b Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), which catalyze the biosynthesis of the peptidoglycan chain of the bacterial cell wall, are the major molecular target of bacterial antibiotics. Here, we present the crystal structures of the bifunctional peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase (GT)/transpeptidase (TP) PBP4 from Listeria monocytogenes in the apo-form and covalently linked to two ␤-lactam antibiotics, ampicillin and carbenicillin. The orientation of the TP domain with respect to the GT domain is distinct from that observed in the previously reported structures of bifunctional PBPs, suggesting interdomain flexibility. In this structure, the active site of the GT domain is occluded by the close apposition of the linker domain, which supports the hypothesis that interdomain flexibility is related to the regulation of GT activity. The acylated structures reveal the mode of action of ␤-lactam antibiotics toward the class A PBP4 from the human pathogen L. monocytogenes. Ampicillin and carbenicillin can access the active site and be acylated without requiring a structural rearrangement. In addition, the active site of the TP domain in the apoform is occupied by the tartrate molecule via extensive hydrogen bond interactions with the catalytically important residues; thus, derivatives of the tartrate molecule may be useful in the search for new antibiotics to inhibit PBPs.

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The crystal structure of Ton1535, a hypothetical protein from Thermococcus onnurineus NA1, was determined at 2.3 Å resolution. With two antiparallel α-helices in a helix-turn-helix motif as a repeating unit, Ton1535 consists of right-handed coiled N- and C-terminal regions that are stacked together using helix bundles containing a left-handed helical turn. One left-handed helical turn in the right-handed coiled structure produces two unique structural properties. One is the presence of separated concave grooves rather than one continuous concave groove, and the other is the contribution of α-helices on the convex surfaces of the N-terminal region to the extended surface of the concave groove of the C-terminal region and vice versa.