Target highlights in CASP14: Analysis of models by structure providers.

The biological and functional significance of selected Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction 14 (CASP14) targets are described by the authors of the structures. The authors highlight the most relevant features of the target proteins and discuss how well these features were reproduced in the respective submitted predictions. The overall ability to predict three-dimensional structures of proteins has improved remarkably in CASP14, and many difficult targets were modeled with impressive accuracy. For the first time in the history of CASP, the experimentalists not only highlighted that computational models can accurately reproduce the most critical structural features observed in their targets, but also envisaged that models could serve as a guidance for further studies of biologically-relevant properties of proteins.

Functional plasticity of antibacterial EndoU toxins.

Bacteria use several different secretion systems to deliver toxic EndoU ribonucleases into neighboring cells. Here, we present the first structure of a prokaryotic EndoU toxin in complex with its cognate immunity protein. The contact-dependent growth inhibition toxin CdiA-CTSTECO31 from Escherichia coli STEC_O31 adopts the eukaryotic EndoU fold and shares greatest structural homology with the nuclease domain of coronavirus Nsp15. The toxin contains a canonical His-His-Lys catalytic triad in the same arrangement as eukaryotic EndoU domains, but lacks the uridylate-specific ribonuclease activity that characterizes the superfamily. Comparative sequence analysis indicates that bacterial EndoU domains segregate into at least three major clades based on structural variations in the N-terminal subdomain. Representative EndoU nucleases from clades I and II degrade tRNA molecules with little specificity. In contrast, CdiA-CTSTECO31 and other clade III toxins are specific anticodon nucleases that cleave tRNAGlu between nucleotides C37 and m2 A38. These findings suggest that the EndoU fold is a versatile scaffold for the evolution of novel substrate specificities. Such functional plasticity may account for the widespread use of EndoU effectors by diverse inter-bacterial toxin delivery systems.

Structure of a novel antibacterial toxin that exploits elongation factor Tu to cleave specific transfer RNAs.

Contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) is a mechanism of inter-cellular competition in which Gram-negative bacteria exchange polymorphic toxins using type V secretion systems. Here, we present structures of the CDI toxin from Escherichia coli NC101 in ternary complex with its cognate immunity protein and elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu). The toxin binds exclusively to domain 2 of EF-Tu, partially overlapping the site that interacts with the 3'-end of aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA). The toxin exerts a unique ribonuclease activity that cleaves the single-stranded 3'-end from tRNAs that contain guanine discriminator nucleotides. EF-Tu is required to support this tRNase activity in vitro, suggesting the toxin specifically cleaves substrate in the context of GTP·EF-Tu·aa-tRNA complexes. However, superimposition of the toxin domain onto previously solved GTP·EF-Tu·aa-tRNA structures reveals potential steric clashes with both aa-tRNA and the switch I region of EF-Tu. Further, the toxin induces conformational changes in EF-Tu, displacing a ß-hairpin loop that forms a critical salt-bridge contact with the 3'-terminal adenylate of aa-tRNA. Together, these observations suggest that the toxin remodels GTP·EF-Tu·aa-tRNA complexes to free the 3'-end of aa-tRNA for entry into the nuclease active site.

Gene selection and cloning approaches for co-expression and production of recombinant protein-protein complexes.

Multiprotein complexes play essential roles in all cells and X-ray crystallography can provide unparalleled insight into their structure and function. Many of these complexes are believed to be sufficiently stable for structural biology studies, but the production of protein-protein complexes using recombinant technologies is still labor-intensive. We have explored several strategies for the identification and cloning of heterodimers and heterotrimers that are compatible with the high-throughput (HTP) structural biology pipeline developed for single proteins. Two approaches are presented and compared which resulted in co-expression of paired genes from a single expression vector. Native operons encoding predicted interacting proteins were selected from a repertoire of genomes, and cloned directly to expression vector. In an alternative approach, Helicobacter pylori proteins predicted to interact strongly were cloned, each associated with translational control elements, then linked into an artificial operon. Proteins were then expressed and purified by standard HTP protocols, resulting to date in the structure determination of two H. pylori complexes.

