The role of backbone flexibility in the accommodation of variants that repack the core of T4 lysozyme.

To understand better how the packing of side chains within the core influences protein structure and stability, the crystal structures were determined for eight variants of T4 lysozyme, each of which contains three to five substitutions at adjacent interior sites. Concerted main-chain and side-chain displacements, with movements of helical segments as large as 0.8 angstrom, were observed. In contrast, the angular conformations of the mutated side chains tended to remain unchanged, with torsion angles within 20 degrees of those in the wild-type structure. These observations suggest that not only the rotation of side chains but also movements of the main chain must be considered in the evaluation of which amino acid sequences are compatible with a given protein fold.

Response of a protein structure to cavity-creating mutations and its relation to the hydrophobic effect.

Six "cavity-creating" mutants, Leu46----Ala (L46A), L99A, L118A, L121A, L133A, and Phe153----Ala (F153A), were constructed within the hydrophobic core of phage T4 lysozyme. The substitutions decreased the stability of the protein at pH 3.0 by different amounts, ranging from 2.7 kilocalories per mole (kcal mol-1) for L46A and L121A to 5.0 kcal mol-1 for L99A. The double mutant L99A/F153A was also constructed and decreased in stability by 8.3 kcal mol-1. The x-ray structures of all of the variants were determined at high resolution. In every case, removal of the wild-type side chain allowed some of the surrounding atoms to move toward the vacated space but a cavity always remained, which ranged in volume from 24 cubic angstroms (A3) for L46A to 150 A3 for L99A. No solvent molecules were observed in any of these cavities. The destabilization of the mutant Leu----Ala proteins relative to wild type can be approximated by a constant term (approximately 2.0 kcal mol-1) plus a term that increases in proportion to the size of the cavity. The constant term is approximately equal to the transfer free energy of leucine relative to alanine as determined from partitioning between aqueous and organic solvents. The energy term that increases with the size of the cavity can be expressed either in terms of the cavity volume (24 to 33 cal mol-1 A-3) or in terms of the cavity surface area (20 cal mol-1 A-2). The results suggest how to reconcile a number of conflicting reports concerning the strength of the hydrophobic effect in proteins.

The introduction of strain and its effects on the structure and stability of T4 lysozyme.

In order to try to better understand the role played by strain in the structure and stability of a protein a series of "small-to-large" mutations was made within the core of T4 lysozyme. Three different alanine residues, one involved in backbone contacts, one in side-chain contacts, and the third adjacent to a small cavity, were each replaced with subsets of the larger residues, Val, Leu, Ile, Met, Phe and Trp. As expected, the protein is progressively destabilized as the size of the introduced side-chain becomes larger. There does, however, seem to be a limit to the destabilization, suggesting that a protein of a given size may be capable of maintaining only a certain amount of strain. The changes in stability vary greatly from site to site. Substitution of larger residues for both Ala42 and Ala98 substantially destabilize the protein, even though the primary contacts in one case are predominantly with side-chain atoms and in the other with backbone. The results suggest that it is neither practical nor meaningful to try to separate the effects of introduced strain on side-chains from the effects on the backbone. Substitutions at Ala129 are much less destabilizing than at sites 42 or 98. This is most easily understood in terms of the pre-existing cavity, which provides partial space to accommodate the introduced side-chains. Crystal structures were obtained for a number of the mutants. These show that the changes in structure to accommodate the introduced side-chains usually consist of essentially rigid-body displacements of groups of linked atoms, achieved through relatively small changes in torsion angles. On rare occasions, a side-chain close to the site of substitution may change to a different rotamer. When such rotomer changes occur, they permit the structure to dissipate strain by a response that is plastic rather than elastic. In one case, a surface loop moves 1.2 A, not in direct response to a mutation, but in an interaction mediated via an intermolecular contact. It illustrates how the structure of a protein can be modified by crystal contacts.

Alanine scanning mutagenesis of the alpha-helix 115-123 of phage T4 lysozyme: effects on structure, stability and the binding of solvent.

