Molecular basis for metabolite channeling in a ring opening enzyme of the phenylacetate degradation pathway

Nat Commun. 2019 Sep 11;10(1):4127. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11931-1.

Abstract

Substrate channeling is a mechanism for the internal transfer of hydrophobic, unstable or toxic intermediates from the active site of one enzyme to another. Such transfer has previously been described to be mediated by a hydrophobic tunnel, the use of electrostatic highways or pivoting and by conformational changes. The enzyme PaaZ is used by many bacteria to degrade environmental pollutants. PaaZ is a bifunctional enzyme that catalyzes the ring opening of oxepin-CoA and converts it to 3-oxo-5,6-dehydrosuberyl-CoA. Here we report the structures of PaaZ determined by electron cryomicroscopy with and without bound ligands. The structures reveal that three domain-swapped dimers of the enzyme form a trilobed structure. A combination of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), computational studies, mutagenesis and microbial growth experiments suggests that the key intermediate is transferred from one active site to the other by a mechanism of electrostatic pivoting of the CoA moiety, mediated by a set of conserved positively charged residues.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Binding Sites
  • Escherichia coli / enzymology*
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / chemistry
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / metabolism*
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / ultrastructure
  • Metabolome*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Phenylacetates / chemistry
  • Phenylacetates / metabolism*
  • Protein Domains
  • Substrate Specificity

Substances

  • Escherichia coli Proteins
  • Phenylacetates
  • phenylacetic acid