Structure-Based Demystification of Radical Catalysis by a Coenzyme B Dependent Enzyme-Crystallographic Study of Glutamate Mutase with Cofactor Homologues.

Catalysis by radical enzymes dependent on coenzyme B (AdoCbl) relies on the reactive primary 5'-deoxy-5'adenosyl radical, which originates from reversible Co-C bond homolysis of AdoCbl. This bond homolysis is accelerated roughly 10-fold upon binding the enzyme substrate. The structural basis for this activation is still strikingly enigmatic.

Structure-Based Demystification of Radical Catalysis by a Coenzyme B Dependent Enzyme-Crystallographic Study of Glutamate Mutase with Cofactor Homologues.

Catalysis by radical enzymes dependent on coenzyme B (AdoCbl) relies on the reactive primary 5'-deoxy-5'adenosyl radical, which originates from reversible Co-C bond homolysis of AdoCbl. This bond homolysis is accelerated roughly 10 -fold upon binding the enzyme substrate. The structural basis for this activation is still strikingly enigmatic.

Hydroxynitrile lyases with α/β-hydrolase fold: two enzymes with almost identical 3D structures but opposite enantioselectivities and different reaction mechanisms.

Hydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs) catalyze the cleavage of cyanohydrins to yield hydrocyanic acid (HCN) and the respective carbonyl compound and are key enzymes in the process of cyanogenesis in plants. In organic syntheses, HNLs are used as biocatalysts for the formation of enantiopure cyanohydrins. We determined the structure of the recently identified, R-selective HNL from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtHNL) at a crystallographic resolution of 2.

High-resolution neutron crystallographic studies of the hydration of the coenzyme cob(II)alamin.

The hydration of the coenzyme cob(II)alamin has been studied using high-resolution monochromatic neutron crystallographic data collected at room temperature to a resolution of 0.92 Å on the original D19 diffractometer with a prototype 4° × 64° detector at the high-flux reactor neutron source run by the Institute Laue-Langevin. The resulting structure provides hydrogen-bonding parameters for the hydration of biomacromolecules to unprecedented accuracy.

Substrate binding in the FAD-dependent hydroxynitrile lyase from almond provides insight into the mechanism of cyanohydrin formation and explains the absence of dehydrogenation activity.

In a large number of plant species hydroxynitrile lyases catalyze the decomposition of cyanohydrins in order to generate hydrogen cyanide upon tissue damage. Hydrogen cyanide serves as a deterrent against herbivores and fungi. In vitro hydroxynitrile lyases are proficient biocatalysts for the stereospecific synthesis of cyanohydrins.

VASCo: computation and visualization of annotated protein surface contacts.

Background: Structural data from crystallographic analyses contain a vast amount of information on protein-protein contacts. Knowledge on protein-protein interactions is essential for understanding many processes in living cells. The methods to investigate these interactions range from genetics to biophysics, crystallography, bioinformatics and computer modeling.

Atomic resolution crystal structures and quantum chemistry meet to reveal subtleties of hydroxynitrile lyase catalysis.

Hydroxynitrile lyases are versatile enzymes that enantiospecifically cope with cyanohydrins, important intermediates in the production of various agrochemicals or pharmaceuticals. We determined four atomic resolution crystal structures of hydroxynitrile lyase from Hevea brasiliensis: one native and three complexes with acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and thiocyanate. We observed distinct distance changes among the active site residues related to proton shifts upon substrate binding.

X-ray structural characterization of imidazolylcobalamin and histidinylcobalamin: cobalamin models for aquacobalamin bound to the B12 transporter protein transcobalamin.

The X-ray structures of imidazolylcobalamin (ImCbl) and histidinylcobalamin (HisCbl) are reported. These structures are of interest given that the recent structures of human and bovine transcobalamin prepared in their holo forms from aquacobalamin show a histidine residue of the metalloprotein bound at the beta-axial site of the cobalamin (Wuerges, J. et al.

Structural determinants of the enantioselectivity of the hydroxynitrile lyase from Hevea brasiliensis.

The hydroxynitrile lyase from the tropical rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis (HbHNL) is utilized as a biocatalyst in stereospecific syntheses of alpha-hydroxynitriles from aldehydes and methyl-ketones. The catalyzed reaction represents one of the few industrially relevant examples of enzyme mediated C-C coupling reactions. In this work, we determined the X-ray crystal structures (at 1.

XAS spectroscopy reveals X-ray-induced photoreduction of free and protein-bound B12 cofactors.

Crystal structures of several proteins with a B(12) cofactor show abnormally long axial bonds between the cofactor's Co atom and its ;lower' ligand, which is typically a protein-derived imidazole from a histidine residue. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) experiments were carried out with the following cofactor derivatives to examine the question of whether the bond elongation might be due to an X-ray-induced reduction of the cofactor's cobalt centre: aquocobalamin, cyanocobalamin, methylcobalamin, 5'-desoxyadenosylcobalamin and cob(II)alamin. Each cofactor was investigated at 100 K in a water/glycerol or water/trehalose glass, both as unbound free species and bound to the protein components of the enzyme glutamate mutase.

Stabilisation of methylene radicals by cob(II)alamin in coenzyme B12 dependent mutases.

