Structural basis for prokaryotic calciummediated regulation by a Streptomyces coelicolor calcium binding protein

The important and diverse regulatory roles of Ca2+in eukaryotes are conveyed by the EF-hand containing calmodulin superfamily.However,the calcium-regulatory proteins in prokaryotes are still poorly understood.In this study,we report the three-dimensional structure of the calcium-binding protein from Streptomyces coelicolor,named CabD,which shares low sequence homology with other known helix-loop-helix EF-hand proteins.The CabD structure should provide insights into the biological role of the prokaryotic calcium-binding proteins.The unusual structural features of CabD compared with prokaryotic EF-hand proteins and eukaryotic sarcoplasmic calcium-binding proteins,including the bending conformation of the first C-terminalα-helix,unpaired ligand-binding EF-hands and the lack of the extreme Cterminal loop region,suggest it may have a distinct and significant function in calcium-mediated bacterial physiological processes,and provide a structural basis for potential calcium-mediated regulatory roles in prokaryotes.