Haloalkane dehalogenases (HLDs) are a family of α/β-hydrolase fold enzymes that employ SN2 nucleophilic substitution to cleave the carbon-halogen bond in diverse chemical structures, the biological role of which is still poorly understood. Atomic-level knowledge of both the inner organization and supramolecular complexation of HLDs is thus crucial to understand their catalytic and noncatalytic functions. Here, crystallographic structures of the (S)-enantioselective haloalkane dehalogenase DmmarA from the waterborne pathogenic microbe Mycobacterium marinum were determined at 1.6 and 1.85 Å resolution. The structures show a canonical αβα-sandwich HLD fold with several unusual structural features. Mechanistically, the atypical composition of the proton-relay catalytic triad (aspartate-histidine-aspartate) and uncommon active-site pocket reveal the molecular specificities of a catalytic apparatus that exhibits a rare (S)-enantiopreference. Additionally, the structures reveal a previously unobserved mode of symmetric homodimerization, which is predominantly mediated through unusual L5-to-L5 loop interactions. This homodimeric association in solution is confirmed experimentally by data obtained from small-angle X-ray scattering. Utilizing the newly determined structures of DmmarA, molecular modelling techniques were employed to elucidate the underlying mechanism behind its uncommon enantioselectivity. The (S)-preference can be attributed to the presence of a distinct binding pocket and variance in the activation barrier for nucleophilic substitution.

• Keywords
• DmmarA, Mycobacterium marinum, SAXS, X-ray crystallography, enantioselectivity, haloalkane dehalogenases, homodimerization, surface loops,
• MeSH
• Hydrolases chemistry   MeSH
• Aspartic Acid MeSH
• Mycobacterium marinum * metabolism   MeSH
• Stereoisomerism MeSH
• Substrate Specificity MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• haloalkane dehalogenase MeSH Browser
• Hydrolases MeSH
• Aspartic Acid MeSH

Haloalkane dehalogenase (HLD) enzymes employ an SN 2 nucleophilic substitution mechanism to erase halogen substituents in diverse organohalogen compounds. Subfamily I and II HLDs are well-characterized enzymes, but the mode and purpose of multimerization of subfamily III HLDs are unknown. Here we probe the structural organization of DhmeA, a subfamily III HLD-like enzyme from the archaeon Haloferax mediterranei, by combining cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and x-ray crystallography. We show that full-length wild-type DhmeA forms diverse quaternary structures, ranging from small oligomers to large supramolecular ring-like assemblies of various sizes and symmetries. We optimized sample preparation steps, enabling three-dimensional reconstructions of an oligomeric species by single-particle cryo-EM. Moreover, we engineered a crystallizable mutant (DhmeAΔGG ) that provided diffraction-quality crystals. The 3.3 Å crystal structure reveals that DhmeAΔGG forms a ring-like 20-mer structure with outer and inner diameter of ~200 and ~80 Å, respectively. An enzyme homodimer represents a basic repeating building unit of the crystallographic ring. Three assembly interfaces (dimerization, tetramerization, and multimerization) were identified to form the supramolecular ring that displays a negatively charged exterior, while its interior part harboring catalytic sites is positively charged. Localization and exposure of catalytic machineries suggest a possible processing of large negatively charged macromolecular substrates.

• Keywords
• DhmeA, Haloferax mediterranei, catalysis, cryo-EM, haloalkane dehalogenase, multimerization, x-ray crystallography,
• MeSH
• Cryoelectron Microscopy methods   MeSH
• Hydrolases * chemistry   MeSH
• Crystallography, X-Ray MeSH
• Substrate Specificity MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• haloalkane dehalogenase MeSH Browser
• Hydrolases * MeSH

