[Bioluminescent reporter genes]. / Systemy genów reporterowych opartych na zjawisku bioluminescencji.

Reporter genes typically are used to monitor changes in transcriptional rate, which can vary quickly in response to a specific cellular event. Here we give background on bioluminescent reporters and assays and their uses in research.

The structure at 1.6 Angstroms resolution of the protein product of the At4g34215 gene from Arabidopsis thaliana.

The crystal structure of the At4g34215 protein of Arabidopsis thaliana was determined by molecular replacement and refined to an R factor of 14.6% (R(free) = 18.3%) at 1.6 Angstroms resolution. The crystal structure confirms that At4g34215 belongs to the SGNH-hydrolase superfamily of enzymes. The catalytic triad of the enzyme comprises residues Ser31, His238 and Asp235. In this structure the catalytic serine residue was found to be covalently modified, possibly by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. The structure also reveals a previously undescribed variation within the active site. The conserved asparagine from block III, which provides a hydrogen bond for an oxyanion hole in the SGNH-hydrolase superfamily enzymes, is missing in At4g34215 and is functionally replaced by Gln30 from block I. This residue is positioned in a catalytically competent conformation by nearby residues, including Gln159, Gly160 and Glu161, which are fully conserved in the carbohydrate esterase family 6 enzymes.

The structure at 2.4 A resolution of the protein from gene locus At3g21360, a putative Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate-dependent enzyme from Arabidopsis thaliana.

The crystal structure of the gene product of At3g21360 from Arabidopsis thaliana was determined by the single-wavelength anomalous dispersion method and refined to an R factor of 19.3% (Rfree = 24.1%) at 2.4 A resolution. The crystal structure includes two monomers in the asymmetric unit that differ in the conformation of a flexible domain that spans residues 178-230. The crystal structure confirmed that At3g21360 encodes a protein belonging to the clavaminate synthase-like superfamily of iron(II) and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent enzymes. The metal-binding site was defined and is similar to the iron(II) binding sites found in other members of the superfamily.

The structure at 1.7 A resolution of the protein product of the At2g17340 gene from Arabidopsis thaliana.

The crystal structure of the At2g17340 protein from A. thaliana was determined by the multiple-wavelength anomalous diffraction method and was refined to an R factor of 16.9% (Rfree = 22.1%) at 1.7 A resolution. At2g17340 is a member of the Pfam01937.11 protein family and its structure provides the first insight into the structural organization of this family. A number of fully and highly conserved residues defined by multiple sequence alignment of members of the Pfam01937.11 family were mapped onto the structure of At2g17340. The fully conserved residues are involved in the coordination of a metal ion and in the stabilization of loops surrounding the metal site. Several additional highly conserved residues also map into the vicinity of the metal-binding site, while others are clearly involved in stabilizing the hydrophobic core of the protein. The structure of At2g17340 represents a new fold in protein conformational space.

Structure at 1.6 A resolution of the protein from gene locus At3g22680 from Arabidopsis thaliana.

The gene product of At3g22680 from Arabidopsis thaliana codes for a protein of unknown function. The crystal structure of the At3g22680 gene product was determined by multiple-wavelength anomalous diffraction and refined to an R factor of 16.0% (Rfree = 18.4%) at 1.60 A resolution. The refined structure shows one monomer in the asymmetric unit, with one molecule of the non-denaturing detergent CHAPS {3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate} tightly bound. Protein At3g22680 shows no structural homology to any other known proteins and represents a new fold in protein conformation space.

The structure at 2.5 A resolution of human basophilic leukemia-expressed protein BLES03.

The crystal structure of the human basophilic leukemia-expressed protein (BLES03, p5326, Hs.433573) was determined by single-wavelength anomalous diffraction and refined to an R factor of 18.8% (Rfree = 24.5%) at 2.5 A resolution. BLES03 shows no detectable sequence similarity to any functionally characterized proteins using state-of-the-art sequence-comparison tools. The structure of BLES03 adopts a fold similar to that of eukaryotic transcription initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), a protein involved in the recognition of the cap structure of eukaryotic mRNA. In addition to fold similarity, the electrostatic surface potentials of BLES03 and eIF4E show a clear conservation of basic and acidic patches. In the crystal lattice, the acidic amino-terminal helices of BLES03 monomers are bound within the basic cavity of symmetry-related monomers in a manner analogous to the binding of mRNA by eIF4E. Interestingly, the gene locus encoding BLES03 is located between genes encoding the proteins DRAP1 and FOSL1, both of which are involved in transcription initiation. It is hypothesized that BLES03 itself may be involved in a biochemical process that requires recognition of nucleic acids.

