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Title: Structural Studies of Geosmin Synthase, a Bifunctional Sesquiterpene Synthase with αα Domain Architecture That Catalyzes a Unique Cyclization–Fragmentation Reaction Sequence

Journal Article · · Biochemistry
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [1];  [7];  [7];  [8]
  1. Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States). Roy and Diana Vagelos Labs.
  2. Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States). Roy and Diana Vagelos Labs.; Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). School of Medicine
  3. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL)
  4. Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States). Roy and Diana Vagelos Labs.; Christopher Newport Univ., Newport News, VA (United States)
  5. Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States). Roy and Diana Vagelos Labs.; Izmir Inst. of Technology (IYTE), Izmir (Turkey)
  6. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
  7. Brown Univ., Providence, RI (United States)
  8. Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States). Roy and Diana Vagelos Labs.; Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Radcliffe Inst. for Advanced Study

Geosmin synthase from Streptomyces coelicolor (ScGS) catalyzes an unusual, metal-dependent terpenoid cyclization and fragmentation reaction sequence. Two distinct active sites are required for catalysis: the N-terminal domain catalyzes the ionization and cyclization of farnesyl diphosphate to form germacradienol and inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi), and the C-terminal domain catalyzes the protonation, cyclization, and fragmentation of germacradienol to form geosmin and acetone through a retro-Prins reaction. A unique αα domain architecture is predicted for ScGS based on amino acid sequence: each domain contains the metal-binding motifs typical of a class I terpenoid cyclase, and each domain requires Mg2+ for catalysis. In this paper, we report the X-ray crystal structure of the unliganded N-terminal domain of ScGS and the structure of its complex with three Mg2+ ions and alendronate. These structures highlight conformational changes required for active site closure and catalysis. Although neither full-length ScGS nor constructs of the C-terminal domain could be crystallized, homology models of the C-terminal domain were constructed on the basis of ~36% sequence identity with the N-terminal domain. Small-angle X-ray scattering experiments yield low-resolution molecular envelopes into which the N-terminal domain crystal structure and the C-terminal domain homology model were fit, suggesting possible αα domain architectures as frameworks for bifunctional catalysis.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities Division; National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; AC02-05CH11231; P41 GM103403
OSTI ID:
1229891
Journal Information:
Biochemistry, Vol. 54, Issue 48; ISSN 0006-2960
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 30 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (5)

Crystal structure and functional analysis of large-terpene synthases belonging to a newly found subclass journal January 2018
Towards a comprehensive understanding of the structural dynamics of a bacterial diterpene synthase during catalysis text January 2018
Chimeric Terpene Synthases Possessing both Terpene Cyclization and Prenyltransfer Activities journal April 2018
Towards a comprehensive understanding of the structural dynamics of a bacterial diterpene synthase during catalysis journal September 2018
Correction to Structural and Chemical Biology of Terpenoid Cyclases journal December 2018