Tyrosinases and catechol oxidases belong to the family of polyphenol oxidases (PPOs). Tyrosinases catalyze the o-hydroxylation and oxidation of phenolic compounds, whereas catechol oxidases were so far defined to lack the hydroxylation activity and catalyze solely the oxidation of o-diphenolic compounds. Aurone synthase from Coreopsis grandiflora (AUS1) is a specialized plant PPO involved in the anabolic pathway of aurones. We present, to our knowledge, the first crystal structures of a latent plant PPO, its mature active and inactive form, caused by a sulfation of a copper binding histidine. Analysis of the latent proenzyme's interface between the shielding C-terminal domain and the main core provides insights into its activation mechanisms. As AUS1 did not accept common tyrosinase substrates (tyrosine and tyramine), the enzyme is classified as a catechol oxidase. However, AUS1 showed hydroxylase activity toward its natural substrate (isoliquiritigenin), revealing that the hydroxylase activity is not correlated with the acceptance of common tyrosinase substrates. Therefore, we propose that the hydroxylase reaction is a general functionality of PPOs. Molecular dynamics simulations of docked substrate-enzyme complexes were performed, and a key residue was identified that influences the plant PPO's acceptance or rejection of tyramine. Based on the evidenced hydroxylase activity and the interactions of specific residues with the substrates during the molecular dynamics simulations, a novel catalytic reaction mechanism for plant PPOs is proposed. The presented results strongly suggest that the physiological role of plant catechol oxidases were previously underestimated, as they might hydroxylate their-so far unknown-natural substrates in vivo.crystal structure | tyrosinase | catechol oxidase | type III copper protein | mechanism

Tyrosinases, bifunctional metalloenzymes, catalyze the oxidation of monophenols and o-diphenols to o-quinones, the precursor compounds of the brown-coloured pigment melanin. In eukaryotic organisms, tyrosinases are expressed as latent zymogens that have to be proteolytically cleaved in order to form highly active enzymes. This activation mechanism, known as the tyrosinase maturation process, has scientific and industrial significance with respect to biochemical and technical applications of the enzyme. Here, not only the first crystal structure of the mushroom tyrosinase abPPO4 is presented in its active form (Ser2-Ser383) and in its 21 kDa heavier latent form (Ser2-Thr545), but furthermore the simultaneous presence of both forms within one single-crystal structure is shown. This allows for a simple approach to investigate the transition between these two forms. Isoform abPPO4 was isolated and extensively purified from the natural source (Agaricus bisporus), which contains a total of six polyphenol oxidases (PPOs). The enzyme formed crystals (diffracting to a resolution of 2.76 Å ) owing to the employment of the 6-tungstotellurate (VI)

Main conclusionAurone synthase belongs to the novel group 2 polyphenol oxidases and the presented kinetic characterization suggests a differing aurone biosynthesis in Asteraceae species compared to snapdragon.Aurone synthases (AUS) are polyphenol oxidases (PPO) physiologically involved in the formation of yellow aurone pigments in petals of various Asteraceae species. They catalyze the oxidative conversion of chalcones into aurones. Latent (58.9 kDa) and active (41.6 kDa) aurone synthase from petals of C. grandiflora was purified by a quantitative removal of pigments using aqueous two-phase separation and several subsequent chromatographic steps. The purified enzymes were identified as cgAUS1 (A0A075DN54) and sequence analysis revealed that cgAUS1 is a member of a new group of plant PPOs. Mass determination experiments of intact cgAUS1 gave evidence that the C-terminal domain, usually shielding the active site of latent polyphenol oxidases, is linked to the main core by a disulfide bond. This is a novel and unique structural feature of plant PPOs. Proteolytic activation in vivo leads to active aurone synthase possessing a residual peptide of the C-terminal domain. Kinetic characterization of purified cgAUS1 strongly suggests a specific involvement in 4-deoxyaurone biosynthesis in Coreopsis grandiflora (Asteraceae) that differs in various aspects compared to the 4-hydroxyaurone formation in Antirrhinum majus (Plantaginaceae): cgAUS1 is predicted to be localized in the thylakoid lumen, it possesses exclusively diphenolase activity and the results suggest that aurone formation occurs at the level of chalcone aglycones. The latent enzyme exhibits allosteric activation which changes at a specific product concentration to a constant reaction rate. The presented novel structural and functional properties of aurone synthase provide further insights in the diversity and role of plant PPOs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00425-015-2261-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Tyrosinases and catechol oxidases are members of the class of type III copper enzymes. While tyrosinases accept both mono- and o-diphenols as substrates, only the latter substrate is converted by catechol oxidases. Researchers have been working for decades to elucidate the monophenolase/diphenolase specificity on a structural level and have introduced an early hypothesis that states that the reason for the lack of monophenolase activity in catechol oxidases may be its structurally restricted active site. However, recent structural and biochemical studies of this enzyme class have raised doubts about this theory. Herein, the first crystal structure of a plant tyrosinase (from Juglans regia) is presented. The structure reveals that the distinction between mono- and diphenolase activity does not depend on the degree of restriction of the active site, and thus a more important role for amino acid residues located at the entrance to and in the second shell of the active site is proposed.

Graphical abstractTyrosinase from walnut leaves (Juglans regia) corresponding to the known jrPPO1 sequence was purified and characterized. Two major tyrosinase forms differing only in their C-termini were identified. The first form (jrPPO1(Asp101 → Pro444)) is one amino acid shorter than the second form (jrPPO1(Asp101 → Arg445)).