Structural studies of membrane proteins are still hampered by difficulties of finding appropriate membrane mimicking media that maintain protein structure and function. Phospholipid nanodiscs seem promising to overcome the intrinsic problems of detergent containing environments. While nanodiscs can offer a near native environment, the large particle size complicates their routine use in the structural analysis of membrane proteins by solution NMR. Here, we introduce nanodiscs assembled from shorter ApoA-I protein variants that are of markedly smaller diameter and show that the resulting discs provide critical improvements for the structure determination of membrane proteins by NMR. Using the bacterial outer membrane protein OmpX as an example, we demonstrate that the combination of small nanodisc size, high deuteration levels of protein and lipids and the use of advanced non-uniform NMR sampling methods enable the NMR resonance assignment as well as the high-resolution structure determination of polytopic membrane proteins in a detergent-free, near-native lipid bilayer setting. By applying this method to bacteriorhodopsin we show that our smaller nanodiscs can also be beneficial for the structural characterization of the important class of seven-transmembrane helical proteins. Our set of engineered nanodiscs of subsequently smaller diameters can be used to screen for optimal NMR spectral quality for small to medium sized membrane proteins while still providing a functional environment. In addition to their key improvements for de novo structure determination, due to their smaller size these nanodiscs enable the investigation of interactions between membrane proteins and their (soluble) partner proteins, unbiased by the presence of detergents that might disrupt biological relevant interactions.

Vitamin B6 is an essential metabolic cofactor that has more functions in humans than any other single nutrient. Its de novo biosynthesis occurs through two mutually exclusive pathways that are absent in animals. The predominant pathway found in most prokaryotes, fungi, and plants has only recently been discovered. It is distinguished by a glutamine amidotransferase, which is remarkable in that it alone can synthesize the cofactor form, pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP), directly from a triose and a pentose saccharide and glutamine. Here we report the 3D structure of the PLP synthase complex with substrate glutamine bound as well as those of the individual synthase and glutaminase subunits Pdx1 and Pdx2, respectively. The complex is made up of 24 protein units assembled like a cogwheel, a dodecameric Pdx1 to which 12 Pdx2 subunits attach. In contrast to the architecture of previously determined glutamine amidotransferases, macromolecular assembly is directed by an N-terminal ␣-helix on the synthase. Interaction with the synthase subunit leads to glutaminase activation, resulting in formation of an oxyanion hole, a prerequisite for catalysis. Mutagenesis permitted identification of the remote glutaminase and synthase catalytic centers and led us to propose a mechanism whereby ammonia shuttles between these active sites through a methionine-rich hydrophobic tunnel.3D structure ͉ ammonia tunnel ͉ glutamine amidotransferase ͉ oxyanion ͉ vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 is an essential metabolite in all organisms. It can act as a coenzyme for numerous metabolic enzymes and has recently been shown to be a potent antioxidant. Plants and microorganisms have a de novo biosynthetic pathway for vitamin B6, but animals must obtain it from dietary sources. In Escherichia coli, it is known that the vitamin is derived from deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate (an intermediate in the nonmevalonate pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis) and 4-phosphohydroxy-L-threonine. It has been assumed that vitamin B6 is synthesized in the same way in plants, but this hypothesis has never been experimentally proven. Here, we show that, in plants, synthesis of the vitamin takes an entirely different route, which does not involve deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate but instead utilizes intermediates from the pentose phosphate pathway, i.e., ribose 5-phosphate or ribulose 5-phosphate, and from glycolysis, i.e., dihydroxyacetone phosphate or glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. The revelation is based on the recent discovery that, in bacteria and fungi, a novel pathway is in place that involves two genes (PDX1 and PDX2), neither of which is homologous to any of those involved in the previously doctrined E. coli pathway. We demonstrate that Arabidopsis thaliana has two functional homologs of PDX1 and a single homolog of PDX2. Furthermore, and contrary to what was inferred previously, we show that the pathway appears to be cytosolic and is not localized to the plastid. Last, we report that the single PDX2 homolog is essential for plant viability.Arabidopsis ͉ isoprenoid ͉ pyridoxine ͉ deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate V itamin B6 is well renowned in the medical field for being involved in more bodily functions than any other single nutrient. The vitamin exists in various forms, i.e., pyridoxal, pyridoxine, pyridoxamine, and their phosphorylated derivatives. As pyridoxal 5Ј-phosphate, it is an essential cofactor for numerous metabolic enzymes including amino acid metabolism and antibiotic biosynthesis. Most interestingly, it has recently been found that the vitamin is a potent antioxidant with a particular ability to quench reactive oxygen species such as superoxide and singlet oxygen (1, 2). The de novo biosynthesis of vitamin B6 takes place in microorganisms and plants, but this ability has been lost in animals, making it essential in the human diet.Despite the vitamin's obvious physiological and pharmaceutical importance, its biosynthesis has predominantly been studied in the Gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli, where it is derived from deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate (DXP, an intermediate in the nonmevalonate pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis) and 4-phosphohydroxy-L-threonine (refs. 3-7 and Scheme 1). Astonishingly, although plants are a major source of vitamin B6 in the human diet, our understanding of the pathway therein is very limited and has been assumed to be derived the same way as in E. coli. There is one preliminary study that reports on its biosynthesis in spinach (8), whereas other, more in-depth studies have addressed the...

