construct during evolution. Histidine to tryptophan mutation at codon 30 in the transketolase gene from yeast and its cognate suppressor tRNA were stably propagated in a tktAB deletant of E. coli over 2500 generations. The ratio of histidine misincorporation at tryptophan sites in the proteome increased from 0.0007 to 0.03 over 300 days of continuous culture. This result demonstrated that the genetic code can be forced to evolve by permanent metabolic selection.
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35
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Diez-García F, Pantoja-Uceda D, Jiménez MÁ, Chakrabartty A, Laurents DV. Structure of a simplified β-hairpin and its ATP complex. Arch Biochem Biophys 2013; 537:62-71. [PMID: 23811197 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2013.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2013] [Revised: 06/13/2013] [Accepted: 06/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The capacity of three designed duodecamer peptides with the low diversity sequence: H1ϕ2I3K4I5D6G7K8ϕ9I10K11H12 where ϕ is His, Phe or Trp, to adopt a β-hairpin conformation was studied using NMR spectroscopy. Whereas KIAβH, the variant with His at positions two and nine, is disordered, KIAβF, the peptide with Phe at these positions, adopts a small population of β-hairpin. A high population of β-hairpin structure was detected for KIAβW, the variant with Trp. Utilizing NMR data, the structure of KIAβW was solved and it reveals a β-hairpin stabilized by hydrophobic interactions between Ile residues on one face and Trp-Trp and cation-π interactions on the opposite face. Upon adding ATP, these peptides show chemical shift changes indicative of ATP binding. The binding of ATP to KIAβW shows a KD ≈ 20 μM at pH 5, 5 °C and has a 1:1 stoichiometry. The KIAβW-ATP complex was determined using NMR spectroscopy and reveals the adenine ring sandwiched between the two Trp indole rings and that ATP binding induces important conformational changes in His1, Trp2, Lys4, Trp9 and Lys11 in the β-hairpin. The implications of these results for the hypothetic presence of β-hairpins and amyloids alongside RNAs on the prebiotic Earth are discussed.
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36
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Pezo V, Liu FW, Abramov M, Froeyen M, Herdewijn P, Marlière P. Binary Genetic Cassettes for Selecting XNA-Templated DNA Synthesis In Vivo. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2013. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201303288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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37
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Pezo V, Liu FW, Abramov M, Froeyen M, Herdewijn P, Marlière P. Binary genetic cassettes for selecting XNA-templated DNA synthesis in vivo. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2013; 52:8139-43. [PMID: 23804524 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201303288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2013] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Valérie Pezo
- ISSB, Génopole, Genavenir6, Equipe Xénome, 5 rue Henri Desbruères, 91030 Evry Cedex, France
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38
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Reconstructing a flavodoxin oxidoreductase with early amino acids. Int J Mol Sci 2013; 14:12843-52. [PMID: 23783279 PMCID: PMC3709815 DOI: 10.3390/ijms140612843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2013] [Revised: 05/24/2013] [Accepted: 06/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Primitive proteins are proposed to have utilized organic cofactors more frequently than transition metals in redox reactions. Thus, an experimental validation on whether a protein constituted solely by early amino acids and an organic cofactor can perform electron transfer activity is an urgent challenge. In this paper, by substituting "late amino acids (C, F, M, T, W, and Y)" with "early amino acids (A, L, and V)" in a flavodoxin, we constructed a flavodoxin mutant and evaluated its characteristic properties. The major results showed that: (1) The flavodoxin mutant has structural characteristics similar to wild-type protein; (2) Although the semiquinone and hydroquinone flavodoxin mutants possess lower stability than the corresponding form of wild-type flavodoxin, the redox potential of double electron reduction Em,7 (fld) reached -360 mV, indicating that the flavodoxin mutant constituted solely by early amino acids can exert effective electron transfer activity.
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39
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Directed evolution of a model primordial enzyme provides insights into the development of the genetic code. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003187. [PMID: 23300488 PMCID: PMC3536711 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2012] [Accepted: 11/06/2012] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The contemporary proteinogenic repertoire contains 20 amino acids with diverse functional groups and side chain geometries. Primordial proteins, in contrast, were presumably constructed from a subset of these building blocks. Subsequent expansion of the proteinogenic alphabet would have enhanced their capabilities, fostering the metabolic prowess and organismal fitness of early living systems. While the addition of amino acids bearing innovative functional groups directly enhances the chemical repertoire of proteomes, the inclusion of chemically redundant monomers is difficult to rationalize. Here, we studied how a simplified chorismate mutase evolves upon expanding its amino acid alphabet from nine to potentially 20 letters. Continuous evolution provided an enhanced enzyme variant that has only two point mutations, both of which extend the alphabet and jointly improve protein stability by >4 kcal/mol and catalytic activity tenfold. The same, seemingly innocuous substitutions (Ile→Thr, Leu→Val) occurred in several independent evolutionary trajectories. The increase in fitness they confer indicates that building blocks with very similar side chain structures are highly beneficial for fine-tuning protein structure and function. Proteins are linear polymers of a set of typically 20 different amino acid building blocks. The amino acid sequence—encoded by a genetic template—directs the folding of newly synthesized proteins into compact 3D structures and dictates the function of the protein product. Monomers containing distinct physico-chemical properties and geometries allow the formation of highly sophisticated architectures, and diverse functional groups enable enzymes to catalyze a plethora of chemical transformations. Nevertheless, the biochemical rationale for the exact composition (and particularly the redundancy) of the proteinogenic amino acid alphabet, which contains multiple building blocks that are chemically similar, remains enigmatic. By subjecting a simplified enzyme—constructed from only nine different amino acids—to directed evolution, we were able to investigate the impact of amino acid diversity on protein function. The most prolific variant selected in the course of the experiments expanded its amino acid alphabet, albeit through two surprisingly subtle mutations (isoleucine to threonine and leucine to valine). The mutations improve both stability and catalytic activity of the enzyme, thereby demonstrating that the presence of structurally similar amino acids specified by the genetic code is highly beneficial for protein fitness.
