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

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.11
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• pp.606-611
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• 2023

The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 cleaves 11 sites of viral polypeptide chains and generates essential non-structural proteins for viral replication. Mpro is an important drug target against COVID-19. In this study, we developed a real-time fluorometric turn-on assay system to evaluate Mpro proteolytic activity for a substrate peptide between NSP4 and NSP5. It produced reproducible and reliable results suitable for HTS inhibitor assays. Thus far, most inhibitors against Mpro target the active site for substrate binding. Mpro exists as a dimer, which is essential for its activity. We investigated the potential of the Mpro dimer interface to act as a drug target. The dimer interface is formed of domain II and domain III of each protomer, in which N-terminal ten amino acids of the domain I are bound in the middle as a sandwich. The N-terminal part provides approximately 39% of the dimer interface between two protomers. In the real-time fluorometric turn-on assay system, peptides of the N-terminal ten amino acids, N10, can inhibit the Mpro activity. The dimer interface could be a prospective drug target against Mpro. The N-terminal sequence can help develop a potential inhibitor.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 2013

The Erm family of adenine-$N^6$ methyltransferases (MTases) is responsible for the development of resistance to macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B antibiotics through the methylation of 23S ribosomal RNA. Recently, it has been proposed that well conserved amino acids in ErnC' located in concave cleft between N-terminal 'catalytic' domain and C-terminal 'RNA-binding' domain interacts with substrate RNA. We carried out the site-directed mutagenesis and studied the function of the ErmSF R237 mutant in vitro and in vivo. R237 amino acid residue is located in the concave cleft between two domains. Furthermore this residue is very highly conserved in almost all the Erm family. Purified mutant protein exhibited only 51% enzyme activity compared to wild-type. Escherichia coli with R237A mutant protein compared to the wild-type protein expressing E. coli did not show any difference in its MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) suggesting that even with lowered enzyme activity, mutant protein was able to efficiently methylate 23S rRNA to confer the resistance on E. coli expressing this protein. But this observation strongly suggests that R237 of ErmSF probably interacts with substrate RNA affecting enzyme activity significantly.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.56-60
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• 2016

Adenylate kinase (AK) enzyme which acts as the catalyst of reversible high energy phosphorylation reaction between ATP and AMP which associate with energetic metabolism and nucleic acid synthesis and signal transmission. This enzyme has three distinct domains: Core, AMP binding domain (AMPbd) and Lid domain (LID). The primary role of AMPbd and LID is associated with conformational changes due to flexibility of two domains. Three dimensional structure of human AK1 has not been confirmed and various mutation experiments have been done to determine the active sites. In this study, AK1R138A which is changed arginine[138] of LID domain with alanine[138] was made and conducted with NMR experiments, backbone dynamics analysis and mo-lecular docking dynamic simulation to find the cause of structural change and substrate binding site. Synthetic human muscle type adenylate kinase 1 (hAK1) and its mutant (AK1R138A) were re-combinded with E. coli and expressed in M9 cell. Expressed proteins were purified and finally gained at 0.520 mM hAK1 and 0.252 mM AK1R138A. Multinuclear multidimensional NMR experiments including HNCA, HN(CO)CA, were conducted for amino acid sequence analysis and signal assignments of $^1H-^{15}N$ HSQC spectrum. Our chemical shift perturbation data is shown LID domain residues and around alanine[138] and per-turbation value(0.22ppm) of valine[179] is consid-ered as inter-communication effect with LID domain and the structural change between hAK1 and AK1R138A.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.482-483
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• 2011

Graphene is a good candidate for the future nano-electronic materials because it has excellent conductivity, mobility, transparency, flexibility and others. Until now, most graphene researches are focused on the nano electronic device applications, however, biological application of graphene has been relatively less reported. We have fabricated a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) conjugated graphene field-effect transistor (FET) and measured the electrical transport characteristics. We have used graphene sheets grown on Ni substrates by chemical vapour deposition. The Raman spectra of graphene sheets indicate high quality and only a few number of layers. The synthesized graphene is transferred on top of the substrate with pre-patterned electrodes by the floating-and-scooping method [1]. Then we applied adhesive tapes on the surface of the graphene to define graphene flakes of a few micron sizes near the electrodes. The current-voltage characteristic of the graphene layer before stripping shows linear zero gate bias conductance and no gate operation. After stripping, the zero gate bias conductance of the device is reduced and clear gate operation is observed. The change of FET characteristics before and after stripping is due to the formation of a micron size graphene flake. After combined with 30 base pairs single-stranded poly(dT) DNA molecules, the conductance and gate operation of the graphene flake FETs become slightly smaller than that of the pristine ones. It is considered that DNA is to be stably binding to the graphene layer due to the ${\pi}-{\pi}$ stacking interaction between nucleic bases and the surface of graphene. And this binding can modulate the electrical transport properties of graphene FETs. We also calculate the field-effect mobility of pristine and DNA conjugated graphene FET devices.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.585-589
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• 2008