A series of individual alanine mutations has been constructed in the helical region 115 to 123 in phage T4 lysozyme in order to evaluate the contribution to protein stability of the different side-chains within this region. Pairwise alanine mutations and a combination mutant with seven alanine substitutions were constructed to evaluate the additive effects upon structure and stability. Only three residues within this region (Ser117, Leu118 and Leu121) have a substantial influence upon stability (change in free energy of unfolding greater than 1.0 kcal/mol). Replacement of Ser117 with alanine results in an increase in protein stability of 1.27 kcal/mol, apparently due to the release of strain present in the wild-type protein. Replacement of the buried residues Leu118 and Leu121 is destabilizing. Substitution of the remaining six residues with alanine has relatively little effect on stability. This is consistent with prior studies showing that only 20 to 30% of the residues in amphipathic helices in T4 lysozyme are critical for stability. For some of the pairwise alanine mutants the effects on stability are additive. For most of these mutants, however, there is a slight (approximately 0.15 to 0.25 kcal/mol) non-additivity such that the double mutant is more stable than the sum of the constituent single mutants. This effect is consistently observed for residues with positions i, i +4; i.e. adjacent, but in consecutive turns of the helix, suggesting a weak but significant interaction between these amino acid residues. A more pronounced non-additivity (approximately 0.5 kcal/mol) is seen in the seven-alanine combination mutant. This non-additivity is due to a modest "collapse" or "repacking" that occurs for the combination mutants (especially the multiple alanine mutant) but is not possible for the single replacements. The truncation of some side-chains permits an increase in solvent accessibility of main-chain amide and carbonyl groups. This effect is most pronounced for the seven-alanine combination mutant, where two solvent molecules, not present in wild-type, hydrogen bond to main-chain carbonyl groups in the middle region of the helix. It has been suggested that the binding of such water molecules might represent the first step in solvent-mediated unfolding of an alpha-helix. The appearance of ordered solvent, however, appears to have very little effect on stability (approximately less than 0.2 kcal/mol).

Design and structural analysis of alternative hydrophobic core packing arrangements in bacteriophage T4 lysozyme.

An attempt has been made to design modified core-packing arrangements in bacteriophage T4 lysozyme. Alternative replacements of the buried residues Leu99, Met102, Val111 and Phe153 were selected using packing calculations and energy minimization. To test the design procedure, a series of multiple mutants was constructed culminating in the replacement L99F/M102L/V111I/F153L. These variants decrease the stability of T4 lysozyme by approximately 0 to 2 kcal/mol. The crystal structures of a number of the variants were determined. In the variant in which Val111 was replaced by Ile, alpha-helix 107-114 moved by approximately 1.5 A, breaking the hydrogen bond between the backbone carbonyl group of Thr109 and the backbone amide group of Gly113. This conformational change was not anticipated by the design procedure. Compensating interactions of magnitude up to 1.1 kcal/mol occur for some sets of mutations, while other sets display nearly additive stability changes. Within experimental error, the stability of the double mutant V111F/F153L is additive, with delta delta G different by only 0.1 kcal/mol from the sum of the two single mutants. The quadruple mutant L99F/M102L/V111I/F153L is destabilized by 0.5 kcal/mol, compared to delta delta G = -1.6 kcal/mol for the sum of the four single mutants. Multiple mutants show smaller overall structural changes from wild-type than M102L or V111I alone. Co-operative changes in structure and stability can be rationalized in terms of specific structural differences between single and multiple mutants. Genuine repacking of the hydrophobic core of T4 lysozyme with minimal effects on structure, stability and activity thus appears to have been achieved.

Similar hydrophobic replacements of Leu99 and Phe153 within the core of T4 lysozyme have different structural and thermodynamic consequences.

