Sanchita Hati

Pre-transfer editing by class II prolyl-tRNA synthetase: role of aminoacylation active site in "selective release" of noncognate amino acids.

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases catalyze the attachment of cognate amino acids to specific tRNA molecules. To prevent potential errors in protein synthesis caused by misactivation of noncognate amino acids, some synthetases have evolved editing mechanisms to hydrolyze misactivated amino acids (pre-transfer editing) or misacylated tRNAs (post-transfer editing). In the case of post-transfer editing, synthetases employ a separate editing domain that is distinct from the site of amino acid activation, and the mechanism is believed to involve shuttling of the flexible CCA-3′ end of the tRNA from the synthetic active site to the site of hydrolysis. The mechanism of pre-transfer editing is less well understood, and in most cases, the exact site of pre-transfer editing has not been conclusively identified. Here, we probe the pre-transfer editing activity of class II prolyl-tRNA synthetases from five species representing all three kingdoms of life. To locate the site of pre-transfer editing, truncation mutants were constructed by deleting the insertion domain characteristic of bacterial prolyl-tRNA synthetase species, which is the site of post-transfer editing, or the N- or C-terminal extension domains of eukaryotic and archaeal enzymes. In addition, the pre-transfer editing mechanism of Escherichia coli prolyl-tRNA synthetase was probed in detail. These studies show that a separate editing domain is not required for pre-transfer editing by prolyl-tRNA synthetase. The aminoacylation active site plays a significant role in preserving the fidelity of translation by acting as a filter that selectively releases non-cognate adenylates into solution, while protecting the cognate adenylate from hydrolysis.

New bond-valence sum model

A new expression is devised empirically to accommodate zero and some negative oxidation states in the bond-valence sum approach. The method is worked out in detail for a number of homoleptic copper and nickel complexes of various coordinating atoms in several oxidation states of the metals. An implication of the expression is a linear variation between 1/req and 1/rax in octahedral MX6 moieties, where req and rax are, respectively, the average equatorial and axial bond lengths. This is verified in Cu2+X6 chromophores for X = F, O, N and S. The usefulness of the new expression in assessing the compatibility of a coordination sphere with an oxidation state of a metal ion is demonstrated by exemplary applications to some inorganic complexes, azurin and urease.

Restoring species-specific posttransfer editing activity to a synthetase with a defunct editing domain

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are multidomain proteins responsible for the attachment of specific amino acids to their tRNA substrates. Prolyl-tRNA synthetases (ProRSs) are notable due to their particularly diverse architectures through evolution. For example, Saccharomycese cerevisiae ProRS possesses an N-terminal extension with weak homology to a bacterial-specific domain typically present as an insertion (INS) within the aminoacylation active site. The INS domain has been shown to contain a “posttransfer” editing active site responsible for cleaving the aminoacyl-ester bond of misacylated Ala-tRNAPro species. However, wild-type S. cerevisiae ProRS does not perform posttransfer editing in vitro. Here, we show that replacement of the N-terminal domain of S. cerevisiae ProRS with the Escherichia coli INS domain confers posttransfer editing function to this chimeric enzyme, with specificity for yeast Ala-tRNAPro. In contrast, the isolated INS domain displays only weak editing activity and lacks tRNA sequence specificity. These results emphasize the modular nature of synthetase editing active sites and demonstrate how in evolution, a weak editing activity can be converted to a more robust state through fusion to the body of a synthetase. In this manner, a single editing module can be distributed to different synthetases, and simultaneously acquire specificity and enhanced activity.

Evolutionary Basis for the Coupled-domain Motions in Thermus thermophilus Leucyl-tRNA Synthetase

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are multidomain proteins that catalyze the covalent attachment of amino acids to their cognate transfer RNA. Various domains of an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase perform their specific functions in a highly coordinated manner to maintain high accuracy in protein synthesis in cells. The coordination of their function, therefore, requires communication between domains. In this study we explored the relevance of enzyme motion in domain-domain communications. Specifically, we attempted to probe whether the communication between distantly located domains of a multidomain protein is accomplished through a coordinated movement of structural elements. We investigated the collective motion in Thermus thermophilus leucyl-tRNA synthetase by studying the low frequency normal modes. We identified the mode that best described the experimentally observed conformational changes of T. thermophilus leucyl-tRNA synthetase upon substrate binding and analyzed the correlated and anticorrelated motions between different domains. Furthermore, we used statistical coupling analysis to explore if the amino acid pairs and/or clusters whose motions are thermally coupled have also coevolved. Our study demonstrates that a small number of residues belong to the category whose coupled thermal motions correspond to evolutionary coupling as well. These residue clusters constitute a distinguished set of interacting networks that are sparsely distributed in the domain interface. Residues of these networking clusters are within van der Waals contact, and we suggest that they are critical in the propagation of long range mechanochemical motions in T. thermophilus leucyl-tRNA synthetase.

