TIM Barrel Research Articles

Correlation of fitness landscapes from three orthologous TIM barrels originates from sequence and structure constraints

Sequence divergence of orthologous proteins enables adaptation to environmental stresses and promotes evolution of novel functions. Limits on evolution imposed by constraints on sequence and structure were explored using a model TIM barrel protein, indole-3-glycerol phosphate synthase (IGPS). Fitness effects of point mutations in three phylogenetically divergent IGPS proteins during adaptation to temperature stress were probed by auxotrophic complementation of yeast with prokaryotic, thermophilic IGPS. Analysis of beneficial mutations pointed to an unexpected, long-range allosteric pathway towards the active site of the protein. Significant correlations between the fitness landscapes of distant orthologues implicate both sequence and structure as primary forces in defining the TIM barrel fitness landscape and suggest that fitness landscapes can be translocated in sequence space. Exploration of fitness landscapes in the context of a protein fold provides a strategy for elucidating the sequence-structure-fitness relationships in other common motifs.

Analysis of Domain Architecture and Phylogenetics of Family 2 Glycoside Hydrolases (GH2).

In this work we report a detailed analysis of the topology and phylogenetics of family 2 glycoside hydrolases (GH2). We distinguish five topologies or domain architectures based on the presence and distribution of protein domains defined in Pfam and Interpro databases. All of them share a central TIM barrel (catalytic module) with two β-sandwich domains (non-catalytic) at the N-terminal end, but differ in the occurrence and nature of additional non-catalytic modules at the C-terminal region. Phylogenetic analysis was based on the sequence of the Pfam Glyco_hydro_2_C catalytic module present in most GH2 proteins. Our results led us to propose a model in which evolutionary diversity of GH2 enzymes is driven by the addition of different non-catalytic domains at the C-terminal region. This model accounts for the divergence of β-galactosidases from β-glucuronidases, the diversification of β-galactosidases with different transglycosylation specificities, and the emergence of bicistronic β-galactosidases. This study also allows the identification of groups of functionally uncharacterized protein sequences with potential biotechnological interest.

Creation of active TIM barrel enzymes through genetic fusion of half-barrel domain constructs derived from two distantly related glycosyl hydrolases.

Pyrococcus furiosus beta-glucosidase (CelB, EC: 3.2.1.21). Clostridium cellulolyticum endoglucanase A (CelCCA, EC: 3.2.1.4).

Recurring sequence-structure motifs in (βα)8-barrel proteins and experimental optimization of a chimeric protein designed based on such motifs

An interesting way of generating novel artificial proteins is to combine sequence motifs from natural proteins, mimicking the evolutionary path suggested by natural proteins comprising recurring motifs. We analyzed the βα and αβ modules of TIM barrel proteins by structure alignment-based sequence clustering. A number of preferred motifs were identified. A chimeric TIM was designed by using recurring elements as mutually compatible interfaces. The foldability of the designed TIM protein was then significantly improved by six rounds of directed evolution. The melting temperature has been improved by more than 20°C. A variety of characteristics suggested that the resulting protein is well-folded. Our analysis provided a library of peptide motifs that is potentially useful for different protein engineering studies. The protein engineering strategy of using recurring motifs as interfaces to connect partial natural proteins may be applied to other protein folds.

Molecular dynamics simulation of chitinase I from Thermomyces lanuginosus SSBP to ensure optimal activity

The fungal chitinase I obtained from Thermomyces lanuginosus SSBP, a thermophilic deuteromycete, has an optimum growth temperature and pH of 323.15 K and 6.5, respectively. This enzyme plays an important task in the defence mechanism of organisms against chitin-containing parasites by hydrolysing β-1, 4-linkages in chitin. It acts as both anti-fungal and biofouling agents, with some being thermostable and suitable for the industrial applications. Three-dimensional model of chitinase I enzyme was predicted and analysed using various bioinformatics tools. The structure of chitinase I exhibited a well-defined TIM barrel topology with an eight-stranded α/β domain. Structural analysis and folding studies at temperatures ranging from 300 to 375 K using 10 ns molecular dynamics simulations clearly showed the stability of the protein was evenly distributed even at higher temperatures, in accordance with the experimental results. We also carried out a number of 20 ns constant pH molecular dynamics simulations of chitinase I at a pH range 2–6 in a solvent. This work was aimed at establishing the optimum activity and stability profiles of chitinase I. We observed a strong conformational pH dependence of chitinase I and the enzyme retained their characteristic TIM barrel topology at low pH.

