Feng Song

Structure, Function, and Mechanism of the Phenylacetate Pathway Hot Dog-fold Thioesterase PaaI

The structure and biochemical function of the hot dog-fold thioesterase PaaI operative in the aerobic phenylacetate degradation pathway are examined. PaaI showed modest activity with phenylacetyl-coenzyme A, suggestive of a role in coenzyme A release from this pathway intermediate in the event of limiting downstream pathway enzymes. Minimal activity was observed with aliphatic acyl-coenzyme A thioesters, which ruled out PaaI function in the lower phenylacetate pathway. PaaI was most active with ring-hydroxylated phenylacetyl-coenzyme A thioesters. The x-ray crystal structure of the Escherichia coli thioesterase is reported and analyzed to define the structural basis of substrate recognition and catalysis. The contributions of catalytic and substrate binding residues, thus, identified were examined through steady-state kinetic analysis of site-directed mutant proteins.

The YbgC protein encoded by the ybgC gene of the tol-pal gene cluster of Haemophilus influenzae catalyzes acyl-coenzyme A thioester hydrolysis

This paper examines the catalytic function of the protein YbgC, encoded by the ybgC gene of the tol‐pal gene cluster in Haemophilus influenzae. The YbgC protein, a homologue of the Pseudomonas sp. strain CBS3 4‐hydroxybenzoyl‐coenzyme A thioesterase, conserves the active site Asp residue associated with thioesterase activity. The H. influenzae ybgC gene was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein was purified and tested for thioesterase activity towards acyl‐CoA and acyl‐N‐acetylcysteamine thioesters. The YbgC protein catalyzes the hydrolysis of short chain aliphatic acyl‐CoA thioesters, while the D18N YbgC mutant protein (prepared to serve as a control) does not.

The Catalytic Mechanism of the Hotdog-fold Enzyme Superfamily 4-Hydroxybenzoyl-CoA Thioesterase from Arthrobacter sp. Strain SU.

The hotdog-fold enzyme 4-hydroxybenzoyl-coenzyme A (4-HB-CoA) thioesterase from Arthrobacter sp. strain AU catalyzes the hydrolysis of 4-HB-CoA to form 4-hydroxybenzoate (4-HB) and coenzyme A (CoA) in the final step of the 4-chlorobenzoate dehalogenation pathway. Guided by the published X-ray structures of the liganded enzyme (Thoden, J. B., Zhuang, Z., Dunaway-Mariano, D., and Holden H. M. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 43709-43716), a series of site-directed mutants were prepared for testing the roles of active site residues in substrate binding and catalysis. The mutant thioesterases were subjected to X-ray structure determination to confirm retention of the native fold, and in some cases, to reveal changes in the active site configuration. In parallel, the wild-type and mutant thioesterases were subjected to transient and steady-state kinetic analysis, and to (18)O-solvent labeling experiments. Evidence is provided that suggests that Glu73 functions in nucleophilic catalysis, that Gly65 and Gln58 contribute to transition-state stabilization via hydrogen bond formation with the thioester moiety and that Thr77 orients the water nucleophile for attack at the 4-hydroxybenzoyl carbon of the enzyme-anhydride intermediate. The replacement of Glu73 with Asp was shown to switch the function of the carboxylate residue from nucleophilic catalysis to base catalysis and thus, the reaction from a two-step process involving a covalent enzyme intermediate to a single-step hydrolysis reaction. The E73D/T77A double mutant regained most of the catalytic efficiency lost in the E73D single mutant. The results from (31)P NMR experiments indicate that the substrate nucleotide unit is bound to the enzyme surface. Kinetic analysis of site-directed mutants was carried out to determine the contributions made by Arg102, Arg150, Ser120, and Thr121 in binding the nucleotide unit. Lastly, we show by kinetic and X-ray analyses of Asp31, His64, and Glu78 site-directed mutants that these three active site residues are important for productive binding of the substrate 4-hydroxybenzoyl ring.

The BH1999 Protein of Bacillus halodurans C-125 Is Gentisyl-Coenzyme A Thioesterase

In this study, we have shown that recombinant BH1999 from Bacillus halodurans catalyzes the hydrolysis of gentisyl coenzyme A (CoA) (2,5-dihydroxybenzoyl-coenzyme A) at physiological pH with a k(cat)/K(m) of 1.6 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) and the hydrolysis of 3-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA with a k(cat)/K(m) of 3.0 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1). All other acyl-CoA thioesters tested had low or no substrate activity. The BH1999 gene is juxtaposed with a gene cluster that contains genes believed to function in gentisate oxidative degradation. It is hypothesized that BH1999 functions as a gentisyl-CoA thioesterase. Gentisyl-CoA thioesterase shares the backbone fold and the use of an active site aspartate residue to mediate catalysis with the 4-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA thioesterase of the hotdog fold enzyme superfamily. A comparative study of these two enzymes showed that they differ greatly in the rate contribution made by the catalytic aspartate, in the pH dependence of catalysis, and in substrate specificity.

