Native ß-barrel substrates pass through two shared intermediates during folding on the BAM complex.

The assembly of ß-barrel proteins into membranes is mediated by the evolutionarily conserved ß-barrel assembly machine (BAM) complex. In Escherichia coli, BAM folds numerous substrates which vary considerably in size and shape. How BAM is able to efficiently fold such a diverse array of ß-barrel substrates is not clear. Here, we develop a disulfide crosslinking method to trap native substrates in vivo as they fold on BAM. By placing a cysteine within the luminal wall of the BamA barrel as well as in the substrate ß-strands, we can compare the residence time of each substrate strand within the BamA lumen. We validated this method using two defective, slow-folding substrates. We used this method to characterize stable intermediates which occur during folding of two structurally different native substrates. Strikingly, these intermediates occur during identical stages of folding for both substrates: soon after folding has begun and just before folding is completed. We suggest that these intermediates arise due to barriers to folding that are common between ß-barrel substrates, and that the BAM catalyst is able to fold so many different substrates because it addresses these common challenges.

Cytosolic iron-sulfur protein assembly system identifies clients by a C-terminal tripeptide.

The eukaryotic cytosolic Fe-S protein assembly (CIA) machinery inserts iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters into cytosolic and nuclear proteins. In the final maturation step, the Fe-S cluster is transferred to the apo-proteins by the CIA-targeting complex (CTC). However, the molecular recognition determinants of client proteins are unknown. We show that a conserved [LIM]-[DES]-[WF]-COO- tripeptide is present at the C-terminus of more than a quarter of clients or their adaptors. When present, this targeting complex recognition (TCR) motif is necessary and sufficient for binding to the CTC in vitro and for directing Fe-S cluster delivery in vivo. Remarkably, fusion of this TCR signal enables engineering of cluster maturation on a nonnative protein via recruitment of the CIA machinery. Our study advances our understanding of Fe-S protein maturation and paves the way for bioengineering novel pathways containing Fe-S enzymes.

Structural and biochemical investigations of a HEAT-repeat protein involved in the cytosolic iron-sulfur cluster assembly pathway.

Iron-sulfur clusters are essential for life and defects in their biosynthesis lead to human diseases. The mechanism of cluster assembly and delivery to cytosolic and nuclear client proteins via the cytosolic iron-sulfur cluster assembly (CIA) pathway is not well understood. Here we report cryo-EM structures of the HEAT-repeat protein Met18 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a key component of the CIA targeting complex (CTC) that identifies cytosolic and nuclear client proteins and delivers a mature iron-sulfur cluster. We find that in the absence of other CTC proteins, Met18 adopts tetrameric and hexameric states. Using mass photometry and negative stain EM, we show that upon the addition of Cia2, these higher order oligomeric states of Met18 disassemble. We also use pulldown assays to identify residues of critical importance for Cia2 binding and recognition of the Leu1 client, many of which are buried when Met18 oligomerizes. Our structures show conformations of Met18 that have not been previously observed in any Met18 homolog, lending support to the idea that a highly flexible Met18 may be key to how the CTC is able to deliver iron-sulfur clusters to client proteins of various sizes and shapes, i.e. Met18 conforms to the dimensions needed.

Cytosolic iron-sulfur protein assembly system identifies clients by a C-terminal tripeptide.

The eukaryotic cytosolic Fe-S protein assembly (CIA) machinery inserts iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters into cytosolic and nuclear proteins. In the final maturation step, the Fe-S cluster is transferred to the apo-proteins by the CIA-targeting complex (CTC). However, the molecular recognition determinants of client proteins are unknown. We show that a conserved [LIM]-[DES]-[WF]-COO- tripeptide present at the C-terminus of clients is necessary and sufficient for binding to the CTC in vitro and directing Fe-S cluster delivery in vivo. Remarkably, fusion of this TCR (target complex recognition) signal enables engineering of cluster maturation on a non-native protein via recruitment of the CIA machinery. Our study significantly advances our understanding of Fe-S protein maturation and paves the way for bioengineering applications.

Defining the domains of Cia2 required for its essential function in vivo and in vitro.

The cytosolic iron-sulfur cluster assembly (CIA) system biosynthesizes iron-sulfur (FeS) cluster cofactors for cytosolic and nuclear proteins. The yeast Cia2 protein is the central component of the targeting complex which identifies apo-protein targets in the final step of the pathway. Herein, we determine that Cia2 contains five conserved motifs distributed between an intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain and a C-terminal domain of unknown function 59 (DUF59). The disordered domain is dispensible for binding the other subunits of the targeting complex, Met18 and Cia1, and the apo-target Rad3 in vitro. While in vivo assays reveal that the C-terminal domain is sufficient to support viability, several phenotypic assays indicate that deletion of the N-terminal domain negatively impacts CIA function. We additionally establish that Glu208, located within a conserved motif found only in eukaryotic DUF59 proteins, is important for the Cia1-Cia2 interaction in vitro. In vivo, E208A-Cia2 results in a diminished activity of the cytosolic iron sulfur cluster protein, Leu1 but only modest effects on hydroxyurea or methylmethane sulfonate sensitivity. Finally, we demonstrate that neither of the two highly conserved motifs of the DUF59 domain are vital for any of Cia2's interactions in vitro yet mutation of the DPE motif in the DUF59 domain results in a nonfunctional allele in vivo. Our observation that four of the five highly conserved motifs of Cia2 are dispensable for targeting complex formation and apo-target binding suggests that Cia2 is not simply a protein-protein interaction mediator but it likely possesses an additional, currently cryptic, function during the final cluster insertion step of CIA.