e Metallo--lactamases catalyze the hydrolysis of a broad range of -lactam antibiotics and are a concern for the spread of drug resistance. To analyze the determinants of enzyme structure and function, the sequence requirements for the subclass B1 IMP-1 -lactamase zinc binding residue Cys221 were tested by saturation mutagenesis and evaluated for protein expression, as well as hydrolysis of -lactam substrates. The results indicated that most substitutions at position 221 destabilized the enzyme. Only the enzymes containing C221D and C221G substitutions were expressed well in Escherichia coli and exhibited catalytic activity toward -lactam antibiotics. Despite the lack of a metal-chelating group at position 221, the C221G enzyme exhibited high levels of catalytic activity in the presence of exogenous zinc. Molecular modeling suggests the glycine substitution is unique among substitutions in that the complete removal of the cysteine side chain allows space for a water molecule to replace the thiol and coordinate zinc at the Zn2 zinc binding site to restore function. Multiple methods were used to estimate the C221G Zn2 binding constant to be 17 to 43 M. Studies of enzyme function in vivo in E. coli grown on minimal medium showed that both IMP-1 and the C221G mutant exhibited compromised activity when zinc availability was low. Finally, substitutions at residue 121, which is the IMP-1 equivalent of the subclass B3 zinc-chelating position, failed to rescue C221G function, suggesting the coordination schemes of subclasses B1 and B3 are not interchangeable.A n increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains is reducing the available options for treating bacterial infections. -Lactam antibiotics, such as the penicillins and cephalosporins, are among the most often used antimicrobial agents (31). The major contributors to -lactam antibiotic resistance are -lactamase enzymes, which act by hydrolyzing the four-member -lactam ring (15,62). Mechanistically, this is accomplished either via an active-site serine in the class A, C, and D enzymes or through the use of one or two Zn 2ϩ ions (class B) (4). Class B metallo--lactamases (MLs) are a group of structurally similar enzymes that exhibit a characteristic ␣/␣ sandwich fold, with the active site located at the interface between domains. This scaffold supports up to 6 residues at the active site that coordinate either one or two zinc ions that are central to the catalytic mechanism (1,6,35). MLs have the capacity to hydrolyze most clinically available -lactam drugs, including extended-spectrum cephalosporins and carbapenems (8,10,32,40,59,61).The IMP-1 metallo--lactamase has been identified in several nosocomial, Gram-negative, pathogenic bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcesens (22, 28). The bla IMP-1 gene is carried on an integron element that facilitates genetic transfer and is likely why IMP-1 is found among multiple bacterial species (28, 58). The combination of a broad -lactam antibiotic substrate profile and the genetic ca...