Two bulky amino acids within the core of phage T4 lysozyme have each been replaced in turn with a series of hydrophobic amino acids. In one set of experiments, Leu99 was replaced with Phe, Met, Ile, Val and Ala. In the second series, Phe153 was replaced with Leu, Met, Ile, Val and Ala. The double mutant in which both Leu99 and Phe153 were replaced with alanine was also constructed. The change in stability of the protein associated with each substitution and the crystal structure of each variant have been determined. In the case of replacements at position 99 the protein behaves in a relatively rigid manner, and changes very little in response to substitutions. In contrast, the protein is more flexible and adjusts much more in response to substitutions of Phe153. In both cases there is a roughly linear dependence between the stability of the mutant protein relative to wild-type (delta delta G) and the difference in the hydrophobic strength of the amino acids involved in the substitution based on solvent transfer measurements (delta delta Gtr). The change in delta delta G is, however, much greater than delta delta Gtr. For the Phe153 replacements the discrepancy is about 1.9-fold, while for the Leu99 series it is about 2.6-fold. Mutants such as Leu99-->Ala, for which the protein remains essentially rigid, tend to create larger cavities and so incur a larger energy of destabilization. Mutants such as Phe153-->Ala, for which the protein structure tends to relax, result in smaller cavities and so are less destabilized. Mutants L99I and L99V are less stable than expected from considerations of transfer free energy and cavity formation due to introduced strain caused by the replacement of Leu99 with a residue of different shape. Mutant F153L is more stable than the reference wild-type, even though the transfer free energy of Leu is less than that of Phe. The increase in stability is apparently due to torsional strain in the side-chain of Phe153 that is present in wild-type lysozyme, but is relieved in the mutant structure.

Structure of a hinge-bending bacteriophage T4 lysozyme mutant, Ile3-->Pro.

The mutant T4 phage lysozyme in which isoleucine 3 is replaced by proline (I3P) crystallizes in an orthorhombic form with two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit. Relative to wild-type lysozyme, which crystallizes in a trigonal form, the two I3P molecules undergo large hinge-bending displacements with the alignments of the amino-terminal and carboxy-terminal domains changed by 28.9 degrees and 32.9 degrees, respectively. The introduction of the mutation, together with the hinge-bending displacement, is associated with repacking of the side-chains of Phe4, Phe67 and Phe104. These aromatic residues are clustered close to the site of the mutation and are at the junction between the amino and carboxyl-terminal domains. As a result of this structural rearrangement the side-chain of Phe4 moves from a relatively solvent-exposed conformation to one that is largely buried. Mutant I3P also crystallizes in the same trigonal form as wild-type and, in this case, the observed structural changes are restricted to the immediate vicinity of the replacement. The main change is a shift of 0.3 to 0.5 A in the backbone of residues 1 to 5. The ability to crystallize I3P under similar conditions but in substantially different conformations suggests that the molecule undergoes large-scale hinge-bending displacements in solution. It is also likely that these conformational excursions are associated with repacking at the junction of the N-terminal and C-terminal domains. On the other hand, the analysis is complicated by possible effects of crystal packing. The different I3P crystal structures show substantial differences in the binding of solvent, both at the site of the Ile3-->Pro replacement and at other internal sites.

Cumulative site-directed charge-change replacements in bacteriophage T4 lysozyme suggest that long-range electrostatic interactions contribute little to protein stability.

Bacteriophage T4 lysozyme is a basic molecule with an isoelectric point above 9.0, and an excess of nine positive charges at neutral pH. It might be expected that it would be energetically costly to bring these out-of-balance charges from the extended, unfolded, form of the protein into the compact folded state. To determine the contribution of such long-range electrostatic interactions to the stability of the protein, five positively charged surface residues, Lys16, Arg119, Lys135, Lys147 and Arg154, were individually replaced with glutamic acid. Eight selected double, triple and quadruple mutants were also constructed so as to sequentially reduce the out-of-balance formal charge on the molecule from +9 to +1 units. Each of the five single variant proteins was crystallized and high-resolution X-ray analysis confirmed that each mutant structure was, in general, very similar to the wild-type. In the case of R154E, however, the Arg154 to Glu replacement caused a rearrangement in which Asp127 replaced Glu128 as the capping residue of a nearby alpha-helix. The thermal stabilities of all 13 variant proteins were found to be fairly similar, ranging from 0.5 kcal/mol more stable than wild-type to 1.7 kcal/mol less stable than wild-type. In the case of the five single charge-change variants, for which the structures were determined, the changes in stability can be rationalized in terms of changes in local interactions at the site of the replacement. There is no evidence that the reduction in the out-of-balance charge on the molecule increases the stability of the folded relative to the unfolded form, either at pH 2.8 or at pH 5.3. This indicates that long-range electrostatic interactions between the substituted amino acid residues and other charged groups on the surface of the molecule are weak or non-existent. Furthermore, the relative stabilities of the multiple charge replacement mutant proteins were found to be almost exactly equal to the sums of the relative stabilities of the constituent single mutant proteins. This also clearly indicates that the electrostatic interactions between the replaced charges are negligibly small. The activities of the charge-change mutant lysozymes, as measured by the rate of hydrolysis of cell wall suspensions, are essentially equal to that of the wild-type lysozyme, but on a lysoplate assay the mutant enzymes appear to have higher activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Structural and thermodynamic analysis of the packing of two alpha-helices in bacteriophage T4 lysozyme.