High resolution X-ray structure of dTDP-glucose 4,6-dehydratase from Streptomyces venezuelae.

Desosamine is a 3-(dimethylamino)-3,4,6-trideoxyhexose found in some macrolide antibiotics. In Streptomyces venezuelae, there are seven genes required for the biosynthesis of this unusual sugar. One of the genes, desIV, codes for a dTDP-glucose 4,6-dehydratase, which is referred to as DesIV. The reaction mechanisms for these types of dehydratases are quite complicated with proton abstraction from the sugar 4'-hydroxyl group and hydride transfer to NAD+, proton abstraction at C-5, and elimination of the hydroxyl group at C-6 of the sugar, and finally return of a proton to C-5 and a hydride from NADH to C-6. Here we describe the cloning, overexpression, and purification, and high resolution x-ray crystallographic analysis to 1.44 A of wild-type DesIV complexed with dTDP. Additionally, for this study, a double site-directed mutant protein (D128N/E129Q) was prepared, crystallized as a complex with NAD+ and the substrate dTDP-glucose and its structure determined to 1.35 A resolution. In DesIV, the phenolate group of Tyr(151) and O(gamma) of Thr(127) lie at 2.7 and 2.6 A, respectively from the 4'-hydroxyl group of the dTDP-glucose substrate. The side chain of Asp(128) is in the correct position to function as a general acid for proton donation to the 6'-hydroxyl group while the side chain of Glu(129) is ideally situated to serve as the general base for proton abstraction at C-5. This investigation provides further detailed information for understanding the exquisite chemistry that occurs in these remarkable enzymes.

The structure of NADH in the enzyme dTDP-d-glucose dehydratase (RmlB).

The structure of Streptococcus suis serotype type 2 dTDP-d-glucose 4,6-dehydratase (RmlB) has been determined to 1.5 A resolution with its nicotinamide coenzyme and substrate analogue dTDP-xylose bound in an abortive complex. During enzyme turnover, NAD(+) abstracts a hydride from the C4' atom of dTDP-glucose-forming NADH. After elimination of water, hydride is then transferred back to the C6' atom of dTDP-4-keto-5,6-glucosene-regenerating NAD(+). Single-crystal spectroscopic studies unambiguously show that the coenzyme has been trapped as NADH in the crystal. Electron density clearly demonstrates that in contrast to native structures of RmlB where a flat nicotinamide ring is observed, the dihydropyridine ring of the reduced cofactor in this complex is found as a boat. The si face, from which the pro-S hydride is transferred, has a concave surface. Ab initio electronic structure calculations demonstrate that the presence of an internal hydrogen bond, between the amide NH on the nicotinamide ring and one of the oxygen atoms on a phosphate group, stabilizes this distorted conformation. Additionally, calculations show that the hydride donor ability of NADH is influenced by the degree of bending in the ring and may be influenced by an active-site tyrosine residue (Tyr 161). These results demonstrate the ability of dehydratase enzymes to fine-tune the redox potential of NADH through conformational changes in the nicotinamide ring.

Toward a structural understanding of the dehydratase mechanism.

dTDP-D-glucose 4,6-dehydratase (RmlB) was first identified in the L-rhamnose biosynthetic pathway, where it catalyzes the conversion of dTDP-D-glucose into dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose. The structures of RmlB from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in complex with substrate deoxythymidine 5'-diphospho-D-glucose (dTDP-D-glucose) and deoxythymidine 5'-diphosphate (dTDP), and RmlB from Streptococcus suis serotype 2 in complex with dTDP-D-glucose, dTDP, and deoxythymidine 5'-diphospho-D-pyrano-xylose (dTDP-xylose) have all been solved at resolutions between 1.8 A and 2.4 A. The structures show that the active sites are highly conserved. Importantly, the structures show that the active site tyrosine functions directly as the active site base, and an aspartic and glutamic acid pairing accomplishes the dehydration step of the enzyme mechanism. We conclude that the substrate is required to move within the active site to complete the catalytic cycle and that this movement is driven by the elimination of water. The results provide insight into members of the SDR superfamily.