Substitution of Two Active-Site Residues Alters C9-Hydroxylation in a Class II Diterpene Synthase

ChemBioChem ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 2304-2307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibongile Mafu ◽  
Emil Fischer ◽  
J. Bennett Addison ◽  
Isabel Riberio Barbosana ◽  
Philipp Zerbe
2012 ◽  
Vol 287 (15) ◽  
pp. 12121-12131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Zerbe ◽  
Angela Chiang ◽  
Macaire Yuen ◽  
Björn Hamberger ◽  
Britta Hamberger ◽  
...  

The labdanoid diterpene alcohol cis-abienol is a major component of the aromatic oleoresin of balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and serves as a valuable bioproduct material for the fragrance industry. Using high-throughput 454 transcriptome sequencing and metabolite profiling of balsam fir bark tissue, we identified candidate diterpene synthase sequences for full-length cDNA cloning and functional characterization. We discovered a bifunctional class I/II cis-abienol synthase (AbCAS), along with the paralogous levopimaradiene/abietadiene synthase and isopimaradiene synthase, all of which are members of the gymnosperm-specific TPS-d subfamily. The AbCAS-catalyzed formation of cis-abienol proceeds via cyclization and hydroxylation at carbon C-8 of a postulated carbocation intermediate in the class II active site, followed by cleavage of the diphosphate group and termination of the reaction sequence without further cyclization in the class I active site. This reaction mechanism is distinct from that of synthases of the isopimaradiene- or levopimaradiene/abietadiene synthase type, which employ deprotonation reactions in the class II active site and secondary cyclizations in the class I active site, leading to tricyclic diterpenes. Comparative homology modeling suggested the active site residues Asp-348, Leu-617, Phe-696, and Gly-723 as potentially important for the specificity of AbCAS. As a class I/II bifunctional enzyme, AbCAS is a promising target for metabolic engineering of cis-abienol production.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 2441-2449
Author(s):  
Anwei Hou ◽  
Jeroen S Dickschat

The sesterterpene synthase SmTS1 from Streptomyces mobaraensis contains several unusual residues in positions that are otherwise highly conserved. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments for these residues are reported that showed different effects, resulting in some cases in an improved catalytic activity, but in other cases in a loss of enzyme function. For other enzyme variants a functional switch was observed, turning SmTS1 from a sesterterpene into a diterpene synthase. This article gives rational explanations for these findings that may generally allow for protein engineering of other terpene synthases to improve their catalytic efficiency or to change their functions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 1122-1137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nivedita Singh ◽  
Parameswaran Saravanan ◽  
M.S. Thakur ◽  
Sanjukta Patra

Background: Phosphodiesterases 9A (PDE9A) is one of the prominent regulating enzymes of the signal transduction pathway having highest catalytic affinity for second messenger, cGMP. When the cGMP level is lowered, an uncontrolled expression of PDE9A may lead to various neurodegenerative diseases. To regulate the catalytic activity of PDE9A, potent inhibitors are needed. Objective: The primary objective of the present study was to develop new xanthine based inhibitors targeting PDE9A. This study was an attempt to bring structural diversification in PDE9A inhibitor development because most of the existing inhibitors are constructed over pyrazolopyrimidinone scaffold. Methods: Manual designing and parallel molecular docking approach were used for the development of xanthine derivatives. In this study, N1, N3, N9 and C8 positions of xanthine scaffold were selected as substitution sites to design 200 new compounds. Reverse docking and pharmaceutical analyses were used for final validation of most promising compounds. Results: By keeping free energy of binding cut-off of -6.0 kcal/mol, 52 compounds were screened. The compounds with substitution at N1, N3 and C8 positions of xanthine showed good occupancy in PDE9A active site pocket with a significant interaction pattern. This was further validated by screening different factors such as free energy of binding, inhibition constant and interacting active site residues in the 5Å region. Substitution at C8 position with phenyl substituent determined the inhibition affinity of compounds towards PDE9A by establishing a strong hydrophobic - hydrophobic interaction. The alkyl chain at N1 position generated selectivity of compounds towards PDE9A. The aromatic fragment at N3 position increased the binding affinity of compounds. Thus, by comparative docking study, it was found that compound 39-42 formed selective interaction towards PDE9A over other members of the PDE superfamily. Conclusion: From the present study, N1, N3 and C8 positions of xanthine were concluded as the best sites for substitution for the generation of potent PDE9A inhibitors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Bou-Nader ◽  
Frederick W. Stull ◽  
Ludovic Pecqueur ◽  
Philippe Simon ◽  
Vincent Guérineau ◽  
...  

AbstractFolate enzyme cofactors and their derivatives have the unique ability to provide a single carbon unit at different oxidation levels for the de novo synthesis of amino-acids, purines, or thymidylate, an essential DNA nucleotide. How these cofactors mediate methylene transfer is not fully settled yet, particularly with regard to how the methylene is transferred to the methylene acceptor. Here, we uncovered that the bacterial thymidylate synthase ThyX, which relies on both folate and flavin for activity, can also use a formaldehyde-shunt to directly synthesize thymidylate. Combining biochemical, spectroscopic and anaerobic crystallographic analyses, we showed that formaldehyde reacts with the reduced flavin coenzyme to form a carbinolamine intermediate used by ThyX for dUMP methylation. The crystallographic structure of this intermediate reveals how ThyX activates formaldehyde and uses it, with the assistance of active site residues, to methylate dUMP. Our results reveal that carbinolamine species promote methylene transfer and suggest that the use of a CH2O-shunt may be relevant in several other important folate-dependent reactions.


Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 156 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R H Evans ◽  
Brian A Hemmings

Abstract PP2A is a central regulator of eukaryotic signal transduction. The human catalytic subunit PP2Acα functionally replaces the endogenous yeast enzyme, Pph22p, indicating a conservation of function in vivo. Therefore, yeast cells were employed to explore the role of invariant PP2Ac residues. The PP2Acα Y127N substitution abolished essential PP2Ac function in vivo and impaired catalysis severely in vitro, consistent with the prediction from structural studies that Tyr-127 mediates substrate binding and its side chain interacts with the key active site residues His-118 and Asp-88. The V159E substitution similarly impaired PP2Acα catalysis profoundly and may cause global disruption of the active site. Two conditional mutations in the yeast Pph22p protein, F232S and P240H, were found to cause temperature-sensitive impairment of PP2Ac catalytic function in vitro. Thus, the mitotic and cell lysis defects conferred by these mutations result from a loss of PP2Ac enzyme activity. Substitution of the PP2Acα C-terminal Tyr-307 residue by phenylalanine impaired protein function, whereas the Y307D and T304D substitutions abolished essential function in vivo. Nevertheless, Y307D did not reduce PP2Acα catalytic activity significantly in vitro, consistent with an important role for the C terminus in mediating essential protein-protein interactions. Our results identify key residues important for PP2Ac function and characterize new reagents for the study of PP2A in vivo.


1988 ◽  
Vol 263 (10) ◽  
pp. 4641-4646 ◽  
Author(s):  
J E Cronan ◽  
W B Li ◽  
R Coleman ◽  
M Narasimhan ◽  
D de Mendoza ◽  
...  

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