New LIC vectors for production of proteins from genes containing rare codons.

In the effort to produce proteins coded by diverse genomes, structural genomics projects often must express genes containing codons that are rare in the production strain. To address this problem, genes expressing tRNAs corresponding to those codons are typically coexpressed from a second plasmid in the host strain, or from genes incorporated into production plasmids. Here we describe the modification of a series of LIC pMCSG vectors currently used in the high-throughput (HTP) production of proteins to include crucial tRNA genes covering rare codons for Arg (AGG/AGA) and Ile (AUA). We also present variants of these new vectors that allow analysis of ligand binding or co-expression of multiple proteins introduced through two independent LIC steps. Additionally, to accommodate the cloning of multiple large proteins, the size of the plasmids was reduced by approximately one kilobase through the removal of non-essential DNA from the base vector. Production of proteins from core vectors of this series validated the desired enhanced capabilities: higher yields of proteins expressed from genes with rare codons occurred in most cases, biotinylated derivatives enabled detailed automated ligand binding analysis, and multiple proteins introduced by dual LIC cloning were expressed successfully and in near balanced stoichiometry, allowing tandem purification of interacting proteins.

Functional and structural analysis of the siderophore synthetase AsbB through reconstitution of the petrobactin biosynthetic pathway from Bacillus anthracis.

Petrobactin, a mixed catechol-carboxylate siderophore, is required for full virulence of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. The asbABCDEF operon encodes the biosynthetic machinery for this secondary metabolite. Here, we show that the function of five gene products encoded by the asb operon is necessary and sufficient for conversion of endogenous precursors to petrobactin using an in vitro system. In this pathway, the siderophore synthetase AsbB catalyzes formation of amide bonds crucial for petrobactin assembly through use of biosynthetic intermediates, as opposed to primary metabolites, as carboxylate donors. In solving the crystal structure of the B. anthracis siderophore biosynthesis protein B (AsbB), we disclose a three-dimensional model of a nonribosomal peptide synthetase-independent siderophore (NIS) synthetase. Structural characteristics provide new insight into how this bifunctional condensing enzyme can bind and adenylate multiple citrate-containing substrates followed by incorporation of both natural and unnatural polyamine nucleophiles. This activity enables formation of multiple end-stage products leading to final assembly of petrobactin. Subsequent enzymatic assays with the nonribosomal peptide synthetase-like AsbC, AsbD, and AsbE polypeptides show that the alternative products of AsbB are further converted to petrobactin, verifying previously proposed convergent routes to formation of this siderophore. These studies identify potential therapeutic targets to halt deadly infections caused by B. anthracis and other pathogenic bacteria and suggest new avenues for the chemoenzymatic synthesis of novel compounds.

Proteolytic processing induces a conformational switch required for antibacterial toxin delivery.

Many Gram-negative bacteria use CdiA effector proteins to inhibit the growth of neighboring competitors. CdiA transfers its toxic CdiA-CT region into the periplasm of target cells, where it is released through proteolytic cleavage. The N-terminal cytoplasm-entry domain of the CdiA-CT then mediates translocation across the inner membrane to deliver the C-terminal toxin domain into the cytosol. Here, we show that proteolysis not only liberates the CdiA-CT for delivery, but is also required to activate the entry domain for membrane translocation. Translocation function depends on precise cleavage after a conserved VENN peptide sequence, and the processed ∆VENN entry domain exhibits distinct biophysical and thermodynamic properties. By contrast, imprecisely processed CdiA-CT fragments do not undergo this transition and fail to translocate to the cytoplasm. These findings suggest that CdiA-CT processing induces a critical structural switch that converts the entry domain into a membrane-translocation competent conformation.

Protein production and purification.

In selecting a method to produce a recombinant protein, a researcher is faced with a bewildering array of choices as to where to start. To facilitate decision-making, we describe a consensus 'what to try first' strategy based on our collective analysis of the expression and purification of over 10,000 different proteins. This review presents methods that could be applied at the outset of any project, a prioritized list of alternate strategies and a list of pitfalls that trip many new investigators.

