Objective In Corynebacterium crenatum,the adjacent D311 and D312 of N-acetyl-L-glutamate kinase(NAGK),as a key rate-limiting enzyme of L-arginine biosynthesis under substrate regulatory control by arginine,were initia...Objective In Corynebacterium crenatum,the adjacent D311 and D312 of N-acetyl-L-glutamate kinase(NAGK),as a key rate-limiting enzyme of L-arginine biosynthesis under substrate regulatory control by arginine,were initially replaced with two arginine residues to investigate the L-arginine feedback inhibition for NAGK.Methods NAGK enzyme expression was evaluated using a plasmid-based method.Homologous recombination was employed to eliminate the pro B.Results The IC50 and enzyme activity of NAGK M4,in which the D311 R and D312 R amino acid substitutions were combined with the previously reported E19 R and H26 E substitutions,were 3.7-fold and 14.6% higher,respectively,than those of the wild-type NAGK.NAGK M4 was successfully introduced into the C.crenatum MT genome without any genetic markers;the L-arginine yield of C.crenatum MT-M4 was 26.2% higher than that of C.crenatum MT.To further improve upon the L-arginine yield,we constructed the mutant C.crenatum MT-M4 ?pro B.The optimum concentration of L-proline was also investigated in order to determine its contribution to L-arginine yield.After L-proline was added to the medium at 10 mmol/L,the L-arginine yield reached 16.5 g/L after 108 h of shake-flask fermentation,approximately 70.1% higher than the yield attained using C.crenatum MT.Conclusion Feedback inhibition of L-arginine on NAGK in C.crenatum is clearly alleviated by the M4 mutation of NAGK,and deletion of the pro B in C.crenatum from MT to M4 results in a significant increase in arginine production.展开更多
The lincosamide class of antibacterials is widely used for the treatment of a broad spectrum of infections, and one prevalent route of resistance to lincosamides in pathogenic gram-positive cocco is antibiotic modific...The lincosamide class of antibacterials is widely used for the treatment of a broad spectrum of infections, and one prevalent route of resistance to lincosamides in pathogenic gram-positive cocco is antibiotic modification. Enzymes encoded by lin genes, belonging to nucleotidyltransferase superfamily, catalyze adenylylation to inactivate lincosamides. LinA can adenylylate lincosamides at either 3?-or 4?-OH of the methylthiolincosamide sugar. The crystal structure of LinA/lincomycin has confirmed its active site. However, the residue interacting with nucleotidyl donors remains elusive. Here, we modeled the complex structure of LinA/lincomycin/Mg^(2+)/AMPCPP to reveal a putative pocket for nucleotidyl donors and suggested the residue R45 in this pocket involved in the recognition of donor substrates NTP and catalysis. ITC and enzyme activity assays show that the mutation of residue R45 impairs LinA nucleotidyltransferase activity in vitro. This work provides insights into the molecular mechanism of the nucleotide binding and transferring activity of antibiotic NTases.展开更多
Internal solvation of protein was studied by site-directed mutagenesis, with which an intrinsically fluorescent probe,tryptophan, is inserted into the desired position inside a protein molecule for ultrafast spectrosc...Internal solvation of protein was studied by site-directed mutagenesis, with which an intrinsically fluorescent probe,tryptophan, is inserted into the desired position inside a protein molecule for ultrafast spectroscopic study. Here we review this unique method for protein dynamics research. We first introduce the frontiers of protein solvation, site-directed mutagenesis, protein stability and characteristics, and the spectroscopic methods. Then we present time-resolved spectroscopic dynamics of solvation dynamics inside cavities of active sites. The studies are carried out on a globular protein, staphylococcal nuclease. The solvation at sites inside the protein molecule＇s cavities clearly reveals characteristics of the local environment. These solvation behaviors are directly correlated to enzyme activity.展开更多
