ADP-ribosylation controls many processes, including transcription, DNA repair, and bacterial toxicity. ADP-ribosyltransferases and poly-ADP-ribose polymerases (PARPs) catalyze mono- and poly-ADP-ribosylation, respectively, and depend on a highly conserved glutamate residue in the active center for catalysis. However, there is an apparent absence of this glutamate for the recently described PARP6-PARP16, raising questions about how these enzymes function. We find that PARP10, in contrast to PARP1, lacks the catalytic glutamate and has transferase rather than polymerase activity. Despite this fundamental difference, PARP10 also modifies acidic residues. Consequently, we propose an alternative catalytic mechanism for PARP10 compared to PARP1 in which the acidic target residue of the substrate functionally substitutes for the catalytic glutamate by using substrate-assisted catalysis to transfer ADP-ribose. This mechanism explains why the novel PARPs are unable to function as polymerases. This discovery will help to illuminate the different biological functions of mono- versus poly-ADP-ribosylation in cells.

ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTs) catalyze the transfer of ADP-ribose from NAD(+) onto substrates. Some ARTs generate in an iterative process ADP-ribose polymers that serve as adaptors for distinct protein domains. Other ARTs, exemplified by ARTD10, function as mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases, but it has been unclear whether this modification occurs in cells and how it is read. We observed that ARTD10 colocalized with ARTD8 and defined its macrodomains 2 and 3 as readers of mono-ADP-ribosylation both in vitro and in cells. The crystal structures of these two ARTD8 macrodomains and isothermal titration calorimetry confirmed their interaction with ADP-ribose. These macrodomains recognized mono-ADP-ribosylated ARTD10, but not poly-ADP-ribosylated ARTD1. This distinguished them from the macrodomain of macroH2A1.1, which interacted with poly- but not mono-ADP-ribosylated substrates. Moreover, Ran, an ARTD10 substrate, was also read by ARTD8 macrodomains. This identifies readers of mono-ADP-ribosylated proteins, defines their structures, and demonstrates the presence of this modification in cells.

Pass and click: Protein methylation is an important posttranslational modification. Because the methyl group is a poor reporter group, new methods are needed to analyze methyltransferase substrates. A S‐adenosyl‐L‐methionine‐based cofactor was synthesized and used for the site‐specific functionalization of proteins with alkynes by methyltransferases (first step) and subsequent labeling through CuAAC click chemistry (second step; see scheme).

Adenosine diphosphate-ribosylation is a post-translational modification mediated by intracellular and membrane-associated extracellular enzymes and many bacterial toxins. The intracellular enzymes modify their substrates either by poly-ADP-ribosylation, exemplified by ARTD1/PARP1, or by mono-ADP-ribosylation. The latter has been discovered only recently, and little is known about its physiological relevance. The founding member of mono-ADPribosyltransferases is ARTD10/PARP10. It possesses two ubiquitin-interaction motifs, a unique feature among ARTD/PARP enzymes. Here, we find that the ARTD10 ubiquitininteraction motifs bind to K63-linked poly-ubiquitin, a modification that is essential for NF-kB signalling. We therefore studied the role of ARTD10 in this pathway. ARTD10 inhibits the activation of NF-kB and downstream target genes in response to interleukin-1b and tumour necrosis factor-a, dependent on catalytic activity and poly-ubiquitin binding of ARTD10. Mechanistically ARTD10 interferes with poly-ubiquitination of NEMO, which interacts with and is a substrate of ARTD10. Our findings identify a novel regulator of NF-kB signalling and provide evidence for cross-talk between K63-linked poly-ubiquitination and mono-ADPribosylation.