WhiD, a member of the WhiB-like (Wbl) family of iron-sulfur proteins found exclusively within the actinomycetes, is required for the late stages of sporulation in Streptomyces coelicolor. Like all other Wbl proteins, WhiD has not so far been purified in a soluble form that contains a significant amount of cluster and characterization has relied on cluster-reconstituted protein. Thus, a major goal in Wbl research is to obtain and characterize native protein containing iron-sulfur clusters. Here we report the analysis of S. coelicolor WhiD purified anaerobically from E. coli as a soluble protein containing a single [4Fe-4S] 2+ cluster ligated by four cysteines. Upon exposure to oxygen, spectral features associated with the [4Fe-4S] cluster were lost in a slow reaction that unusually yielded apo-WhiD directly without significant concentrations of cluster intermediates. This process was found to be highly pH dependent with an optimal stability observed between pH 7.0 and 8.0. Low molecular weight thiols, including a mycothiol analogue and thioredoxin, exerted a small but significant protective effect against WhiD cluster loss, an activity that could be of physiological importance.[4Fe-4S] 2+ WhiD was found to react much more rapidly with superoxide than with either oxygen or hydrogen peroxide, which may also be of physiological significance. Loss of the [4Fe-4S] cluster to form apo-protein destabilized the protein fold significantly, but did not lead to complete unfolding. Finally, apo-WhiD exhibited negligible activity in an insulin-based disulfide reductase assay demonstrating that it does not function as a general protein disulfide reductase.WhiB-like (Wbl) proteins are found exclusively in the actinomycetes, a phylum of Grampositive bacteria that includes Streptomyces, the most abundant source of clinically important antibiotics and other bioactive molecules, and medically important pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Corynebacterium diphtheriae (1,2). Disruption of wbl genes has shown that Wbl proteins play critical roles in the biology of both Streptomyces and Mycobacterium (1,3). In Streptomyces coelicolor, WhiB, the founding member of the Wbl 1To whom correspondence should be addressed: A. J. Thomson Table S1; The reactivity of the [4Fe-4S] cluster monitored by CD spectroscopy is shown in Figure S1; The reactivity of the [4Fe-4S] cluster with superoxide is shown in Figure S2; Analysis of apo-and as isolated WhiD by SDS-PAGE is shown in Figure S3; EPR spectroscopy data following oxidation of WhiD is shown in Figure S4. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
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Author ManuscriptBiochemistry. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 December 29.
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript family, is required for the initiation of sporulation septation, and WhiD, the subject of this report, is required for the late stages of sporulation (1,3,4). In M. tuberculosis, Wbl proteins have been implicated in...