scholarly journals In vivo evidence for the iron-binding activity of an iron–sulfur cluster assembly protein IscA in Escherichia coli

2010 ◽  
Vol 432 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wu Wang ◽  
Hao Huang ◽  
Guoqiang Tan ◽  
Fan Si ◽  
Min Liu ◽  
...  

IscA is a key member of the iron–sulfur cluster assembly machinery in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms; however, the physiological function of IscA still remains elusive. In the present paper we report the in vivo evidence demonstrating the iron-binding activity of IscA in Escherichia coli cells. Supplement of exogenous iron (1 μM) in M9 minimal medium is sufficient to maximize the iron binding in IscA expressed in E. coli cells under aerobic growth conditions. In contrast, IscU, an iron–sulfur cluster assembly scaffold protein, or CyaY, a bacterial frataxin homologue, fails to bind any iron in E. coli cells under the same experimental conditions. Interestingly, the strong iron-binding activity of IscA is greatly diminished in E. coli cells under anaerobic growth conditions. Additional studies reveal that oxygen in medium promotes the iron binding in IscA, and that the iron binding in IscA in turn prevents formation of biologically inaccessible ferric hydroxide under aerobic conditions. Consistent with the differential iron-binding activity of IscA under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, we find that IscA and its paralogue SufA are essential for the iron–sulfur cluster assembly in E. coli cells under aerobic growth conditions, but not under anaerobic growth conditions. The results provide in vivo evidence that IscA may act as an iron chaperone for the biogenesis of iron–sulfur clusters in E. coli cells under aerobic conditions.

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianghui Li ◽  
Xiaojun Ren ◽  
Bingqian Fan ◽  
Zhaoyang Huang ◽  
Wu Wang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWhile zinc is an essential trace metal in biology, excess zinc is toxic to organisms. Previous studies have shown that zinc toxicity is associated with disruption of the [4Fe-4S] clusters in various dehydratases inEscherichia coli. Here, we report that the intracellular zinc overload inE. colicells inhibits iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis without affecting the preassembled iron-sulfur clusters in proteins. Among the housekeeping iron-sulfur cluster assembly proteins encoded by the gene clusteriscSUA-hscBA-fdx-iscXinE. colicells, the scaffold IscU, the iron chaperone IscA, and ferredoxin have strong zinc binding activity in cells, suggesting that intracellular zinc overload inhibits iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis by binding to the iron-sulfur cluster assembly proteins. Mutations of the conserved cysteine residues to serine in IscA, IscU, or ferredoxin completely abolish the zinc binding activity of the proteins, indicating that zinc can compete with iron or iron-sulfur cluster binding in IscA, IscU, and ferredoxin and block iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis. Furthermore, intracellular zinc overload appears to emulate the slow-growth phenotype of theE. colimutant cells with deletion of the iron-sulfur cluster assembly proteins IscU, IscA, and ferredoxin. Our results suggest that intracellular zinc overload inhibits iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis by targeting the iron-sulfur cluster assembly proteins IscU, IscA, and ferredoxin inE. colicells.IMPORTANCEZinc toxicity has been implicated in causing various human diseases. High concentrations of zinc can also inhibit bacterial cell growth. However, the underlying mechanism has not been fully understood. Here, we report that zinc overload inEscherichia colicells inhibits iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis by targeting specific iron-sulfur cluster assembly proteins. Because iron-sulfur proteins are involved in diverse physiological processes, the zinc-mediated inhibition of iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis could be largely responsible for the zinc-mediated cytotoxicity. Our finding provides new insights on how intracellular zinc overload may inhibit cellular functions in bacteria.


2007 ◽  
Vol 409 (2) ◽  
pp. 535-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianxin Lu ◽  
Juanjuan Yang ◽  
Guoqiang Tan ◽  
Huangen Ding

