David J. Aceti

High-throughput purification and quality assurance of Arabidopsis thaliana proteins for eukaryotic structural genomics.

The Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics (CESG) has established procedures for the purification of Arabidopsis proteins in a high-throughput mode. Recombinant proteins were fused with (His)6-MBP tags at their N-terminus and expressed in Escherichia coli. Using an automated ÄKTApurifier system, fusion proteins were initially purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). After cleavage of (His)6-MBP tags by TEV protease, (His)6-MBP tags were separated from target proteins by a subtractive 2nd IMAC. As a part of quality assurance, all purified proteins were subjected to MALDI-TOF and ESI mass spectrometry to confirm target identity and integrity, and determine incorporation of seleno-methionine (SeMet) and 15N and 13C isotopes. The protocols have been used successfully to provide high quality proteins that are suitable for structural studies by X-ray crystallography and NMR.

Comparison of Cell-Based and Cell-Free Protocols for Producing Target Proteins from the Arabidopsis thaliana Genome for Structural Studies

We describe a comparative study of protein production from 96 Arabidopsis thaliana open reading frames (ORFs) by cell‐based and cell‐free protocols. Each target was carried through four pipeline protocols used by the Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics (CESG), one for the production of unlabeled protein to be used in crystallization trials and three for the production of 15N‐labeled proteins to be analyzed by 1H‐15N NMR correlation spectroscopy. Two of the protocols involved Escherichia coli cell‐based and two involved wheat germ cell‐free technology. The progress of each target through each of the protocols was followed with all failures and successes noted. Failures were of the following types: ORF not cloned, protein not expressed, low protein yield, no cleavage of fusion protein, insoluble protein, protein not purified, NMR sample too dilute. Those targets that reached the goal of analysis by 1H‐15N NMR correlation spectroscopy were scored as HSQC+ (protein folded and suitable for NMR structural analysis), HSQC± (protein partially disordered or not in a single stable conformational state), HSQC− (protein unfolded, misfolded, or aggregated and thus unsuitable for NMR structural analysis). Targets were also scored as X− for failing to crystallize and X+ for successful crystallization. The results constitute a rich database for understanding differences between targets and protocols. In general, the wheat germ cell‐free platform offers the advantage of greater genome coverage for NMR‐based structural proteomics whereas the E. coli platform when successful yields more protein, as currently needed for crystallization trials for X‐ray structure determination. Proteins 2005.

Critical regions for the sweetness of brazzein

Brazzein is a small, heat‐stable, intensely sweet protein consisting of 54 amino acid residues. Based on the wild‐type brazzein, 25 brazzein mutants have been produced to identify critical regions important for sweetness. To assess their sweetness, psychophysical experiments were carried out with 14 human subjects. First, the results suggest that residues 29–33 and 39–43, plus residue 36 between these stretches, as well as the C‐terminus are involved in the sweetness of brazzein. Second, charge plays an important role in the interaction between brazzein and the sweet taste receptor.

Mutations in FLS2 Ser-938 dissect signaling activation in FLS2-mediated Arabidopsis immunity.

FLAGELLIN-SENSING 2 (FLS2) is a leucine-rich repeat/transmembrane domain/protein kinase (LRR-RLK) that is the plant receptor for bacterial flagellin or the flagellin-derived flg22 peptide. Previous work has shown that after flg22 binding, FLS2 releases BIK1 kinase and homologs and associates with BAK1 kinase, and that FLS2 kinase activity is critical for FLS2 function. However, the detailed mechanisms for activation of FLS2 signaling remain unclear. The present study initially identified multiple FLS2 in vitro phosphorylation sites and found that Serine-938 is important for FLS2 function in vivo. FLS2-mediated immune responses are abolished in transgenic plants expressing FLS2S938A, while the acidic phosphomimic mutants FLS2S938D and FLS2S938E conferred responses similar to wild-type FLS2. FLS2-BAK1 association and FLS2-BIK1 disassociation after flg22 exposure still occur with FLS2S938A, demonstrating that flg22-induced BIK1 release and BAK1 binding are not sufficient for FLS2 activity, and that Ser-938 controls other aspects of FLS2 activity. Purified BIK1 still phosphorylated purified FLS2S938A and FLS2S938D mutant kinase domains in vitro. Phosphorylation of BIK1 and homologs after flg22 exposure was disrupted in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants expressing FLS2S938A or FLS2D997A (a kinase catalytic site mutant), but was normally induced in FLS2S938D plants. BIK1 association with FLS2 required a kinase-active FLS2, but FLS2-BAK1 association did not. Hence FLS2-BIK1 dissociation and FLS2-BAK1 association are not sufficient for FLS2-mediated defense activation, but the proposed FLS2 phosphorylation site Ser-938 and FLS2 kinase activity are needed both for overall defense activation and for appropriate flg22-stimulated phosphorylation of BIK1 and homologs.

Structure of the putative 32 kDa myrosinase‐binding protein from Arabidopsis (At3g16450.1) determined by SAIL‐NMR

The product of gene At3g16450.1 from Arabidopsis thaliana is a 32 kDa, 299‐residue protein classified as resembling a myrosinase‐binding protein (MyroBP). MyroBPs are found in plants as part of a complex with the glucosinolate‐degrading enzyme myrosinase, and are suspected to play a role in myrosinase‐dependent defense against pathogens. Many MyroBPs and MyroBP‐related proteins are composed of repeated homologous sequences with unknown structure. We report here the three‐dimensional structure of the At3g16450.1 protein from Arabidopsis, which consists of two tandem repeats. Because the size of the protein is larger than that amenable to high‐throughput analysis by uniform 13C/15N labeling methods, we used stereo‐array isotope labeling (SAIL) technology to prepare an optimally 2H/13C/15N‐labeled sample. NMR data sets collected using the SAIL protein enabled us to assign 1H, 13C and 15N chemical shifts to 95.5% of all atoms, even at a low concentration (0.2 mm) of protein product. We collected additional NOESY data and determined the three‐dimensional structure using the cyana software package. The structure, the first for a MyroBP family member, revealed that the At3g16450.1 protein consists of two independent but similar lectin‐fold domains, each composed of three β‐sheets.

The Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics

The Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics (CESG) is a “specialized” or “technology development” center supported by the Protein Structure Initiative (PSI). CESG’s mission is to develop improved methods for the high-throughput solution of structures from eukaryotic proteins, with a very strong weighting toward human proteins of biomedical relevance. During the first three years of PSI-2, CESG selected targets representing 601 proteins from Homo sapiens, 33 from mouse, 10 from rat, 139 from Galdieria sulphuraria, 35 from Arabidopsis thaliana, 96 from Cyanidioschyzon merolae, 80 from Plasmodium falciparum, 24 from yeast, and about 25 from other eukaryotes. Notably, 30% of all structures of human proteins solved by the PSI Centers were determined at CESG. Whereas eukaryotic proteins generally are considered to be much more challenging targets than prokaryotic proteins, the technology now in place at CESG yields success rates that are comparable to those of the large production centers that work primarily on prokaryotic proteins. We describe here the technological innovations that underlie CESG’s platforms for bioinformatics and laboratory information management, target selection, protein production, and structure determination by X-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy.

Crystal structure of At2g03760, a putative steroid sulfotransferase from Arabidopsis thaliana

David W. Smith, Kenneth A. Johnson, Craig A. Bingman, David J. Aceti, Paul G. Blommel, Russell L. Wrobel, Ronnie O. Frederick, Qin Zhao, Hassan Sreenath, Brian G. Fox, Brian F. Volkman, Won Bae Jeon, Craig S. Newman, Eldon L. Ulrich, Adrian D. Hegeman, Todd Kimball, Sandy Thao, Michael R. Sussman, John L. Markley, and George N. Phillips, Jr.* Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin Center for Eukaryotic Structural Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Crystal structure of Arabidopsis thaliana cytokinin dehydrogenase.

Since first discovered in Zea mays, cytokinin dehydrogenase (CKX) genes have been identified in many plants including rice and Arabidopsis thaliana, which possesses CKX homologues (AtCKX1-AtCKX7). So far, the three-dimensional structure of only Z. mays CKX (ZmCKX1) has been determined. The crystal structures of ZmCKX1 have been solved in the native state and in complex with reaction products and a slowly reacting substrate. The structures revealed four glycosylated asparagine residues and a histidine residue covalently linked to FAD. Combined with the structural information, recent biochemical analyses of ZmCKX1 concluded that the final products of the reaction, adenine and a side chain aldehyde, are formed by nonenzymatic hydrolytic cleavage of cytokinin imine products resulting directly from CKX catalysis. Here, we report the crystal structure of AtCKX7 (gene locus At5g21482.1, UniProt code Q9FUJ1).

Structural and functional characterization of a novel phosphatase from the Arabidopsis thaliana gene locus At1g05000

The crystal structure of the protein product of the gene locus At1g05000, a hypothetical protein from A. thaliana, was determined by the multiple‐wavelength anomalous diffraction method and was refined to an R factor of 20.4% (Rfree = 24.9%) at 3.3 Å. The protein adopts the α/β fold found in cysteine phosphatases, a superfamily of phosphatases that possess a catalytic cysteine and form a covalent thiol‐phosphate intermediate during the catalytic cycle. In At1g05000, the analogous cysteine (Cys150) is located at the bottom of a positively‐charged pocket formed by residues that include the conserved arginine (Arg156) of the signature active site motif, HCxxGxxRT. Of 74 model phosphatase substrates tested, purified recombinant At1g05000 showed highest activity toward polyphosphate (poly‐P12‐13) and deoxyribo‐ and ribonucleoside triphosphates, and less activity toward phosphoenolpyruvate, phosphotyrosine, phosphotyrosine‐containing peptides, and phosphatidyl inositols. Divalent metal cations were not required for activity and had little effect on the reaction. Proteins 2008.

Expression platforms for producing eukaryotic proteins: a comparison of E. coli cell-based and wheat germ cell-free synthesis, affinity and solubility tags, and cloning strategies

Vectors designed for protein production in Escherichia coli and by wheat germ cell-free translation were tested using 21 well-characterized eukaryotic proteins chosen to serve as controls within the context of a structural genomics pipeline. The controls were carried through cloning, small-scale expression trials, large-scale growth or synthesis, and purification. Successfully purified proteins were also subjected to either crystallization trials or 1H–15N HSQC NMR analyses. Experiments evaluated: (1) the relative efficacy of restriction/ligation and recombinational cloning systems; (2) the value of maltose-binding protein (MBP) as a solubility enhancement tag; (3) the consequences of in vivo proteolysis of the MBP fusion as an alternative to post-purification proteolysis; (4) the effect of the level of LacI repressor on the yields of protein obtained from E. coli using autoinduction; (5) the consequences of removing the His tag from proteins produced by the cell-free system; and (6) the comparative performance of E. coli cells or wheat germ cell-free translation. Optimal promoter/repressor and fusion tag configurations for each expression system are discussed.