• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.14 no.5
• /
• pp.752-760
• /
• 2004

The function of the [4Fe-4S] cluster containing iron (Fe-) protein in nitrogenase catalysis is to serve as the nucleotide-dependent electron donor to the MoFe protein which contains the sites for substrate binding and reduction. The ability of the Fe protein to function in this manner is dependent on its ability to adopt the appropriate conformation for productive interaction with the MoFe protein and on its ability to change redox potentials to provide the driving force required for electron transfer. The MgADP-bound (or off) conformational state of the nitrogenase Fe protein structure described reveals mechanisms for long-range communication from the nucleotide-binding sites to control affinity of association with the MoFe protein component. Two pathways, termed switches I and II, appear to be integral to this nucleotide signal transduction mechanism. In addition, the structure of the MgADP bound Fe protein provides the basis for the changes in the biophysical properties of the [4Fe-4S] observed when Fe protein binds nucleotides. The structures of the nitrogenase Fe protein with defined amino acid substitutions in the nucleotide dependent signal transduction pathways of the Switch I and Switch II have been determined by X-ray diffraction methods. These two pathways have been also implicated by site directed mutagenesis studies, structural analysis and analogies to other proteins that utilize similar nucleotide dependent signal transduction pathways. We have examined the validity of the assignment of these pathways in linking the signals generated by MgATP binding and hydrolysis to macromolecular complex formation and intermolecular electron transfer. The results provide a structural basis for the observed biophysical and biochemical properties of the Fe protein variants and interactions within the nitrogenase Fe protein-MoFe protein complex.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.315-324
• /
• 2007

The novel $\alpha$-amylase purified from locally isolated strain, Bacillus sp. KR-8104, (KRA) (Enzyme Microb Technol; 2005; 36: 666-671) is active in a wide range of pH. The enzyme maximum activity is at pH 4.0 and it retains 90% of activity at pH 3.5. The irreversible thermoinactivation patterns of KRA and the enzyme activity are not changed in the presence and absence of $Ca^{2+}$ and EDTA. Therefore, KRA acts as a $Ca^{2+}$-independent enzyme. Based on circular dichroism (CD) data from thermal unfolding of the enzyme recorded at 222 nm, addition of $Ca^{2+}$ and EDTA similar to its irreversible thermoinactivation, does not influence the thermal denaturation of the enzyme and its Tm. The amino acid sequence of KRA was obtained from the nucleotide sequencing of PCR products of encoding gene. The deduced amino acid sequence of the enzyme revealed a very high sequence homology to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (BAA) (85% identity, 90% similarity) and Bacillus licheniformis $\alpha$-amylases (BLA) (81% identity, 88% similarity). To elucidate and understand these characteristics of the $\alpha$-amylase, a model of 3D structure of KRA was constructed using the crystal structure of the mutant of BLA as the platform and refined with a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation program. Interestingly enough, there is only one amino acid substitution for KRA in comparison with BLA and BAA in the region involved in the calcium-binding sites. On the other hand, there are many amino acid differences between BLA and KRA at the interface of A and B domains and around the metal triad and active site area. These alterations could have a role in stabilizing the native structure of the loop in the active site cleft and maintenance and stabilization of the putative metal triad-binding site. The amino acid differences at the active site cleft and around the catalytic residues might affect their pKa values and consequently shift its pH profile. In addition, the intrinsic fluorescence intensity of the enzyme at 350 nm does not show considerable change at pH 3.5-7.0.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2001

Structural and physical properties of type wild type and various selected mutants of the vnd/NK-2 homeodomain, the protein product of the homeobox, and the implication in genetic disease are reviewed. The structure, dynamics and thermodynamics have been Investigated by NMR and by calorimetry. The interactions responsible for the nucleotide sequence-specific binding of the homeodomain to its consensus DNA binding site have been identified. There is a strong correlation between significant structural alterations within the homeodomain or its DNA complex and the appearance of genetic disease. Mutations in positions known to be important in genetic disease have been examined carefully For example, mutation of position 52 of vnd/NK-2 results in a significant structural modification and mutation of position 54 alters the DNA binding specificity and amity The $^{15}N$ relaxation behavior and heteronuclear Overhauser effect data was used to characterize and describe the protein backbone dynamics. These studies were carried out on the wild type and the double mutant proteins both in the free and in the DNA bound states. Finally, the thermodynamic properties associated with DNA binding are described for the vnd/NK-2 homeodomain. These thermodynamic measurements reinforce the hypothesis that water structure around a protein and around DNA significantly contribute to the protein-DNA binding behavior. The results, taken together, demonstrate that structure and dynamic studies of proteins combined with thermodynamic measurements provide a significantly more complete picture of the solution behavior than the individual studies.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.139-145
• /
• 1993

The nucleotide sequence of the xylanase gene (xynS) from alkali-tolerant Bacillus sp. YA.14 was determined and analyzed. A 639 base pairs open reading frame for xynS gene was observed and encoded for a protein of 213 amino acids with a molecular weight of 23, 339. S1 nuclease mapping showed that the transcription initiation site of the xynS gene did not exist in the cloned DNA. Ribosome binding site sequence with the free energy of -18.8 Kcal/mol was observed 8 base pairs upstream from the initiation codon, ATG. The proposed signal sequence consisted of 28 amino acids, of which 3 were basic amino acid residues and 21 were hydrophobic amino acid residues. When the amino acid sequences of xylanases were compared, Bacillus sp. YA-14 xylanase showed 48% homology with Bacillus sp. YC-335 xylanase and 96% homology with xylanases from B. subtilis and B. circulans.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.56-65
• /
• 1992