Packing interactions in bacteriophage T4 lysozyme were explored by determining the structural and thermodynamic effects of substitutions for Ala98 and neighboring residues. Ala98 is buried in the core of T4 lysozyme in the interface between two alpha-helices. The Ala98 to Val (A98V) replacement is a temperature-sensitive lesion that lowers the denaturation temperature of the protein by 15 degrees C (pH 3.0, delta delta G = -4.9 kcal/mol) and causes atoms within the two helices to move apart by up to 0.7 A. Additional structural shifts also occur throughout the C-terminal domain. In an attempt to compensate for the A98V replacement, substitutions were made for Val149 and Thr152, which make contact with residue 98. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to construct the multiple mutants A98V/T152S, A98V/V149C/T152S and the control mutants T152S, V149C and A98V/V149I/T152S. These proteins were crystallized, and their high-resolution X-ray crystal structures were determined. None of the second-site substitutions completely alleviates the destabilization or the structural changes caused by A98V. The changes in stability caused by the different mutations are not additive, reflecting both direct interactions between the sites and structural differences among the mutants. As an example, when Thr152 in wild-type lysozyme is replaced with serine, the protein is destabilized by 2.6 kcal/mol. Except for a small movement of Val94 toward the cavity created by removal of the methyl group, the structure of the T152S mutant is very similar to wild-type T4 lysozyme. In contrast, the same Thr152 to Ser replacement in the A98V background causes almost no change in stability. Although the structure of A98V/T152S remains similar to A98V, the combination of T152S with A98V allows relaxation of some of the strain introduced by the Ala98 to Val replacement. These studies show that removal of methyl groups by mutation can be stabilizing (Val98----Ala), neutral (Thr152----Ser in A98V) or destabilizing (Val149----Cys, Thr152----Ser). Such diverse thermodynamic effects are not accounted for by changes in buried surface area or free energies of transfer of wild-type and mutant side-chains. In general, the changes in protein stability caused by a mutation depend not only on changes in the free energy of transfer associated with the substitution, but also on the structural context within which the mutation occurs and on the ability of the surrounding structure to relax in response to the substitution.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Accommodation of amino acid insertions in an alpha-helix of T4 lysozyme. Structural and thermodynamic analysis.

One to four alanines were inserted by site-directed mutagenesis at three different locations within the alpha-helix comprising residues 39 to 50 in bacteriophage T4 lysozyme. All insertion mutants were correctly folded and catalytically active although the insertions led to a thermal destabilization by 1.1 to 4.2 kcal/mol when compared to wild-type. Variants that restored part of the loss in stability associated with the initial alanine insertions could be found by randomizing the inserted amino acids. In selected cases, directed mutagenesis of adjacent residues was also used to regain stability. Structural information obtained from X-ray crystallography and/or 2D-NMR for 10 different variants showed two distinct ways in which the protein responded to the amino acid insertions: (1) The inserted amino acids were incorporated into the helix by replacing preceding wild-type amino acids and causing a shift in register towards the N terminus. As a consequence, wild-type amino acids were translocated from the helix into the preceding loop. (2) Insertions caused a "looping out" within the alpha-helix. In this case the perturbation was confined to a minimal region in the immediate vicinity of the insertion. No change in the length of the helix was detected in either case. The structural response appears to be determined by the maintenance of the hydrophobic interface between the helix and the rest of the protein. This interface remains essentially intact in all variant structures. The results exemplify the plasticity and the adaptability of the protein structure which allows the incorporation of additional amino acids into a secondary structure element without large structural perturbations, as long as vital internal interactions are preserved. They also suggest that loops in proteins related by evolution can vary in length not only because of insertions within the loops themselves but also as a consequence of insertions within neighboring secondary structure elements.

