Formyl-CoA transferase encloses the CoA binding site at the interface of an interlocked dimer

EMBO J. 2003 Jul 1;22(13):3210-9. doi: 10.1093/emboj/cdg333.

Abstract

Formyl-CoA transferase catalyses transfer of CoA from formate to oxalate in the first step of oxalate degradation by Oxalobacter formigenes, a bacterium present in the intestinal flora which is implicated in oxalate catabolism in mammals. Formyl-CoA transferase is a member of a family of CoA-transferases for which no structural information is available. We now report the three-dimensional structure of O.formigenes formyl-CoA transferase, which reveals a novel fold and a very striking assembly of the homodimer. The subunit is composed of a large and a small domain where residues from both the N- and C-termini of the subunit are part of the large domain. The linkers between the domains give the subunit a circular shape with a hole in the middle. The enzyme monomers are tightly interacting and are interlocked. This fold requires drastic rearrangement of approximately 75 residues at the C-terminus for formation of the dimer. The structure of a complex of formyl-CoA transferase with CoA is also reported and sets the scene for a mechanistic understanding of enzymes of this family of CoA-transferases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Binding Sites
  • Coenzyme A / chemistry
  • Coenzyme A / metabolism*
  • Coenzyme A-Transferases / metabolism*
  • Dimerization
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

Substances

  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Coenzyme A-Transferases
  • formyl-coenzyme A transferase
  • Coenzyme A

Associated data

  • PDB/1P5H
  • PDB/1P5R