Chemistry & Biochemistry

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[FeFe]- and [NiFe]-hydrogenase diversity, mechanism, and maturation
(2014-11) Peters, John W.; Schut, Gerrit J.; Boyd, Eric S.; Mulder, David W.; Shepard, Eric M.; Broderick, Joan B.; King, Paul W.; Adams, Michael W. W.
The [FeFe]- and [NiFe]-hydrogenases catalyze the formal interconversion between hydrogen and protons and electrons, possess characteristic non-protein ligands at their catalytic sites and thus share common mechanistic features. Despite the similarities between these two types of hydrogenases, they clearly have distinct evolutionary origins and likely emerged from different selective pressures. [FeFe]-hydrogenases are widely distributed in fermentative anaerobic microorganisms and likely evolved under selective pressure to couple hydrogen production to the recycling of electron carriers that accumulate during anaerobic metabolism. In contrast, many [NiFe]-hydrogenases catalyze hydrogen oxidation as part of energy metabolism and were likely key enzymes in early life and arguably represent the predecessors of modern respiratory metabolism. Although the reversible combination of protons and electrons to generate hydrogen gas is the simplest of chemical reactions, the [FeFe]- and [NiFe]-hydrogenases have distinct mechanisms and differ in the fundamental chemistry associated with proton transfer and control of electron flow that also help to define catalytic bias. A unifying feature of these enzymes is that hydrogen activation itself has been restricted to one solution involving diatomic ligands (carbon monoxide and cyanide) bound to an Fe ion. On the other hand, and quite remarkably, the biosynthetic mechanisms to produce these ligands are exclusive to each type of enzyme. Furthermore, these mechanisms represent two independent solutions to the formation of complex bioinorganic active sites for catalyzing the simplest of chemical reactions, reversible hydrogen oxidation. As such, the [FeFe]- and [NiFe]-hydrogenases are arguably the most profound case of convergent evolution. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Fe/S proteins: Analysis, structure, function, biogenesis and diseases.
Group A Streptococcus Secreted Esterase Hydrolyzes Platelet-Activating Factor to Impede Neutrophil Recruitment and Facilitate InnateImmune Evasion
(2012-04) Liu, Mengyao; Zhu, Hui; Li, Jinquan; Garcia, C. C.; Feng, Wenchao; Kirpotina, Liliya N.; Hilmer, Jonathan K.; Tavares, L. P.; Layton, A. W.; Quinn, Mark T.; Bothner, Brian; Teixeira, M. M.; Lei, Benfang
The innate immune system is the first line of host defense against invading organisms. Thus, pathogens have developed virulence mechanisms to evade the innate immune system. Here, we report a novel means for inhibition of neutrophil recruitment by Group A Streptococcus (GAS). Deletion of the secreted esterase gene (designated sse) in M1T1 GAS strains with (MGAS5005) and without (MGAS2221) a null covS mutation enhances neutrophil ingress to infection sites in the skin of mice. In trans expression of SsE in MGAS2221 reduces neutrophil recruitment and enhances skin invasion. The sse deletion mutant of MGAS5005 (ΔsseMGAS5005) is more efficiently cleared from skin than the parent strain. SsE hydrolyzes the sn-2 ester bond of platelet-activating factor (PAF), converting biologically active PAF into inactive lyso-PAF. KM and kcat of SsE for hydrolysis of 2-thio-PAF were similar to those of the human plasma PAF acetylhydrolase. Treatment of PAF with SsE abolishes the capacity of PAF to induce activation and chemotaxis of human neutrophils. More importantly, PAF receptor-deficient mice significantly reduce neutrophil infiltration to the site of ΔsseMGAS5005 infection. These findings identify the first secreted PAF acetylhydrolase of bacterial pathogens and support a novel GAS evasion mechanism that reduces phagocyte recruitment to sites of infection by inactivating PAF, providing a new paradigm for bacterial evasion of neutrophil responses.
[FeFe]-Hydrogenase Abundance and Diversity along a Vertical Redox Gradient in Great Salt Lake, USA
(2014-12) Boyd, Eric S.; Hamilton, Trinity L.; Swanson, Kevin D.; Howells, Alta E.; Meuser, Jonathan E.; Posewitz, Matthew C.; Peters, John W.
The use of [FeFe]-hydrogenase enzymes for the biotechnological production of H2 or other reduced products has been limited by their sensitivity to oxygen (O2). Here, we apply a PCR-directed approach to determine the distribution, abundance, and diversity of hydA gene fragments along co-varying salinity and O2 gradients in a vertical water column of Great Salt Lake (GSL), UT. The distribution of hydA was constrained to water column transects that had high salt and relatively low O2 concentrations. Recovered HydA deduced amino acid sequences were enriched in hydrophilic amino acids relative to HydA from less saline environments. In addition, they harbored interesting variations in the amino acid environment of the complex H-cluster metalloenzyme active site and putative gas transfer channels that may be important for both H2 transfer and O2 susceptibility. A phylogenetic framework was created to infer the accessory cluster composition and quaternary structure of recovered HydA protein sequences based on phylogenetic relationships and the gene contexts of known complete HydA sequences. Numerous recovered HydA are predicted to harbor multiple N- and C-terminal accessory iron-sulfur cluster binding domains and are likely to exist as multisubunit complexes. This study indicates an important role for [FeFe]-hydrogenases in the functioning of the GSL ecosystem and provides new target genes and variants for use in identifying O2 tolerant enzymes for biotechnological applications.

Chemistry & Biochemistry

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