RESUMEN
Iron-sulfur [Fe-S] clusters are inorganic prosthetic groups that play essential roles in all living organisms. In vivo [Fe-S] cluster biogenesis requires enzymes involved in iron and sulfur mobilization, assembly of clusters, and delivery to their final acceptor. In these systems, a cysteine desulfurase is responsible for the release of sulfide ions, which are incorporated into a scaffold protein for subsequent [Fe-S] cluster assembly. Although three machineries have been shown to be present in Proteobacteria for [Fe-S] cluster biogenesis (NIF, ISC, and SUF), only the SUF machinery has been found in Firmicutes. We have recently described the structural similarities and differences between Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli SufU proteins, which prompted the proposal that SufU is the scaffold protein of the E. faecalis sufCDSUB system. The present work aims at elucidating the biological roles of E. faecalis SufS and SufU proteins in [Fe-S] cluster assembly. We show that SufS has cysteine desulfurase activity and cysteine-365 plays an essential role in catalysis. SufS requires SufU as activator to [4Fe-4S] cluster assembly, as its ortholog, IscU, in which the conserved cysteine-153 acts as a proximal sulfur acceptor for transpersulfurization reaction.
Asunto(s)
Liasas de Carbono-Azufre/metabolismo , Cisteína/metabolismo , Enterococcus faecalis/enzimología , Proteínas Hierro-Azufre/fisiología , Azufre/metabolismo , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Proteínas Bacterianas/química , Proteínas Bacterianas/genética , Proteínas Bacterianas/metabolismo , Liasas de Carbono-Azufre/química , Liasas de Carbono-Azufre/genética , Liasas de Carbono-Azufre/aislamiento & purificación , Clonación Molecular , Cisteína/química , Enterococcus faecalis/química , Enterococcus faecalis/genética , Enterococcus faecalis/metabolismo , Activación Enzimática , Proteínas Hierro-Azufre/química , Proteínas Hierro-Azufre/genética , Proteínas Hierro-Azufre/metabolismo , Modelos Moleculares , Unión Proteica , Especificidad por Sustrato , Azufre/químicaRESUMEN
Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (Xac) SufE (XAC2355) is a member of a family of bacterial proteins that are conserved in several pathogens and phytopathogens. The Escherichia coli suf operon is involved in iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis under iron-limitation and stress conditions. It has recently been demonstrated that SufE and SufS form a novel two-component cysteine desulfarase in which SufS catalyses the conversion of L-cysteine to L-alanine, forming a protein-bound persulfide intermediate. The S atom is then transferred to SufE, from which it is subsequently transferred to target molecules or reduced to sulfide in solution. Here, the cloning, expression, crystallization and phase determination of Xac SufE crystals are described. Recombinant SufE was crystallized in space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) and diffracted to 1.9 A resolution at a synchrotron source. The unit-cell parameters are a = 45.837, b = 58.507, c = 98.951 A, alpha = beta = gamma = 90 degrees. The calculated Matthews coefficient indicated the presence of two molecules in the asymmetric unit. Phasing was performed by molecular-replacement using E. coli SufE as a model (PDB code 1mzg) and an interpretable map was obtained.