The oxygenating constituent of 3,6-diketocamphane monooxygenase from the CAM plasmid of Pseudomonas putida: the first crystal structure of a type II Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase.

The three-dimensional structures of the native enzyme and the FMN complex of the overexpressed form of the oxygenating component of the type II Baeyer-Villiger 3,6-diketocamphane monooxygenase have been determined to 1.9 Å resolution. The structure of this dimeric FMN-dependent enzyme, which is encoded on the large CAM plasmid of Pseudomonas putida, has been solved by a combination of multiple anomalous dispersion from a bromine crystal soak and molecular replacement using a bacterial luciferase model. The orientation of the isoalloxazine ring of the FMN cofactor in the active site of this TIM-barrel fold enzyme differs significantly from that previously observed in enzymes of the bacterial luciferase-like superfamily. The Ala77 residue is in a cis conformation and forms a ß-bulge at the C-terminus of ß-strand 3, which is a feature observed in many proteins of this superfamily.

Expression and purification of the aortic amyloid polypeptide medin.

The 50-amino acid protein medin is the main fibrillar component of human aortic medial amyloid (AMA), the most common form of localised amyloid which affects 97% of Caucasians over the age of 50. Structural models for several amyloid assemblies, including the Alzheimer's amyloid-ß peptides, have been defined from solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) measurements on (13)C- and (15)N-labelled protein fibrils. SSNMR-derived structural information on fibrillar medin is scant, however, because studies to date have been restricted to limited measurements on site-specifically labelled protein prepared by solid-phase synthesis. Here we report a procedure for the expression of a SUMO-medin fusion protein in Escherichia coli and IMAC purification yielding pure, uniformly (13)C,(15)N-labelled medin in quantities required for SSNMR analysis. Thioflavin T fluorescence and dynamic light scattering measurements and transmission electron microscopy analysis confirm that recombinant medin assembles into amyloid-like fibrils over a 48-h period. The first (13)C and (15)N SSNMR spectra obtained for uniformly-labelled fibrils indicate that medin adopts a predominantly ß-sheet conformation with some unstructured elements, and provide the basis for further, more detailed structural investigations.

An NADPH-dependent genetic switch regulates plant infection by the rice blast fungus.

To cause rice blast disease, the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae breaches the tough outer cuticle of the rice leaf by using specialized infection structures called appressoria. These cells allow the fungus to invade the host plant and proliferate rapidly within leaf tissue. Here, we show that a unique NADPH-dependent genetic switch regulates plant infection in response to the changing nutritional and redox conditions encountered by the pathogen. The biosynthetic enzyme trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (Tps1) integrates control of glucose-6-phosphate metabolism and nitrogen source utilization by regulating the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, the generation of NADPH, and the activity of nitrate reductase. We report that Tps1 directly binds to NADPH and, thereby, regulates a set of related transcriptional corepressors, comprising three proteins, Nmr1, Nmr2, and Nmr3, which can each bind NADP. Targeted deletion of any of the Nmr-encoding genes partially suppresses the nonpathogenic phenotype of a Δtps1 mutant. Tps1-dependent Nmr corepressors control the expression of a set of virulence-associated genes that are derepressed during appressorium-mediated plant infection. When considered together, these results suggest that initiation of rice blast disease by M. oryzae requires a regulatory mechanism involving an NADPH sensor protein, Tps1, a set of NADP-dependent transcriptional corepressors, and the nonconsuming interconversion of NADPH and NADP acting as signal transducer.

The oxygenating constituent of 3,6-diketocamphane monooxygenase from the CAM plasmid of Pseudomonas putida: the first crystal structure of a type II Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase. Corrigendum.

A statement is amended in the article by Isupov et al. [(2015). Acta Cryst. D71, 2344-2353].

Insights into trehalose synthesis provided by the structure of the retaining glucosyltransferase OtsA.

Trehalose is a nonreducing disaccharide that plays a major role in many organisms, most notably in survival and stress responses. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis, it plays a central role as the carbohydrate core of numerous immunogenic glycolipids including "cord factor" (trehalose 6,6'-dimycolate). The classical pathway for trehalose synthesis involves the condensation of UDP-glucose and glucose-6-phosphate to afford trehalose-6-phosphate, catalyzed by the retaining glycosyltransferase OtsA. The configurations of two anomeric positions are set simultaneously, resulting in the formation of a double glycoside. The three-dimensional structure of the Escherichia coli OtsA, in complex with both UDP and glucose-6-phosphate, reveals the active site at the interface of two beta/alpha/beta domains. The overall structure and the intimate details of the catalytic machinery reveal a striking similarity to glycogen phosphorylase, indicating a strong evolutionary link and suggesting a common catalytic mechanism.