Determination of alpha-helix propensity within the context of a folded protein. Sites 44 and 131 in bacteriophage T4 lysozyme.

To determine the effects of different amino acids on the structure and stability of an alpha-helix in the context of a globular protein, all 19 naturally-occurring amino acids were substituted for Ser44 in phage T4 lysozyme. A more restricted set of nine replacements was also made for Val131. Ser44 and Val131 are two of a very limited number of possible sites in T4 lysozyme that are well within alpha-helices, are solvent-exposed and relatively free of interactions with neighboring residues, and are not involved in crystal contacts. High resolution structures for the majority of the mutants, some of which crystallized non-isomorphously with wild-type, were determined. With the exception of proline, the amino acid substitutions caused little if any perturbation of the alpha-helix backbone. Also the beta-branched residues Thr, Val and Ile show no indication of either side-chain or backbone distortion. Therefore, other than proline, there is no evidence that differences in helix propensities are associated with different amounts of strain introduced into the helix. For reference, and also to allow estimates of side-chain entropy, a survey was made of side-chain conformations in 100 well-refined protein structures. As noted previously all side-chains within alpha-helices strongly avoid the g- conformation (chi 1 approximately 60 degrees). This restricts the beta-branched residues Thr, Val and Ile to a single conformer (g+, chi 1 approximately -60 degrees). Asp, Asn, Met and Ser within helices also overwhelmingly prefer the g+ conformation. For Arg, Cys, Gln, Glu, Leu and Lys the t (chi 1 approximately 180 degrees) and g+ conformers are populated roughly equally. Only the aromatic residues, His, Tyr, Trp and Phe prefer the t conformation. These preferences are the same whether the side-chain is buried or solvent-exposed. In general, the side-chain conformations adopted by the residues substituted at positions 44 and 131 correspond to the most commonly observed conformation for the same amino acid in helices in known protein structures. The changes in protein stability for the replacements at site 131 in general agree well with those at site 44 (correlation r = 0.97), suggesting that these may be representative of substitutions at fully solvent-exposed sites in the middle of alpha-helices. The free energy values also agree quite well with those observed for equivalent replacements in a number of soluble alpha-helical model peptides and with data from "host-guest" studies and statistical surveys (r = 0.69 to 0.93).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Generation of ligand binding sites in T4 lysozyme by deficiency-creating substitutions.

Several variants of T4 lysozyme have been identified that sequester small organic ligands in cavities or clefts. To evaluate potential binding sites for non-polar molecules, we screened a number of hydrophobic large-to-small mutants for stabilization in the presence of benzene. In addition to Leu99-->Ala, binding was indicated for at least five other mutants. Variants Met102-->Ala and Leu133-->Gly, and a crevice mutant, Phe104-->Ala, were further characterized using X-ray crystallography and thermal denaturation. As predicted from the shape of the cavity in the benzene complex, mutant Leu133-->Gly also bound p-xylene. We attempted to enlarge the cavity of the Met102-->Ala mutant into a deep crevice through an additional substitution, but the double mutant failed to bind ligands because an adjacent helix rearranged into a non-helical structure, apparently due to the loss of packing interactions. In general, the protein structure contracted slightly to reduce the volume of the void created by truncating substitutions and expanded upon binding the non-polar ligand, with shifts similar to those resulting from the mutations.A polar molecule binding site was also created by truncating Arg95 to alanine. This creates a highly complementary buried polar environment that can be utilized as a specific "receptor" for a guanidinium ion. Our results suggest that creating a deficiency through truncating mutations of buried residues generates "binding potential" for ligands with characteristics similar to the deleted side-chain. Analysis of complex and apo crystal structures of binding and non-binding mutants suggests that ligand size and shape as well as protein flexibility and complementarity are all determinants of binding. Binding at non-polar sites is governed by hydrophobicity and steric interactions and is relatively permissive. Binding at a polar site is more restrictive and requires extensive complementarity between the ligand and the site.

