High substrate specificity and induction characteristics of trimethylamine-N-oxide reductase of Escherichia coli

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127

Reduction of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in Escherichia coli involves the terminal molybdoreductase TorA, located in the periplasm, and the membrane anchored c type cytochrome TorC. In this study, the role of the TorD protein, encoded by the third gene of torCAD operon, is investigated. Construction of a mutant, in which the torD gene is interrupted, showed that the absence of TorD protein leads to a two times decrease of the final amount of TorA enzyme. However, specific activity and biochemical properties of TorA enzyme were similar to those of the enzyme produced in the wild type. Excess of TorD protein restores the normal level of TorA enzyme, and also, leads to the appearance of a new cytoplasmic form of TorA on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using gentle conditions. This probably indicates a new folding state of the cytoplasmic TorA protein when TorD is overexpressed. BIAcore techniques demonstrated direct specific interaction between the TorA and TorD proteins. This interaction was enhanced when TorA was previously unfolded by heating. Finally, as TorA is a molybdoenzyme, we demonstrated that TorD can interact with TorA before the molybdenum cofactor has been inserted. As TorD homologue encoding genes are found in various TMAO reductase loci, we propose that TorD is a chaperone protein specific for the TorA enzyme. It belongs to a family of TorD-like chaperones present in several bacteria, and, probably, involved in TMAO reductase folding.In Escherichia coli, the main anaerobic respiratory pathway responsible for reduction of trimethylamine N-oxyde (TMAO) 1 to TMA (trimethylamine) requires the products of the torCAD operon which, in anaerobiosis, is induced in the presence of TMAO or related compounds via the two-component regulatory system, TorS/TorR (1, 2).TMAO reductase (TorA), the terminal reductase of this system, is a 97-kDa molybdoprotein encoded by the torA gene (3, 4). Based on sequence homologies, TorA belongs to the Me 2 SO/ TMAO reductase family which includes the M 2 SO/TMAO reductases from Rhodobacter capsulatus and Rhodobacter sphaeroides (5) and TMAO reductase of Shewanella species.2 These enzymes share several properties: (i) they are all molybdoenzymes located in the periplasm of the bacterium and (ii) in each case, it has been proposed that a membrane anchored pentahemic c type cytochrome feeds electrons to the terminal enzyme (6, 7). In E. coli, this cytochrome, TorC, is encoded by torC, the first gene of the torCAD operon (4,8). While the role of the TorC and TorA proteins is well documented, the role of the third protein, TorD, predicted in the torCAD operon is not (4). However, the presence of TorD homologue proteins, not only in R. capsulatus and R. sphaeroides Tor systems (6, 7), but also in Shewanella species 2 is intriguing and suggests a similar role for this protein in these systems. As TorD contains two small hydrophobic segments, at its amino and carboxyl ends, respectively, it was proposed to be a membranous b type cytochrome involved in the electron transfer path...

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 48%

TorD, A Cytoplasmic Chaperone That Interacts with the Unfolded Trimethylamine N-Oxide Reductase Enzyme (TorA) in Escherichia coli

Pommier

Méjean

Giordano

et al. 1998

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“…Whereas DMSOR-Y114F is not as good at reducing S-oxides as DMSOR, the difference in the DMSOR-Y114A mutation is more dramatic and more closely resembles TMAOR. Kinetic analysis of TMAOR had already indicated that this enzyme does not efficiently reduce S-oxides (24), and the data presented here shows that insertion of a Tyr residue into this enzyme results in an increased ability to reduce S-oxides relative to Me 3 NO. Although the Y114⌬ mutation in DMSOR was not analyzed, in light of the comparison of TMAOR with and without a residue at this position, it is assumed that deletion of this residue in DMSOR would show the same shift to a preference for N-oxides that was observed in the two Tyr-114 DMSOR mutants.…”

Section: Table IVmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…3, A and D). Since both BSOR and DMSOR are able to reduce a wide variety of S-and N-oxides whereas TMAOR shows a more limited specificity for N-oxides (24), Tyr-114 has been postulated to be responsible for this variance in substrate specificity (4,25).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An Active Site Tyrosine Influences the Ability of the Dimethyl Sulfoxide Reductase Family of Molybdopterin Enzymes to Reduce S-Oxides