Tps1 regulates the pentose phosphate pathway, nitrogen metabolism and fungal virulence.

Trehalose fulfils a wide variety of functions in cells, acting as a stress protectant, storage carbohydrate and compatible solute. Recent evidence, however, indicates that trehalose metabolism may exert important regulatory roles in the development of multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we show that in the plant pathogenic fungus Magnaporthe grisea trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) synthase (Tps1) is responsible for regulating the pentose phosphate pathway, intracellular levels of NADPH and fungal virulence. Tps1 integrates glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) metabolism with nitrogen source utilisation, and thereby regulates the activity of nitrate reductase. Activity of Tps1 requires an associated regulator protein Tps3, which is also necessary for pathogenicity. Tps1 controls expression of the nitrogen metabolite repressor gene, NMR1, and is required for expression of virulence-associated genes. Functional analysis of Tps1 indicates that its regulatory functions are associated with binding of G6P, but independent of Tps1 catalytic activity. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Tps1 is a central regulator for integration of carbon and nitrogen metabolism, and plays a pivotal role in the establishment of plant disease.

Characterization of Escherichia coli OtsA, a trehalose-6-phosphate synthase from glycosyltransferase family 20.

The Ots gene cluster of Escherichia coli encodes the synthetic apparatus for the formation of alpha,alpha-1,1-trehalose, a non-reducing glucose disaccharide. The otsA gene encodes a trehalose-6-phosphate synthase, a glycosyltransferase which catalyses the synthesis of alpha,alpha-1,1-trehalose-6-phosphate from glucose-6-phosphate using a UDP-glucose donor. It has been classified into glycosyltransferase family GT-20 based upon amino-acid sequence similarities. The otsA gene has been cloned and recombinant protein overexpressed using a pET-based system in E. coli BL21 cells. The recombinant protein (MW approximately 54.7 kDa) is active and has been crystallized in two forms suitable for X-ray diffraction analysis. The first is orthorhombic, P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 104.1, b = 127.8, c = 179.9 A. Data for this form have been collected to 3.0 A resolution at the CLRC Daresbury Synchrotron Radiation Source. The second form has unit-cell parameters a = b = 141.9, c = 317.8 A and displays the apparent space group P4(2). These crystals diffract beyond 2 A resolution, but display merohedral twinning.

The donor subsite of trehalose-6-phosphate synthase: binary complexes with UDP-glucose and UDP-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-glucose at 2 A resolution.

Trehalose is an unusual non-reducing disaccharide that plays a variety of biological roles, from food storage to cellular protection from environmental stresses such as desiccation, pressure, heat-shock, extreme cold, and oxygen radicals. It is also an integral component of the cell-wall glycolipids of mycobacteria. The primary enzymatic route to trehalose first involves the transfer of glucose from a UDP-glucose donor to glucose-6-phosphate to form alpha,alpha-1,1 trehalose-6-phosphate. This reaction, in which the configurations of two glycosidic bonds are set simultaneously, is catalyzed by the glycosyltransferase trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (OtsA), which acts with retention of the anomeric configuration of the UDP-sugar donor. The classification of activated sugar-dependent glycosyltransferases into approximately 70 distinct families based upon amino acid sequence similarities places OtsA in glycosyltransferase family 20 (see afmb.cnrs-mrs.fr/CAZY/). The recent 2.4 A structure of Escherichia coli OtsA revealed a two-domain enzyme with catalysis occurring at the interface of the twin beta/alpha/beta domains. Here we present the 2.0 A structures of the E. coli OtsA in complex with either UDP-Glc or the non-transferable analogue UDP-2-deoxy-2-fluoroglucose. Both complexes unveil the donor subsite interactions, confirming a strong similarity to glycogen phosphorylases, and reveal substantial conformational differences to the previously reported complex with UDP and glucose 6-phosphate. Both the relative orientation of the two domains and substantial (up to 10 A) movements of an N-terminal loop (residues 9-22) characterize the more open "relaxed" conformation of the binary UDP-sugar complexes reported here.