A critical survey of strigolactone receptor-ligand structures available in the literature shows that the models frequently contain features not supported by the X-ray data.
Abstract
Strigolactones, a ...group of terpenoid lactones, control many aspects of plant growth and development, but the active forms of these plant hormones and their mode of action at the molecular level are still unknown. The strigolactone protein receptor is unusual because it has been shown to cleave the hormone and supposedly forms a covalent bond with the cleaved hormone fragment. This interaction is suggested to induce a conformational change in the receptor that primes it for subsequent interaction with partners in the signalling pathway. Substantial efforts have been invested into describing the interaction of synthetic strigolactone analogues with the receptor, resulting in a number of crystal structures. This investigation combines a re-evaluation of models in the Protein Data Bank with a search for new conditions that may permit the capture of a receptor-ligand complex. While weak difference density is frequently observed in the binding cavity, possibly due to a low-occupancy compound, the models often contain features not supported by the X-ray data. Thus, at this stage, we do not believe that any detailed deductions about the nature, conformation, or binding mode of the ligand can be made with any confidence.
The core of β‐lactam antibiotics originates from amino acids of primary metabolism in certain microorganisms. β‐Lactam‐producing bacteria, including Streptomyces clavuligerus, synthesize the ...precursor of the amino acid α‐aminoadipic acid by the catabolism of lysine in two steps. The second reaction, the oxidation of piperideine‐6‐carboxylate (or its open‐chain form α‐aminoadipate semialdehyde) to α‐aminoadipic acid, is catalysed by the NAD+‐dependent enzyme piperideine‐6‐carboxylate dehydrogenase (P6CDH). This structural study, focused on ligand binding and catalysis, presents structures of P6CDH from S. clavuligerus in its apo form and in complexes with the cofactor NAD+, the product α‐aminoadipic acid and a substrate analogue, picolinic acid. P6CDH adopts the common aldehyde dehydrogenase fold, consisting of NAD‐binding, catalytic and oligomerization domains. The product binds in the oxyanion hole, close to the catalytic residue Cys299. Clear density is observed for the entire cofactor, including the nicotinamide riboside, in the binary complex. NAD+ binds in an extended conformation with its nicotinamide ring overlapping with the binding site of the carboxylate group of the product, implying that the conformation of the cofactor may change during catalysis. The binding site of the substrate analogue overlaps with that of the product, suggesting that the cyclic form of the substrate, piperideine‐6‐carboxylate, may be accepted as a substrate by the enzyme. The catalytic mechanism and the roles of individual residues are discussed in light of these results.
High‐resolution crystal structures of piperideine‐6‐carboxylate dehydrogenase from Streptomyces clavuligerus in its apo form and in complexes with the cofactor NAD+, the product α‐aminoadipic acid and the substrate analogue picolinic acid are described. The data presented provide insights into ligand binding and catalysis.
A molecular description of oxygen and peroxide activation in biological systems is difficult, because electrons liberated during X-ray data collection reduce the active centres of redox enzymes ...catalysing these reactions. Here we describe an effective strategy to obtain crystal structures for high-valency redox intermediates and present a three-dimensional movie of the X-ray-driven catalytic reduction of a bound dioxygen species in horseradish peroxidase (HRP). We also describe separate experiments in which high-resolution structures could be obtained for all five oxidation states of HRP, showing such structures with preserved redox states for the first time.
There exists a conspicuous gap of knowledge about the organization of life at mesoscopic levels. Ultra-fast coherent diffractive imaging with X-ray free-electron lasers can probe structures at the ...relevant length scales and may reach sub-nanometer resolution on micron-sized living cells. Here we show that we can introduce a beam of aerosolised cyanobacteria into the focus of the Linac Coherent Light Source and record diffraction patterns from individual living cells at very low noise levels and at high hit ratios. We obtain two-dimensional projection images directly from the diffraction patterns, and present the results as synthetic X-ray Nomarski images calculated from the complex-valued reconstructions. We further demonstrate that it is possible to record diffraction data to nanometer resolution on live cells with X-ray lasers. Extension to sub-nanometer resolution is within reach, although improvements in pulse parameters and X-ray area detectors will be necessary to unlock this potential.
We overcome two of the most daunting challenges in single-particle diffractive imaging: collecting many high-quality diffraction patterns on a small amount of sample and separating components from ...mixed samples. We demonstrate this on carboxysomes, which are polyhedral cell organelles that vary in size and facilitate up to 40% of Earth's carbon fixation. A new aerosol sample-injector allowed us to record 70,000 low-noise diffraction patterns in 12 min with the Linac Coherent Light Source running at 120 Hz. We separate different structures directly from the diffraction data and show that the size distribution is preserved during sample delivery. We automate phase retrieval and avoid reconstruction artefacts caused by missing modes. We attain the highest-resolution reconstructions on the smallest single biological objects imaged with an X-ray laser to date. These advances lay the foundations for accurate, high-throughput structure determination by flash-diffractive imaging and offer a means to study structure and structural heterogeneity in biology and elsewhere.
Carbon monoxide, formate, and acetate interact with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) by binding to subsites within the active site. These ligands also bind to catalases, but their interactions are ...different in the two types of enzymes. Formate (notionally the “hydrated” form of carbon monoxide) is oxidized to carbon dioxide by compound I in catalase, while no such reaction is reported to occur in HRP, and the CO complex of ferrocatalase can only be obtained indirectly. Here we describe high-resolution crystal structures for HRP in its complexes with carbon monoxide and with formate, and compare these with the previously determined HRP−acetate structure Berglund, G. I., et al. (2002) Nature 417, 463−468. A multicrystal X-ray data collection strategy preserved the correct oxidation state of the iron during the experiments. Absorption spectra of the crystals and electron paramagnetic resonance data for the acetate and formate complexes in solution correlate electronic states with the structural results. Formate in ferric HRP and CO in ferrous HRP bind directly to the heme iron with iron−ligand distances of 2.3 and 1.8 Å, respectively. CO does not bind to the ferric iron in the crystal. Acetate bound to ferric HRP stacks parallel with the heme plane with its carboxylate group 3.6 Å from the heme iron, and without an intervening solvent molecule between the iron and acetate. The positions of the oxygen atoms in the bound ligands outline a potential access route for hydrogen peroxide to the iron. We propose that interactions in this channel ensure deprotonation of the proximal oxygen before binding to the heme iron.
Structural studies on living cells by conventional methods are limited to low resolution because radiation damage kills cells long before the necessary dose for high resolution can be delivered. ...X-ray free-electron lasers circumvent this problem by outrunning key damage processes with an ultra-short and extremely bright coherent X-ray pulse. Diffraction-before-destruction experiments provide high-resolution data from cells that are alive when the femtosecond X-ray pulse traverses the sample. This paper presents two data sets from micron-sized cyanobacteria obtained at the Linac Coherent Light Source, containing a total of 199,000 diffraction patterns. Utilizing this type of diffraction data will require the development of new analysis methods and algorithms for studying structure and structural variability in large populations of cells and to create abstract models. Such studies will allow us to understand living cells and populations of cells in new ways. New X-ray lasers, like the European XFEL, will produce billions of pulses per day, and could open new areas in structural sciences.
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