Cleavable C-terminal His-tag vectors for structure determination.

High-throughput structural genomics projects seek to delineate protein structure space by determining the structure of representatives of all major protein families. Generally this is accomplished by processing numerous proteins through standardized protocols, for the most part involving purification of N-terminally His-tagged proteins. Often proteins that fail this approach are abandoned, but in many cases further effort is warranted because of a protein's intrinsic value. In addition, failure often occurs relatively far into the path to structure determination, and many failed proteins passed the first critical step, expression as a soluble protein. Salvage pathways seek to recoup the investment in this subset of failed proteins through alternative cloning, nested truncations, chemical modification, mutagenesis, screening buffers, ligands and modifying processing steps. To this end we have developed a series of ligation-independent cloning expression vectors that append various cleavable C-terminal tags instead of the conventional N-terminal tags. In an initial set of 16 proteins that failed with an N-terminal appendage, structures were obtained for C-terminally tagged derivatives of five proteins, including an example for which several alternative salvaging steps had failed. The new vectors allow appending C-terminal His(6)-tag and His(6)- and MBP-tags, and are cleavable with TEV or with both TEV and TVMV proteases.

Crystal structures of SARS-CoV-2 ADP-ribose phosphatase: from the apo form to ligand complexes.

Among 15 nonstructural proteins (Nsps), the newly emerging Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) encodes a large, multidomain Nsp3. One of its units is the ADP-ribose phosphatase domain (ADRP; also known as the macrodomain, MacroD), which is believed to interfere with the host immune response. Such a function appears to be linked to the ability of the protein to remove ADP-ribose from ADP-ribosylated proteins and RNA, yet the precise role and molecular targets of the enzyme remain unknown. Here, five high-resolution (1.07-2.01 Å) crystal structures corresponding to the apo form of the protein and its complexes with 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES), AMP and ADP-ribose have been determined. The protein is shown to undergo conformational changes to adapt to the ligand in the manner previously observed in close homologues from other viruses. A conserved water molecule is also identified that may participate in hydrolysis. This work builds foundations for future structure-based research on ADRP, including the search for potential antiviral therapeutics.

Structural plasticity of SARS-CoV-2 3CL Mpro active site cavity revealed by room temperature X-ray crystallography.

The COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has become a pandemic health crisis. An attractive target for antiviral inhibitors is the main protease 3CL Mpro due to its essential role in processing the polyproteins translated from viral RNA. Here we report the room temperature X-ray structure of unliganded SARS-CoV-2 3CL Mpro, revealing the ligand-free structure of the active site and the conformation of the catalytic site cavity at near-physiological temperature. Comparison with previously reported low-temperature ligand-free and inhibitor-bound structures suggest that the room temperature structure may provide more relevant information at physiological temperatures for aiding in molecular docking studies.

Convergent Evolution of the Barnase/EndoU/Colicin/RelE (BECR) Fold in Antibacterial tRNase Toxins.

Contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) is a form of interbacterial competition mediated by CdiB-CdiA two-partner secretion systems. CdiA effector proteins carry polymorphic C-terminal toxin domains (CdiA-CT), which are neutralized by specific CdiI immunity proteins to prevent self-inhibition. Here, we present the crystal structures of CdiA-CT⋅CdiI complexes from Klebsiella pneumoniae 342 and Escherichia coli 3006. The toxins adopt related folds that resemble the ribonuclease domain of colicin D, and both are isoacceptor-specific tRNases that cleave the acceptor stem of deacylated tRNAGAUIle. Although the toxins are similar in structure and substrate specificity, CdiA-CTKp342 activity requires translation factors EF-Tu and EF-Ts, whereas CdiA-CTEC3006 is intrinsically active. Furthermore, the corresponding immunity proteins are unrelated in sequence and structure. CdiIKp342 forms a dimeric ß sandwich, whereas CdiIEC3006 is an α-solenoid monomer. Given that toxin-immunity genes co-evolve as linked pairs, these observations suggest that the similarities in toxin structure and activity reflect functional convergence.

The structure of a contact-dependent growth-inhibition (CDI) immunity protein from Neisseria meningitidis MC58.

Contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) is an important mechanism of intercellular competition between neighboring Gram-negative bacteria. CDI systems encode large surface-exposed CdiA effector proteins that carry a variety of C-terminal toxin domains (CdiA-CTs). All CDI(+) bacteria also produce CdiI immunity proteins that specifically bind to the cognate CdiA-CT and neutralize its toxin activity to prevent auto-inhibition. Here, the X-ray crystal structure of a CdiI immunity protein from Neisseria meningitidis MC58 is presented at 1.45 Å resolution. The CdiI protein has structural homology to the Whirly family of RNA-binding proteins, but appears to lack the characteristic nucleic acid-binding motif of this family. Sequence homology suggests that the cognate CdiA-CT is related to the eukaryotic EndoU family of RNA-processing enzymes. A homology model is presented of the CdiA-CT based on the structure of the XendoU nuclease from Xenopus laevis. Molecular-docking simulations predict that the CdiA-CT toxin active site is occluded upon binding to the CdiI immunity protein. Together, these observations suggest that the immunity protein neutralizes toxin activity by preventing access to RNA substrates.

Chapter 3. High-throughput protein purification for x-ray crystallography and NMR.

In structural biology, the most critical issue is the availability of high-quality samples. "Structural-biology-grade" proteins must be generated in a quantity and quality suitable for structure determination using X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance. The additional challenge for structural genomics is the need for high numbers of proteins at low cost where protein targets quite often have low sequence similarities, unknown properties and are poorly characterized. The purification procedures must reproducibly yield homogeneous proteins or their derivatives containing marker atom(s) in milligram quantities. The choice of protein purification and handling procedures plays a critical role in obtaining high-quality protein samples. Where the ultimate goal of structural biology is the same-to understand the structural basis of proteins in cellular processes, the structural genomics approach is different in that the functional aspects of individual protein or family are not ignored, however, emphasis here is on the number of unique structures, covering most of the protein folding space and developing new technologies with high efficiency. At the Midwest Center Structural Genomics (MCSG), we have developed semiautomated protocols for high-throughput parallel protein purification. In brief, a protein, expressed as a fusion with a cleavable affinity tag, is purified in two immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) steps: (i) first IMAC coupled with buffer-exchange step, and after tag cleavage using TEV protease, (ii) second IMAC and buffer exchange to clean up cleaved tags and tagged TEV protease. Size exclusion chromatography is also applied as needed. These protocols have been implemented on multidimensional chromatography workstations AKTAexplorer and AKTAxpress (GE Healthcare). All methods and protocols used for purification, some developed in MCSG, others adopted and integrated into the MCSG purification pipeline and more recently the Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Disease (CSGID) purification pipeline, are discussed in this chapter.

New vectors for co-expression of proteins: structure of Bacillus subtilis ScoAB obtained by high-throughput protocols.

The Bacillus subtilis genes scoA and scoB encode subunits of the heteromeric enzyme ScoAB, a putative succinyl-CoA:acetoacetate coenzyme A transferase. High-throughput, ligation-independent cloning (LIC) vectors used extensively for production and purification of single proteins were modified to allow simultaneous expression of interacting proteins and selective purification of functional complexes. Transfer of the LIC region of vector pMCSG7 (L. Stols, M. Gu, L. Dieckman, R. Raffen, F.R. Collart, M.I. Donnelly. A new vector for high-throughput, ligation-independent cloning encoding a tobacco etch virus protease cleavage site. Protein Expr. Purif. (2002) 25, 8-15) into commercial vectors with alternative, compatible origins of replication allowed introduction of standard LIC PCR products into the vectors by uniform protocols. Replacement of the His-tag encoding region of pMCSG7 with a sequence encoding the S-tag enabled selective purification of interacting proteins based on the His-tag associated with one member of the complex. When expressed separately and mixed, the ScoAB subunits failed to interact productively; no transferase activity was detected, and S-tagged ScoB failed to co-purify with His-tagged ScoA. Co-expression, in contrast, generated active transferase that catalyzed the predicted reaction. The ScoAB complex was purified by standard high-throughput metal-ion affinity chromatography procedures, crystallized robotically, and its structure was determined by molecular replacement.