Role of coupled dynamics in the catalytic activity of prokaryotic-like prolyl-tRNA synthetases.

Prolyl-tRNA synthetases (ProRSs) have been shown to activate both cognate and some noncognate amino acids and attach them to specific tRNA(Pro) substrates. For example, alanine, which is smaller than cognate proline, is misactivated by Escherichia coli ProRS. Mischarged Ala-tRNA(Pro) is hydrolyzed by an editing domain (INS) that is distinct from the activation domain. It was previously shown that deletion of the INS greatly reduced cognate proline activation efficiency. In this study, experimental and computational approaches were used to test the hypothesis that deletion of the INS alters the internal protein dynamics leading to reduced catalytic function. Kinetic studies with two ProRS variants, G217A and E218A, revealed decreased amino acid activation efficiency. Molecular dynamics studies showed motional coupling between the INS and protein segments containing the catalytically important proline-binding loop (PBL, residues 199-206). In particular, the complete deletion of INS, as well as mutation of G217 or E218 to alanine, exhibited significant effects on the motion of the PBL. The presence of coupled dynamics between neighboring protein segments was also observed through in silico mutations and essential dynamics analysis. Altogether, this study demonstrates that structural elements at the editing domain-activation domain interface participate in coupled motions that facilitate amino acid binding and catalysis by bacterial ProRSs, which may explain why truncated or defunct editing domains have been maintained in some systems, despite the lack of catalytic activity.

Strictly Conserved Lysine of Prolyl-tRNA Synthetase Editing Domain Facilitates Binding and Positioning of Misacylated tRNA Pro

To ensure high fidelity in translation, many aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, enzymes responsible for attaching specific amino acids to cognate tRNAs, require proof-reading mechanisms. Most bacterial prolyl-tRNA synthetases (ProRSs) misactivate alanine and employ a post-transfer editing mechanism to hydrolyze Ala-tRNAPro. This reaction occurs in a second catalytic site (INS) that is distinct from the synthetic active site. The 2′-OH of misacylated tRNAPro and several conserved residues in the Escherichia coli ProRS INS domain are directly involved in Ala-tRNAPro deacylation. Although mutation of the strictly conserved lysine 279 (K279) results in nearly complete loss of post-transfer editing activity, this residue does not directly participate in Ala-tRNAPro hydrolysis. We hypothesized that the role of K279 is to bind the phosphate backbone of the acceptor stem of misacylated tRNAPro and position it in the editing active site. To test this hypothesis, we carried out pKa, charge neutralization, and free-energy of binding calculations. Site-directed mutagenesis and kinetic studies were performed to verify the computational results. The calculations revealed a considerably higher pKa of K279 compared to an isolated lysine and showed that the protonated state of K279 is stabilized by the neighboring acidic residue. However, substitution of this acidic residue with a positively charged residue leads to a significant increase in Ala-tRNAPro hydrolysis, suggesting that enhancement in positive charge density in the vicinity of K279 favors tRNA binding. A charge-swapping experiment and free energy of binding calculations support the conclusion that the positive charge at position 279 is absolutely necessary for tRNA binding in the editing active site.

Multiple pathways promote dynamical coupling between catalytic domains in Escherichia coli prolyl-tRNA synthetase.

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are multidomain enzymes that catalyze covalent attachment of amino acids to their cognate tRNA. Cross-talk between functional domains is a prerequisite for this process. In this study, we investigate the molecular mechanism of site-to-site communication in Escherichia coli prolyl-tRNA synthetase (Ec ProRS). Earlier studies have demonstrated that evolutionarily conserved and/or co-evolved residues that are engaged in correlated motion are critical for the propagation of functional conformational changes from one site to another in modular proteins. Here, molecular simulation and bioinformatics-based analysis were performed to identify dynamically coupled and evolutionarily constrained residues that form contiguous pathways of residue-residue interactions between the aminoacylation and editing domains of Ec ProRS. The results of this study suggest that multiple pathways exist between these two domains to maintain the dynamic coupling essential for enzyme function. Moreover, residues in these interaction networks are generally highly conserved. Site-directed changes of on-pathway residues have a significant impact on enzyme function and dynamics, suggesting that any perturbation along these pathways disrupts the native residue-residue interactions that are required for effective communication between the two functional domains. Free energy analysis revealed that communication between residues within a pathway and cross-talk between pathways are important for coordinating functions of different domains of Ec ProRS for efficient catalysis.

