DevS, a heme-containing two-component oxygen sensor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Biochemistry. 2007 Apr 10;46(14):4250-60. doi: 10.1021/bi602422p. Epub 2007 Mar 20.

Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis can exist in the actively growing state of the overt disease or in a latent quiescent state that can be induced, among other things, by anaerobiosis. Eradication of the latent state is particularly difficult with the available drugs and requires prolonged treatment. DevS is a member of the DevS-DevR two-component regulatory system that is thought to mediate the cellular response to anaerobiosis. Here we report the cloning, expression, and initial characterization of a truncated version of DevS (DevS642) containing only the N-terminal GAF sensor domain (GAF-A) and of the full-length protein DevS. The DevS truncated construct quantitatively binds heme in a 1:1 stoichiometry, and the complex of the protein with ferrous heme reversibly binds O2, NO, and CO. UV-vis and resonance Raman spectroscopy of the wild-type protein and the H149A mutant confirm that His149 is the proximal ligand to the heme iron atom. While the heme-CO complex is present as two conformers in the GAF-A domain, a single set of [Fe-C-O] vibrations is observed with the full-length protein, suggesting that interactions between domains within DevS influence the distal pocket environment of the heme in the GAF-A domain.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / isolation & purification
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Chromatography, Gel
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • DNA, Bacterial / isolation & purification
  • Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel
  • Genes, Bacterial
  • Hemeproteins / chemistry*
  • Hemeproteins / genetics
  • Hemeproteins / isolation & purification
  • Hemeproteins / metabolism*
  • Histidine / chemistry
  • Hydrogen Bonding
  • Ligands
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Molecular Weight
  • Mutagenesis
  • Mutation
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / genetics
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / metabolism*
  • Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques
  • Oxygen / metabolism*
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
  • Spectrum Analysis, Raman

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • Hemeproteins
  • Ligands
  • Histidine
  • Oxygen