Crystal structure of the conserved protein TTHA0727 from Thermus thermophilus HB8 at 1.9 A resolution: A CMD family member distinct from carboxymuconolactone decarboxylase (CMD) and AhpD

Protein Sci. 2006 May;15(5):1187-92. doi: 10.1110/ps.062148506. Epub 2006 Apr 5.

Abstract

TTHA0727 is a conserved hypothetical protein from Thermus thermophilus HB8, with a molecular mass of 12.6 kDa. TTHA0727 belongs to the carboxymuconolactone decarboxylase (CMD) family (Pfam 02627). A sequence comparison with its homologs suggested that TTHA0727 is a distinct protein from alkylhydroperoxidase AhpD and gamma-carboxymuconolactone decarboxylase in the CMD family. Here we report the 1.9 A crystal structure of TTHA0727 (PDB ID: 2CWQ) determined by the multiwavelength anomalous dispersion method. The TTHA0727 monomer structure consists of seven alpha-helices (alpha1-alpha7) and one short 3(10)-helix. The crystal structure and the analytical ultracentrifugation revealed that TTHA0727 forms a hexameric ring structure in solution. The electrostatic potential distribution on the solvent-accessible surface of the TTHA0727 hexamer showed that positively charged regions exist on the side of the ring structure, suggesting that TTHA0727 interacts with some negatively charged molecules. A structural homology search revealed that the structure of three alpha-helices (alpha4-alpha6) is remarkably conserved, suggesting that it is the common structural motif for the CMD family proteins. In addition, the nine residues of the N-terminal tag bound to the cleft region between alpha1 and alpha3 in chains A and B of TTHA0727, implying that this region is the putative binding/active site for some small molecules.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Carboxy-Lyases / chemistry*
  • Crystallization
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Structural Homology, Protein
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Thermus thermophilus / chemistry*

Substances

  • Carboxy-Lyases
  • 4-carboxymuconolactone decarboxylase