2'-5'-Oligoadenylate synthetases (OASs) produce the second messenger 2'-5'-oligoadenylate, which activates RNase L to induce an intrinsic antiviral state. We report on the crystal structures of catalytic intermediates of OAS1 including the OAS1·dsRNA complex without substrates, with a donor substrate, and with both donor and acceptor substrates. Combined with kinetic studies of point mutants and the previously published structure of the apo form of OAS1, the new data suggest a sequential mechanism of OAS activation and show the individual roles of each component. They reveal a dsRNA-mediated push-pull effect responsible for large conformational changes in OAS1, the catalytic role of the active site Mg(2+), and the structural basis for the 2'-specificity of product formation. Our data reveal similarities and differences in the activation mechanisms of members of the OAS/cyclic GMP-AMP synthase family of innate immune sensors. In particular, they show how helix 3103-α5 blocks the synthesis of cyclic dinucleotides by OAS1.

Background Blooms of marine microalgae play a pivotal role in global carbon cycling. Such blooms entail successive blooms of specialized clades of planktonic bacteria that collectively remineralize gigatons of algal biomass on a global scale. This biomass is largely composed of distinct polysaccharides, and the microbial decomposition of these polysaccharides is therefore a process of prime importance. Results In 2020, we sampled a complete biphasic spring bloom in the German Bight over a 90-day period. Bacterioplankton metagenomes from 30 time points allowed reconstruction of 251 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). Corresponding metatranscriptomes highlighted 50 particularly active MAGs of the most abundant clades, including many polysaccharide degraders. Saccharide measurements together with bacterial polysaccharide utilization loci (PUL) expression data identified β-glucans (diatom laminarin) and α-glucans as the most prominent and actively metabolized dissolved polysaccharide substrates. Both substrates were consumed throughout the bloom, with α-glucan PUL expression peaking at the beginning of the second bloom phase shortly after a peak in flagellate and the nadir in bacterial total cell counts. Conclusions We show that the amounts and composition of dissolved polysaccharides, in particular abundant storage polysaccharides, have a pronounced influence on the composition of abundant bacterioplankton members during phytoplankton blooms, some of which compete for similar polysaccharide niches. We hypothesize that besides the release of algal glycans, also recycling of bacterial glycans as a result of increased bacterial cell mortality can have a significant influence on bacterioplankton composition during phytoplankton blooms.

The mechanism by which proteins are denatured by urea is still not well understood, especially on the atomic scale where these interactions occur in vivo. In this study, the structure of the peptide GPG has been investigated in aqueous urea solutions in order to understand the combination of roles that both urea and water play in protein unfolding. Using a combination of neutron diffraction enhanced by isotopic substitution and computer simulations, it was found, in opposition with previous simulations studies, that urea is preferred over water around polar and charged portions of the peptides. Further, it appears that while urea directly replaces water around the nitrogen groups on GPG that urea and water occupy different positions around the peptide bond carbonyl groups. This suggests that urea may in fact weaken the peptide bond, disrupting the peptide backbone, thus ultimately causing denaturation.