Thermodynamic and structural compensation in "size-switch" core repacking variants of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme.

Previous analysis of randomly generated multiple mutations within the core of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme suggested that the "large-to-small" substitution Leu121 to Ala (L121A) and the spatially adjacent "small-to-large" substitution Ala129 to Met (A129M) might be mutually compensating. To test this hypothesis, the individual variants L121A and A129M were generated, as well as the double "size-switch" mutant L121A/A129M. To make the interchange symmetrical, the combination of L121A with A129L to give L121A/A129L was also constructed. The single mutations were all destabilizing. Somewhat surprisingly, the small-to-large substitutions, which increase hydrophobic stabilization but can also introduce strain, were less deleterious than the large-to-small replacements. Both Ala129 --> Leu and Ala129 --> Met offset the destabilization of L121A by about 50%. Also, in contrast to typical Leu --> Ala core substitutions, which destabilize by 2 to 5 kcal/mol, Leu121 --> Ala slightly stabilized A129L and A129M. Crystal structure analysis showed that a combination of side-chain and backbone adjustments partially accommodated changes in side-chain volume, but only to a limited degree. For example, the cavity that was created by the Leu121 to Ala replacement actually became larger in L121A/A129L. The results demonstrate that the destabilization associated with a change in volume of one core residue can be specifically compensated by an offsetting volume change in an adjacent residue. It appears, however, that complete compensation is unlikely because it is difficult to reconstitute an equivalent set of interactions. The relatively slow evolution of core relative to surface residues appears, therefore, to be due to two factors. First, a mutation in a single core residue that results in a substantial change in size will normally lead to a significant loss in stability. Such mutations will presumably be selected against. Second, if a change in bulk does occur in a buried residue, it cannot normally be fully compensated by a mutation of an adjacent residue. Thus, the most probable response will tend to be reversion to the parent protein.

Substitution with selenomethionine can enhance the stability of methionine-rich proteins.

The availability of a series of phage T4 lysozymes with up to 14 methionine residues incorporated within the protein has made it possible to systematically compare the effect on protein stability of selenomethionine relative to methionine. Wild-type lysozyme contains two fully buried methionine residues plus three more on the surface. The substitution of these methionine residues with selenomethionine slightly stabilizes the protein. As more and more methionine residues are substituted into the protein, there is a progressive loss of stability. This is, however, increasingly offset in the selenomethionine variants, ultimately resulting in a differential increase in melting temperature of about 7 degrees C. This increase, corresponding to about 0.25 kcal/mol per substitution, is in reasonable agreement with the difference in the solvent transfer free energy between the two amino acids.

Structural analysis of a non-contiguous second-site revertant in T4 lysozyme shows that increasing the rigidity of a protein can enhance its stability.

The mutation Glu108-->Val (E108V) in T4 lysozyme was previously isolated as a second-site revertant that specifically compensated for the loss of function associated with the destabilizing substitution Leu99-->Gly (L99G). Surprisingly, the two sites are 11 A apart, with Leu99 in the core and Glu108 on the surface of the protein. In order to better understand this result we have carried out a detailed thermodynamic, enzymatic and structural analysis of these mutant lysozymes as well as a related variant with the substitution Leu99-->Ala. It was found that E108V does increase the stability of L99G, but it also increases the stability of both the wild-type protein and L99A by essentially equal amounts. The effects of E108V on enzymatic activity are more complicated. The mutation slightly reduces the maximal rate of cell wall hydrolysis of wild-type, L99G and L99A. At the same time, L99G is an unstable protein and rapidly loses activity during the course of the assay, especially at temperatures above 20 degrees C. Thus, even though the double mutant L99G/E108V has a slightly lower maximal rate than L99G, over a period of 20-30 minutes it hydrolyzes more substrate. This decrease in the rate of thermal inactivation appears to be the basis of the action of E108V as a second-site revertant of L99G. Mutant L99A creates a cavity of volume 149 A(3). Instead of enlarging this cavity, mutant L99G results in a 4-5 A displacement of part of helix F (residues 108-113), creating a solvent-accessible declivity. In the double mutant, L99G/E108V, this helix returns to a position akin to wild-type, resulting in a cavity of volume 203 A(3). Whether the mutation Glu108-->Val is incorporated into either wild-type lysozyme, or L99A or L99G, it results in a decrease in crystallographic thermal factors, especially in the helices that include residues 99 and 108. This increase in rigidity, which appears to be due to a combination of increased hydrophobic stabilization plus a restriction of conformational fluctuation, provides a structural basis for the increase in thermostability.

