Molecular basis for G protein control of the prokaryotic ATP sulfurylase

Mol Cell. 2006 Jan 6;21(1):109-22. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2005.10.034.

Abstract

Sulfate assimilation is a critical component of both primary and secondary metabolism. An essential step in this pathway is the activation of sulfate through adenylation by the enzyme ATP sulfurylase (ATPS), forming adenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (APS). Proteobacterial ATPS overcomes this energetically unfavorable reaction by associating with a regulatory G protein, coupling the energy of GTP hydrolysis to APS formation. To discover the molecular basis of this unusual role for a G protein, we biochemically characterized and solved the X-ray crystal structure of a complex between Pseudomonas syringae ATPS (CysD) and its associated regulatory G protein (CysN). The structure of CysN*D shows the two proteins in tight association; however, the nucleotides bound to each subunit are spatially segregated. We provide evidence that conserved switch motifs in the G domain of CysN allosterically mediate interactions between the nucleotide binding sites. This structure suggests a molecular mechanism by which conserved G domain architecture is used to energetically link GTP turnover to the production of an essential metabolite.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Dimerization
  • GTP-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • GTP-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Guanosine Triphosphate / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Molecular Structure
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary*
  • Pseudomonas syringae / enzymology*
  • Pseudomonas syringae / genetics
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sulfate Adenylyltransferase / chemistry*
  • Sulfate Adenylyltransferase / genetics
  • Sulfate Adenylyltransferase / metabolism
  • Sulfates / metabolism*

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Sulfates
  • Guanosine Triphosphate
  • Sulfate Adenylyltransferase
  • GTP-Binding Proteins

Associated data

  • PDB/1ZUN