Zinc site redesign in T4 gene 32 protein: structure and stability of cobalt(II) complexes formed by wild-type and metal ligand substitution mutants.

Phage T4 gene 32 protein (gp32) is a zinc metalloprotein which binds cooperatively and preferentially to single-stranded nucleic acids and functions as a replication and recombination accessory protein. Zn(II) coordination by gp32 employs a His-Cys3 metal ligand donor set derived from the His64-X12-Cys77-X9-Cys87-X2-Cys90 sequence in the ssDNA-binding core domain of the molecule. Crystallographic studies reveal that His64 and Cys77 are derived from two independent beta-strands within a distorted three-stranded beta-sheet and are relatively more buried from solvent than are Cys87 and Cys90, which are positioned immediately before and within, respectively, an alpha-helix. In an effort to understand the origin of the stability of the metal complex, we have employed an anaerobic optical spectroscopic, competitive metal binding assay to determine the coordination geometry and association constants (Ka) for the binding of Co(II) to wild-type gp32 and a series of zinc ligand substitution mutants. At pH 7.5, 25 degrees C, wild-type gp32 binds Co(II) with a Ka approximately 1 x 10(9) M-1. Competition experiments reveal that Ka for Zn(II) is 3.0 (+/-1.0) x 10(11) M-1. We find that all non-native metal complexes retain tetrahedral or distorted tetrahedral coordination geometry but are greatly destabilized in a manner essentially of whether a new protein-derived coordination bond is formed (e.g., in H64C gp32) or not. Co(II) binding isotherms obtained for three His64 substitution mutants, H64C, H64D, and H64N gp32s, suggest that each mutant forms a dimeric Cys4 tetrathiolate intermediate complex at limiting [Co(II)]f, each then rearranges at high [Co(II)]f to form a monomolecular site of the expected geometry and Ka approximately 1 x 10(4) M-1. Like the His64 mutants, C77A gp32 appears to form at least two types of complexes over the course of a Co(II) titration: one with octahedral coordination geometry formed at low [Co(II)]f, with a second tetrahedral or five-coordinate site formed at higher [Co(II)]f. Apo C87S and C90A gp32s, in contrast, each form a single complex at all [Co(II)]f, consistent with Cys2-His-H2O tetrahedral geometry of Ka approximately (1-2) x 10(5) M-1. These studies reveal that the local protein structure restricts accommodation of a non-native metal complex in a ligand-specific manner. The implications of this work for de novo design of zinc complexes in proteins are discussed.