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40
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41
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Longo LM, Blaber M. Protein design at the interface of the pre-biotic and biotic worlds. Arch Biochem Biophys 2012; 526:16-21. [DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2012.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2012] [Accepted: 06/23/2012] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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42
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Reetz MT. Laboratory evolution of stereoselective enzymes as a means to expand the toolbox of organic chemists. Tetrahedron 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tet.2012.05.093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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43
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Kawahara-Kobayashi A, Masuda A, Araiso Y, Sakai Y, Kohda A, Uchiyama M, Asami S, Matsuda T, Ishitani R, Dohmae N, Yokoyama S, Kigawa T, Nureki O, Kiga D. Simplification of the genetic code: restricted diversity of genetically encoded amino acids. Nucleic Acids Res 2012; 40:10576-84. [PMID: 22909996 PMCID: PMC3488234 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gks786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
At earlier stages in the evolution of the universal genetic code, fewer than 20 amino acids were considered to be used. Although this notion is supported by a wide range of data, the actual existence and function of the genetic codes with a limited set of canonical amino acids have not been addressed experimentally, in contrast to the successful development of the expanded codes. Here, we constructed artificial genetic codes involving a reduced alphabet. In one of the codes, a tRNAAla variant with the Trp anticodon reassigns alanine to an unassigned UGG codon in the Escherichia coli S30 cell-free translation system lacking tryptophan. We confirmed that the efficiency and accuracy of protein synthesis by this Trp-lacking code were comparable to those by the universal genetic code, by an amino acid composition analysis, green fluorescent protein fluorescence measurements and the crystal structure determination. We also showed that another code, in which UGU/UGC codons are assigned to Ser, synthesizes an active enzyme. This method will provide not only new insights into primordial genetic codes, but also an essential protein engineering tool for the assessment of the early stages of protein evolution and for the improvement of pharmaceuticals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akio Kawahara-Kobayashi
- Department of Computational Intelligence and Systems Science, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 226-8503, Japan
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44
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Gumulya Y, Sanchis J, Reetz MT. Many Pathways in Laboratory Evolution Can Lead to Improved Enzymes: How to Escape from Local Minima. Chembiochem 2012; 13:1060-6. [DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201100784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2011] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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45
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Assessing directed evolution methods for the generation of biosynthetic enzymes with potential in drug biosynthesis. Future Med Chem 2011; 3:809-19. [PMID: 21644826 DOI: 10.4155/fmc.11.48] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
To address the synthesis of increasingly structurally diverse small-molecule drugs, methods for the generation of efficient and selective biological catalysts are becoming increasingly important. 'Directed evolution' is an umbrella term referring to a variety of methods for improving or altering the function of enzymes using a nature-inspired twofold strategy of mutagenesis followed by selection. This article provides an objective assessment of the effectiveness of directed evolution campaigns in generating enzymes with improved catalytic parameters for new substrates from the last decade, excluding studies that aimed to select for only improved physical properties and those that lack kinetic characterization. An analysis of the trends of methodologies and their success rates from 81 qualifying examples in the literature reveals the average fold improvement for k (cat) (or V (max)), K (m) and k (cat)/K (m) to be 366-, 12- and 2548-fold, respectively, whereas the median fold improvements are 5.4, 3 and 15.6. Further analysis by enzyme class, library-generation methodology and screening methodology explores relationships between successful campaigns and the methodologies employed.
