Escherichia coli purine repressor: key residues for the allosteric transition between active and inactive conformations and for interdomain signaling

The Escherichia coli purine repressor, PurR, exists in an equilibrium between open and closed conformations. Binding of a corepressor, hypoxanthine or guanine, shifts the allosteric equilibrium in favor of the closed conformation and increases the operator DNA binding affinity by 40-fold compared to aporepressor. Glu70 and Trp147 PurR mutations were isolated which perturb the allosteric equilibrium. Three lines of evidence indicate that the allosteric equilibrium of E70A and W147A aporepressors was shifted toward the closed conformation. First, compared to wild-type PurR, these mutant repressors had a 10-30-fold higher corepressor binding affinity. Second, the mutant aporepressors bound to operator DNA with an affinity that is characteristic of the wild-type PurR holorepressor. Third, binding of guanine to wild-type PurR resulted in a near-UV circular dichroism spectral change at 297-305 nm that is attributed to the closed conformation. The circular dichroism spectrum of the E70A aporepressor at 297-305 nm was that expected for the closed conformation, and it was not appreciably altered by corepressor binding. Mutational analysis was used to identify an Arg115-Ser46' interdomain intersubunit hydrogen bond that is necessary for transmitting the allosteric transition in the corepressor binding domain to the DNA binding domain. R115A and S46G PurR mutants were defective in DNA binding in vitro and repressor function in vivo although corepressor binding was identical to the wild type. These results establish that the hydrogen bond between the side chain NH2 of Arg115 and the main chain CO of Ser46' plays a critical role in interdomain signaling.     

Structure-based redesign of corepressor specificity of the Escherichia coli purine repressor by substitution of residue 190

Guanine or hypoxanthine, physiological corepressors of the Escherichia coli purine repressor (PurR), promote formation of the ternary PurR-corepressor-operator DNA complex that functions to repress pur operon gene expression. Structure-based predictions on the importance of Arg190 in determining 6-oxopurine specificity and corepressor binding affinity were tested by mutagenesis, analysis of in vivo function, and in vitro corepressor binding measurements. Replacements of Arg190 with Ala or Gln resulted in functional repressors in which binding of guanine and hypoxanthine was retained but specificity was relaxed to permit binding of adenine. X-ray structures were determined for ternary complexes of mutant repressors with purines (adenine, guanine, hypoxanthine, and 6-methylpurine) and operator DNA. These structures indicate that R190A binds guanine, hypoxanthine, and adenine with nearly equal, albeit reduced, affinity in large part because of a newly made compensatory hydrogen bond between the rotated hydroxyl side chain of Ser124 and the exocyclic 6 positions of the purines. Through direct and water-mediated contacts, the R190Q protein binds adenine with a nearly 75-fold higher affinity than the wild type repressor while maintaining wild type affinity for guanine and hypoxanthine. The results establish at the atomic level the basis for the critical role of Arg190 in the recognition of the exocyclic 6 position of its purine corepressors and the successful redesign of corepressor specificity.     

Identification of a zinc-specific metalloregulatory protein, Zur, controlling zinc transport operons in Bacillus subtilis

Zinc is an essential nutrient for all cells, but remarkably little is known regarding bacterial zinc transport and its regulation. We have identified three of the key components acting to maintain zinc homeostasis in Bacillus subtilis. Zur is a metalloregulatory protein related to the ferric uptake repressor (Fur) family of regulators and is required for the zinc-specific repression of two operons implicated in zinc uptake, yciC and ycdHIyceA. A zur mutant overexpresses the 45-kDa YciC membrane protein, and purified Zur binds specifically, and in a zinc-responsive manner, to an operator site overlapping the yciC control region. A similar operator precedes the ycdH-containing operon, which encodes an ABC transporter. Two lines of evidence suggest that the ycdH operon encodes a high-affinity zinc transporter whereas YciC may function as part of a lower-affinity pathway. First, a ycdH mutant is impaired in growth in low-zinc medium, and this growth defect is exacerbated by the additional presence of a yciC mutation. Second, mutation of ycdH, but not yciC, alters the regulation of both the yciC and ycdH operons such that much higher levels of exogenous zinc are required for repression. We conclude that Zur is a Fur-like repressor that controls the expression of two zinc homeostasis operons in response to zinc. Thus, Fur-like regulators control zinc homeostasis in addition to their previously characterized roles in regulating iron homeostasis, acid tolerance responses, and oxidative stress functions.     

