Markus Sutter

A 12 Å carotenoid translocation in a photoswitch associated with cyanobacterial photoprotection

Protection from too much light Photosynthetic organisms protect themselves from too much light using pigment photoswitches that absorb excess energy. Leverenz et al. analyzed the structure of an active, energy-dissipating form of the orange carotenoid protein (OCP) from a cyanobacterium. When activated by excess light, OCP moves its hydrophobic carotenoid pigment 12 Å within the protein to accommodate nonphotochemical quenching by the broader photosynthetic antenna complex. Science, this issue p. 1463 Large-scale pigment movement accompanies photoactivation of the orange carotenoid protein. Pigment-protein and pigment-pigment interactions are of fundamental importance to the light-harvesting and photoprotective functions essential to oxygenic photosynthesis. The orange carotenoid protein (OCP) functions as both a sensor of light and effector of photoprotective energy dissipation in cyanobacteria. We report the atomic-resolution structure of an active form of the OCP consisting of the N-terminal domain and a single noncovalently bound carotenoid pigment. The crystal structure, combined with additional solution-state structural data, reveals that OCP photoactivation is accompanied by a 12 angstrom translocation of the pigment within the protein and a reconfiguration of carotenoid-protein interactions. Our results identify the origin of the photochromic changes in the OCP triggered by light and reveal the structural determinants required for interaction with the light-harvesting antenna during photoprotection.

The Structure of CcmP: A Tandem Bacterial Microcompartment-domain Protein from the β-Carboxysome Forms a Subcompartment within a Microcompartment.

Background: CcmP is a hypothetical protein conserved among all β-cyanobacteria. Results: CcmP is a β-carboxysome component; it forms a bilayered shell protein. Conclusion: CcmP may facilitate flux of larger metabolites across the carboxysome shell. Significance: It is the first structure of a β-carboxysome tandem BMC domain protein; phylogenetically, it represents a new type of microcompartment building block. The carboxysome is a bacterial organelle found in all cyanobacteria; it encapsulates CO2 fixation enzymes within a protein shell. The most abundant carboxysome shell protein contains a single bacterial microcompartment (BMC) domain. We present in vivo evidence that a hypothetical protein (dubbed CcmP) encoded in all β-cyanobacterial genomes is part of the carboxysome. We show that CcmP is a tandem BMC domain protein, the first to be structurally characterized from a β-carboxysome. CcmP forms a dimer of tightly stacked trimers, resulting in a nanocompartment-containing shell protein that may weakly bind 3-phosphoglycerate, the product of CO2 fixation. The trimers have a large central pore through which metabolites presumably pass into the carboxysome. Conserved residues surrounding the pore have alternate side-chain conformations suggesting that it can be open or closed. Furthermore, CcmP and its orthologs in α-cyanobacterial genomes form a distinct clade of shell proteins. Members of this subgroup are also found in numerous heterotrophic BMC-associated gene clusters encoding functionally diverse bacterial organelles, suggesting that the potential to form a nanocompartment within a microcompartment shell is widespread. Given that carboxysomes and architecturally related bacterial organelles are the subject of intense interest for applications in synthetic biology/metabolic engineering, our results describe a new type of building block with which to functionalize BMC shells.

Engineering Bacterial Microcompartment Shells: Chimeric Shell Proteins and Chimeric Carboxysome Shells.

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are self-assembling organelles composed entirely of protein. Depending on the enzymes they encapsulate, BMCs function in either inorganic carbon fixation (carboxysomes) or organic carbon utilization (metabolosomes). The hallmark feature of all BMCs is a selectively permeable shell formed by multiple paralogous proteins, each proposed to confer specific flux characteristics. Gene clusters encoding diverse BMCs are distributed broadly across bacterial phyla, providing a rich variety of building blocks with a predicted range of permeability properties. In theory, shell permeability can be engineered by modifying residues flanking the pores (symmetry axes) of hexameric shell proteins or by combining shell proteins from different types of BMCs into chimeric shells. We undertook both approaches to altering shell properties using the carboxysome as a model system. There are two types of carboxysomes, α and β. In both, the predominant shell protein(s) contain a single copy of the BMC domain (pfam00936), but they are significantly different in primary structure. Indeed, phylogenetic analysis shows that the two types of carboxysome shell proteins are more similar to their counterparts in metabolosomes than to each other. We solved high resolution crystal structures of the major shell proteins, CsoS1 and CcmK2, and the presumed minor shell protein CcmK4, representing both types of cyanobacterial carboxysomes and then tested the interchangeability. The in vivo study presented here confirms that both engineering pores to mimic those of other shell proteins and the construction of chimeric shells is feasible.

