bioRxiv Science⌕ Search

Biology subjects

Schmeing, T. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Schmeing, T. M..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

No evidence that human GIGYF2 interacts with growth factor receptor-bound protein 10 (GRB10): implication for human disease

GIGYF2 (Growth factor receptor bound protein 10 (GRB10)-interacting GYF (glycine-tyrosine-phenylalanine) protein 2) reduces mRNA stability and translation via microRNAs, ribosome quality control, and several RNA-binding proteins. GIGYF2 was first identified in mouse cell lines as an interacting partner with Growth factor receptor-bound protein 10 (GRB10), which binds to the insulin receptor and insulin-like growth-factor receptor 1. Mutations in the human GIGYF2 gene were reported in autism spectrum disorder and Parkinsons disease. In mouse models, mutations in the gene encoding GIGYF2 exhibited disease phenotypes. It was, therefore, thought that the GIGYF2-associated disease in humans is caused by defective GRB10 signaling. We show here that GIGYF2 does not interact with GRB10 in human cell lines, as determined by proximity ligation and co-immunoprecipitation assays. Size exclusion chromatography assay further confirmed these findings. The lack of interaction is explained by the absence of the critical GYF-domain binding PPG{Phi} sequence in the human GRB10 protein. These results are in contrast with the current understanding that a GIGYF2/GRB10 complex is associated with human disease via IR and IGF-1R signaling and underscore alternative mechanisms responsible for the observed phenotypes related to mutations in the human GIGYF2 gene.

molecular biology↗

Bioinformatics of cyanophycin metabolism genes and characterization of promiscuous isoaspartyl dipeptidases that catalyze the final step of cyanophycin degradation

Cyanophycin is a bacterial biopolymer used for storage of fixed nitrogen. It is composed of a backbone of L-aspartate residues with L-arginines attached to each of their side chains. Cyanophycin is produced by cyanophycin synthetase 1 (CphA1) using Arg, Asp and ATP, and is degraded in two steps. First, cyanophycinase breaks down the backbone peptide bonds, releasing {beta}-Asp-Arg dipeptides. Then, these dipeptides are broken down into free Asp and Arg by enzymes with isoaspartyl dipeptidase activity. Two bacterial enzymes are known to possess promiscuous isoaspartyl dipeptidase activity: isoaspartyl dipeptidase (IadA) and isoaspartyl aminopeptidase (IaaA). We performed a bioinformatic analysis to investigate whether genes for cyanophycin metabolism enzymes cluster together or are spread around the microbial genomes. Many genomes showed incomplete contingents of known cyanophycin metabolizing genes. Cyanophycin synthetase and cyanophycinase are usually clustered together when recognizable genes for each are found within a genome. Cyanophycinase and isoaspartyl dipeptidase genes typically cluster within genomes lacking cphA1. About one-third of genomes with genes for CphA1, cyanophycinase and IaaA show these genes clustered together, while the proportion is around one-sixth for CphA1, cyanophycinase and IadA. We used X-ray crystallography and biochemical studies to characterize an IadA and an IaaA from two such clusters. The enzymes retained their promiscuous nature, showing that being associated with cyanophycin-related genes did not make them specific for {beta}-Asp-Arg dipeptides derived from cyanophycin degradation.

biochemistry↗

Heterologous production of cyanophycin with Tatumella morbirosei cyanophycin synthetase

Microbial production of biopolymers represents a promising, sustainable alternative to current approaches for plastic production. Cyanophycin synthetase 1 (CphA1) produces cyanophycin - an attractive biopolymer consisting of a poly-L-aspartic acid backbone decorated with L-arginine side groups. In this work, a series of CphA1 enzymes from different bacteria were screened for heterologous cyanophycin production in engineered Escherichia coli, from which it was found that CphA1 from Tatumella morbirosei (TmCphA1) was especially productive. TmCphA1 was capable of supporting up to ~2-fold greater yields of insoluble cyanophycin than any other tested CphA1 enzymes, including 10.8-times more than CphA1 from Synechocystis sp. PCC6308. Finally, using a bench-scale bioreactor, cyanophycin production by TmCphA1-expressing E. coli reached up to 1.9 g per liter of culture by 48 h.

molecular biology↗

Efficacy of epetraborole against Mycobacterium abscessus is increased with norvaline

Certain aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases developed a proofreading mechanism to ensure aminoacylation of tRNAs with cognate amino acids. Epetraborole (EPT) was identified as an inhibitor of the leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS) editing site in Mycobacterium abscessus. EPT displayed enhanced activity against M. abscessus over Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Crystallographic and equilibrium binding data showed that EPT binds LeuRSMabs and LeuRSMtb with similar Kd. Proteomic analysis revealed that when M. abscessus LeuRS mutants were fed the non-proteinogenic amino acid norvaline, leucine residues in proteins were replaced by norvaline, inducing expression of GroEL chaperonins and Clp proteases. In vitro data revealed that supplementation of media with norvaline reduced the emergence of EPT mutants in both M. abscessus and M. tuberculosis. The combination of EPT and norvaline had improved in vivo efficacy compared to EPT in a murine model of M. abscessus infection.

microbiology↗