The chitin-binding domain of a GH-18 chitinase from Vibrio harveyi is crucial for chitin-chitinase interactions

Vibrio harveyi chitinase A (VhChiA) is a GH-18 glycosyl hydrolase with a structure containing three distinct domains: i) the N-terminal chitin-binding domain; ii) the (α/β)8 TIM barrel catalytic domain; and iii) the α+β insertion domain. In this study, we cloned the gene fragment encoding the chitin-binding domain of VhChiA, termed ChBDVhChiA. The recombinant ChBDVhChiA was heterologously expressed in E. coli BL21 strain Tuner(DE3)pLacI host cells, and purified to homogeneity. CD measurements suggested that ChBDVhChiA contained β-sheets as major structural components and fluorescence spectroscopy showed that the protein domain was folded correctly, and suitable for functional characterization. Chitin binding assays showed that ChBDVhChiA bound to both α- and β-chitins, with the greatest affinity for β-colloidal chitin, but barely bound to polymeric chitosan. These results identified the tandem N-acetamido functionality on chitin chains as the specific sites of enzyme-substrate interactions. The binding affinity of the isolated domain was significantly lower than that of intact VhChiA, suggesting that the catalytic domain works synergistically with the chitin-binding domain to guide the polymeric substrate into the substrate binding cleft. These data confirm the physiological role of the chitin-binding domain of the marine bacterial GH-18 chitinase A in chitin-chitinase interactions.

Enzyme-substrate matching in biocatalysis: in silico studies to predict substrate preference of ten putative ene-reductases from Mucor circinelloides MUT44

Ene-reductases are flavoproteins able to catalyse the reduction of carbon-carbon double bonds with many potential applications in biocatalysis.The fungus Mucor circinelloides MUT44 has high ene-reductase activity when grown in the presence of substrates carrying different electron-withdrawing groups. Genome sequencing revealed the presence of ten putative genes coding for ene-reductases that can be potentially exploited for biocatalytic purposes. To this end, the availability of a method able to predict which isoform binds and turns over a specific substrate would help to choose the best catalyst for the desired bioconversion.Here, homology models of the ten putative enzymes are first generated, validated and show that the proteins share the typical TIM barrel fold with a conserved β-hairpin cap on one side of the barrel and a non-conserved subdomain capping the other side, where the FMN cofactor is accommodated. The active site of the ten enzymes is different in terms of both volume and charge distribution whereas the residues responsible for substrate recognition and catalysis are generally conserved.Docking of cyclohexenone into the active site of the ten enzymes shows a binding almost superimposable to that found in pentaerythritol tetranitrate reductase in complex with this substrate (PDB ID 1GVQ) in isoforms 1, 2, 6 and 10.The data demonstrate that in silico predictions can be used for new putative fungal ene-reductases to predict the best substrate-enzyme matching for the selection of the most suitable catalyst for the desired biotransformation.

Heterologous expression and characterization of two chitinase 5 enzymes from the migratory locust Locusta migratoria.

Insect chitinases are involved in degradation of chitin from the exoskeleton or peritrophic metrix of midgut. In Locusta migratoria, two duplicated Cht5s (LmCht5-1 and LmCht5-2) have been shown to have distinct molecular characteristics and biological roles. To explore the protein properties of the two LmCht5s, we heterologously expressed both enzymes using baculovirus expression system in SF9 cells, and characterized kinetic and carbohydrate-binding properties of purified enzymes. LmCht5-1 and LmCht5-2 exhibited similar pH and temperature optimums. LmCht5-1 has lower Km value for the oligomeric substrate (4MU-(GlcNAc)3 ), and higher Km value for the longer substrate (CM-Chitin-RBV) compared with LmCht5-2. A comparison of amino acids and homology modeling of catalytic domain presented similar TIM barrel structures and differentiated amino acids between two proteins. LmCht5-1 has a chitin-binding domain (CBD) tightly bound to colloidal chitin, but LmCht5-2 does not have a CBD for binding to colloidal chitin. Our results suggested both LmCht5-1 and LmCht5-2, which have the critical glutamate residue in region II of catalytic domain, exhibited chitinolytic activity cleaving both polymeric and oligomeric substrates. LmCht5-1 had relatively higher activity against the oligomeric substrate, 4MU-(GlcNAc)3 , whereas LmCht5-2 exhibited higher activity toward the longer substrate, CM-Chitin-RBV. These findings are helpful for further research to clarify their different roles in insect growth and development.