Objective: To determine exon/intron organization of the Toxocara canis(T. canis) AK(TCAK) and to test green and black tea and several other chemicals against the activity of recombinant TCAK in the guanidino-specific ...Objective: To determine exon/intron organization of the Toxocara canis(T. canis) AK(TCAK) and to test green and black tea and several other chemicals against the activity of recombinant TCAK in the guanidino-specific region by site-directed mutants. Methods: Amplification of genomic DNA fragments containing introns was carried out by PCRs. The open-reading frame(1 200 bp) of TCAK(wild type) was cloned into the BamH 1/SalI site of pM AL-c2X. The maltose-binding protein-TCAK fusion protein was expressed in Escherichia coli TB1 cells. The purity of the expressed enzyme was verified by SDS-PAGE. Mutations were introduced into the guanidino-specific region and other areas of pM AL/TCAK by PCR. Enzyme activity was measured with an NADH-linked assay at 25℃ for the forward reaction(phosphagen synthesis). Results: Arginine kinase in T. canis has a seven-exon/six-intron gene structure. The lengths of the introns ranged from 542 bp to 2 500 bp. All introns begin with gt and end with ag. Furthermore, we measured the enzyme activity of site-directed mutants of the recombinant TCAK. The K_m value of the mutant(Alanine to Serine) decreased indicating a higher affinity for substrate arginine than the wild-type. The K_m value of the mutant(Serine to Glycine) increased to 0.19 mM. The Km value(0.19 mM) of the double mutant(Alanine-Serine to Serine-Glycine) was slightly greater than in the wild-type(0.12 mM). In addition, several other chemicals were tested; including plant extract Azadiracta indica(A. indica), an aminoglycoside antibiotic(aminosidine), a citrus flavonoid glycoside(rutin) and a commercially available catechin mixture against TCAK. Green and black tea(1:10 dilution) produced 15% and 25% inhibition of TCAK, respectively. The extract of A. indica produced 5% inhibition of TCAK. Moreover, green and black tea produced a non-competitive type of inhibition and A. indica produced a mixed-type of inhibition on TCAK. Conclusions: Arginine kinase in T. canis has a seven-exon/six-intron gene structure. However, further studies are needed to identify a specific compound within the extract causing the inhibitory effect and also to determine the molecular mechanisms behind inhibition of arginine kinase in T. canis.展开更多
CD59 may inhibit the cytolytic activity of complement by binding to C8/C9 and protect host cell membranes against homologous membrane attack complex （MAC）. However, CD59 is widely overexpressed on tumor cells, which...CD59 may inhibit the cytolytic activity of complement by binding to C8/C9 and protect host cell membranes against homologous membrane attack complex （MAC）. However, CD59 is widely overexpressed on tumor cells, which has been implicated in tumorigenesis. The active site of CD59 relative to MAC is still confused. As reported the MAC binding site is located in the vicinity of a hydrophobic groove on the membrane distal face of the protein centered around residue W40. Here two site-directed mutagenesis were performed by overlapping extension PCR to delete residue W40 site （Mutant 1, M1） or to change C39W40K41 to W39W40W41 （Mutant 2, M2）. Then we constructed mutant CD59 eukaryotic expression system and investigated their biological function on CI-IO cells compared with wild-type CD59. Stable populations of CHO cells expressing recombinant proteins were screened by immunotechnique. After 30 passages culturing, proteins could be tested. Dye release assays suggest that M1CD59 loses the activity against complement, while M2CD59 increases the anti-complement activity slightly. Results indicate that W40 of human CD59 is important to its activity, and prohibition of this site may be a potential way to increase complement activity and to treat tumors. Cellular ＆ Molecular Immunology.展开更多
Site-directed mutagenesis (SDM) has been a very important method to probe the function-structure relationship of proteins. In this study, we introduced an easy-to-use, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based SDM method ...Site-directed mutagenesis (SDM) has been a very important method to probe the function-structure relationship of proteins. In this study, we introduced an easy-to-use, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based SDM method for double-stranded plasmid DNA, with a designed restriction site to ensure simple and efficient mutant screening. The DNA sequence to be mutated was first translated into amino acid sequence and then the amino acid sequence was reversely translated into DNA sequence with degenerate codons, resulting in a large number of sequences with silent mutations, which contained various restriction endonu-clease (RE) sites. Certain mutated sequence with an appropriate RE site was selected as the target DNA sequence for designing a pair of mutation primers to amplify the full-length plasmid via inverse PCR. The amplified product was 5′-phosphorylated, cir-cularized, and transformed into an Escherichia coli host. The transformants were screened by digesting with the designed RE. This protocol uses only one pair of primers and only one PCR is conducted, without the need for hybridization with hazardous isotope for mutant screening or subcloning step.展开更多
