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An active dimanganese(III)-tyrosyl radical cofactor in Escherichia coli class Ib ribonucleotide reductase.

ABSTRACT: Escherichia coli class Ib ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) converts nucleoside 5'-diphosphates to deoxynucleoside 5'-diphosphates and is expressed under iron-limited and oxidative stress conditions. This RNR is composed of two homodimeric subunits: alpha2 (NrdE), where nucleotide reduction occurs, and beta2 (NrdF), which contains an unidentified metallocofactor that initiates nucleotide reduction. nrdE and nrdF are found in an operon with nrdI, which encodes an unusual flavodoxin proposed to be involved in metallocofactor biosynthesis and/or maintenance. Ni affinity chromatography of a mixture of E. coli (His)(6)-NrdI and NrdF demonstrated tight association between these proteins. To explore the function of NrdI and identify the metallocofactor, apoNrdF was loaded with Mn(II) and incubated with fully reduced NrdI (NrdI(hq)) and O(2). Active RNR was rapidly produced with 0.25 +/- 0.03 tyrosyl radical (Y*) per beta2 and a specific activity of 600 units/mg. EPR and biochemical studies of the reconstituted cofactor suggest it is Mn(III)(2)-Y*, which we propose is generated by Mn(II)(2)-NrdF reacting with two equivalents of HO(2)(-), produced by reduction of O(2) by NrdF-bound NrdI(hq). In the absence of NrdI(hq), with a variety of oxidants, no active RNR was generated. By contrast, a similar experiment with apoNrdF loaded with Fe(II) and incubated with O(2) in the presence or absence of NrdI(hq) gave 0.2 and 0.7 Y*/beta2 with specific activities of 80 and 300 units/mg, respectively. Thus NrdI(hq) hinders Fe(III)(2)-Y* cofactor assembly in vitro. We propose that NrdI is an essential player in E. coli class Ib RNR cluster assembly and that the Mn(III)(2)-Y* cofactor, not the diferric-Y* one, is the active metallocofactor in vivo.

SUBMITTER: Cotruvo JA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3190568 | biostudies-other | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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An active dimanganese(III)-tyrosyl radical cofactor in Escherichia coli class Ib ribonucleotide reductase.

Cotruvo Joseph A JA Stubbe Joanne J

Biochemistry 20100201 6

Escherichia coli class Ib ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) converts nucleoside 5'-diphosphates to deoxynucleoside 5'-diphosphates and is expressed under iron-limited and oxidative stress conditions. This RNR is composed of two homodimeric subunits: alpha2 (NrdE), where nucleotide reduction occurs, and beta2 (NrdF), which contains an unidentified metallocofactor that initiates nucleotide reduction. nrdE and nrdF are found in an operon with nrdI, which encodes an unusual flavodoxin proposed to be in ...[more]

PMID: 20070127

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Project description:Ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) catalyze the reduction of ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides, the building blocks for DNA synthesis, and are found in all but a few organisms. RNRs use radical chemistry to catalyze the reduction reaction. Despite RNR having evolved several mechanisms for generation of different kinds of essential radicals across a large evolutionary time frame, this initial radical is normally always channelled to a strictly conserved cysteine residue directly adjacent to the substrate for initiation of substrate reduction, and this cysteine has been found in the structures of all RNRs solved to date. We present the crystal structure of an anaerobic RNR from the extreme thermophile Thermotoga maritima (tmNrdD), alone and in several complexes, including with the allosteric effector dATP and its cognate substrate CTP. In the crystal structure of the enzyme as purified, tmNrdD lacks a cysteine for radical transfer to the substrate pre-positioned in the active site. Nevertheless activity assays using anaerobic cell extracts from T. maritima demonstrate that the class III RNR is enzymatically active. Other genetic and microbiological evidence is summarized indicating that the enzyme is important for T. maritima. Mutation of either of two cysteine residues in a disordered loop far from the active site results in inactive enzyme. We discuss the possible mechanisms for radical initiation of substrate reduction given the collected evidence from the crystal structure, our activity assays and other published work. Taken together, the results suggest either that initiation of substrate reduction may involve unprecedented conformational changes in the enzyme to bring one of these cysteine residues to the expected position, or that alternative routes for initiation of the RNR reduction reaction may exist. Finally, we present a phylogenetic analysis showing that the structure of tmNrdD is representative of a new RNR subclass IIIh, present in all Thermotoga species plus a wider group of bacteria from the distantly related phyla Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria.

Dataset Information

An active dimanganese(III)-tyrosyl radical cofactor in Escherichia coli class Ib ribonucleotide reductase.

Publications

An active dimanganese(III)-tyrosyl radical cofactor in Escherichia coli class Ib ribonucleotide reductase.

Similar Datasets

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