Conformational changes of purine repressor DNA-binding domain upon complexation with DNA

The purine repressor (PurR) consists of two functional domains: an N-terminal DNA-binding domain and a C-terminal corepressor-binding domain. Recently, the structure of PurR-corepressor-operator ternary complex was determined by X-ray crystallography. In the complex the DNA-binding domain, consisting of 56 amino acids, was composed of four helices. Here, we have determined the solution structure of the DNA-binding domain in its DNA free state by NMR. It consists of three helices and the fourth helix (the hinge helix) region is diordered. The architecture of the first three helices of its DNA free state is very similar to that of its DNA-bound form. The hinge helix is induced by the specific DNA binding and by the dimerization of PurR which is provided by the corepressor-binding domain.     

Crystal structure of LacI member, PurR, bound to DNA: minor groove binding by alpha helices

The three-dimensional structure of a ternary complex of the purine repressor, PurR, bound to both its corepressor, hypoxanthine, and the 16-base pair purF operator site has been solved at 2.7 A resolution by x-ray crystallography. The bipartite structure of PurR consists of an amino-terminal DNA-binding domain and a larger carboxyl-terminal corepressor binding and dimerization domain that is similar to that of the bacterial periplasmic binding proteins. The DNA-binding domain contains a helix-turn-helix motif that makes base-specific contacts in the major groove of the DNA. Base contacts are also made by residues of symmetry-related alpha helices, the "hinge" helices, which bind deeply in the minor groove. Critical to hinge helix-minor groove binding is the intercalation of the side chains of Leu54 and its symmetry-related mate, Leu54', into the central CpG-base pair step. These residues thereby act as "leucine levers" to pry open the minor groove and kink the purF operator by 45 degrees.     

p-Cymene catabolic pathway in Pseudomonas putida F1: cloning and characterization of DNA encoding conversion of p-cymene to p-cumate

Pseudomonas putida F1 utilizes p-cymene (p-isopropyltoluene) by an 11-step pathway through p-cumate (p-isopropylbenzoate) to isobutyrate, pyruvate, and acetyl coenzyme A. The cym operon, encoding the conversion of p-cymene to p-cumate, is located just upstream of the cmt operon, which encodes the further catabolism of p-cumate and is located, in turn, upstream of the tod (toluene catabolism) operon in P. putida F1. The sequences of an 11,236-bp DNA segment carrying the cym operon and a 915-bp DNA segment completing the sequence of the 2,673-bp DNA segment separating the cmt and tod operons have been determined and are discussed here. The cym operon contains six genes in the order cymBCAaAbDE. The gene products have been identified both by functional assays and by comparing deduced amino acid sequences to published sequences. Thus, cymAa and cymAb encode the two components of p-cymene monooxygenase, a hydroxylase and a reductase, respectively; cymB encodes p-cumic alcohol dehydrogenase; cymC encodes p-cumic aldehyde dehydrogenase; cymD encodes a putative outer membrane protein related to gene products of other aromatic hydrocarbon catabolic operons, but having an unknown function in p-cymene catabolism; and cymE encodes an acetyl coenzyme A synthetase whose role in this pathway is also unknown. Upstream of the cym operon is a regulatory gene, cymR. By using recombinant bacteria carrying either the operator-promoter region of the cym operon or the cmt operon upstream of genes encoding readily assayed enzymes, in the presence or absence of cymR, it was demonstrated that cymR encodes a repressor which controls expression of both the cym and cmt operons and is inducible by p-cumate but not p-cymene. Short (less than 350 bp) homologous DNA segments that are located upstream of cymR and between the cmt and tod operons may have been involved in recombination events that led to the current arrangement of cym, cmt, and tod genes in P. putida F1.     

Kinetic and thermodynamic studies of purine repressor binding to corepressor and operator DNA

The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for purine repressor (PurR)-operator and PurR-guanine binding were determined using fluorescence spectroscopy and nitrocellulose filter binding. Operator binding affinity was increased by the presence of guanine as demonstrated previously (Choi, K. Y., Lu, F., and Zalkin, H. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 24066-24072; Rolfes, R. J., and Zalkin, H. (1990) J. Bacteriol. 172, 5637-5642), and conversely guanine binding affinity was increased by the presence of operator. Guanine enhanced operator affinity by increasing the association rate constant and decreasing the dissociation rate constant for binding. Operator had minimal effect on the association rate constant for guanine binding; however, this DNA decreased the dissociation rate constant for corepressor by approximately 10-fold. Despite significant sequence and structural similarity between PurR and LacI proteins, PurR binds to its corepressor ligand with a lower association rate constant than LacI binds to its inducer ligand. However, the rate constant for PurR-guanine binding to operator is approximately 3-fold higher than for LacI binding to its cognate operator under the same solution conditions. The distinct metabolic roles of the enzymes under regulation by these two repressor proteins provide a rationale for the observed functional differences.     