Monitoring Enzyme Catalysis in the Multimeric State: Direct Observation of Arthrobacter 4-Hydroxybenzoyl-Coenzyme A Thioesterase Catalytic Complexes using Time-resolved Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

The ability to examine real-time reaction kinetics for multimeric enzymes in their native state may offer unique insights into understanding the catalytic mechanism and its interplay with three-dimensional structure. In this study, we have used a time-resolved electrospray mass spectrometry approach to probe the kinetic mechanism of 4-hydroxybenzoyl-coenzyme A (4-HBA-CoA) thioesterase from Arthrobacter sp. strain SU in the millisecond time domain. Intact tetrameric complexes of 4-HBA-CoA thioesterase with up to four natural substrate (4-HBA-CoA) molecules bound were detected at times as early as 6 ms using an online rapid-mixing device directly coupled to an electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Species corresponding to the formation of a folded tetramer of the thioesterase at charge states 16+, 17+, 18+, and 19+ around m/z 3800 were observed and assigned as individual tetramers of thioesterase and noncovalent complexes of the tetramers with up to four substrate and/or product molecules. Real-time evaluation of the reaction kinetics was accomplished by monitoring change in peak intensity corresponding to the substrate and product complexes of the tetrameric protein. The mass spectral data suggest that product 4-HBA is released from the active site of the enzyme prior to the release of product CoA following catalytic turnover. This study demonstrates the utility of this technique to provide additional molecular details for an understanding of the individual enzyme states during the thioesterase catalysis and ability to observe real-time interactions between enzyme and substrates and/or products in the millisecond time range.

Structure of YciI from Haemophilus influenzae (HI0828) reveals a ferredoxin‐like α/β‐fold with a histidine/aspartate centered catalytic site

Mark A. Willis, Feng Song, Zhihao Zhuang, Wojciech Krajewski, Vani Rao Chalamasetty, Prasad Reddy, Andrew Howard, Debra Dunaway-Mariano, and Osnat Herzberg* Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Rockville, Maryland Department of Chemistry, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico The National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois Biological, Chemical, and Physical Sciences, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois

Investigation of the catalytic mechanism of the hotdog-fold enzyme superfamily Pseudomonas sp. strain CBS3 4-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA thioesterase.

The 4-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA (4-HB-CoA) thioesterase from Pseudomonas sp. strain CBS3 catalyzes the final step of the 4-chlorobenzoate degradation pathway, which is the hydrolysis of 4-HB-CoA to coenzyme A (CoA) and 4-hydroxybenzoate (4-HB). In previous work, X-ray structural analysis of the substrate-bound thioesterase provided evidence of the role of an active site Asp17 in nucleophilic catalysis [Thoden, J. B., Holden, H. M., Zhuang, Z., and Dunaway-Mariano, D. (2002) X-ray crystallographic analyses of inhibitor and substrate complexes of wild-type and mutant 4-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA thioesterase. J. Biol. Chem. 277, 27468-27476]. In the study presented here, kinetic techniques were used to test the catalytic mechanism that was suggested by the X-ray structural data. The time course for the multiple-turnover reaction of 50 μM [(14)C]-4-HB-CoA catalyzed by 10 μM thioesterase supported a two-step pathway in which the second step is rate-limiting. Steady-state product inhibition studies revealed that binding of CoA (K(is) = 250 ± 70 μM; K(ii) = 900 ± 300 μM) and 4-HB (K(is) = 1.2 ± 0.2 mM) is weak, suggesting that product release is not rate-limiting. A substantial D(2)O solvent kinetic isotope effect (3.8) on the steady-state k(cat) value (18 s(-1)) provided evidence that a chemical step involving proton transfer is the rate-limiting step. Taken together, the kinetic results support a two-chemical pathway. The microscopic rate constants governing the formation and consumption of the putative aspartyl 17-(4-hydroxybenzoyl)anhydride intermediate were determined by simulation-based fitting of a kinetic model to time courses for the substrate binding reaction (5.0 μM 4-HB-CoA and 0.54 μM thioesterase), single-turnover reaction (5 μM [(14)C]-4-HB-CoA catalyzed by 50 μM thioesterase), steady-state reaction (5.2 μM 4-HB-CoA catalyzed by 0.003 μM thioesterase), and transient-state multiple-turnover reaction (50 μM [(14)C]-4-HB-CoA catalyzed by 10 μM thioesterase). Together with the results obtained from solvent (18)O labeling experiments, the findings are interpreted as evidence of the formation of an aspartyl 17-(4-hydroxybenzoyl)anhydride intermediate that undergoes rate-limiting hydrolytic cleavage at the hydroxybenzoyl carbonyl carbon atom.

Co-evolution of HAD Phosphatase and Hotdog-fold Thioesterase Domain Function in the Menaquinone-Pathway Fusion Proteins BF1314 and PG1653

The function of a Bacteroidetes menaquinone biosynthetic pathway fusion protein comprised of an N‐terminal haloacid dehalogenase (HAD) family domain and a C‐terminal hotdog‐fold family domain is described. Whereas the thioesterase domain efficiently catalyzes 1,4‐dihydroxynapthoyl‐CoA hydrolysis, an intermediate step in the menaquinone pathway, the HAD domain is devoid of catalytic activity. In some Bacteroidetes a homologous, catalytically active 1,4‐dihydroxynapthoyl‐CoA thioesterase replaces the fusion protein. Following the gene fusion event, sequence divergence resulted in a HAD domain that functions solely as the oligomerization domain of an otherwise inactive thioesterase domain.