Multiple alanine replacements within alpha-helix 126-134 of T4 lysozyme have independent, additive effects on both structure and stability.

In a systematic attempt to identify residues important in the folding and stability of T4 lysozyme, five amino acids within alpha-helix 126-134 were substituted by alanine, either singly or in selected combinations. Together with three alanines already present in the wild-type structure this provided a set of mutant proteins with up to eight alanines in sequence. All the variants behaved normally, suggesting that the majority of residues in the alpha-helix are nonessential for the folding of T4 lysozyme. Of the five individual alanine substitutions it is inferred that four result in slightly increased protein stability and one, the replacement of a buried leucine with alanine, substantially decreased stability. The results support the idea that alanine is a residue of high helix propensity. The change in protein stability observed for each of the multiple mutants is approximately equal to the sum of the energies associated with each of the constituent substitutions. All of the variants could be crystallized isomorphously with wild-type lysozyme, and, with one trivial exception, their structures were determined at high resolution. Substitution of the largely solvent-exposed residues Asp 127, Glu 128, and Val 131 with alanine caused essentially no change in structure except at the immediate site of replacement. Substitutions of the partially buried Asn 132 and the buried Leu 133 with alanine were associated with modest (< or = 0.4 A) structural adjustments. The structural changes seen in the multiple mutants were essentially a combination of those seen in the constituent single replacements. The different replacements therefore act essentially independently not only so far as changes in energy are concerned but also in their effect on structure. The destabilizing replacement Leu 133-->Ala made alpha-helix 126-134 somewhat less regular. Incorporation of additional alanine replacements tended to make the helix more uniform. For the penta-alanine variant a distinct change occurred in a crystal-packing contact, and the "hinge-bending angle" between the amino- and carboxy-terminal domains changed by 3.6 degrees. This tends to confirm that such hinge-bending in T4 lysozyme is a low-energy conformational change.

The response of T4 lysozyme to large-to-small substitutions within the core and its relation to the hydrophobic effect.

To further examine the structural and thermodynamic basis of hydrophobic stabilization in proteins, all of the bulky non-polar residues that are buried or largely buried within the core of T4 lysozyme were substituted with alanine. In 25 cases, including eight reported previously, it was possible to determine the crystal structures of the variants. The structures of four variants with double substitutions were also determined. In the majority of cases the "large-to-small" substitutions lead to internal cavities. In other cases declivities or channels open to the surface were formed. In some cases the structural changes were minimal (mainchain shifts < or = 0.3 A); in other cases mainchain atoms moved up to 2 A. In the case of Ile 29 --> Ala the structure collapsed to such a degree that the volume of the putative cavity was zero. Crystallographic analysis suggests that the occupancy of the engineered cavities by solvent is usually low. The mutants Val 149 --> Ala (V149A) and Met 6 --> Ala (M6A), however, are exceptions and have, respectively, one and two well-ordered water molecules within the cavity. The Val 149 --> Ala substitution allows the solvent molecule to hydrogen bond to polar atoms that are occluded in the wild-type molecule. Similarly, the replacement of Met 6 with alanine allows the two solvent molecules to hydrogen bond to each other and to polar atoms on the protein. Except for Val 149 --> Ala the loss of stability of all the cavity mutants can be rationalized as a combination of two terms. The first is a constant for a given class of substitution (e.g., -2.1 kcal/mol for all Leu --> Ala substitutions) and can be considered as the difference between the free energy of transfer of leucine and alanine from solvent to the core of the protein. The second term can be considered as the energy cost of forming the cavity and is consistent with a numerical value of 22 cal mol(-1) A(-3). Physically, this term is due to the loss of van der Waal's interactions between the bulky sidechain that is removed and the atoms that form the wall of the cavity. The overall results are consistent with the prior rationalization of Leu --> Ala mutants in T4 lysozyme by Eriksson et al. (Eriksson et al., 1992, Science 255:178-183).

