School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, P.O. Box 647520, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
Arch Biochem Biophys. 2014 Feb 1;543:67-73. doi: 10.1016/j.abb.2013.12.004. Epub 2013 Dec 24.
Fosfomycin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is useful against multi-drug resistant bacteria. Although its biosynthesis was first studied over 40 years ago, characterization of the penultimate methyl transfer reaction has eluded investigators. The enzyme believed to catalyze this reaction, Fom3, has been identified as a radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) superfamily member. Radical SAM enzymes use SAM and a four-iron, four-sulfur ([4Fe-4S]) cluster to catalyze complex chemical transformations. Fom3 also belongs to a family of radical SAM enzymes that contain a putative cobalamin-binding motif, suggesting that it uses cobalamin for methylation. Here we describe the first biochemical characterization of Fom3 from Streptomyces wedmorensis. Since recombinant Fom3 is insoluble, we developed a successful refolding and iron-sulfur cluster reconstitution procedure. Spectroscopic analyses demonstrate that Fom3 binds a [4Fe-4S] cluster which undergoes a transition between a +2 "resting" state and a +1 active state characteristic of radical SAM enzymes. Site-directed mutagenesis of the cysteine residues in the radical SAM CxxxCxxC motif indicates that each residue is essential for functional cluster formation. We also provide preliminary evidence that Fom3 adds a methyl group to 2-hydroxyethylphosphonate (2-HEP) to form 2-hydroxypropylphosphonate (2-HPP) in an apparently SAM-, sodium dithionite-, and methylcobalamin-dependent manner.
磷霉素是一种广谱抗生素,对多种耐药菌有效。尽管其生物合成早在 40 多年前就已被研究,但前倒数第二个甲基转移反应的特征一直困扰着研究人员。被认为催化该反应的酶 Fom3 已被鉴定为一种自由基 S-腺苷甲硫氨酸 (SAM) 超家族成员。自由基 SAM 酶使用 SAM 和一个四铁四硫 ([4Fe-4S]) 簇来催化复杂的化学转化。Fom3 还属于一类含有潜在钴胺素结合基序的自由基 SAM 酶,表明它使用钴胺素来进行甲基化。在这里,我们描述了来自链霉菌的 Fom3 的首次生化特征。由于重组 Fom3 不溶,我们开发了一种成功的重折叠和铁硫簇重建程序。光谱分析表明,Fom3 结合一个 [4Fe-4S] 簇,该簇经历从 +2“静止”状态到自由基 SAM 酶特征的 +1 活性状态的转变。对自由基 SAM CxxxCxxC 基序中的半胱氨酸残基进行定点突变表明,每个残基对于功能性簇形成都是必不可少的。我们还提供了初步证据表明,Fom3 以 SAM、连二亚硫酸钠和甲基钴胺素依赖性方式将甲基添加到 2-羟乙基膦酸 (2-HEP) 上,形成 2-羟丙基膦酸 (2-HPP)。