QuickChange mutagenesis is the method of choice for site-directed mutagenesis(SDM) of target se-quences in a plasmid.It can be applied successfully to small plasmids(up to 10 kb).However,this method cannot efficiently...QuickChange mutagenesis is the method of choice for site-directed mutagenesis(SDM) of target se-quences in a plasmid.It can be applied successfully to small plasmids(up to 10 kb).However,this method cannot efficiently mutate bigger plasmids.Using KOD Hot Start polymerase in combination with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) purified primers,we were able to achieve SDM in big plasmids(up to 16 kb) involving not only a single base change but also multiple base changes.Moreover,only six polymerase chain reaction(PCR) cycles and 0.5 μl of polymerase(instead of 18 PCR cycles and 1.0 μl of enzyme in the standard protocol) were sufficient for the reaction.展开更多
The active site motif of proteins belonging to "Histidine Acid Phosphatase" (HAP) contains a hepta-peptide region, RHGXRXP. A close comparison among fungal and yeast HAPs revealed the fourth residue of the h...The active site motif of proteins belonging to "Histidine Acid Phosphatase" (HAP) contains a hepta-peptide region, RHGXRXP. A close comparison among fungal and yeast HAPs revealed the fourth residue of the hepta-peptide to be E instead of A, which is the case with A. niger PhyA phytase. However, another phytase, PhyB, from the same microorganism has a higher turnover number and it shows E in this position. We mutated A69 residue to E in the fungal PhyA phytase. The mutant phytase shows a myriad of new kinetic properties. The pH profile shifted 0.5 pH unit in both 5.0 and 2.5 bi-hump peaks. The optimum temperature shifted down from 58℃ to 55℃. However, the greatest difference was observed in the mutant protein's reaction to GuCl at a concentration of 0.1 to 0.2 M. The activity of the mutant phytase jumped 100% while the wild type protein showed no activity enhancement in the same concentration range of GuCl. The kinetics performed at higher concentration of GuCl also contrasted the difference between the wild type and mutant phytase. While Km was least affected, the Vmax increased for the mutant and decreased for the wild type. The sensitivity towards myo-inositol hexasulfate, a potent inhibitor, was decreased by the mutation. All in all, A69E mutation has affected a multitude of enzymatic properties of the protein even though the residue was thought to be non-critical for phytase's catalytic function notwithstanding its location in the conserved hepta-peptide region of the biocatalyst.展开更多
Previous study on refolding of sulfur oxygenase reductase (SOR) inclusion bodies from recombinant Escherichia coli showed that iron was critical to the activity of the SOR from Acidianus ambivalens. In this study, enz...Previous study on refolding of sulfur oxygenase reductase (SOR) inclusion bodies from recombinant Escherichia coli showed that iron was critical to the activity of the SOR from Acidianus ambivalens. In this study, enzymatic assays showed that 2,2′-Dipyridyl, Tiron and 8-hydroxyquinoline, which are specific for chelating ferrous or ferric ions, strongly inhibited the activity of SOR from A. tengchongensis, suggesting that iron atom is essential for SOR activity. Alignment of several functionally identified SORs and SOR-like sequences from genome database revealed a conserved, putative iron binding motif, H86-X3-H90-Xn-E114-Xn-E129 (numbering according to the Acidianus tengchongensis SOR sequence). Three mutants of SOR were generated by site-directed mutagenesis of H86, H90 and E129 into phenyla-lanine or alanine residue in this study. Circular dichroism spectrum determination indicated that there was no change of the secondary structures of mutant SORs, H86F, H90F and E129A, but all mutants were completely inactive. Through determination of iron contents we found that SOR mutants of H86F, H90F and E129A completely or partially lost iron, while mutants of C31S, C101S, and C104S (generated in a previous study) did not. This result indicated that H86, H90 and E129 but not C31, C101, and C104 were involved in binding to iron atom. Based on this and previous studies, it is proposed that the conserved motifs, C31-Xn-C101-X2-C104 and H86-X3-H90-X23-E114-X14-(E/D)129, are respectively for sulfur and molecular oxygen binding and activation. These two conserved motifs are essential elements for the SOR activity.展开更多
