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The alternative aerobic ribonucleotide reductase of Escherichia coli, NrdEF, is a manganese-dependent enzyme that enables cell replication during periods of iron starvation.

ABSTRACT: The genome of Escherichia coli encodes two class I ribonucleotide reductases. The first, NrdAB, is a well-studied iron-dependent enzyme that is essential for aerobic growth. The second, NrdEF, is not functional under routine conditions, and its role is obscure. Recent studies demonstrated that NrdEF can be activated in vitro by manganese as well as iron. Since iron enzymes are potential targets for hydrogen peroxide, and since the nrdHIEF operon is induced during H(2) O(2) stress, we hypothesized that H(2) O(2) might inactivate NrdAB and that NrdEF might be induced to compensate. This idea was tested using E. coli mutants that are chronically stressed by H(2) O(2) . Contrary to expectation, NrdAB remained active. Its resistance to H(2) O(2) depended upon YfaE, which helps to activate NrdB. The induction of NrdEF during H(2) O(2) stress was mediated by the inactivation of Fur, an iron-dependent repressor. This regulatory arrangement implied that NrdEF has a physiological role during periods of iron starvation. Indeed, NrdEF supported cell replication in iron-depleted cells. Iron bound to NrdF when it was expressed in iron-rich cells, but NrdEF was functional only in cells that were both iron-depleted and manganese-rich. Thus NrdEF supports DNA replication when iron is unavailable to activate the housekeeping NrdAB enzyme.

SUBMITTER: Martin JE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3097424 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The alternative aerobic ribonucleotide reductase of Escherichia coli, NrdEF, is a manganese-dependent enzyme that enables cell replication during periods of iron starvation.

Martin Julia E JE Imlay James A JA

Molecular microbiology 20110307 2

The genome of Escherichia coli encodes two class I ribonucleotide reductases. The first, NrdAB, is a well-studied iron-dependent enzyme that is essential for aerobic growth. The second, NrdEF, is not functional under routine conditions, and its role is obscure. Recent studies demonstrated that NrdEF can be activated in vitro by manganese as well as iron. Since iron enzymes are potential targets for hydrogen peroxide, and since the nrdHIEF operon is induced during H(2) O(2) stress, we hypothesize ...[more]

PMID: 21338418

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Project description:Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) catalyzes the rate limiting step in DNA synthesis where ribonucleotides are reduced to the corresponding deoxyribonucleotides. Class Ib RNRs consist of two homodimeric subunits: R1E, which houses the active site; and R2F, which contains a metallo cofactor and a tyrosyl radical that initiates the ribonucleotide reduction reaction. We studied the R2F subunit of B. cereus reconstituted with iron or alternatively with manganese ions, then subsequently reacted with molecular oxygen to generate two tyrosyl-radicals. The two similar X-band EPR spectra did not change significantly over 4 to 50 K. From the 285 GHz EPR spectrum of the iron form, a g(1)-value of 2.0090 for the tyrosyl radical was extracted. This g(1)-value is similar to that observed in class Ia E. coli R2 and class Ib R2Fs with iron-oxygen cluster, suggesting the absence of hydrogen bond to the phenoxyl group. This was confirmed by resonance Raman spectroscopy, where the stretching vibration associated to the radical (C-O, ?(7a)?=?1500 cm(-1)) was found to be insensitive to deuterium-oxide exchange. Additionally, the (18)O-sensitive Fe-O-Fe symmetric stretching (483 cm(-1)) of the metallo-cofactor was also insensitive to deuterium-oxide exchange indicating no hydrogen bonding to the di-iron-oxygen cluster, and thus, different from mouse R2 with a hydrogen bonded cluster. The HF-EPR spectrum of the manganese reconstituted RNR R2F gave a g(1)-value of ?2.0094. The tyrosyl radical microwave power saturation behavior of the iron-oxygen cluster form was as observed in class Ia R2, with diamagnetic di-ferric cluster ground state, while the properties of the manganese reconstituted form indicated a magnetic ground state of the manganese-cluster. The recent activity measurements (Crona et al., (2011) J Biol Chem 286: 33053-33060) indicates that both the manganese and iron reconstituted RNR R2F could be functional. The manganese form might be very important, as it has 8 times higher activity.

Dataset Information

The alternative aerobic ribonucleotide reductase of Escherichia coli, NrdEF, is a manganese-dependent enzyme that enables cell replication during periods of iron starvation.

Publications

The alternative aerobic ribonucleotide reductase of Escherichia coli, NrdEF, is a manganese-dependent enzyme that enables cell replication during periods of iron starvation.

Similar Datasets

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