xtal

Hussain, A, Semeano ATS, Palma SICJ, Pina AS, Almeida J, Medrado BF, Pádua ACCS, Carvalho AL, Dionísio M, Li RWC, Gamboa H, Ulijn RV, Gruber J, Roque ACA.  2017.  Tunable Gas Sensing Gels by Cooperative Assembly. Advanced Functional Materials. 27:1700803–n/a., Number 27 AbstractWebsite

The cooperative assembly of biopolymers and small molecules can yield functional materials with precisely tunable properties. Here, the fabrication, characterization, and use of multicomponent hybrid gels as selective gas sensors are reported. The gels are composed of liquid crystal droplets self-assembled in the presence of ionic liquids, which further coassemble with biopolymers to form stable matrices. Each individual component can be varied and acts cooperatively to tune gels' structure and function. The unique molecular environment in hybrid gels is explored for supramolecular recognition of volatile compounds. Gels with distinct compositions are used as optical and electrical gas sensors, yielding a combinatorial response conceptually mimicking olfactory biological systems, and tested to distinguish volatile organic compounds and to quantify ethanol in automotive fuel. The gel response is rapid, reversible, and reproducible. These robust, versatile, modular, pliant electro-optical soft materials possess new possibilities in sensing triggered by chemical and physical stimuli.

Kryshtafovych, A, Albrecht R, Baslé A, Bule P, Caputo AT, Carvalho AL, Chao KL, Diskin R, Fidelis K, Fontes CMGA, Fredslund F, Gilbert HJ, Goulding CW, Hartmann MD, Hayes CS, Herzberg O, Hill JC, Joachimiak A, Kohring G-W, Koning RI, {Lo Leggio} L, Mangiagalli M, Michalska K, Moult J, Najmudin S, Nardini M, Nardone V, Ndeh D, Nguyen TH, Pintacuda G, Postel S, van Raaij MJ, Roversi P, Shimon A, Singh AK, Sundberg EJ, Tars K, Zitzmann N, Schwede T.  2017.  Target highlights from the first post-PSI CASP experiment (CASP12, May-August 2016), oct. Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics. AbstractWebsite

The functional and biological significance of the selected CASP12 targets are described by the authors of the structures. The crystallographers discuss the most interesting structural features of the target proteins and assess whether these features were correctly reproduced in the predictions submitted to the CASP12 experiment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

New paper online!

Congrats, Frederico!

Today, our MSc student Frederico Lourenço defended his thesis entitled "Assignment of new roles for malectin-like domains to understand their divergent evolution". Congratulations to Frederico and his supervisor Benedita Pinheiro! All the best for future projects!

Maria João appointed Co-Editor of Acta F

Congratulations to our group leader Maria João Romão, who is now Co-editor of Acta Crystallographica Section F (Structural Biology Communications), appointed by the IUCr Executive Committee!
Maria João is now part of an excellent Editorial Board of renowned scientists.

This journal welcomes articles on relevant aspects of structural biology.

Congrats, Diogo!

Diogo Melo, MSc student supervised by Catarina Coelho and Maria João Romão, is right now defending his master's thesis! His research work is entitled “Structure based reaction mechanism studies on periplasmic nitrate reductase”. Congratulations and all the best for your future projects, Diogo!

At GLUPOR12

PhD student Diana Ribeiro presented her work on the functional and structural characterization of a new protein that binds to chitin. Well done, Diana!

At GLUPOR12

In her oral presentation, PhD student Viviana Correia described how she looks for new protein-glycan interactions of the human microbiome. Another successful talk!

At GLUPOR 12


Doctor Benedita Pinheiro presented her research results on the functional and structural characterization of a very important protein that plays a crucial role in the human endoplasmic reticulum. Congratulations, Benedita!

At the GLUPOR12

Raquel Costa and Frederico Lourenço are presenting their research work as poster communications at Glupor12, in Aveiro!

Polino, M, Carvalho AL, Juknaitė L, Portugal CAM, Coelhoso IM, Romão MJ, Crespo JG.  2017.  Ion-Exchange Membranes for Stable Derivatization of Protein Crystals, 2017. Crystal Growth & DesignCrystal Growth & Design. : American Chemical Society AbstractWebsite
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New paper online!