Haloalkane dehalogenases can cleave a carbon-halogen bond in a broad range of halogenated aliphatic compounds. However, a highly conserved catalytic pentad composed of a nucleophile, a catalytic base, a catalytic acid, and two halide-stabilizing residues is required for their catalytic activity. Only a few family members, e.g., DsaA, DmxA, or DmrB, remain catalytically active while employing a single halide-stabilizing residue. Here, we describe a novel haloalkane dehalogenase, DsvA, from a mildly thermophilic bacterium, Saccharomonospora viridis strain DSM 43017, possessing one canonical halide-stabilizing tryptophan (W125). At the position of the second halide-stabilizing residue, DsvA contains the phenylalanine F165, which cannot stabilize the halogen anion released during the enzymatic reaction by a hydrogen bond. Based on the sequence and structural alignments, we identified a putative second halide-stabilizing tryptophan (W162) located on the same α-helix as F165, but on the opposite side of the active site. The potential involvement of this residue in DsvA catalysis was investigated by the construction and biochemical characterization of the three variants, DsvA01 (F165W), DsvA02 (W162F), and DsvA03 (W162F and F165W). Interestingly, DsvA exhibits a preference for the (S)- over the (R)-enantiomers of β-bromoalkanes, which has not been reported before for any characterized haloalkane dehalogenase. Moreover, DsvA shows remarkable operational stability at elevated temperatures. The present study illustrates that protein sequences possessing an unconventional composition of catalytic residues represent a valuable source of novel biocatalysts.IMPORTANCE The present study describes a novel haloalkane dehalogenase, DsvA, originating from a mildly thermophilic bacterium, Saccharomonospora viridis strain DSM 43017. We report its high thermostability, remarkable operational stability at high temperatures, and an (S)-enantiopreference, which makes this enzyme an attractive biocatalyst for practical applications. Sequence analysis revealed that DsvA possesses an unusual composition of halide-stabilizing tryptophan residues in its active site. We constructed and biochemically characterized two single point mutants and one double point mutant and identified the noncanonical halide-stabilizing residue. Our study underlines the importance of searching for noncanonical catalytic residues in protein sequences.

• Keywords
• (S)-enantiopreference, catalytic residues, dehalogenase, enantioselectivity, halide-stabilizing residues, haloalkane, haloalkane dehalogenase, kinetics, mutagenesis, structure, substrate specificity, thermophilic bacterium, thermostability,
• MeSH
• Actinobacteria chemistry   genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Bacterial Proteins chemistry   genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Hydrolases chemistry   genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Catalysis MeSH
• Substrate Specificity MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Bacterial Proteins MeSH
• haloalkane dehalogenase MeSH Browser
• Hydrolases MeSH

Ancestral sequence reconstruction is a powerful method for inferring ancestors of modern enzymes and for studying structure-function relationships of enzymes. We have previously applied this approach to haloalkane dehalogenases (HLDs) from the subfamily HLD-II and obtained thermodynamically highly stabilized enzymes (ΔT m up to 24 °C), showing improved catalytic properties. Here we combined crystallographic structural analysis and computational molecular dynamics simulations to gain insight into the mechanisms by which ancestral HLDs became more robust enzymes with novel catalytic properties. Reconstructed ancestors exhibited similar structure topology as their descendants with the exception of a few loop deviations. Strikingly, molecular dynamics simulations revealed restricted conformational dynamics of ancestral enzymes, which prefer a single state, in contrast to modern enzymes adopting two different conformational states. The restricted dynamics can potentially be linked to their exceptional stabilization. The study provides molecular insights into protein stabilization due to ancestral sequence reconstruction, which is becoming a widely used approach for obtaining robust protein catalysts.

• Keywords
• Ancestral sequence reconstruction, Conformational flexibility, Enzyme, Haloalkane dehalogenase, Protein design, Protein simulations, Thermostability, X-ray crystallography,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Engineering enzyme catalytic properties is important for basic research as well as for biotechnological applications. We have previously shown that the reshaping of enzyme access tunnels via the deletion of a short surface loop element may yield a haloalkane dehalogenase variant with markedly modified substrate specificity and enantioselectivity. Here, we conversely probed the effects of surface loop-helix transplantation from one enzyme to another within the enzyme family of haloalkane dehalogenases. Precisely, we transplanted a nine-residue long extension of L9 loop and α4 helix from DbjA into the corresponding site of DbeA. Biophysical characterization showed that this fragment transplantation did not affect the overall protein fold or oligomeric state, but lowered protein stability (ΔT m = -5 to 6 °C). Interestingly, the crystal structure of DbeA mutant revealed the unique structural features of enzyme access tunnels, which are known determinants of catalytic properties for this enzyme family. Biochemical data confirmed that insertion increased activity of DbeA with various halogenated substrates and altered its enantioselectivity with several linear β-bromoalkanes. Our findings support a protein engineering strategy employing surface loop-helix transplantation for construction of novel protein catalysts with modified catalytic properties.