Johnson

Rajagopalan

2001

Dimethyl sulfoxide reductase (DMSOR), trimethylamine-N-oxide reductase (TMAOR), and biotin sulfoxide reductase (BSOR) are members of a class of bacterial oxotransferases that contain the bis(molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide)molybdenum cofactor. The presence of a Tyr residue in the active site of DMSOR and BSOR that is missing in TMAOR has been implicated in the inability of TMAOR, unlike DMSOR and BSOR, to utilize S-oxides. To test this hypothesis, Escherichia coli TMAOR was cloned and expressed at high levels, and site-directed mutagenesis was utilized to generate the Tyr-114 3 Ala and Phe variants of Rhodobacter sphaeroides DMSOR and insert a Tyr residue into the equivalent position in TMAOR. Although all of the mutants turn over in a manner similar to their respective wildtype enzymes, mutation of Tyr-114 in DMSOR results in a decreased specificity for S-oxides and an increased specificity for trimethylamine-N-oxide (Me 3 NO), with a greater change observed for DMSOR-Y114A. Insertion of a Tyr into TMAOR results in a decreased preference for Me 3 NO relative to dimethyl sulfoxide. Kinetic analysis and UV-visible absorption spectra indicate that the ability of DMSOR to be reduced by dimethyl sulfide is lost upon mutation of Tyr-114 and that TMAOR does not exhibit this activity even in the Tyr insertion mutant.

“…4). It is interesting to note that this binding constant, and the apparent Michaelis constant of TMAO for TorA, the TMAO reductase terminal enzyme (K m ϭ 70 M), are in the same range (32). Indeed it makes sense that expression of the Tor respiratory system occurs only when enough TMAO is present in the medium.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

TorT, a Member of a New Periplasmic Binding Protein Family, Triggers Induction of the Tor Respiratory System upon Trimethylamine N-Oxide Electron-acceptor Binding in Escherichia coli

Baraquet

Théraulaz

Guiral

et al. 2006

Self Cite

In anaerobiosis, Escherichia coli can use trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) as a terminal electron acceptor. Reduction of TMAO in trimethylamine (TMA) is mainly performed by the respiratory TMAO reductase. This system is encoded by the torCAD operon, which is induced in the presence of TMAO. This regulation involves a two-component system comprising TorS, an unorthodox histidine kinase, and TorR, a response regulator. A third protein, TorT, sharing homologies with periplasmic binding proteins, plays a key role in this regulation because disruption of the torT gene abolishes tor expression. In this study we showed that TMAO protects TorT against degradation by the GluC endoproteinase and modifies its temperature-induced CD spectrum. We also isolated a TorT negative mutant that is no longer protected by TMAO from degradation by GluC. Isothermal titration calorimetry confirmed that TorT binds TMAO with a binding constant of 150 M. Therefore, we conclude that TorT binds TMAO and that this binding promotes a conformational change of TorT. We also showed that TorT interacts with the periplasmic domain of TorS in both the presence and absence of TMAO but the TorT-TMAO complex induces a higher GluC protection of TorS than TorT alone. These results support the idea that TMAO binding to TorT induces a cascade of conformational changes from TorT to TorS, leading to TorS activation. We identified several homologues of the TorT protein that define a new family of periplasmic binding proteins. We thus propose that the members of this family bind TMAO or related compounds and that they are involved in signal transduction or even substrate transport.In anaerobiosis, Escherichia coli can use alternative terminal electron acceptors such as nitrate, nitrite, fumarate, dimethyl sulfoxide (Me 2 SO), or trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) 3 for respiration (1). Reduction of TMAO in trimethylamine (TMA) mainly involves the TMAO reductase system. This respiratory system comprises three proteins: TorC, TorA, and TorD. The TorC protein is a pentahemic c-type cytochrome anchored to the membrane and oriented toward the periplasmic compartment. The TorA protein, located in the periplasm, is the terminal reductase and receives the electrons from TorC (2). TorD is a cytoplasmic protein that acts as both a specific chaperone and an escort protein for TorA, allowing TorA maturation and protection before its translocation into the periplasm by the Tat system (3-6).The Tor respiratory system is encoded by the torCAD operon that is induced in the presence of TMAO (7). The TMAO control is strict because there is almost no expression of the tor operon in the absence of TMAO. The three genes torS, torT, and torR, located upstream of the tor operon, are involved in this regulation. Disruption of either one of these genes abolishes tor operon induction. The torS and torR genes encode a two-component regulatory system in which TorS is an unorthodox sensor containing three phosphorylation sites and TorR a response regulator of the OmpR family (8, 9). At its N-term...