Enhancing colorimetric loop-mediated isothermal amplification speed and sensitivity with guanidine chloride.

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a versatile technique for detection of target DNA and RNA, enabling rapid molecular diagnostic assays with minimal equipment. The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has presented an urgent need for new and better diagnostic methods, with colorimetric LAMP utilized in numerous studies for SARS-CoV-2 detection. However, the sensitivity of colorimetric LAMP in early reports has been below that of the standard RT-qPCR tests, and we sought to improve performance. Here we report the use of guanidine hydrochloride and combined primer sets to increase speed and sensitivity in colorimetric LAMP, bringing this simple method up to the standards of sophisticated techniques and enabling accurate, high-throughput diagnostics.

Enzyme-Substrate-Cofactor Dynamical Networks Revealed by High-Resolution Field Cycling Relaxometry.

The remarkable power and specificity of enzyme catalysis rely on the dynamic alignment of the enzyme, substrates, and cofactors, yet the role of dynamics has usually been approached from the perspective of the protein. We have been using an underappreciated NMR technique, subtesla high-resolution field cycling 31P NMR relaxometry, to investigate the dynamics of the enzyme-bound substrates and cofactor on guanosine-5'-monophosphate reductase (GMPR). GMPR forms two dead end, yet catalytically competent, complexes that mimic distinct steps in the catalytic cycle: E·IMP·NADP+ undergoes a partial hydride transfer reaction, while E·GMP·NADP+ undergoes a partial deamination reaction. A different cofactor conformation is required for each partial reaction. Here we report the effects of mutations designed to perturb cofactor conformation and ammonia binding with the goal of identifying the structural features that contribute to the distinct dynamic signatures of the hydride transfer and deamination complexes. These experiments suggest that Asp129 is a central cog in a dynamic network required for both hydride transfer and deamination. In contrast, Lys77 modulates the conformation and mobility of substrates and cofactors in a reaction-specific manner. Thr105 and Tyr318 are part of a deamination-specific dynamic network that includes the 2'-OH of GMP. These residues have comparatively little effect on the dynamic properties of the hydride transfer complex. These results further illustrate the potential of high-resolution field cycling NMR relaxometry for the investigation of ligand dynamics. In addition, exchange experiments indicate that NH3/NH4+ has a high affinity for the deamination complex but a low affinity for the hydride transfer complex, suggesting that the movement of ammonia may gate the cofactor conformational change. Collectively, these experiments reinforce the view that the enzyme, substrates, and cofactor are linked in intricate, reaction-specific, dynamic networks and demonstrate that distal portions of the substrates and cofactors are critical features in these networks.

Cofactor mobility determines reaction outcome in the IMPDH and GMPR (ß-α)8 barrel enzymes.

Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) and guanosine monophosphate reductase (GMPR) belong to the same structural family, share a common set of catalytic residues and bind the same ligands. The structural and mechanistic features that determine reaction outcome in the IMPDH and GMPR family have not been identified. Here we show that the GMPR reaction uses the same intermediate E-XMP* as IMPDH, but in this reaction the intermediate reacts with ammonia instead of water. A single crystal structure of human GMPR type 2 with IMP and NADPH fortuitously captures three different states, each of which mimics a distinct step in the catalytic cycle of GMPR. The cofactor is found in two conformations: an 'in' conformation poised for hydride transfer and an 'out' conformation in which the cofactor is 6 Å from IMP. Mutagenesis along with substrate and cofactor analog experiments demonstrate that the out conformation is required for the deamination of GMP. Remarkably, the cofactor is part of the catalytic machinery that activates ammonia.

The importance of the leader sequence for directing lanthionine formation in lacticin 481.