• Keywords
• Access tunnel, Biocatalysis, Enantioselectivity, Enzyme engineering, Haloalkane dehalogenase (HLD), Loop-helix transplantation, Protein design, X-ray crystallography,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Haloalkane dehalogenases are enzymes with a broad application potential in biocatalysis, bioremediation, biosensing and cell imaging. The new haloalkane dehalogenase DmxA originating from the psychrophilic bacterium Marinobacter sp. ELB17 surprisingly possesses the highest thermal stability (apparent melting temperature Tm,app = 65.9 °C) of all biochemically characterized wild type haloalkane dehalogenases belonging to subfamily II. The enzyme was successfully expressed and its crystal structure was solved at 1.45 Å resolution. DmxA structure contains several features distinct from known members of haloalkane dehalogenase family: (i) a unique composition of catalytic residues; (ii) a dimeric state mediated by a disulfide bridge; and (iii) narrow tunnels connecting the enzyme active site with the surrounding solvent. The importance of narrow tunnels in such paradoxically high stability of DmxA enzyme was confirmed by computational protein design and mutagenesis experiments.

• Keywords
• access tunnel, catalytic pentad, dimer, enantiselectivity, haloalkane dehalogenase, psychrophile, thermostability,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

We emphasize the importance of dynamics and hydration for enzymatic catalysis and protein design by transplanting the active site from a haloalkane dehalogenase with high enantioselectivity to nonselective dehalogenase. Protein crystallography confirms that the active site geometry of the redesigned dehalogenase matches that of the target, but its enantioselectivity remains low. Time-dependent fluorescence shifts and computer simulations revealed that dynamics and hydration at the tunnel mouth differ substantially between the redesigned and target dehalogenase.

• MeSH
• Hydrocarbons, Brominated chemistry   MeSH
• Spectrometry, Fluorescence MeSH
• Hydrolases chemistry   genetics   MeSH
• Catalytic Domain MeSH
• Catalysis MeSH
• Protein Conformation MeSH
• Crystallography, X-Ray MeSH
• Molecular Sequence Data MeSH
• Mutagenesis, Site-Directed MeSH
• Protein Engineering * MeSH
• Amino Acid Sequence MeSH
• Molecular Dynamics Simulation * MeSH
• Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization MeSH
• Stereoisomerism MeSH
• Water chemistry   MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Hydrocarbons, Brominated MeSH
• haloalkane dehalogenase MeSH Browser
• Hydrolases MeSH
• Water MeSH

The effect of non-denaturing concentrations of three different organic solvents, formamide, acetone and isopropanol, on the structure of haloalkane dehalogenases DhaA, LinB, and DbjA at the protein-solvent interface was studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Analysis of B-factors revealed that the presence of a given organic solvent mainly affects the dynamical behavior of the specificity-determining cap domain, with the exception of DbjA in acetone. Orientation of organic solvent molecules on the protein surface during the simulations was clearly dependent on their interaction with hydrophobic or hydrophilic surface patches, and the simulations suggest that the behavior of studied organic solvents in the vicinity of hyrophobic patches on the surface is similar to the air/water interface. DbjA was the only dimeric enzyme among studied haloalkane dehalogenases and provided an opportunity to explore effects of organic solvents on the quaternary structure. Penetration and trapping of organic solvents in the network of interactions between both monomers depends on the physico-chemical properties of the organic solvents. Consequently, both monomers of this enzyme oscillate differently in different organic solvents. With the exception of LinB in acetone, the structures of studied enzymes were stabilized in water-miscible organic solvents.

