Browsing by Author "Helmich, Kate E."

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    Structural Basis for the Stereochemical Control of Amine Installation in Nucleotide Sugar Aminotransferases
    (American Chemical Society, 2015) Wang, Fengbin; Singh, Shanteri; Xu, Weijun; Helmich, Kate E.; Miller, Mitchell D.; Cao, Hongnan; Bingman, Craig A.; Thorson, Jon S.; Phillips, George N.Jr.
    Sugar aminotransferases (SATs) are an important class of tailoring enzymes that catalyze the 5'-pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent stereo- and regiospecific installation of an amino group from an amino acid donor (typically L-Glu or L-Gln) to a corresponding ketosugar nucleotide acceptor. Herein we report the strategic structural study of two homologous C4 SATs (Micromonospora echinospora CalS13 and Escherichia coli WecE) that utilize identical substrates but differ in their stereochemistry of aminotransfer. This study reveals for the first time a new mode of SAT sugar nucleotide binding and, in conjunction with previously reported SAT structural studies, provides the basis from which to propose a universal model for SAT stereo- and regiochemical control of amine installation. Specifically, the universal model put forth highlights catalytic divergence to derive solely from distinctions within nucleotide sugar orientation upon binding within a relatively fixed SAT active site where the available ligand bound structures of the three out of four representative C3 and C4 SAT examples provide a basis for the overall model. Importantly, this study presents a new predictive model to support SAT functional annotation, biochemical study and rational engineering.
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    Structural Basis of Stereospecificity in the Bacterial Enzymatic Cleavage of β-Aryl Ether Bonds in Lignin
    (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2016) Helmich, Kate E.; Pereira, Jose Henrique; Gall, Daniel L.; Heins, Richard A.; McAndrew, Ryan P.; Bingman, Craig A.; Deng, Kai; Holland, Keefe C.; Noguera, Daniel R.; Simmons, Blake A.; Sale, Kenneth L.; Ralph, John; Donohue, Timothy J.; Adams, Paul D.; Phillips, George N.Jr.
    Lignin is a combinatorial polymer comprising monoaromatic units that are linked via covalent bonds. Although lignin is a potential source of valuable aromatic chemicals, its recalcitrance to chemical or biological digestion presents major obstacles to both the production of second-generation biofuels and the generation of valuable coproducts from lignin's monoaromatic units. Degradation of lignin has been relatively well characterized in fungi, but it is less well understood in bacteria. A catabolic pathway for the enzymatic breakdown of aromatic oligomers linked via β-aryl ether bonds typically found in lignin has been reported in the bacterium Sphingobium sp. SYK-6. Here, we present x-ray crystal structures and biochemical characterization of the glutathione-dependent β-etherases, LigE and LigF, from this pathway. The crystal structures show that both enzymes belong to the canonical two-domain fold and glutathione binding site architecture of the glutathione S-transferase family. Mutagenesis of the conserved active site serine in both LigE and LigF shows that, whereas the enzymatic activity is reduced, this amino acid side chain is not absolutely essential for catalysis. The results include descriptions of cofactor binding sites, substrate binding sites, and catalytic mechanisms. Because β-aryl ether bonds account for 50–70% of all interunit linkages in lignin, understanding the mechanism of enzymatic β-aryl ether cleavage has significant potential for informing ongoing studies on the valorization of lignin.
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    Structural Basis of Stereospecificity in the Bacterial Enzymatic Cleavage of β-Aryl Ether Bonds in Lignin
    (American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2016) Helmich, Kate E.; Pereira, Jose Henrique; Gall, Daniel L.; Heins, Richard A.; McAndrew, Ryan P.; Bingman, Craig A.; Deng, Kai; Holland, Keefe C.; Noguera, Daniel R.; Simmons, Blake A.; Sale, Kenneth L.; Ralph, John; Donohue, Timothy J.; Adams, Paul D.; Phillips, George N.Jr.
    Lignin is a combinatorial polymer comprising monoaromatic units that are linked via covalent bonds. Although lignin is a potential source of valuable aromatic chemicals, its recalcitrance to chemical or biological digestion presents major obstacles to both the production of second-generation biofuels and the generation of valuable coproducts from lignin's monoaromatic units. Degradation of lignin has been relatively well characterized in fungi, but it is less well understood in bacteria. A catabolic pathway for the enzymatic breakdown of aromatic oligomers linked via β-aryl ether bonds typically found in lignin has been reported in the bacterium Sphingobium sp. SYK-6. Here, we present x-ray crystal structures and biochemical characterization of the glutathione-dependent β-etherases, LigE and LigF, from this pathway. The crystal structures show that both enzymes belong to the canonical two-domain fold and glutathione binding site architecture of the glutathione S-transferase family. Mutagenesis of the conserved active site serine in both LigE and LigF shows that, whereas the enzymatic activity is reduced, this amino acid side chain is not absolutely essential for catalysis. The results include descriptions of cofactor binding sites, substrate binding sites, and catalytic mechanisms. Because β-aryl ether bonds account for 50-70% of all interunit linkages in lignin, understanding the mechanism of enzymatic β-aryl ether cleavage has significant potential for informing ongoing studies on the valorization of lignin.
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    Understanding molecular recognition of promiscuity of thermophilic methionine adenosyltransferase sMAT from Sulfolobus solfataricus
    (Wiley, 2014) Wang, Fengbin; Singh, Shanteri; Zhang, Jianjun; Huber, Tyler D.; Helmich, Kate E.; Sunkara, Manjula; Hurley, Katherine A.; Goff, Randal D.; Bingman, Craig A.; Morris, Andrew J.; Thorson, Jon S.; Phillips, George N.Jr.