Prokaryotes synthesize fatty acids using a type II synthesis
pathway
(FAS). In this process, the central player, i.e., the acyl carrier
protein (ACP), sequesters the growing acyl chain in its internal hydrophobic
cavity. As the acyl chain length increases, the cavity expands in
size, which is reflected in the NMR chemical shift perturbations and
crystal structures of the acyl-ACP intermediates. A few eukaryotic
organelles, such as plastids and mitochondria, also harbor type II
fatty acid synthesis machinery. Plastid FAS from spinach and Plasmodium falciparum has been characterized at the
molecular level, but the mitochondrial pathway remains unexplored.
Here, we report NMR studies of the mitochondrial acyl–acyl
carrier protein intermediates of Leishmania major (acyl-LmACP). Our studies show that LmACP experiences remarkably small conformational changes upon acylation,
with perturbations confined to helices II and III only. CastP determined
that the cavity size of apo-LmACP (PDB entry 5ZWT) is less than that
of Escherichia coli ACP (PDB 1T8K). Thus, the small
chemical shift perturbations observed in the LmACP
intermediates, coupled with CastP results, suggest an unusually small
cavity when fully expanded. The faster rate of C8-LmACP chain hydrolysis compared to E. coli ACP (EcACP) also supports these convictions. Structure
comparison of LmACP with other type II ACP disclosed
unique differences in the helix I and loop I conformations, as well
as several residues present there. Numerous hydrophobic residues in
helix I and loop I (conserved in all mitochondrial ACPs) are substituted
with hydrophilic residues in the bacterial/plastid type II ACP. For
instance, Phe and leucine at positions 14 and 34 in LmACP are substituted with a hydrophilic residue and Ala in bacterial/plastid
type II ACP. Mutation of Leu 34 to Ala (corresponding residue in EcACP) resulted in a complete loss of structure, underscoring
its importance in maintaining the ACP fold. Thus, our NMR studies,
combined with insights from the crystal structure, highlight several
unique features of LmACP, distinct from the prokaryote
and plastid type II ACP. Given the high sequence identity, the features
might be conserved in all mitochondrial ACPs.