Comparison of the Intrinsic Dynamics of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARSs) are an important family of enzymes that catalyze tRNA aminoacylation reaction (Ibba and Soll in Annu Rev Biochem 2000, 69:617–650) [1]. AARSs are grouped into two broad classes (class I and II) based on sequence/structural homology and mode of their interactions with the tRNA molecule (Ibba and Soll in Annu Rev Biochem 2000, 69:617–650) [1]. As protein dynamics play an important role in enzyme function, we explored the intrinsic dynamics of these enzymes using normal mode analysis and investigated if the two classes and six subclasses (Ia–c and IIa–c) of AARSs exhibit any distinct patterns of motion. The present study found that the intrinsic dynamics-based classification of these enzymes is similar to that obtained based on sequence/structural homology for most enzymes. However, the classification of seryl-tRNA synthetase was not straightforward; the internal mobility patterns of this enzyme are comparable to both IIa and IIb AARSs. This study revealed only a few general mobility patterns in these enzymes—(1) the insertion domain is generally engaged in anticorrelated motion with respect to the catalytic domain for both classes of AARSs and (2) anticodon binding domain dynamics are partly correlated and partly anticorrelated with respect to other domains for class I enzymes. In most of the class II AARSs, the anticodon binding domain is predominately engaged in anticorrelated motion with respect to the catalytic domain and correlated to the insertion domain. This study supports the notion that dynamic-based classification could be useful for functional classification of proteins.

Probing the global and local dynamics of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases using all-atom and coarse-grained simulations

AbstractCoarse-grained simulations have emerged as invaluable tools for studying conformational changes in biomolecules. To evaluate the effectiveness of computationally inexpensive coarse-grained models in studying global and local dynamics of large protein systems like aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, we have performed coarse-grained normal mode analysis, as well as principle component analysis on trajectories of all-atom and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations for three aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases—Escherichia coli methionyl-tRNA synthetase, Thermus thermophilus leucyl-tRNA synthetase, and Enterococcus faecium prolyl-tRNA synthetase. In the present study, comparison of predicted dynamics based on B-factor and overlap calculations revealed that coarse-grained methods are comparable to the all-atom simulations in depicting the intrinsic global dynamics of the three enzymes. However, the principal component analyses of the motions obtained from the all-atom molecular dynamics simulations provide a superior description of the local fluctuations of these enzymes. In particular, the all-atom model was able to capture the functionally relevant substrate-induced dynamical changes in prolyl-tRNA synthetase. The alteration in the coupled dynamics between the catalytically important proline-binding loop and its neighboring structural elements due to substrate binding has been characterized and reported for the first time. Taken together, the study portrays comparable and contrasting situations in studying the functional dynamics of large multi-domain aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases using coarse-grained and all-atom simulation methods. FigureSubstrate-induced conformational change in E. facium prolyl-tRNA synthetase

Comparison of intrinsic dynamics of cytochrome p450 proteins using normal mode analysis.

Cytochrome P450 enzymes are hemeproteins that catalyze the monooxygenation of a wide‐range of structurally diverse substrates of endogenous and exogenous origin. These heme monooxygenases receive electrons from NADH/NADPH via electron transfer proteins. The cytochrome P450 enzymes, which constitute a diverse superfamily of more than 8,700 proteins, share a common tertiary fold but < 25% sequence identity. Based on their electron transfer protein partner, cytochrome P450 proteins are classified into six broad classes. Traditional methods of protein classification are based on the canonical paradigm that attributes proteins’ function to their three‐dimensional structure, which is determined by their primary structure that is the amino acid sequence. It is increasingly recognized that protein dynamics play an important role in molecular recognition and catalytic activity. As the mobility of a protein is an intrinsic property that is encrypted in its primary structure, we examined if different classes of cytochrome P450 enzymes display any unique patterns of intrinsic mobility. Normal mode analysis was performed to characterize the intrinsic dynamics of five classes of cytochrome P450 proteins. The present study revealed that cytochrome P450 enzymes share a strong dynamic similarity (root mean squared inner product > 55% and Bhattacharyya coefficient > 80%), despite the low sequence identity (< 25%) and sequence similarity (< 50%) across the cytochrome P450 superfamily. Noticeable differences in Cα atom fluctuations of structural elements responsible for substrate binding were noticed. These differences in residue fluctuations might be crucial for substrate selectivity in these enzymes.