Structural and functional analysis of tomato β-galactosidase4: insight into the substrate specificity of the fruit softening-related enzyme.

Plant β-galactosidases hydrolyze cell wall β-(1,4)-galactans to play important roles in cell wall expansion and degradation, and turnover of signaling molecules, during ripening. Tomato β-galactosidase4 (TBG4) is an enzyme responsible for fruit softening through the degradation of β-(1,4)-galactan in the pericarp cell wall. TBG4 is the only enzyme among TBGs1-7 that belongs to the β-galactosidase/exo-β-(1,4)-galactanase subfamily. The enzyme can hydrolyze a wide range of plant-derived (1,4)- or 4-linked polysaccharides, and shows a strong ability to attack β-(1,4)-galactan. To gain structural insight into its substrate specificity, we determined crystal structures of TBG4 and its complex with β-d-galactose. TBG4 comprises a catalytic TIM barrel domain followed by three β-sandwich domains. Three aromatic residues in the catalytic site that are thought to be important for substrate specificity are conserved in GH35 β-galactosidases derived from bacteria, fungi and animals; however, the crystal structures of TBG4 revealed that the enzyme has a valine residue (V548) replacing one of the conserved aromatic residues. The V548W mutant of TBG4 showed a roughly sixfold increase in activity towards β-(1,6)-galactobiose, and ~0.6-fold activity towards β-(1,4)-galactobiose, compared with wild-type TBG4. Amino acid residues corresponding to V548 of TBG4 thus appear to determine the substrate specificities of plant β-galactosidases towards β-1,4 and β-1,6 linkages.

A pH based molecular dynamics simulations of chitinase II isolated from Thermomyces lanuginosus SSBP

AbstractpH and pKa’s are important parameters in enzyme technology, because they determine the protonated states of titratable groups and thus influence the structure, dynamics, and functions of proteins. Specifically, experimental studies of Thermomyces lanuginosus SSBP revealed the presence of putative family 18 chitinases are triggered by low pHs. In this work, we performed several pH-based molecular dynamics simulations of chitinase II in a water solvent. This work was aimed at establishing the optimum activity and stability profiles of chitinase II. We observed a strong conformational pH dependence of chitinase II and the enzyme retained their characteristic TIM barrel topology at low pH.

Homology modeling and molecular dynamics study on Schwanniomyces occidentalis alpha-amylase

With consumers growing increasingly aware of environmental issues, industries find enzymes as a reasonable alternative over physical conditions and chemical catalysts. Amylases are important hydrolase enzymes, which have been widely used in variety of industrial process such as pharmaceutical, food, and fermentation industries. Among amylases α-Amylase is in maximum demand due to its wide range of applications. The homology modeling study on Schwanniomyces occidentalis amylase (AMY1, UniProt identifier number: P19269) was performed by Modeller using Aspergillus oryzae (6TAA) as the template. The resulting structure was analyzed for validity and subjected to 14 ns of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation trough GROMACS. The validity of obtained model may represent that utilized OPLS force field is suitable for calcium-containing enzymes. DSSP secondary structure and contact map analysis represent the conservation of domain A TIM barrel feature together with calcium ion coordination sphere. Investigating the covariance matrix followed by principle component analyses for the first five eigenvectors of both trajectories indicate a little more flexibility for AMY1 structure. The electrostatic calculation for the final structures shows similar isoelectric point and superimposed buffering zone in the 5–8 pH range.

Similarity in Shape Dictates Signature Intrinsic Dynamics Despite No Functional Conservation in TIM Barrel Enzymes.

The conservation of the intrinsic dynamics of proteins emerges as we attempt to understand the relationship between sequence, structure and functional conservation. We characterise the conservation of such dynamics in a case where the structure is conserved but function differs greatly. The triosephosphate isomerase barrel fold (TBF), renowned for its 8 β-strand-α-helix repeats that close to form a barrel, is one of the most diverse and abundant folds found in known protein structures. Proteins with this fold have diverse enzymatic functions spanning five of six Enzyme Commission classes, and we have picked five different superfamily candidates for our analysis using elastic network models. We find that the overall shape is a large determinant in the similarity of the intrinsic dynamics, regardless of function. In particular, the β-barrel core is highly rigid, while the α-helices that flank the β-strands have greater relative mobility, allowing for the many possibilities for placement of catalytic residues. We find that these elements correlate with each other via the loops that link them, as opposed to being directly correlated. We are also able to analyse the types of motions encoded by the normal mode vectors of the α-helices. We suggest that the global conservation of the intrinsic dynamics in the TBF contributes greatly to its success as an enzymatic scaffold both through evolution and enzyme design.