Ion-Exchange Membranes for Stable Derivatization of Protein Crystals

Otrelo-Cardoso, AR, Nair RR, Correia MAS, Cordeiro RCS, Panjkovich A, Svergun DI, Santos-Silva T, Rivas MG.  2017.  Highly selective tungstate transporter protein TupA from Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20, 2017. Scientific Reports. 7(1):5798. AbstractWebsite

Molybdenum and tungsten are taken up by bacteria and archaea as their soluble oxyanions through high affinity transport systems belonging to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. The component A (ModA/TupA) of these transporters is the first selection gate from which the cell differentiates between MoO4 2−, WO4 2− and other similar oxyanions. We report the biochemical characterization and the crystal structure of the apo-TupA from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans G20, at 1.4 Å resolution. Small Angle X-ray Scattering data suggests that the protein adopts a closed and more stable conformation upon ion binding. The role of the arginine 118 in the selectivity of the oxyanion was also investigated and three mutants were constructed: R118K, R118E and R118Q. Isothermal titration calorimetry clearly shows the relevance of this residue for metal discrimination and oxyanion binding. In this sense, the three variants lost the ability to coordinate molybdate and the R118K mutant keeps an extremely high affinity for tungstate. These results contribute to an understanding of the metal-protein interaction, making it a suitable candidate for a recognition element of a biosensor for tungsten detection.

New paper online!

Highly selective tungstate transporter protein TupA from Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20
Ana Rita Otrelo-Cardoso, Rashmi R. Nair, Márcia A. S. Correia, Raquel S. Correia Cordeiro, Alejandro Panjkovich, Dmitri I. Svergun, Teresa Santos-Silva & Maria G. Rivas 

Maria João Romão elected member of the Faculty's Council

Congratulations to Maria João and the other new members of the Faculty's Council, elected yesterday!

If you want to know more about the FCT-NOVA Council's duties: http://www.cf.fct.unl.pt

Romão, MJ, Coelho C, Santos-Silva T, Foti A, Terao M, Garattini E, Leimkühler S.  2017.  Structural basis for the role of mammalian aldehyde oxidases in the metabolism of drugs and xenobiotics. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology. 37:39-47. AbstractWebsite

Aldehyde oxidases (AOXs) are molybdo-flavoenzymes characterized by broad substrate specificity, oxidizing aromatic/aliphatic aldehydes into the corresponding carboxylic acids and hydroxylating various heteroaromatic rings. Mammals are characterized by a complement of species-specific \{AOX\} isoenzymes, that varies from one in humans (AOX1) to four in rodents (AOX1, AOX2, \{AOX3\} and AOX4). The physiological function of mammalian \{AOX\} isoenzymes is unknown, although human \{AOX1\} is an emerging enzyme in phase-I drug metabolism. Indeed, the number of therapeutic molecules under development which act as \{AOX\} substrates is increasing. The recent crystallization and structure determination of human \{AOX1\} as well as mouse \{AOX3\} has brought new insights into the mechanisms underlying substrate/inhibitor binding as well as the catalytic activity of this class of enzymes.

Kowacz, M, Marchel M, Juknaité L, Esperança JMSS, Romão MJ, Carvalho AL, Rebelo LPN.  2017.  Infrared light-induced protein crystallization. Structuring of protein interfacial water and periodic self-assembly. Journal of Crystal Growth. 457:362-368. AbstractWebsite

Abstract We show that a physical trigger, a non-ionizing infrared (IR) radiation at wavelengths strongly absorbed by liquid water, can be used to induce and kinetically control protein (periodic) self-assembly in solution. This phenomenon is explained by considering the effect of İR\} light on the structuring of protein interfacial water. Our results indicate that the İR\} radiation can promote enhanced mutual correlations of water molecules in the protein hydration shell. We report on the radiation-induced increase in both the strength and cooperativeness of H-bonds. The presence of a structured dipolar hydration layer can lead to attractive interactions between like-charged biomacromolecules in solution (and crystal nucleation events). Furthermore, our study suggests that enveloping the protein within a layer of structured solvent (an effect enhanced by İR\} light) can prevent the protein non-specific aggregation favoring periodic self-assembly. Recognizing the ability to affect protein-water interactions by means of İR\} radiation may have important implications for biological and bio-inspired systems.

Pires, VMR, Pereira PMM, Brás JLA, Correia M, Cardoso V, Bule P, Alves VD, Najmudin S, Venditto I, Ferreira LMA, Romão MJ, Carvalho AL, Fontes CMGA, Prazeres DM.  2017.  Stability and ligand promiscuity of type A carbohydrate-binding modules are illustrated by the structure of Spirochaeta thermophila StCBM64C, mar. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 292:4847–4860., Number 12 AbstractWebsite

Deconstruction of cellulose, the most abundant plant cell wall polysaccharide, requires the cooperative activity of a large repertoire of microbial enzymes. Modular cellulases contain non-catalytic type A Carbohydrate-Binding Modules (CBMs) that specifically bind to the crystalline regions of cellulose, thus promoting enzyme efficacy through proximity and targeting effects. Although type A CBMs play a critical role in cellulose recycling, their mechanism of action remains poorly understood. Here we produced a library of recombinant CBMs representative of the known diversity of type A modules. The binding properties of 40 CBMs, in fusion with an N-terminal green fluorescence protein (GFP) domain, revealed that type A CBMs possess the ability to recognize different crystalline forms of cellulose and chitin over a wide range of temperatures, pHs and ionic strengths. A Spirochaeta thermophila CBM64, in particular, displayed plasticity in its capacity to bind both crystalline and soluble carbohydrates under a wide range of extreme conditions. The structure of S. thermophila StCBM64C revealed an untwisted, flat, carbohydrate-binding interface comprising the side chains of four tryptophan residues in a coplanar linear arrangement. Significantly, two highly conserved asparagine side chains, each one located between two tryptophan residues, are critical to insoluble and soluble glucan recognition but not to bind xyloglucan. Thus, CBM64 compact structure and its extended and versatile ligand interacting platform illustrates how type A CBMs target their appended plant cell wall degrading enzymes to a diversity of recalcitrant carbohydrates under a wide range of environmental conditions.

Bule, P, Alves VD, Israeli-Ruimy V, Carvalho AL, Ferreira LMA, Smith SP, Gilbert HJ, Najmudin S, Bayer EA, Fontes CMGA.  2017.  Assembly of Ruminococcus flavefaciens cellulosome revealed by structures of two cohesin-dockerin complexes, 2017. Scientific Reports. 7:759. AbstractWebsite

Cellulosomes are sophisticated multi-enzymatic nanomachines produced by anaerobes to effectively deconstruct plant structural carbohydrates. Cellulosome assembly involves the binding of enzyme-borne dockerins (Doc) to repeated cohesin (Coh) modules located in a non-catalytic scaffoldin. Docs appended to cellulosomal enzymes generally present two similar Coh-binding interfaces supporting a dual-binding mode, which may confer increased positional adjustment of the different complex components. Ruminococcus flavefaciens’ cellulosome is assembled from a repertoire of 223 Doc-containing proteins classified into 6 groups. Recent studies revealed that Docs of groups 3 and 6 are recruited to the cellulosome via a single-binding mode mechanism with an adaptor scaffoldin. To investigate the extent to which the single-binding mode contributes to the assembly of R. flavefaciens cellulosome, the structures of two group 1 Docs bound to Cohs of primary (ScaA) and adaptor (ScaB) scaffoldins were solved. The data revealed that group 1 Docs display a conserved mechanism of Coh recognition involving a single-binding mode. Therefore, in contrast to all cellulosomes described to date, the assembly of R. flavefaciens cellulosome involves single but not dual-binding mode Docs. Thus, this work reveals a novel mechanism of cellulosome assembly and challenges the ubiquitous implication of the dual-binding mode in the acquisition of cellulosome flexibility.

Otrelo-Cardoso, AR, Nair RR, Correia MAS, Rivas MG, Santos-Silva T.  2014.  TupA: A Tungstate Binding Protein in the Periplasm of Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20, 2014/05/29/accep. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 15(7):11783-11798.: MDPI AbstractWebsite

The TupABC system is involved in the cellular uptake of tungsten and belongs to the ABC (ATP binding cassette)-type transporter systems. The TupA component is a periplasmic protein that binds tungstate anions, which are then transported through the membrane by the TupB component using ATP hydrolysis as the energy source (the reaction catalyzed by the ModC component). We report the heterologous expression, purification, determination of affinity binding constants and crystallization of the Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20 TupA. The tupA gene (locus tag Dde_0234) was cloned in the pET46 Enterokinase/Ligation-Independent Cloning (LIC) expression vector, and the construct was used to transform BL21 (DE3) cells. TupA expression and purification were optimized to a final yield of 10 mg of soluble pure protein per liter of culture medium. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was carried out showing that TupA binds both tungstate and molybdate ions and has no significant interaction with sulfate, phosphate or perchlorate. Quantitative analysis of metal binding by isothermal titration calorimetry was in agreement with these results, but in addition, shows that TupA has higher affinity to tungstate than molybdate. The protein crystallizes in the presence of 30% (w/v) polyethylene glycol 3350 using the hanging-drop vapor diffusion method. The crystals diffract X-rays beyond 1.4 Å resolution and belong to the P2(1) space group, with cell parameters a = 52.25 Å, b = 42.50 Å, c = 54.71 Å, β = 95.43°. A molecular replacement solution was found, and the structure is currently under refinement.

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