Assembly principles and structure of a 6.5-MDa bacterial microcompartment shell

How to make a protein-based nanocontainer Bacterial microcompartments are to bacteria what membrane-bound organelles are to eukaryotic cells. They are specialized subcellular compartments for colocalizing enzymes to enhance reaction rates, protect sensitive proteins, and sequester toxic intermediates. Sutter et al. determined the atomic-resolution structure of a complete 6.5-megadalton bacterial microcompartment shell. The shell is composed of hundreds of copies of five distinct proteins that form hexamers, pentamers, and three types of trimers. The assembly principles revealed by the structure provide the basis to rationally manipulate self-assembly in native and engineered systems and could help, for example, in the design of subcellular nanoreactors. Science, this issue p. 1293 The crystal structure of a bacterial microcompartment shell reveals how it is put together. Many bacteria contain primitive organelles composed entirely of protein. These bacterial microcompartments share a common architecture of an enzymatic core encapsulated in a selectively permeable protein shell; prominent examples include the carboxysome for CO2 fixation and catabolic microcompartments found in many pathogenic microbes. The shell sequesters enzymatic reactions from the cytosol, analogous to the lipid-based membrane of eukaryotic organelles. Despite available structural information for single building blocks, the principles of shell assembly have remained elusive. We present the crystal structure of an intact shell from Haliangium ochraceum, revealing the basic principles of bacterial microcompartment shell construction. Given the conservation among shell proteins of all bacterial microcompartments, these principles apply to functionally diverse organelles and can inform the design and engineering of shells with new functionalities.

Visualization of Bacterial Microcompartment Facet Assembly Using High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are proteinaceous organelles widespread among bacterial phyla. They compartmentalize enzymes within a selectively permeable shell and play important roles in CO2 fixation, pathogenesis, and microbial ecology. Here, we combine X-ray crystallography and high-speed atomic force microscopy to characterize, at molecular resolution, the structure and dynamics of BMC shell facet assembly. Our results show that preformed hexamers assemble into uniformly oriented shell layers, a single hexamer thick. We also observe the dynamic process of shell facet assembly. Shell hexamers can dissociate from and incorporate into assembled sheets, indicating a flexible intermolecular interaction. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the self-assembly and dynamics of shell proteins are governed by specific contacts at the interfaces of shell proteins. Our study provides novel insights into the formation, interactions, and dynamics of BMC shell facets, which are essential for the design and engineering of self-assembled biological nanoreactors and scaffolds based on BMC architectures.

Two new high-resolution crystal structures of carboxysome pentamer proteins reveal high structural conservation of CcmL orthologs among distantly related cyanobacterial species

Cyanobacteria have evolved a unique carbon fixation organelle known as the carboxysome that compartmentalizes the enzymes RuBisCO and carbonic anhydrase. This effectively increases the local CO2 concentration at the active site of RuBisCO and decreases its relatively unproductive side reaction with oxygen. Carboxysomes consist of a protein shell composed of hexameric and pentameric proteins arranged in icosahedral symmetry. Facets composed of hexameric proteins are connected at the vertices by pentameric proteins. Structurally homologous pentamers and hexamers are also found in heterotrophic bacteria where they form architecturally related microcompartments such as the Eut and Pdu organelles for the metabolism of ethanolamine and propanediol, respectively. Here we describe two new high-resolution structures of the pentameric shell protein CcmL from the cyanobacteria Thermosynechococcus elongatus and Gloeobacter violaceus and provide detailed analysis of their characteristics and comparison with related shell proteins.

Different Functions of the Paralogs to the N-Terminal Domain of the Orange Carotenoid Protein in the Cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120

The N-terminal domains of the four Orange Carotenoid Protein isoforms defines distinct functions. The photoactive Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP) is involved in cyanobacterial photoprotection. Its N-terminal domain (NTD) is responsible for interaction with the antenna and induction of excitation energy quenching, while the C-terminal domain is the regulatory domain that senses light and induces photoactivation. In most nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial strains, there are one to four paralogous genes coding for homologs to the NTD of the OCP. The functions of these proteins are unknown. Here, we study the expression, localization, and function of these genes in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. We show that the four genes present in the genome are expressed in both vegetative cells and heterocysts but do not seem to have an essential role in heterocyst formation. This study establishes that all four Anabaena NTD-like proteins can bind a carotenoid and the different paralogs have distinct functions. Surprisingly, only one paralog (All4941) was able to interact with the antenna and to induce permanent thermal energy dissipation. Two of the other Anabaena paralogs (All3221 and Alr4783) were shown to be very good singlet oxygen quenchers. The fourth paralog (All1123) does not seem to be involved in photoprotection. Structural homology modeling allowed us to propose specific features responsible for the different functions of these soluble carotenoid-binding proteins.