The Cys-rich domain, core region and basic domain are highly conserved and very important to the trans-activation activity of HIV-1 Tat trans-activator. The three-dimensional structures of 6 mutants of HIV-1 Tat prote...The Cys-rich domain, core region and basic domain are highly conserved and very important to the trans-activation activity of HIV-1 Tat trans-activator. The three-dimensional structures of 6 mutants of HIV-1 Tat protein were constructed with the methods of molecular dynamics simulation. The variations of the structures of the mutants have been analyzed and the factors that led to abolishment of trans-activation activity have been discussed.展开更多
Modular polyketide synthases(PKSs)are a multidomain megasynthase class of biosynthetic enzymes that have great promise for the development of new compounds,from new pharmaceuticals to high value commodity and specialt...Modular polyketide synthases(PKSs)are a multidomain megasynthase class of biosynthetic enzymes that have great promise for the development of new compounds,from new pharmaceuticals to high value commodity and specialty chemicals.Their colinear biosynthetic logic has been viewed as a promising platform for synthetic biology for decades.Due to this colinearity,domain swapping has long been used as a strategy to introduce molecular diversity.However,domain swapping often fails because it perturbs critical protein-protein interactions within the PKS.With our increased level of structural elucidation of PKSs,using judicious targeted mutations of individual residues is a more precise way to introduce molecular diversity with less potential for global disruption of the protein architecture.Here we review examples of targeted point mutagenesis to one or a few residues harbored within the PKS that alter domain specificity or selectivity,affect protein stability and interdomain communication,and promote more complex catalytic reactivity.展开更多
基金supported by Natural Science Foundation of China,No.31360219 and No.30960012the Open Project Program of Key Laboratory of Functional Small Organic Molecule,Ministry of Education,Jiangxi Normal University(No.KLFS-KF-201414)
文摘Objective In Corynebacterium crenatum,the adjacent D311 and D312 of N-acetyl-L-glutamate kinase(NAGK),as a key rate-limiting enzyme of L-arginine biosynthesis under substrate regulatory control by arginine,were initially replaced with two arginine residues to investigate the L-arginine feedback inhibition for NAGK.Methods NAGK enzyme expression was evaluated using a plasmid-based method.Homologous recombination was employed to eliminate the pro B.Results The IC50 and enzyme activity of NAGK M4,in which the D311 R and D312 R amino acid substitutions were combined with the previously reported E19 R and H26 E substitutions,were 3.7-fold and 14.6% higher,respectively,than those of the wild-type NAGK.NAGK M4 was successfully introduced into the C.crenatum MT genome without any genetic markers;the L-arginine yield of C.crenatum MT-M4 was 26.2% higher than that of C.crenatum MT.To further improve upon the L-arginine yield,we constructed the mutant C.crenatum MT-M4 ?pro B.The optimum concentration of L-proline was also investigated in order to determine its contribution to L-arginine yield.After L-proline was added to the medium at 10 mmol/L,the L-arginine yield reached 16.5 g/L after 108 h of shake-flask fermentation,approximately 70.1% higher than the yield attained using C.crenatum MT.Conclusion Feedback inhibition of L-arginine on NAGK in C.crenatum is clearly alleviated by the M4 mutation of NAGK,and deletion of the pro B in C.crenatum from MT to M4 results in a significant increase in arginine production.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31470741)Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province(2016J01173)+3 种基金the Key Project of Fujian Province(2017N0031)the STS project of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fujian Province(2016T3041)the medical talent training project of Fujian provincial health and family planning commission(2016-ZQN-19)National Thousand Talents Program of China