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46
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Smith BA, Hecht MH. Novel proteins: from fold to function. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2011; 15:421-6. [PMID: 21474363 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2011.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2011] [Accepted: 03/15/2011] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The field of de novo protein design, though only two decades old, has already reached the point where designing and selecting novel proteins that are functionally active has been achieved several times. Here we review recently reported de novo functional proteins that were developed using various approaches, including rational design, computational optimization, and selection from combinatorial libraries. The functions displayed by these proteins range from metal binding to enzymatic catalysis. Some were designed for specific applications in engineering and medicine, and others provide life-sustaining functions in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Betsy A Smith
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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47
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Jain A, Lense S, Linehan JC, Raugei S, Cho H, DuBois DL, Shaw WJ. Incorporating peptides in the outer-coordination sphere of bioinspired electrocatalysts for hydrogen production. Inorg Chem 2011; 50:4073-85. [PMID: 21456543 DOI: 10.1021/ic1025872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Four new cyclic 1,5-diaza-3,7-diphosphacyclooctane ligands have been prepared and used to synthesize [Ni(P(Ph)(2)N(R)(2))(2)](2+) complexes in which R is a mono- or dipeptide. These complexes represent a first step in the development of an outer-coordination sphere for this class of complexes that can mimic the outer-coordination sphere of the active sites of hydrogenase enzymes. Importantly, these complexes retain the electrocatalytic activity of the parent [Ni(P(Ph)(2)N(Ph)(2))(2)](2+) complex in an acetonitrile solution with turnover frequencies for hydrogen production ranging from 14 to 25 s(-1) in the presence of p-cyanoanilinium trifluoromethanesulfonate and from 135 to 1000 s(-1) in the presence of protonated dimethylformamide, with moderately low overpotentials, ∼0.3 V. The addition of small amounts of water results in rate increases of 2-7 times. Unlike the parent complex, these complexes demonstrate dynamic structural transformations in solution. These results establish a building block from which larger peptide scaffolding can be added to allow the [Ni(P(R)(2)N(R')(2))(2)](2+) molecular catalytic core to begin to mimic the multifunctional outer-coordination sphere of enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avijita Jain
- Chemical and Materials Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354, USA
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48
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Tanaka J, Yanagawa H, Doi N. Comparison of the frequency of functional SH3 domains with different limited sets of amino acids using mRNA display. PLoS One 2011; 6:e18034. [PMID: 21445307 PMCID: PMC3061877 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2010] [Accepted: 02/23/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although modern proteins consist of 20 different amino acids, it has been proposed that primordial proteins consisted of a small set of amino acids, and additional amino acids have gradually been recruited into the genetic code. This hypothesis has recently been supported by comparative genome sequence analysis, but no direct experimental approach has been reported. Here, we utilized a novel experimental approach to test a hypothesis that native-like globular proteins might be easily simplified by a set of putative primitive amino acids with retention of its structure and function than by a set of putative new amino acids. We performed in vitro selection of a functional SH3 domain as a model from partially randomized libraries with different sets of amino acids using mRNA display. Consequently, a library rich in putative primitive amino acids included a larger number of functional SH3 sequences than a library rich in putative new amino acids. Further, the functional SH3 sequences were enriched from the primitive library slightly earlier than from a randomized library with the full set of amino acids, while the function and structure of the selected SH3 proteins with the primitive alphabet were comparable with those from the 20 amino acid alphabet. Application of this approach to various combinations of codons in protein sequences may be useful not only for clarifying the precise order of the amino acid expansion in the early stages of protein evolution but also for efficiently creating novel functional proteins in the laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junko Tanaka
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Yanagawa
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Nobuhide Doi
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
- * E-mail:
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49
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Jäckel C, Hilvert D. Biocatalysts by evolution. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2010; 21:753-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2010.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2010] [Revised: 08/15/2010] [Accepted: 08/19/2010] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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50
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Tanaka J, Doi N, Takashima H, Yanagawa H. Comparative characterization of random-sequence proteins consisting of 5, 12, and 20 kinds of amino acids. Protein Sci 2010; 19:786-95. [PMID: 20162614 DOI: 10.1002/pro.358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Screening of functional proteins from a random-sequence library has been used to evolve novel proteins in the field of evolutionary protein engineering. However, random-sequence proteins consisting of the 20 natural amino acids tend to aggregate, and the occurrence rate of functional proteins in a random-sequence library is low. From the viewpoint of the origin of life, it has been proposed that primordial proteins consisted of a limited set of amino acids that could have been abundantly formed early during chemical evolution. We have previously found that members of a random-sequence protein library constructed with five primitive amino acids show high solubility (Doi et al., Protein Eng Des Sel 2005;18:279-284). Although such a library is expected to be appropriate for finding functional proteins, the functionality may be limited, because they have no positively charged amino acid. Here, we constructed three libraries of 120-amino acid, random-sequence proteins using alphabets of 5, 12, and 20 amino acids by preselection using mRNA display (to eliminate sequences containing stop codons and frameshifts) and characterized and compared the structural properties of random-sequence proteins arbitrarily chosen from these libraries. We found that random-sequence proteins constructed with the 12-member alphabet (including five primitive amino acids and positively charged amino acids) have higher solubility than those constructed with the 20-member alphabet, though other biophysical properties are very similar in the two libraries. Thus, a library of moderate complexity constructed from 12 amino acids may be a more appropriate resource for functional screening than one constructed from 20 amino acids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junko Tanaka
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University, Yokohama 223-8522, Japan
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