Structural Characterization of a Newly Identified Component of α-Carboxysomes: The AAA+ Domain Protein CsoCbbQ

Carboxysomes are bacterial microcompartments that enhance carbon fixation by concentrating ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) and its substrate CO2 within a proteinaceous shell. They are found in all cyanobacteria, some purple photoautotrophs and many chemoautotrophic bacteria. Carboxysomes consist of a protein shell that encapsulates several hundred molecules of RuBisCO, and contain carbonic anhydrase and other accessory proteins. Genes coding for carboxysome shell components and the encapsulated proteins are typically found together in an operon. The α-carboxysome operon is embedded in a cluster of additional, conserved genes that are presumably related to its function. In many chemoautotrophs, products of the expanded carboxysome locus include CbbO and CbbQ, a member of the AAA+ domain superfamily. We bioinformatically identified subtypes of CbbQ proteins and show that their genes frequently co-occur with both Form IA and Form II RuBisCO. The α-carboxysome-associated ortholog, CsoCbbQ, from Halothiobacillus neapolitanus forms a hexamer in solution and hydrolyzes ATP. The crystal structure shows that CsoCbbQ is a hexamer of the typical AAA+ domain; the additional C-terminal domain, diagnostic of the CbbQ subfamily, structurally fills the inter-monomer gaps, resulting in a distinctly hexagonal shape. We show that CsoCbbQ interacts with CsoCbbO and is a component of the carboxysome shell, the first example of ATPase activity associated with a bacterial microcompartment.

Structure, Diversity, and Evolution of a New Family of Soluble Carotenoid-Binding Proteins in Cyanobacteria

Using a phylogenomic approach, we have identified and subclassified a new family of carotenoid-binding proteins. These proteins have sequence homology to the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP), and are referred to as Helical Carotenoid Proteins (HCPs). These proteins comprise at least nine distinct clades and are found in diverse organisms, frequently as multiple paralogs representing the distinct clades. These seem to be out-paralogs maintained from ancient duplications associated with subfunctionalization. All of the HCPs share conservation of the residues for carotenoid binding, and we confirm that carotenoid binding is a fundamental property of HCPs. We solved two crystal structures of the Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 HCP1 protein, each binding a different carotenoid, suggesting that the proteins flexibly bind a range of carotenoids. Based on a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis, we propose that one of the HCP subtypes is likely the evolutionary ancestor of the NTD of the OCP, which arose following a domain fusion event. However, we predict that the majority of HCPs have functions distinct from the NTD of the OCP. Our results demonstrate that the HCPs are a new family of functionally diverse carotenoid-binding proteins found among ecophysiologically diverse cyanobacteria.

Structure and Function of a Bacterial Microcompartment Shell Protein Engineered to Bind a [4Fe-4S] Cluster.

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are self-assembling organelles composed of a selectively permeable protein shell and encapsulated enzymes. They are considered promising templates for the engineering of designed bionanoreactors for biotechnology. In particular, encapsulation of oxidoreductive reactions requiring electron transfer between the lumen of the BMC and the cytosol relies on the ability to conduct electrons across the shell. We determined the crystal structure of a component protein of a synthetic BMC shell, which informed the rational design of a [4Fe-4S] cluster-binding site in its pore. We also solved the structure of the [4Fe-4S] cluster-bound, engineered protein to 1.8 Å resolution, providing the first structure of a BMC shell protein containing a metal center. The [4Fe-4S] cluster was characterized by optical and EPR spectroscopies; it has a reduction potential of -370 mV vs the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) and is stable through redox cycling. This remarkable stability may be attributable to the hydrogen-bonding network provided by the main chain of the protein scaffold. The properties of the [4Fe-4S] cluster resemble those in low-potential bacterial ferredoxins, while its ligation to three cysteine residues is reminiscent of enzymes such as aconitase and radical S-adenosymethionine (SAM) enzymes. This engineered shell protein provides the foundation for conferring electron-transfer functionality to BMC shells.