文摘The lincosamide class of antibacterials is widely used for the treatment of a broad spectrum of infections, and one prevalent route of resistance to lincosamides in pathogenic gram-positive cocco is antibiotic modification. Enzymes encoded by lin genes, belonging to nucleotidyltransferase superfamily, catalyze adenylylation to inactivate lincosamides. LinA can adenylylate lincosamides at either 3?-or 4?-OH of the methylthiolincosamide sugar. The crystal structure of LinA/lincomycin has confirmed its active site. However, the residue interacting with nucleotidyl donors remains elusive. Here, we modeled the complex structure of LinA/lincomycin/Mg^(2+)/AMPCPP to reveal a putative pocket for nucleotidyl donors and suggested the residue R45 in this pocket involved in the recognition of donor substrates NTP and catalysis. ITC and enzyme activity assays show that the mutation of residue R45 impairs LinA nucleotidyltransferase activity in vitro. This work provides insights into the molecular mechanism of the nucleotide binding and transferring activity of antibiotic NTases.
基金Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(Grant Nos.2013CB921904,2009CB930504,and 2013CB328700)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.11074016,11121091,10934001,61177020,11134001,and 10828407)
文摘Internal solvation of protein was studied by site-directed mutagenesis, with which an intrinsically fluorescent probe,tryptophan, is inserted into the desired position inside a protein molecule for ultrafast spectroscopic study. Here we review this unique method for protein dynamics research. We first introduce the frontiers of protein solvation, site-directed mutagenesis, protein stability and characteristics, and the spectroscopic methods. Then we present time-resolved spectroscopic dynamics of solvation dynamics inside cavities of active sites. The studies are carried out on a globular protein, staphylococcal nuclease. The solvation at sites inside the protein molecule＇s cavities clearly reveals characteristics of the local environment. These solvation behaviors are directly correlated to enzyme activity.
文摘Objective: To determine exon/intron organization of the Toxocara canis(T. canis) AK(TCAK) and to test green and black tea and several other chemicals against the activity of recombinant TCAK in the guanidino-specific region by site-directed mutants. Methods: Amplification of genomic DNA fragments containing introns was carried out by PCRs. The open-reading frame(1 200 bp) of TCAK(wild type) was cloned into the BamH 1/SalI site of pM AL-c2X. The maltose-binding protein-TCAK fusion protein was expressed in Escherichia coli TB1 cells. The purity of the expressed enzyme was verified by SDS-PAGE. Mutations were introduced into the guanidino-specific region and other areas of pM AL/TCAK by PCR. Enzyme activity was measured with an NADH-linked assay at 25℃ for the forward reaction(phosphagen synthesis). Results: Arginine kinase in T. canis has a seven-exon/six-intron gene structure. The lengths of the introns ranged from 542 bp to 2 500 bp. All introns begin with gt and end with ag. Furthermore, we measured the enzyme activity of site-directed mutants of the recombinant TCAK. The K_m value of the mutant(Alanine to Serine) decreased indicating a higher affinity for substrate arginine than the wild-type. The K_m value of the mutant(Serine to Glycine) increased to 0.19 mM. The Km value(0.19 mM) of the double mutant(Alanine-Serine to Serine-Glycine) was slightly greater than in the wild-type(0.12 mM). In addition, several other chemicals were tested; including plant extract Azadiracta indica(A. indica), an aminoglycoside antibiotic(aminosidine), a citrus flavonoid glycoside(rutin) and a commercially available catechin mixture against TCAK. Green and black tea(1:10 dilution) produced 15% and 25% inhibition of TCAK, respectively. The extract of A. indica produced 5% inhibition of TCAK. Moreover, green and black tea produced a non-competitive type of inhibition and A. indica produced a mixed-type of inhibition on TCAK. Conclusions: Arginine kinase in T. canis has a seven-exon/six-intron gene structure. However, further studies are needed to identify a specific compound within the extract causing the inhibitory effect and also to determine the molecular mechanisms behind inhibition of arginine kinase in T. canis.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China （No.30671936）.
文摘CD59 may inhibit the cytolytic activity of complement by binding to C8/C9 and protect host cell membranes against homologous membrane attack complex （MAC）. However, CD59 is widely overexpressed on tumor cells, which has been implicated in tumorigenesis. The active site of CD59 relative to MAC is still confused. As reported the MAC binding site is located in the vicinity of a hydrophobic groove on the membrane distal face of the protein centered around residue W40. Here two site-directed mutagenesis were performed by overlapping extension PCR to delete residue W40 site （Mutant 1, M1） or to change C39W40K41 to W39W40W41 （Mutant 2, M2）. Then we constructed mutant CD59 eukaryotic expression system and investigated their biological function on CI-IO cells compared with wild-type CD59. Stable populations of CHO cells expressing recombinant proteins were screened by immunotechnique. After 30 passages culturing, proteins could be tested. Dye release assays suggest that M1CD59 loses the activity against complement, while M2CD59 increases the anti-complement activity slightly. Results indicate that W40 of human CD59 is important to its activity, and prohibition of this site may be a potential way to increase complement activity and to treat tumors. Cellular ＆ Molecular Immunology.
基金Project supported by the Hi-Tech Research and Development (863) Program of China (No. 2007AA02Z151)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30872223)
文摘Site-directed mutagenesis (SDM) has been a very important method to probe the function-structure relationship of proteins. In this study, we introduced an easy-to-use, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based SDM method for double-stranded plasmid DNA, with a designed restriction site to ensure simple and efficient mutant screening. The DNA sequence to be mutated was first translated into amino acid sequence and then the amino acid sequence was reversely translated into DNA sequence with degenerate codons, resulting in a large number of sequences with silent mutations, which contained various restriction endonu-clease (RE) sites. Certain mutated sequence with an appropriate RE site was selected as the target DNA sequence for designing a pair of mutation primers to amplify the full-length plasmid via inverse PCR. The amplified product was 5′-phosphorylated, cir-cularized, and transformed into an Escherichia coli host. The transformants were screened by digesting with the designed RE. This protocol uses only one pair of primers and only one PCR is conducted, without the need for hybridization with hazardous isotope for mutant screening or subcloning step.
文摘QuickChange mutagenesis is the method of choice for site-directed mutagenesis(SDM) of target se-quences in a plasmid.It can be applied successfully to small plasmids(up to 10 kb).However,this method cannot efficiently mutate bigger plasmids.Using KOD Hot Start polymerase in combination with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) purified primers,we were able to achieve SDM in big plasmids(up to 16 kb) involving not only a single base change but also multiple base changes.Moreover,only six polymerase chain reaction(PCR) cycles and 0.5 μl of polymerase(instead of 18 PCR cycles and 1.0 μl of enzyme in the standard protocol) were sufficient for the reaction.
