A software suite, SABER (Selection of Active/Binding sites for Enzyme Redesign), has been developed for the analysis of atomic geometries in protein structures, using a geometric hashing algorithm (Barker and Thornton, Bioinformatics 2003;19:1644-1649. SABER is used to explore the Protein Data Bank (PDB) to locate proteins with a specific 3D arrangement of catalytic groups to identify active sites that might be redesigned to catalyze new reactions. As a proof-ofprinciple test, SABER was used to identify enzymes that have the same catalytic group arrangement present in o-succinyl benzoate synthase (OSBS). Among the highest-scoring scaffolds identified by the SABER search for enzymes with the same catalytic group arrangement as OSBS were L-Ala D/L-Glu epimerase (AEE) and muconate lactonizing enzyme II (MLE), both of which have been redesigned to become effective OSBS catalysts, demonstrated by experiments. Next, we used SABER to search for naturally existing active sites in the PDB with catalytic groups similar to those present in the designed Kemp elimination enzyme KE07. From over 2000 geometric matches to the KE07 active site, SABER identified 23 matches that corresponded to residues from known active sites. The best of these matches, with a 0.28 Å catalytic atom RMSD to KE07, was then redesigned to be compatible with the Kemp elimination using RosettaDesign. We also used SABER to search for potential Kemp eliminases using a theozyme predicted to provide a greater rate acceleration than the active site of KE07, and used Rosetta to create a design based on the proteins identified.

Catalytic Atom Maps (CAMs) are minimal models of enzyme active sites. The structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) were examined to determine if proteins with CAM-like geometries in their active sites all share the same catalytic function. We combined the CAM-based search protocol with a filter based on the weighted contact number (WCN) of the catalytic residues, a measure of the “crowdedness” of the microenvironment around a protein residue. Using this technique, a CAM based on the Ser-His-Asp catalytic triad of trypsin was able to correctly identify catalytic triads in other enzymes within 0.5 Å RMSD of the Catalytic Atom Map with 96% accuracy. A CAM based on the Cys-Arg-(Asp/Glu) active site residues from the tyrosine phosphatase active site achieved 89% accuracy in identifying this type of catalytic functionality. Both of these Catalytic Atom Maps were able to identify active sites across different fold types. Finally, the PDB was searched to locate proteins with catalytic functionality similar to that present in the active site of orotidine 5′-monophosphate decarboxylase (ODCase), whose mechanism is not known with certainty. A CAM, based on the conserved Lys-Asp-Lys-Asp tetrad in the ODCase active site, was used to search the PDB for enzymes with similar active sites. The ODCase active site has a geometry similar to that of Schiff base-forming Class I aldolases, with lowest aldolase RMSD to the ODCase CAM at 0.48 Å. The similarity between this CAM and the aldolase active site suggests that ODCase has the correct catalytic functionality present in its active site for the generation of a nucleophilic lysine.

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