Chronophin is a phosphatase responsible for the dephosphorylation of cofilin, which regulates the rearrangement of actin cytoskeleton. It is also known as a phosphatase for pyrodoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), an active form of vitamin $B_6$, and maintains the level of PLP in the cytoplasm. Since this phosphatase belongs to a HAD subfamily containing a cap domain, it is expected to undergo a conformational change for the binding of a substrate. However, the crystal structure of chronophin has a disulfide bridge between the cap and core domains preventing a movement of the cap domain against the core domain. It is possible that the disulfide bond between C91 and C221 was formed by an oxidation during the crystallization. Here, we obtained chronophin crystals under a reduced condition and determined the crystal structure. This reduced chronophin does not contain a disulfide bridge and shows a closed conformation like the oxidized form. It implies that an active chronophin binds its substrate under the closed conformation without the disulfide bond and shows a high substrate specificity in the cell.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1636-1643
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• 2014

3-Hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase is an enzyme that catalyzes the second step in the biosynthesis of n-butanol from acetyl-CoA, in which acetoacetyl-CoA is reduced to 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA. To understand the molecular mechanisms of n-butanol biosynthesis, we determined the crystal structure of 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase from Clostridium butyricum (CbHBD). The monomer structure of CbHBD exhibits a two-domain topology, with N- and C-terminal domains, and the dimerization of the enzyme was mostly constituted at the C-terminal domain. The mode of cofactor binding to CbHBD was elucidated by determining the crystal structure of the enzyme in complex with $NAD^+$. We also determined the enzyme's structure in complex with its acetoacetyl-CoA substrate, revealing that the adenosine diphosphate moiety was not highly stabilized compared with the remainder of the acetoacetyl-CoA molecule. Using this structural information, we performed a series of site-directed mutagenesis experiments on the enzyme, such as changing residues located near the substrate-binding site, and finally developed a highly efficient CbHBD K50A/K54A/L232Y triple mutant enzyme that exhibited approximately 5-fold higher enzyme activity than did the wild type. The increased enzyme activity of the mutant was confirmed by enzyme kinetic measurements. The highly efficient mutant enzyme should be useful for increasing the production rate of n-butanol.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.239-246
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• 2007

Riboflavin synthase from Escherichia coli is a homotrimer of 23.4 kDa subunits and catalyzes the formation of one molecule each of riboflavin and 5-amino-6-ribitylamino- 2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidinedione by the transfer of a 4-carbon moiety between two molecules of the substrate, 6,7- dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. Each subunit comprises two closely similar folding domains. Recombinant expression of the N-terminal domain is known to provide a $C_2$-symmetric homodimer. In this study, the binding properties of wild type as well as two mutated proteins of N-terminal domain of riboflavin synthase with various ligands were tested. The replacement of the amino acid residue A43, located in the second shell of riboflavin synthase active center, in the recombinant N-terminal domain dimer reduces the affinity for 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine. The mutation of the amino acid residue C48 forming part of activity cavity of the enzyme causes significant $^{19}F$ NMR chemical shift modulation of trifluoromethyl derivatives of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine in complex with the protein, while substitution of A43 results in smaller chemical shift changes.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.1935-1939
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• 2006

The gene encoding the extracellular medium-chain-length poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) (MCL-PHA) depolymerase of Pseudomonas luteola Ml3-4, $phaZ_{plu}$, was cloned and analyzed. It was found to be 849 bp, with a deduced protein of 282 amino acids, and was revealed to have a typical leader peptide at its N terminus. The amino acid sequence of $PhaZ_{plu}$ revealed relatively low identity (69 to 72%) with those of other Pseudomonas MCL-PHA depolymerases. In comparison with the amino acid sequences of all available MCL-PHA depolymerases, the depolymerase was found to consist of three domains in sequential order; signal peptide, an N-terminal substrate binding domain, and a catalytic domain, indicating that $PhaZ_{plu}$ belongs to the type IV depolymerases family. The enzyme also contained Asn as an oxyanion hole amino acid.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.15-24
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• 2015

Fatty acid synthase (FASN, EC 2.3.1.85), is a multi-enzyme dimer complex that plays a critical role in lipogenesis. This lipogenic enzyme has gained importance beyond its physiological role due to its implications in several clinical conditions-cancers, obesity, and diabetes. This has made FASN an attractive pharmacological target. Here, we have attempted to predict the theoretical models for the human enoyl reductase (ER) and ${\beta}$-ketoacyl reductase (KR) domains based on the porcine FASN crystal structure, which was the structurally closest template available at the time of this study. Comparative modeling methods were used for studying the structure-function relationships. Different validation studies revealed the predicted structures to be highly plausible. The respective substrates of ER and KR domains-namely, trans-butenoyl and ${\beta}$-ketobutyryl-were computationally docked into active sites using Glide in order to understand the probable binding mode. The molecular dynamics simulations of the apo and holo states of ER and KR showed stable backbone root mean square deviation trajectories with minimal deviation. Ramachandran plot analysis showed 96.0% of residues in the most favorable region for ER and 90.3% for the KR domain, respectively. Thus, the predicted models yielded significant insights into the substrate binding modes of the ER and KR catalytic domains and will aid in identifying novel chemical inhibitors of human FASN that target these domains.