文摘The active site motif of proteins belonging to "Histidine Acid Phosphatase" (HAP) contains a hepta-peptide region, RHGXRXP. A close comparison among fungal and yeast HAPs revealed the fourth residue of the hepta-peptide to be E instead of A, which is the case with A. niger PhyA phytase. However, another phytase, PhyB, from the same microorganism has a higher turnover number and it shows E in this position. We mutated A69 residue to E in the fungal PhyA phytase. The mutant phytase shows a myriad of new kinetic properties. The pH profile shifted 0.5 pH unit in both 5.0 and 2.5 bi-hump peaks. The optimum temperature shifted down from 58℃ to 55℃. However, the greatest difference was observed in the mutant protein's reaction to GuCl at a concentration of 0.1 to 0.2 M. The activity of the mutant phytase jumped 100% while the wild type protein showed no activity enhancement in the same concentration range of GuCl. The kinetics performed at higher concentration of GuCl also contrasted the difference between the wild type and mutant phytase. While Km was least affected, the Vmax increased for the mutant and decreased for the wild type. The sensitivity towards myo-inositol hexasulfate, a potent inhibitor, was decreased by the mutation. All in all, A69E mutation has affected a multitude of enzymatic properties of the protein even though the residue was thought to be non-critical for phytase's catalytic function notwithstanding its location in the conserved hepta-peptide region of the biocatalyst.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 30670018, 30621005)State Key Basic Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2004CB719602)
文摘Previous study on refolding of sulfur oxygenase reductase (SOR) inclusion bodies from recombinant Escherichia coli showed that iron was critical to the activity of the SOR from Acidianus ambivalens. In this study, enzymatic assays showed that 2,2′-Dipyridyl, Tiron and 8-hydroxyquinoline, which are specific for chelating ferrous or ferric ions, strongly inhibited the activity of SOR from A. tengchongensis, suggesting that iron atom is essential for SOR activity. Alignment of several functionally identified SORs and SOR-like sequences from genome database revealed a conserved, putative iron binding motif, H86-X3-H90-Xn-E114-Xn-E129 (numbering according to the Acidianus tengchongensis SOR sequence). Three mutants of SOR were generated by site-directed mutagenesis of H86, H90 and E129 into phenyla-lanine or alanine residue in this study. Circular dichroism spectrum determination indicated that there was no change of the secondary structures of mutant SORs, H86F, H90F and E129A, but all mutants were completely inactive. Through determination of iron contents we found that SOR mutants of H86F, H90F and E129A completely or partially lost iron, while mutants of C31S, C101S, and C104S (generated in a previous study) did not. This result indicated that H86, H90 and E129 but not C31, C101, and C104 were involved in binding to iron atom. Based on this and previous studies, it is proposed that the conserved motifs, C31-Xn-C101-X2-C104 and H86-X3-H90-X23-E114-X14-(E/D)129, are respectively for sulfur and molecular oxygen binding and activation. These two conserved motifs are essential elements for the SOR activity.
文摘The Cys-rich domain, core region and basic domain are highly conserved and very important to the trans-activation activity of HIV-1 Tat trans-activator. The three-dimensional structures of 6 mutants of HIV-1 Tat protein were constructed with the methods of molecular dynamics simulation. The variations of the structures of the mutants have been analyzed and the factors that led to abolishment of trans-activation activity have been discussed.
基金This work was supported by funding provided by the University of Tennessee,Knoxville.
文摘Modular polyketide synthases(PKSs)are a multidomain megasynthase class of biosynthetic enzymes that have great promise for the development of new compounds,from new pharmaceuticals to high value commodity and specialty chemicals.Their colinear biosynthetic logic has been viewed as a promising platform for synthetic biology for decades.Due to this colinearity,domain swapping has long been used as a strategy to introduce molecular diversity.However,domain swapping often fails because it perturbs critical protein-protein interactions within the PKS.With our increased level of structural elucidation of PKSs,using judicious targeted mutations of individual residues is a more precise way to introduce molecular diversity with less potential for global disruption of the protein architecture.Here we review examples of targeted point mutagenesis to one or a few residues harbored within the PKS that alter domain specificity or selectivity,affect protein stability and interdomain communication,and promote more complex catalytic reactivity.