Coenzyme B12 initiates radical chemistry in two types of enzymatic reactions, the irreversible eliminases (e.g., diol dehydratases) and the reversible mutases (e.

Structure and function of YcnD from Bacillus subtilis, a flavin-containing oxidoreductase.

YcnD from the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis is a member of a family of bacterial proteins that act as NADH- and/or NADPH-dependent oxidoreductases. Here, we report for the first time on the biochemical characterization of the purified protein, demonstrating that YcnD is an FMN-containing enzyme that can be reduced by NADH or NADPH (Km = 6.4 and 4.

Homocoenzyme B12 and bishomocoenzyme B12: covalent structural mimics for homolyzed, enzyme-bound coenzyme B12.

Efficient electrochemical syntheses of "homocoenzyme B(12)" (2, Co(beta)-(5'-deoxy-5'-adenosyl-methyl)-cob(III)alamin) and "bishomocoenzyme B(12)" (3, Co(beta)-[2-(5'-deoxy-5'-adenosyl)-ethyl]-cob(III)alamin) are reported here. These syntheses have provided crystalline samples of 2 and 3 in 94 and 77 % yield, respectively. In addition, in-depth investigations of the structures of 2 and 3 in solution were carried out and a high-resolution crystal structure of 2 was obtained.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of the Pseudomonas marginata esterase EstB.

Crystals of the esterase EstB were obtained at 277 K with the hanging-drop technique from polyethylene glycol 4000 solutions containing 2-propanol at pH 7.5. The crystals belong to the trigonal space group P3(1)21 (or P3(2)21) with cell dimensions a = b = 82.

Reaction mechanism of hydroxynitrile lyases of the alpha/beta-hydrolase superfamily: the three-dimensional structure of the transient enzyme-substrate complex certifies the crucial role of LYS236.

The hydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs) from Hevea brasiliensis (HbHNL) and from Manihot esculenta (MeHNL) are both members of the alpha/beta-hydrolase superfamily. Mechanistic proposals have been put forward in the past for both enzymes; they differed with respect to the role of the active-site lysine residue for which a catalytic function was claimed for the Hevea enzyme but denied for the Manihot enzyme. We applied a freeze-quench method to prepare crystals of the complex of HbHNL with the biological substrate acetone cyanohydrin and determined its three-dimensional structure.

Observation of a short, strong hydrogen bond in the active site of hydroxynitrile lyase from Hevea brasiliensis explains a large pKa shift of the catalytic base induced by the reaction intermediate.

The hydroxynitrile lyase from Hevea brasiliensis (HbHNL) uses a catalytic triad consisting of Ser(80)-His(235)-Asp(207) to enhance the basicity of Ser(80)-O gamma for abstracting a proton from the OH group of the substrate cyanohydrin. Following the observation of a relatively short distance between a carboxyl oxygen of Asp(207) and the N delta(1)(His(235)) in a 1.1 A crystal structure of HbHNL, we here show by (1)H and (15)N-NMR spectroscopy that a short, strong hydrogen bond (SSHB) is formed between the two residues upon binding of the competitive inhibitor thiocyanate to HbHNL: the proton resonance of H-N delta 1(His(235)) moves from 15.

Coenzyme B(12) dependent glutamate mutase.

The crystal structure of glutamate mutase with bound coenzyme B(12) suggests a radical shuttling mechanism within the active site of the enzyme. Quantum chemical calculations of the rearrangement in combination with kinetic and mutational studies suggest the catalytic mechanism of this enzyme to proceed via a fragmentation/recombination sequence with intermediates stabilized by partial protonation/deprotonation. Crucial residues in the active site have been identified.

EstB from Burkholderia gladioli: a novel esterase with a beta-lactamase fold reveals steric factors to discriminate between esterolytic and beta-lactam cleaving activity.

Esterases form a diverse class of enzymes of largely unknown physiological role. Because many drugs and pesticides carry ester functions, the hydrolysis of such compounds forms at least one potential biological function. Carboxylesterases catalyze the hydrolysis of short chain aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic ester compounds.

The active site of hydroxynitrile lyase from Prunus amygdalus: modeling studies provide new insights into the mechanism of cyanogenesis.

The FAD-dependent hydroxynitrile lyase from almond (Prunus amygdalus, PaHNL) catalyzes the cleavage of R-mandelonitrile into benzaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid. Catalysis of the reverse reaction-the enantiospecific formation of alpha-hydroxynitriles--is now widely utilized in organic syntheses as one of the few industrially relevant examples of enzyme-mediated C-C bond formation. Starting from the recently determined X-ray crystal structure, systematic docking calculations with the natural substrate were used to locate the active site of the enzyme and to identify amino acid residues involved in substrate binding and catalysis.

Low-resolution detergent tracing in protein crystals using xenon or krypton to enhance X-ray contrast.

Xenon and krypton show different solubilities in polar versus apolar solvents. Therefore, these noble gases should accumulate in apolar regions of protein crystals. Specifically, they should accumulate in lipid and detergent solvent regions within crystals of membrane proteins, which can be used as a basis for contrast-variation experiments to distinguish such apolar solvent regions from the aqueous phase by a low-resolution X-ray diffraction experiment.