Download MendeleyCrystallographic Studies on Multiple Conformational States of Active-site Loops in Pyrrolysyl-tRNA Synthetase
Yanagisawa, T., Ishii, R., Fukunaga, R., Kobayashi, T., Sakamoto, K., Yokoyama, S.(2008) J Mol Biol 378: 634-652
- PubMed: 18387634
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmb.2008.02.045
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
2E3C, 2ZCE - PubMed Abstract:
Pyrrolysine, a lysine derivative with a bulky pyrroline ring, is the "22nd" genetically encoded amino acid. In the present study, the carboxy-terminal catalytic fragment of Methanosarcina mazei pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (PylRS) was analyzed by X-ray crystallography and site-directed mutagenesis. The catalytic fragment ligated tRNA(Pyl) with pyrrolysine nearly as efficiently as the full-length PylRS. We determined the crystal structures of the PylRS catalytic fragment in the substrate-free, ATP analogue (AMPPNP)-bound, and AMPPNP/pyrrolysine-bound forms, and compared them with the previously-reported PylRS structures. The ordering loop and the motif-2 loop undergo conformational changes from the "open" states to the "closed" states upon AMPPNP binding. On the other hand, the beta 7-beta 8 hairpin exhibits multiple conformational states, the open, intermediate (beta 7-open/beta 8-open and beta 7-closed/beta 8-open), and closed states, which are not induced upon substrate binding. The PylRS structures with a docked tRNA suggest that the active-site pocket can accommodate the CCA terminus of tRNA when the motif-2 loop is in the closed state and the beta 7-beta 8 hairpin is in the open or intermediate state. The entrance of the active-site pocket is nearly closed in the closed state of the beta 7-beta 8 hairpin, which may protect the pyrrolysyladenylate intermediate in the absence of tRNA(Pyl). Moreover, a structure-based mutational analysis revealed that hydrophobic residues in the amino acid-binding tunnel are important for accommodating the pyrrolysine side chain and that Asn346 is essential for anchoring the side-chain carbonyl and alpha-amino groups of pyrrolysine. In addition, a docking model of PylRS with tRNA was constructed based on the aspartyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA structure, and was confirmed by a mutational analysis.
Organizational Affiliation:
Protein Research Group, Genomic Sciences Center, Yokohama Institute, RIKEN, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan.