An expression vector tailored for large-scale, high-throughput purification of recombinant proteins.

Production of milligram quantities of numerous proteins for structural and functional studies requires an efficient purification pipeline. We found that the dual tag, his(6)-tag-maltose-binding protein (MBP), intended to facilitate purification and enhance proteins' solubility, disrupted such a pipeline, requiring additional screening and purification steps. Not all proteins rendered soluble by fusion to MBP remained soluble after its proteolytic removal, and in those cases where the protein remained soluble, standard purification protocols failed to remove completely the stoichiometric amount of his(6)-tagged MBP generated by proteolysis. Both liabilities were alleviated by construction of a vector that produces fusion proteins in which MBP, the his(6)-tag and the target protein are separated by highly specific protease cleavage sites in the configuration MBP-site-his(6)-site-protein. In vivo cleavage at the first site by co-expressed protease generated untagged MBP and his(6)-tagged target protein. Proteins not truly rendered soluble by transient association with MBP precipitated, and untagged MBP was easily separated from the his-tagged target protein by conventional protocols. The second protease cleavage site allowed removal of the his(6)-tag.

High throughput methods for gene cloning and expression.

We outline a high throughput process for the production of bacterial expression clones using automated liquid handlers. The protocol consists of a series of interlinked methods representing liquid manipulations or incubations on various stations of the automation system. The methods employ the ligation-independent cloning approach that enables the simultaneous production of plasmids for different expression systems. The current cloning protocol spans 3 days with a linear throughput of 400 targets per production run. This automated approach enables the production of large numbers of bacterial expression clones and ultimately purified proteins. Although they were developed for structural genomics, these molecular protocols can also be applied in high throughput strategies such as those used for site-specific mutagenesis or protein interaction studies.

A new vector for high-throughput, ligation-independent cloning encoding a tobacco etch virus protease cleavage site.

To establish high-throughput methods for protein crystallography, all aspects of the production and analysis of protein crystals must be accelerated. Automated, plate-based methods for cloning, expression, and evaluation of target proteins will help researchers investigate the vast numbers of proteins now available from sequenced genomes. Ligation-independent cloning (LIC) is well suited to robotic cloning and expression, but few LIC vectors are available commercially. We have developed a new LIC vector, pMCSG7, that incorporates the tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease cleavage site into the leader sequence. This protease is highly specific and functions under a wide range of conditions. The new vector incorporates an N-terminal his-tag followed by the TEV protease recognition site and a SspI restriction site used for LIC. The vector functioned as expected, giving high cloning efficiencies and strong expression of proteins. Purification and cleavage of a target protein showed that the his-tag and the TEV cleavage site function properly. The protein was purified and cleaved under different conditions to simulate both plate-based screening methods and large-scale purifications for crystal production. The vector also includes a pair of adjacent, unique restriction sites that will allow insertion of additional modules between the his-tag and the cleavage site of the leader sequence to generate a family of vectors suitable for high-throughput production of proteins.

A less laborious approach to the high-throughput production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli using 2-liter plastic bottles.

Contemporary approaches to biology often call for the high-throughput production of large amounts of numerous proteins for structural or functional studies. Even with the highly efficient protein expression systems developed in Escherichia coli, production of these proteins is laborious and time-consuming. We have simplified established protocols by the use of disposable culture vessels: common 2-liter polyethylene terephthalate beverage bottles. The bottles are inexpensive, fit conveniently in commonly available flask holders, and, because they are notched, provide sufficient aeration to support the growth of high-density cultures. The use of antibiotics and freshly prepared media alleviates the need for sterilization of media and significantly reduces the labor involved. Uninoculated controls exhibited no growth during the time required for protein expression in experimental cultures. The yield, solubility, activity, and pattern of crystallization of proteins expressed in bottles were comparable to those obtained under conventional culture conditions. After use, the bottles are discarded, reducing the risk of cross-contamination of subsequent cultures. The approach appears to be suitable for high-throughput production of proteins for structural or functional studies.