Development of an in vivo method to identify mutants of phage T4 lysozyme of enhanced thermostability.

An M13 bacteriophage-based in vivo screening system has been developed to identify T4 lysozyme mutants of enhanced thermal stability. This system takes advantage of easy mutagenesis in an M13 host, the production of functional T4 lysozyme during M13 growth, and the ability to detect lysozyme activity on agar plates. Of several mutagenesis procedures that were tested, the most efficient was based on misincorporation by avian myeloma virus reverse transcriptase. This one-step mutagenesis and screening system has been used to find 18 random single-site mutant lysozymes, of which 11 were heat resistant. Each of these had a melting temperature within 0.8-1.4 degrees C of wild type, suggesting that the screening system is quite sensitive.

Structural and thermodynamic analysis of the binding of solvent at internal sites in T4 lysozyme.

To investigate the structural and thermodynamic basis of the binding of solvent at internal sites within proteins a number of mutations were constructed in T4 lysozyme. Some of these were designed to introduce new solvent-binding sites. Others were intended to displace solvent from preexisting sites. In one case Val-149 was replaced with alanine, serine, cysteine, threonine, isoleucine, and glycine. Crystallographic analysis shows that, with the exception of isoleucine, each of these substitutions results in the binding of solvent at a polar site that is sterically blocked in the wild-type enzyme. Mutations designed to perturb or displace a solvent molecule present in the native enzyme included the replacement of Thr-152 with alanine, serine, cysteine, valine, and isoleucine. Although the solvent molecule was moved in some cases by up to 1.7 A, in no case was it completely removed from the folded protein. The results suggest that hydrogen bonds from the protein to bound solvent are energy neutral. The binding of solvent to internal sites within proteins also appears to be energy neutral except insofar as the bound solvent may prevent a loss of energy due to potential hydrogen bonding groups that would otherwise be unsatisfied. The introduction of a solvent-binding site appears to require not only a cavity to accommodate the water molecule but also the presence of polar groups to help satisfy its hydrogen-bonding potential. It may be easier to design a site to accommodate two or more water molecules rather than one as the solvent molecules can then hydrogen-bond to each other. For similar reasons it is often difficult to design a point mutation that will displace a single solvent molecule from the core of a protein.

Hydrophobic core repacking and aromatic-aromatic interaction in the thermostable mutant of T4 lysozyme Ser 117-->Phe.

The T4 lysozyme mutant Ser 117-->Phe was isolated fortuitously and found to be more thermostable than wild-type by 1.1-1.4 kcal/mol. In the wild-type structure, the side chain of Ser 117 is in a sterically restricted region near the protein surface and forms a short hydrogen bond with Asn 132. The crystal structure of the S117F mutant shows that the introduced Phe side chain rotates by about 150 degrees about the C alpha-C beta bond relative to wild type and is buried in the hydrophobic core of the protein. Burial of Phe 117 is accommodated by rearrangements of the surrounding side chains of Leu 121, Leu 133, and Phe 153 and by main-chain shifts, which result in a minimal increase in packing density. The benzyl rings of Phe 117 and Phe 153 form a near-optimal edge-face interaction in the mutant structure. This aromatic-aromatic interaction, as well as increased hydrophobic stabilization and elimination of a close contact in the wild-type protein, apparently compensate for the loss of a hydrogen bond and the possible cost of structural rearrangements in the mutant. The structure illustrates the ability of a protein to accommodate a surprisingly large structural change in a manner that actually increases thermal stability. The mutant has activity about 10% that of wild-type, supportive of the prior hypothesis (Grütter, M.G. & Matthews, B.W., 1982, J. Mol. Biol. 154, 525-535) that the peptidoglycan substrate of T4 lysozyme makes extended contacts with the C-terminal domain in the vicinity of Ser 117.