Our quest to understand the complex inner workings of the cell depends on the development of new technologies that allow the study of global regulatory events as they happen within their native cellular environment. Post-translational processing of proteins by proteases is one such regulatory process that can control many aspects of basic cell biology. In this issue of the Biochemical Journal, Timmer et al. describe a new proteomic approach that can be used to globally monitor constitutive proteolytic events in vivo. Using bacterial, human, yeast and mouse cells, the authors show that this methodology provides a comprehensive map of constitutive trimming events mediated by regulatory proteases such as methionine aminopeptidase. This study also identifies previously uncharacterized processing events that highlight potential novel regulatory mechanisms mediated by proteolysis.

Vitamin B6 is an essential nutrient in the human diet. It can act as a co-enzyme for numerous metabolic enzymes and has recently been shown to be a potent antioxidant. Plants and microorganisms have the ability to make the compound. Yet, studies of vitamin B6 biosynthesis have been mainly restricted to Escherichia coli, where the vitamin is synthesized from 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate and 4-phosphohydroxy-L-threonine. Recently, a novel pathway for its synthesis has been discovered, involving two genes (PDX1 and PDX2) neither of which is homologous to any of those participating in the E. coli pathway. In Bacillus subtilis, YaaD and YaaE represent the PDX1 and PDX2 homolog, respectively. The two proteins form a complex that functions as a glutamine amidotransferase, with YaaE as the glutaminase domain and YaaD as the acceptor and pyridoxal 5-phosphate (PLP) synthesis domain. In this report we corroborate a recent report on the identification of the substrates of YaaD and provide unequivocal proof of the identity of the reaction product. We show that both the glutaminase and synthase reactions are dependent on the respective protein partner. The synthase reaction can also utilize an external ammonium source but, in contrast to other glutamine amidotransferases, is dependent on YaaE under certain conditions. Furthermore, we report on the detailed characterization of the inhibition of the glutaminase domain, and thus PLP synthesis, by the glutamine analog acivicin. Employing pull-out assays and native-PAGE, we provide evidence for the dissociation of the bi-enzyme complex under these conditions. The results are discussed in light of the nature of the interaction of the two components of the enzyme complex.In humans vitamin B6 is required for the maintenance of health. From a biochemical point of view the vitamin is well recognized in its active form as pyridoxal 5Ј-phosphate (PLP), 2 one of nature's most versatile cofactors and required for many diverse enzymes ranging from amino acid metabolism to the biosynthesis of antibiotic compounds. Furthermore, very recently, the B6 vitamers have been shown to be potent antioxidants equivalent to vitamins C and E, effectively quenching the reactive oxygen species singlet oxygen and superoxide anion in vitro (1, 2). Vitamin B6 is synthesized in bacteria, fungi, and plants; yet, despite its essential role, its biosynthesis has been studied at the enzymatic level essentially only in the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli (3-7) where it is derived from D-erythrose-4-phosphate, deoxy-Dxylulose 5-phosphate, and glutamate (5, 8 -10) (Scheme 1). The biosynthesis of the vitamin has recently come back into scrutiny, because it has become clear from studies in fungi that a pathway different from that in E. coli exists (1,(11)(12)(13)(14).Two of the key genes involved in this novel pathway have been identified (PDX1 and PDX2) (1,(15)(16)(17), neither of which show similarity to any of the E. coli genes (1, 15, 16). At the outset, amino acid sequence alignment studies indicated t...