Lantibiotics are post-translationally modified peptide antimicrobial agents that are synthesized with an N-terminal leader sequence and a C-terminal propeptide. Their maturation involves enzymatic dehydration of Ser and Thr residues in the precursor peptide to generate unsaturated amino acids, which react intramolecularly with nearby cysteines to form cyclic thioethers termed lanthionines and methyllanthionines. The role of the leader peptide in lantibiotic biosynthesis has been subject to much speculation. In this study, mutations of conserved residues in the leader sequence of the precursor peptide for lacticin 481 (LctA) did not inhibit dehydration and cyclization by lacticin 481 synthetase (LctM) showing that not one specific residue is essential for these transformations. These amino acids may therefore be conserved in the leader sequence of class II lantibiotics to direct other biosynthetic events, such as proteolysis of the leader peptide or transport of the active compound outside the cell. However, introduction of Pro residues into the leader peptide strongly affected the efficiency of dehydration, consistent with recognition of the secondary structure of the leader peptide by the synthetase. Furthermore, the presence of a hydrophobic residue at the position of Leu-7 appears important for enzymatic processing. Based on the data in this work and previous studies, a model for the interaction of LctM with LctA is proposed. The current study also showcases the ability to prepare other lantibiotics in the class II lacticin 481 family, including nukacin ISK-1, mutacin II, and ruminococcin A using the lacticin 481 synthetase. Surprisingly, a conserved Glu located in a ring that appears conserved in many class II lantibiotics, including those not belonging to the lacticin 481 subgroup, is not essential for antimicrobial activity of lacticin 481.

Mutants of the zinc ligands of lacticin 481 synthetase retain dehydration activity but have impaired cyclization activity.

Lantibiotics are ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide antibiotics. The modifications involve dehydration of Ser and Thr residues to generate dehydroalanines and dehydrobutyrines, followed by intramolecular attack of cysteines onto the newly formed dehydro amino acids to produce cyclic thioethers. LctM performs both processes during the biosynthesis of lacticin 481. Mutation of the zinc ligands Cys781 and Cys836 to alanine did not affect the dehydration activity of LctM. However, these mutations compromised cyclization activity when investigated with full length or truncated peptide substrates. Mutation of His725, another residue that is fully conserved in lantibiotic cyclases, to Asn resulted in a protein that still catalyzed dehydration of the substrate peptide and also retained cyclization activity, but at a decreased level compared to that of the wild type enzyme. Collectively, these results show that the C-terminal domain of LctM is responsible for cyclization, that the zinc ligands are critical for cyclization, and that dehydration takes place independently from the cyclization activity. Furthermore, these mutant proteins are excellent dehydratases and provide useful tools to investigate the dehydration activity as well as generate dehydrated peptides for study of the cyclization reaction by wild type LctM.

Engineering dehydro amino acids and thioethers into peptides using lacticin 481 synthetase.

Lantibiotics are peptide antimicrobials containing the thioether-bridged amino acids lanthionine (Lan) and methyllanthionine (MeLan) and often the dehydrated residues dehydroalanine (Dha) and dehydrobutyrine (Dhb). While biologically advantageous, the incorporation of these residues into peptides is synthetically daunting, and their production in vivo is limited to peptides containing proteinogenic amino acids. The lacticin 481 synthetase LctM offers versatile control over the installation of dehydro amino acids and thioether rings into peptides. In vitro processing of semisynthetic substrates unrelated to the prelacticin 481 peptide demonstrated the broad substrate tolerance of LctM. Furthermore, a chemoenzymatic strategy was employed to generate novel thioether linkages by cyclization of peptidic substrates containing the nonproteinogenic cysteine analogs homocysteine and beta-homocysteine. These findings are promising with respect to the utility of LctM toward preparation of conformationally constrained peptide therapeutics.

New developments in lantibiotic biosynthesis and mode of action.

Lantibiotics are a unique class of peptide antibiotics. Recent studies of the proteins involved in the elaborate post-translational modifications of lantibiotics have revealed that these enzymes have relaxed substrate specificity. These modifications include the dehydration of serine and threonine residues followed by the intramolecular addition of cysteine thiols to the unsaturated amino acids to create an intricate polycyclic peptide. The use of peptide engineering in vivo and in vitro has allowed investigation of their biosynthetic machinery. Several members utilize a unique mode of biological action that involves the sequestration of lipid II, a crucial intermediate in peptidoglycan biosynthesis, to form pores in bacterial membranes.