Identification of fibrillogenic regions in human triosephosphate isomerase.

Background. Amyloid secondary structure relies on the intermolecular assembly of polypeptide chains through main-chain interaction. According to this, all proteins have the potential to form amyloid structure, nevertheless, in nature only few proteins aggregate into toxic or functional amyloids. Structural characteristics differ greatly among amyloid proteins reported, so it has been difficult to link the fibrillogenic propensity with structural topology. However, there are ubiquitous topologies not represented in the amyloidome that could be considered as amyloid-resistant attributable to structural features, such is the case of TIM barrel topology.Methods. This work was aimed to study the fibrillogenic propensity of human triosephosphate isomerase (HsTPI) as a model of TIM barrels. In order to do so, aggregation of HsTPI was evaluated under native-like and destabilizing conditions. Fibrillogenic regions were identified by bioinformatics approaches, protein fragmentation and peptide aggregation.Results. We identified four fibrillogenic regions in the HsTPI corresponding to the β3, β6, β7 y α8 of the TIM barrel. From these, the β3-strand region (residues 59–66) was highly fibrillogenic. In aggregation assays, HsTPI under native-like conditions led to amorphous assemblies while under partially denaturing conditions (urea 3.2 M) formed more structured aggregates. This slightly structured aggregates exhibited residual cross-β structure, as demonstrated by the recognition of the WO1 antibody and ATR-FTIR analysis.Discussion. Despite the fibrillogenic regions present in HsTPI, the enzyme maintained under native-favoring conditions displayed low fibrillogenic propensity. This amyloid-resistance can be attributed to the three-dimensional arrangement of the protein, where β-strands, susceptible to aggregation, are protected in the core of the molecule. Destabilization of the protein structure may expose inner regions promoting β-aggregation, as well as the formation of hydrophobic disordered aggregates. Being this last pathway kinetically favored over the thermodynamically more stable fibril aggregation pathway.

Secretory expression, characterization and docking study of glucose-tolerant β-glucosidase from B. subtilis

The thermostable, glucose tolerant β-glucosidase gene (bgl) of Glycoside hydrolase family 1, isolated from Bacillus subtilis, was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The bgl has open reading frame of 1407bp, encoding 469 amino acids with predicted molecular weight of 53kDa. The recombinant protein (BGL) was purified 10.76 fold to homogeneity with specific activity of 54.04U/mg and recovery of 38.67%. The purified BGL was optimally active at pH 6.0 and temperature 60°C. The enzyme retained more than 85% of maximum activity after 1h preincubation at 60°C. The kinetic analysis indicated that BGL has highest catalytic efficiency (Kcat/Km) against p-nitrophenyl-β-d-xylopyranoside (654.58mM−1s−1) followed by p-nitrophenyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (292.53mM−1s−1) and p-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside (61.17mM−1s−1). The Ki value for glucose and δ-gluconolactone was determined to be 1.9mM and 0.018mM, respectively. The BGL exhibited high tolerance against detergents and organic solvents. The homology modeling revealed that protein has 19 α-helices and 4 β-sheets and adopted (α/β)8 TIM barrel structure. Substrate docking and LigPlot analysis depicted the amino acids of active site involved in hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions with substrates. The efficient BGL secretion with exploration of structural and functional relationship offer vistas for large scale production and various industrial applications.

Correction: Reversibility and two state behaviour in the thermal unfolding of oligomeric TIM barrel proteins.

Correction for ‘Reversibility and two state behaviour in the thermal unfolding of oligomeric TIM barrel proteins’ by Sergio Romero-Romero et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 20699–20714.