The complete nucleotide sequence of the Bacillus circulans F-2 RSDA gene, coding for raw starch digesting a-amylase (RSDA), has been determined. The RSDA structure gene consists of an open reading frame of 2508 bp. Six bp upstream of the translational start codon of the RSDA is a typical gram-positive Shine-Dalgarno sequence and the RSDA encodes a preprotein of 836 amino acids with an Mr of 96, 727. The gene was expressed from its own regulatory region in E. coli and two putative consensus promoter sequences were identified upstream of a ribosome binding site and an ATG start codon. Confirmation of the nucleotide sequence was obtained and the signal peptide cleavage site was identified by comparing the predicted amino acid sequence with that derived by N-terminal analysis of the purified RSDA. The deduced N-terminal region of the RSDA conforms to the general pattern for the signal peptides of secreted prokaryotic proteins. The complete amino acid sequence was deduced and homology with other enzymes was compared. The results suggested that the Thr-Ser-rich hinge region and the non-catalytic domain are necessary for efficient adsorption onto raw substrates, and the catalytic domain (60 kDa) is necessary for the hydrolysis of substrates, as suggested in previous studies (8, 9).

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.411-416
• /
• 2016

Next-generation sequencing allows the identification of mutations responsible for mutant phenotypes by whole-genome resequencing and alignment to a reference genome. However, when the resequenced cultivar/line displays significant structural variation from the reference genome, mutations in the genome regions absent in the reference cannot be identified by simple alignment. In this review, we report the current status and prospects in identification of genes in mutant phenotypes, by using the methods MutMap, MutMap-Gap, and MutMap+. These methods delineate a candidate region harboring a mutation of interest, followed by de novo assembly, alignment, and identification of the mutation within genome gaps. These methods are likely to prove useful for cloning genes that exhibit significant structural variations, such as disease resistance genes of the nucleotide-binding site-leucine rich repeat (NBS-LRR) class.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.226-232
• /
• 2016

Dihydrodipicolinate reductase is an enzyme that converts dihydrodipicolinate to tetrahydrodipicolinate using an NAD(P)H cofactor in L-lysine biosynthesis. To increase the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of lysine biosynthesis, we determined the crystal structure of dihydrodipicolinate reductase from Corynebacterium glutamicum (CgDapB). CgDapB functions as a tetramer, and each protomer is composed of two domains, an Nterminal domain and a C-terminal domain. The N-terminal domain mainly contributes to nucleotide binding, whereas the C-terminal domain is involved in substrate binding. We elucidated the mode of cofactor binding to CgDapB by determining the crystal structure of the enzyme in complex with NADP⁺ and found that CgDapB utilizes both NADH and NADPH as cofactors. Moreover, we determined the substrate binding mode of the enzyme based on the coordination mode of two sulfate ions in our structure. Compared with Mycobacterium tuberculosis DapB in complex with its cofactor and inhibitor, we propose that the domain movement for active site constitution occurs when both cofactor and substrate bind to the enzyme.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.29-36
• /
• 2001

The structures of two VBS (viral binding site) RNAs, SL1 and SL2, of Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae vims have been studied by 2D and 3D NMR experiments. VBSs play a crucial role in viral particle binding to the plus strand and packaging of the RNA. The secondary structures of the two VBS RNAs share a common feature of the stem-internal loop-stem-hairpin loop structure although the size of the internal loops of SL1 and SL2 differs. 2D experiments were sufficient for fill assignments of SL1. However, isotope labeling of the sample and multidimensional experiments were required for 28-nucleotide-long SL2 due to the spectral overlap. Several 3D HCCH experiments have accomplished full assignment of SL2 RNA.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.120-125
• /
• 2001

The pyrR gene of the pyrimidine biosynthesis (pyr) operon of the thermophile Bacillus caldolyticus, encoding a uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRTase), turned to rely as a pyr operon regulator. It has been proposed that PyrR mediates transcriptional termination-antitermination at three intercistronic regions of the par operon (S.-Y Ghim and J. Neuhard, J. Bacteriol.,176, 3698-3707, 1994). In this research, a plasmid carrying the pyrR region of B. caldolyticus could restore a pyrimidine regulation in a pyrR mutant of B. subtilis. Expression of pyrR was found to increase 6-7 fold during pyrimidine starvation. Additionally, a highly conserved nucleotide sequence which may constitute the binding site for a PyrR protein (PyrR-binding loop) in transcript was staggested. Alternative antiterminator and terminator structures involving three conserved motifs in front of the pyrR, pyrP and pyrB genes, respectively, are proposed to account for the observed regulation pattern.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.190-194
• /
• 2012

Human P-gp is one of the protein responsible for the multidrug resistance (MDR) develpment. MDR is a major cause of the cancer chemotherapy. In this paper, we performed homology modeling, docking study of papayriferic acid into the P-gp nucleotide binding domain (NBD2). For human P-gp, X-ray crystal structure is not known yet. We developed homology model for human NBD2 using HlyB ABC transporter structure (PDB code: 1XEF, resolution 2.5 ${\AA}$). Docking study was performed using Autodock. Docking result was analyzed, which shows that ligand docks into steroid binding site and interacts through hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions.