Structural Evidence for Dimer-Interface-Driven Regulation of the Type II Cysteine Desulfurase, SufS

Biochemistry. 2019 Feb 12;58(6):687-696. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.8b01122. Epub 2019 Jan 7.

Abstract

SufS is a type II cysteine desulfurase and acts as the initial step in the Suf Fe-S cluster assembly pathway. In Escherichia coli, this pathway is utilized under conditions of oxidative stress and is resistant to reactive oxygen species. Mechanistically, this means SufS must shift between protecting a covalent persulfide intermediate and making it available for transfer to the next protein partner in the pathway, SufE. Here, we report five X-ray crystal structures of SufS including a new structure of SufS containing an inward-facing persulfide intermediate on C364. Additional structures of SufS variants with substitutions at the dimer interface show changes in dimer geometry and suggest a conserved β-hairpin structure plays a role in mediating interactions with SufE. These new structures, along with previous HDX-MS and biochemical data, identify an interaction network capable of communication between active-sites of the SufS dimer coordinating the shift between desulfurase and transpersulfurase activities.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

  • Carbon-Sulfur Lyases / chemistry
  • Carbon-Sulfur Lyases / genetics
  • Carbon-Sulfur Lyases / metabolism*
  • Catalytic Domain
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • Cysteine / chemistry
  • Escherichia coli / enzymology
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / chemistry
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / genetics
  • Escherichia coli Proteins / metabolism*
  • Mutation
  • Protein Binding
  • Sulfides / chemistry
  • Sulfides / metabolism*

Substances

  • Escherichia coli Proteins
  • Sulfides
  • persulfides
  • Carbon-Sulfur Lyases
  • cysteine desulfurase
  • Cysteine