Crystal structure of the effector-binding domain of the trehalose-repressor of Escherichia coli, a member of the LacI family, in its complexes with inducer trehalose-6-phosphate and noninducer trehalose

The crystal structure of the Escherichia coli trehalose repressor (TreR) in a complex with its inducer trehalose-6-phosphate was determined by the method of multiple isomorphous replacement (MIR) at 2.5 A resolution, followed by the structure determination of TreR in a complex with its noninducer trehalose at 3.1 A resolution. The model consists of residues 61 to 315 comprising the effector binding domain, which forms a dimer as in other members of the LacI family. This domain is composed of two similar subdomains each consisting of a central beta-sheet sandwiched between alpha-helices. The effector binding pocket is at the interface of these subdomains. In spite of different physiological functions, the crystal structures of the two complexes of TreR turned out to be virtually identical to each other with the conformation being similar to those of the effector binding domains of the LacI and PurR in complex with their effector molecules. According to the crystal structure, the noninducer trehalose binds to a similar site as the trehalose portion of trehalose-6-phosphate. The binding affinity for the former is lower than for the latter. The noninducer trehalose thus binds competitively to the repressor. Unlike the phosphorylated inducer molecule, it is incapable of blocking the binding of the repressor headpiece to its operator DNA. The ratio of the concentrations of trehalose-6-phosphate and trehalose thus is used to switch between the two alternative metabolic uses of trehalose as an osmoprotectant and as a carbon source.     

A variant of lambda repressor with an altered pattern of cooperative binding to DNA sites

The bacteriophage lambda repressor binds cooperatively to pairs of adjacent sites in the lambda chromosome, one repressor dimer binding to each site. The repressor's amino domain (that which mediates DNA binding) is connected to its carboxyl domain (that which mediates dimerization and the interaction between dimers) by a protease-sensitive linker region. We have generated a variant lambda repressor that lacks this linker region. We show that dimers of the variant protein are deficient in cooperative binding to sites at certain, but not all, distances. The linker region thus extends the range over which carboxyl domains of DNA-bound dimers can interact. In particular, the linker is required for cooperative binding to a pair of sites as found in the lambda chromosome, and thus is essential for the repressor's physiological function.     

Two mechanisms in the action of repressor deltaEF1: binding site competition with an activator and active repression

BACKGROUND: Counteraction between activators and repressors is crucial for the regulation of a number of cell-specific enhancers, where an activator and a repressor are mutually competitive in binding to the same site. DeltaEF1 is a repressor protein of delta1-crystallin minimal enhancer DC5 binding at the CACCT site, and inhibits activator deltaEF3 from binding to the overlapped site. It has two zinc finger clusters N-fin and C-fin, close to N- and C-termini, respectively, and a homeodomain in the middle. deltaEF1 also binds to the E2-box sequence CACCTG, and represses E2-box-dependent enhancers. RESULTS: The mechanism of the repressor action of deltaEF1 was investigated by examining various deletion mutants of deltaEF1 for their activity to repress delta1-crystallin enhancer fragment HN which contained DC5 sequence and an additional activator site. Both zinc finger clusters were found to be essential for DNA binding and repression, but the homeodomain was not. In addition, the NR domain close to the N-terminus was required for full repression. The NR domain showed active repression when fused to the Gal4 DNA binding domain. Active repression by deltaEF1, dependent on the NR domain, was also demonstrated in a situation where the binding sites of deltaEF1 and deltaEF3 were separated. N-fin and C-fin in their isolated forms bind the 5'-(T/C)ACCTG-3' and 5'-(t/C)ACCT-3' sequences, respectively, while the homeodomain showed no DNA binding activity. An analysis of DNA binding of the delta(Int)F form, having both N-fin and C-fin, indicated that a single DNA binding domain is assembled from two zinc finger clusters. CONCLUSION: Two mechanisms are involved in the repressor action of deltaEF1. First, a binding site competition with an activator which depends on the integrity of both zinc finger clusters, and second, an active repression to silence an enhancer which is attributed to the NR domain.