Biogenesis of iron–sulfur clusters requires a concerted delivery of iron and sulfur to target proteins. It is now clear that sulfur in iron–sulfur clusters is derived from L-cysteine via cysteine desulfurases. However, the specific iron donor for the iron–sulfur cluster assembly still remains elusive. Previous studies showed that IscA, a member of the iron–sulfur cluster assembly machinery in Escherichia coli, is a novel iron-binding protein, and that the iron-bound IscA can provide iron for the iron–sulfur cluster assembly in a proposed scaffold IscU in vitro. However, genetic studies have indicated that IscA is not essential for the cell growth of E. coli. In the present paper, we report that SufA, an IscA paralogue in E. coli, may represent the redundant activity of IscA. Although deletion of IscA or SufA has only a mild effect on cell growth, deletion of both IscA and SufA in E. coli results in a severe growth phenotype in minimal medium under aerobic growth conditions. Cell growth is restored when either IscA or SufA is re-introduced into the iscA−/sufA− double mutant, demonstrating further that either IscA or SufA is sufficient for their functions in vivo. Purified SufA, like IscA, is an iron-binding protein that can provide iron for the iron–sulfur cluster assembly in IscU in the presence of a thioredoxin reductase system which emulates the intracellular redox potential. Site-directed mutagenesis studies show that the SufA/IscA variants that lose the specific iron-binding activity fail to restore the cell growth of the iscA−/sufA− double mutant. The results suggest that SufA and IscA may constitute the redundant cellular activities to recruit intracellular iron and deliver iron for the iron–sulfur cluster assembly in E. coli.


2010 ◽  
Vol 428 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianxin Lu ◽  
Jacob P. Bitoun ◽  
Guoqiang Tan ◽  
Wu Wang ◽  
Wenguang Min ◽  
...  

A human homologue of the iron–sulfur cluster assembly protein IscA (hIscA1) has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli cells. The UV–visible absorption and EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) measurements reveal that hIscA1 purified from E. coli cells contains a mononuclear iron centre and that the iron binding in hIscA1 expressed in E. coli cells can be further modulated by the iron content in the cell growth medium. Additional studies show that purified hIscA1 binds iron with an iron association constant of approx. 2×1019 M−1, and that the iron-bound hIscA1 is able to provide the iron for the iron–sulfur cluster assembly in a proposed scaffold protein, IscU of E. coli, in vitro. The complementation experiments indicate that hIscA1 can partially substitute for IscA in restoring the cell growth of E. coli in the M9 minimal medium under aerobic conditions. The results suggest that hIscA1, like E. coli IscA, is an iron-binding protein that may act as an iron chaperone for biogenesis of iron–sulfur clusters.


2021 ◽  
Vol 87 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojun Ren ◽  
Feng Liang ◽  
Zhengfen He ◽  
Bingqian Fan ◽  
Zhirong Zhang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli [2Fe-2S]-ferredoxin and other ISC proteins encoded by the iscRSUA-hscBA-fdx-iscX (isc) operon are responsible for the assembly of iron-sulfur clusters. It is proposed that ferredoxin (Fdx) donates electrons from its reduced [2Fe-2S] center to iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis reactions. However, the underlying mechanisms of the [2Fe-2S] cluster assembly in Fdx remain elusive. Here, we report that Fdx preferentially binds iron, but not the [2Fe-2S] cluster, under cold stress conditions (≤16°C). The iron binding in Fdx is characterized by a unique absorption peak at 320 nm based on UV-visible spectroscopy. In addition, the iron-binding form of Fdx could be converted to the [2Fe-2S] cluster-bound form after transferring cold-stressed cells to normal cultivation temperatures above 25°C. In vitro experiments also revealed that Fdx could utilize bound iron to assemble the [2Fe-2S] cluster by itself. Furthermore, inactivation of the genes encoding IscS, IscU, and IscA did not limit [2Fe-2S] cluster assembly in Fdx, which was also observed by inactivating the isc or suf operon, indicating that iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis in Fdx arose from a unique pathway in E. coli. Our results suggest that the intracellular assembly of [2Fe-2S] clusters in Fdx is susceptible to environmental temperatures. The iron binding form of Fdx (Fe-Fdx) is a precursor during its maturation to a cluster binding form ([2Fe-2S]-Fdx), and reassembly of the [2Fe-2S] clusters during temperature increases is not strictly reliant on other specific iron donors and scaffold proteins within the Isc or Suf system. IMPORTANCE Fdx is an electron carrier that is required for the maturation of many other iron-sulfur proteins. Its function strictly depends on its [2Fe-2S] center that bonds with the cysteinyl S atoms of four cysteine residues within Fdx. However, the assembly mechanism of the [2Fe-2S] clusters in Fdx remains controversial. This study reports that Fdx fails to form its [2Fe-2S] cluster under cold stress conditions but instead binds a single Fe atom at the cluster binding site. Moreover, when temperatures increase, Fdx can assemble clusters by itself from its iron-only binding form in E. coli cells. The possibility remains that Fdx can effectively accept clusters from multiple sources. Nevertheless, our results suggest that Fdx has a strong iron binding activity that contributes to the assembly of its own [2Fe-2S] cluster and that Fdx acts as a temperature sensor to regulate Isc system-mediated iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. e21992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Iannuzzi ◽  
Salvatore Adinolfi ◽  
Barry D. Howes ◽  
Ricardo Garcia-Serres ◽  
Martin Clémancey ◽  
...  

Biochemistry ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 48 (45) ◽  
pp. 10782-10792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Reyda ◽  
Corey J. Fugate ◽  
Joseph T. Jarrett

2013 ◽  
Vol 288 (23) ◽  
pp. 16680-16689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mineaki Seki ◽  
Yukiko Takeda ◽  
Kazuhiro Iwai ◽  
Kiyoji Tanaka

The emerging link between iron metabolism and genome integrity is increasingly clear. Recent studies have revealed that MMS19 and cytosolic iron-sulfur cluster assembly (CIA) factors form a complex and have central roles in CIA pathway. However, the composition of the CIA complex, particularly the involvement of the Fe-S protein IOP1, is still unclear. The roles of each component are also largely unknown. Here, we show that MMS19, MIP18, and CIAO1 form a tight “core” complex and that IOP1 is an “external” component of this complex. Although IOP1 and the core complex form a complex both in vivo and in vitro, IOP1 behaves differently in vivo. A deficiency in any core component leads to down-regulation of all of the components. In contrast, IOP1 knockdown does not affect the level of any core component. In MMS19-overproducing cells, other core components are also up-regulated, but the protein level of IOP1 remains unchanged. IOP1 behaves like a target protein in the CIA reaction, like other Fe-S helicases, and the core complex may participate in the maturation process of IOP1. Alternatively, the core complex may catch and hold IOP1 when it becomes mature to prevent its degradation. In any case, IOP1 functions in the MMS19-dependent CIA pathway. We also reveal that MMS19 interacts with target proteins. MIP18 has a role to bridge MMS19 and CIAO1. CIAO1 also binds IOP1. Based on our in vivo and in vitro data, new models of the CIA machinery are proposed.


2007 ◽  
Vol 282 (11) ◽  
pp. 7997-8004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huangen Ding ◽  
Juanjuan Yang ◽  
Liana C. Coleman ◽  
Simon Yeung

2008 ◽  
Vol 191 (5) ◽  
pp. 1490-1497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Boyd ◽  
Randy M. Drevland ◽  
Diana M. Downs ◽  
David E. Graham

ABSTRACT Iron-sulfur clusters may have been the earliest catalytic cofactors on earth, and most modern organisms use them extensively. Although members of the Archaea produce numerous iron-sulfur proteins, the major cluster assembly proteins found in the Bacteria and Eukarya are not universally conserved in archaea. Free-living archaea do have homologs of the bacterial apbC and eukaryotic NBP35 genes that encode iron-sulfur cluster carrier proteins. This study exploits the genetic system of Salmonella enterica to examine the in vivo functionality of apbC/NBP35 homologs from three archaea: Methanococcus maripaludis, Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, and Sulfolobus solfataricus. All three archaeal homologs could correct the tricarballylate growth defect of an S. enterica apbC mutant. Additional genetic studies showed that the conserved Walker box serine and the Cys-X-X-Cys motif of the M. maripaludis MMP0704 protein were both required for function in vivo but that the amino-terminal ferredoxin domain was not. MMP0704 protein and an MMP0704 variant protein missing the N-terminal ferredoxin domain were purified, and the Fe-S clusters were chemically reconstituted. Both proteins bound equimolar concentrations of Fe and S and had UV-visible spectra similar to those of known [4Fe-4S] cluster-containing proteins. This family of dimeric iron-sulfur carrier proteins evolved before the archaeal and eukaryal lineages diverged, representing an ancient mode of cluster assembly.


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