• MeSH
• 2-Propanol chemistry   pharmacology   MeSH
• Acetone chemistry   pharmacology   MeSH
• Formamides chemistry   pharmacology   MeSH
• Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions MeSH
• Hydrolases chemistry   MeSH
• Crystallography, X-Ray MeSH
• Protein Structure, Quaternary drug effects   MeSH
• Models, Molecular MeSH
• Solvents chemistry   MeSH
• Molecular Dynamics Simulation MeSH
• Protein Structure, Tertiary drug effects   MeSH
• Water chemistry   MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• 2-Propanol MeSH
• Acetone MeSH
• formamide MeSH Browser
• Formamides MeSH
• haloalkane dehalogenase MeSH Browser
• Hydrolases MeSH
• Solvents MeSH
• Water MeSH

Haloalkane dehalogenases are hydrolytic enzymes with a broad range of potential practical applications such as biodegradation, biosensing, biocatalysis and cellular imaging. Two newly isolated psychrophilic haloalkane dehalogenases exhibiting interesting catalytic properties, DpcA from Psychrobacter cryohalolentis K5 and DmxA from Marinobacter sp. ELB17, were purified and used for crystallization experiments. After the optimization of crystallization conditions, crystals of diffraction quality were obtained. Diffraction data sets were collected for native enzymes and complexes with selected ligands such as 1-bromohexane and 1,2-dichloroethane to resolutions ranging from 1.05 to 2.49 Å.

• Keywords
• DmxA, DpcA, Marinobacter sp. ELB17, Psychrobacter cryohalolentis K5, haloalkane dehalogenases,
• MeSH
• Bacterial Proteins analysis   chemistry   MeSH
• X-Ray Diffraction MeSH
• Hydrolases analysis   chemistry   MeSH
• Catalytic Domain MeSH
• Crystallography, X-Ray MeSH
• Marinobacter enzymology   MeSH
• Psychrobacter enzymology   MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Bacterial Proteins MeSH
• haloalkane dehalogenase MeSH Browser
• Hydrolases MeSH

Haloalkane dehalogenases are microbial enzymes that convert a broad range of halogenated aliphatic compounds to their corresponding alcohols by the hydrolytic mechanism. These enzymes play an important role in the biodegradation of various environmental pollutants. Haloalkane dehalogenase LinB isolated from a soil bacterium Sphingobium japonicum UT26 has a relatively broad substrate specificity and can be applied in bioremediation and biosensing of environmental pollutants. The LinB variants presented here, LinB32 and LinB70, were constructed with the goal of studying the effect of mutations on enzyme functionality. In the case of LinB32 (L117W), the introduced mutation leads to blocking of the main tunnel connecting the deeply buried active site with the surrounding solvent. The other variant, LinB70 (L44I, H107Q), has the second halide-binding site in a position analogous to that in the related haloalkane dehalogenase DbeA from Bradyrhizobium elkanii USDA94. Both LinB variants were successfully crystallized and full data sets were collected for native enzymes as well as their complexes with the substrates 1,2-dibromoethane (LinB32) and 1-bromobutane (LinB70) to resolutions ranging from 1.6 to 2.8 Å. The two mutants crystallize differently from each other, which suggests that the mutations, although deep inside the molecule, can still affect the protein crystallizability.

• Keywords
• LinB, Sphingobium japonicum, haloalkane dehalogenase, macroseeding,
• MeSH
• Bacterial Proteins chemistry   genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Biodegradation, Environmental MeSH
• Hydrocarbons, Brominated chemistry   metabolism   MeSH
• Escherichia coli chemistry   genetics   MeSH
• Ethylene Dibromide chemistry   metabolism   MeSH
• Hydrolases chemistry   genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Isoenzymes chemistry   genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Crystallization MeSH
• Crystallography, X-Ray MeSH
• Recombinant Proteins chemistry   genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Sphingomonadaceae chemistry   enzymology   genetics   MeSH
• Substrate Specificity MeSH
• Binding Sites MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Bacterial Proteins MeSH
• Hydrocarbons, Brominated MeSH
• butyl bromide MeSH Browser
• Ethylene Dibromide MeSH
• haloalkane dehalogenase MeSH Browser
• Hydrolases MeSH
• Isoenzymes MeSH
• Recombinant Proteins MeSH