Molecular phylogeny, 3D-structural insights, docking and mechanisms of action of plant beta-galactosidases

Beta-galactosidase BGAL is an exoglycosidase that catalyses the hydrolysis of terminal β-linked galactose residues. To better understand the molecular characteristics and structural insights of mango BGAL MiBGAL, we performed the sequence analyses, reconstruction of the evolutionary tree, homology modelling and molecular docking. BGALs are widely distributed enzymes that evolved from a common bacterial ancestor. Plant BGALs pBGALs belong to glycosyl hydrolase-35GH35 family and had close similarities with fungi BGALs. Three conserved motifs and GH35 putative active site with a consensus sequence G-G-P-[LIVM]2-x2-Q-x-E-N-E-[FY] were identified in 67 BGAL sequences. Modelled 3D structure of MiBGAL is composed of a catalytic TIM barrel domain domain-I and three other β-domains, II, III & IV. Structural studies identified the residues Glu182 and Glu251 as the proton donor and nucleophile, respectively in pBGALs that could function through retaining mechanism. p-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside and 2-[4-2-hydroxyethylpiperazin-1-yl]ethanesulfonic acid could be potential substrate and inhibitor, respectively among the docked-ligands for both tomato BGAL4 and MiBGAL.

Clusters of isoleucine, leucine, and valine side chains define cores of stability in high‐energy states of globular proteins: Sequence determinants of structure and stability

Measurements of protection against exchange of main chain amide hydrogens (NH) with solvent hydrogens in globular proteins have provided remarkable insights into the structures of rare high-energy states that populate their folding free-energy surfaces. Lacking, however, has been a unifying theory that rationalizes these high-energy states in terms of the structures and sequences of their resident proteins. The Branched Aliphatic Side Chain (BASiC) hypothesis has been developed to explain the observed patterns of protection in a pair of TIM barrel proteins. This hypothesis supposes that the side chains of isoleucine, leucine, and valine (ILV) residues often form large hydrophobic clusters that very effectively impede the penetration of water to their underlying hydrogen bond networks and, thereby, enhance the protection against solvent exchange. The linkage between the secondary and tertiary structures enables these ILV clusters to serve as cores of stability in high-energy partially folded states. Statistically significant correlations between the locations of large ILV clusters in native conformations and strong protection against exchange for a variety of motifs reported in the literature support the generality of the BASiC hypothesis. The results also illustrate the necessity to elaborate this simple hypothesis to account for the roles of adjacent hydrocarbon moieties in defining stability cores of partially folded states along folding reaction coordinates.

Protein Design: Getting to the bottom of the TIM barrel.

Natural (βα)8-barrel proteins support diverse catalytic functions and are fertile scaffolds for engineering synthetic enzymes. The atomic-resolution structure determination of a computationally guided, de novo–designed symmetric barrel is a long-awaited advance that opens up new opportunities for enzyme design.

The role of active site aromatic residues in substrate degradation by the human chitotriosidase

Human chitotriosidase (HCHT) is a glycoside hydrolase family 18 chitinase synthesized and secreted in human macrophages thought be an innate part of the human immune system. It consists of a catalytic domain with the (β/α)8 TIM barrel fold having a large area of solvent-exposed aromatic amino acids in the active site and an additional family 14 carbohydrate-binding module. To gain further insight into enzyme functionality, especially the effect of the active site aromatic residues, we expressed two variants with mutations in subsites on either side of the catalytic acid, subsite −3 (W31A) and +2 (W218A), and compared their catalytic properties on chitin and high molecular weight chitosans. Exchange of Trp to Ala in subsite −3 resulted in a 12-fold reduction in extent of degradation and a 20-fold reduction in kcatapp on chitin, while the values are 5-fold and 10-fold for subsite +2. Moreover, aromatic residue mutation resulted in a decrease of the rate of chitosan degradation contrasting previous observations for bacterial family 18 chitinases. Interestingly, the presence of product polymers of 40 sugar moieties and higher starts to disappear already at 8% degradation for HCHT50-W31A. Such behavior contrast that of the wild type and HCHT-W218A and resembles the action of endo-nonprocessive chitinases.

De novo design of a four-fold symmetric TIM-barrel protein with atomic-level accuracy.

Despite efforts for over 25 years, de novo protein design has not succeeded in achieving the TIM-barrel fold. Here we describe the computational design of 4-fold symmetrical (β/α)8-barrels guided by geometrical and chemical principles. Experimental characterization of 33 designs revealed the importance of sidechain-backbone hydrogen bonding for defining the strand register between repeat units. The X-ray crystal structure of a designed thermostable 184-residue protein is nearly identical with the designed TIM-barrel model. PSI-BLAST searches do not identify sequence similarities to known TIM-barrel proteins, and sensitive profile-profile searches indicate that the design sequence is distant from other naturally occurring TIM-barrel superfamilies, suggesting that Nature has only sampled a subset of the sequence space available to the TIM-barrel fold. The ability to de novo design TIM-barrels opens new possibilities for custom-made enzymes.