Publications by authors named "K Tittmann"

Class I glutaredoxins (GRXs) are nearly ubiquitous proteins that catalyse the glutathione (GSH)-dependent reduction of mainly glutathionylated substrates. In land plants, a third class of GRXs has evolved (class III). Class III GRXs regulate the activity of TGA transcription factors through yet unexplored mechanisms.

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A sustainable, convenient, scalable, one-step method for the two-carbon chain elongation of cheap and biomass-derived pentoses (l-arabinose, and 2-deoxy-d-ribose) and hexose l-rhamnose was developed to produce C deoxy ketoses (C-7 and C-8) using transketolase, an enzyme catalyzing the quasi-irreversible transfer of a ketol group from an α-keto acid to an aldehyde. Deoxygenated ketoses - commonly obtained by chemical synthesis - were afforded through a suitable combination of both nucleophile and electrophile substrates in the presence of rationally designed TK variants. Pyruvate as nucleophile with pentose l-arabinose (C-5) as electrophile gave 1-deoxy-L-gluco-heptulose (C-7), while ß-hydroxypyruvate (HPA) as nucleophile with acceptors 2-deoxy-d-ribose (C-5) and 6-deoxy-l-mannose (l-rhamnose) (C-6) led to formation of 4-deoxy-d-altro-heptulose (C-7) and 8-deoxy-l-glycero-l-galacto-octulose (C-8), respectively.

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Article Synopsis
  • The thiamine diphosphate (ThDP)-binding motif is crucial for ThDP-dependent enzymes, typically featuring a GDG(X)N sequence, but in the enzyme JanthE, the first glycine is replaced by cysteine (C458).
  • JanthE shows high substrate versatility, accepting various long-chain fatty acids and sterically hindered compounds, allowing for the production of different alcohols through carboligation.
  • The crystal structure analysis reveals that C458 plays a critical role in maintaining the active site rather than binding the cofactor, and new tetrahedral intermediates with specific substrates were identified, highlighting the enzyme's capabilities in unique carboligation reactions.
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A novel covalent post-translational modification (lysine-NOS-cysteine) was discovered in proteins, initially in the enzyme transaldolase of (TAL) [ , , 460-464], acting as a redox switch. The identification of this novel linkage in solution was unprecedented until now. We present detection of the NOS redox switch in solution using sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS).

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Article Synopsis
  • Antiviral drugs targeting SARS-CoV-2, particularly the main protease (M), are crucial for preventing future COVID outbreaks.
  • The study reveals that M undergoes redox regulation, switching between an active dimer and a dormant monomer, affecting its function through modifications of specific cysteine residues.
  • The findings also identify potential druggable sites in the form of conserved redox switches, which could be found in main proteases of other coronaviruses like MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV.
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