BackgroundPuf proteins have important roles in controlling gene expression at the post-transcriptional level by promoting RNA decay and repressing translation. The Pumilio homology domain (PUM-HD) is a conserved region within Puf proteins that binds to RNA with sequence specificity. Although Puf proteins have been well characterized in animal and fungal systems, little is known about the structural and functional characteristics of Puf-like proteins in plants.ResultsThe Arabidopsis and rice genomes code for 26 and 19 Puf-like proteins, respectively, each possessing eight or fewer Puf repeats in their PUM-HD. Key amino acids in the PUM-HD of several of these proteins are conserved with those of animal and fungal homologs, whereas other plant Puf proteins demonstrate extensive variability in these amino acids. Three-dimensional modeling revealed that the predicted structure of this domain in plant Puf proteins provides a suitable surface for binding RNA. Electrophoretic gel mobility shift experiments showed that the Arabidopsis AtPum2 PUM-HD binds with high affinity to BoxB of the Drosophila Nanos Response Element I (NRE1) RNA, whereas a point mutation in the core of the NRE1 resulted in a significant reduction in binding affinity. Transient expression of several of the Arabidopsis Puf proteins as fluorescent protein fusions revealed a dynamic, punctate cytoplasmic pattern of localization for most of these proteins. The presence of predicted nuclear export signals and accumulation of AtPuf proteins in the nucleus after treatment of cells with leptomycin B demonstrated that shuttling of these proteins between the cytosol and nucleus is common among these proteins. In addition to the cytoplasmically enriched AtPum proteins, two AtPum proteins showed nuclear targeting with enrichment in the nucleolus.ConclusionsThe Puf family of RNA-binding proteins in plants consists of a greater number of members than any other model species studied to date. This, along with the amino acid variability observed within their PUM-HDs, suggests that these proteins may be involved in a wide range of post-transcriptional regulatory events that are important in providing plants with the ability to respond rapidly to changes in environmental conditions and throughout development.

In contrast to skeletal muscle, the efficiency of the contractile apparatus of cardiac tissue has long been known to be severely compromised by acid pH as in the ischemia of myocardial infarction and other cardiac my- 2؉ sensitivity of cardiac contractility at low pH (

Multidomain proteinase inhibitors play critical roles in the defense of plants against predation by a wide range of pests. Despite a wealth of structural information on proteinase-single domain inhibitor interactions, the structural basis of inhibition by multidomain proteinase inhibitors remains poorly understood. Here we report the 2.5-Å resolution crystal structure of the twoheaded tomato inhibitor-II (TI-II) in complex with two molecules of subtilisin Carlsberg; it reveals how a multidomain inhibitor from the Potato II family of proteinase inhibitors can bind to and simultaneously inhibit two enzyme molecules within a single ternary complex. The N terminus of TI-II initiates the folding of Domain I (Lys-1 to Cys-15 and Pro-84 to Met-123) and then completes Domain II (Ile-26 to Pro-74) before coming back to complete the rest of Domain I (Pro-84 to Met-123). The two domains of TI-II adopt a similar fold and are arranged in an extended configuration that presents two reactive site loops at the opposite ends of the inhibitor molecule. Each subtilisin molecule interacts with a reactive site loop of TI-II through the standard, canonical binding mode. Remarkably, a significant distortion of the active site of subtilisin is induced by the presence of phenylalanine in the P1 position of reactive site loop II of TI-II. The structure of the TI-II⅐(subtilisin) 2 complex provides a molecular framework for understanding how multiple inhibitory domains in a single Potato II type proteinase inhibitor molecule from the Potato II family act to inhibit proteolytic enzymes. Proteinaceous serine proteinase inhibitors (PIs)1 from plants were first identified nearly 65 years ago (1) and are now known to be major constituents of seeds, tubers, and leaves of members of the Solanaceae and Leguminosae families (5-15% of the total protein) (2-4). These PIs are an integral part of the constitutive and inducible defensive mechanisms that protect plants from attacking pests (bacteria, fungi, and insects) (5-7). These defensive mechanisms involve the systemic synthesis of serine PIs that accumulate in distal tissue and can inhibit the digestive trypsin-and chymotrypsin-like enzymes of insects and other related serine proteinases of plant pathogens (8, 9). The inhibitory properties toward serine proteinases of these PIs have already been exploited with varying degrees of success for the production of transgenic plants overexpressing the PIs in an attempt to control pests (9 -13). However, a greater understanding of the molecular mechanism of inhibition of these PIs with pest proteinases is required at the structural level to fully harness the potential benefits of these natural PIs to crop protection.PIs of the Potato II (Pot II) inhibitor family have been isolated from wounded tomato and tobacco leaves (14, 15), green tomatoes (16), potato tubers (17, 18), eggplant fruits (19), paprika seeds (20), and ornamental tobacco flower stigma (21). Pot II PIs can inhibit trypsin, chymotrypsin, subtilisin, oryzin, and elastase (14, 22) and accumulat...

The 38-residue SBP-Tag binds to streptavidin more tightly (K d ' 2.5-4.9 nM) than most if not all other known peptide sequences. Crystallographic analysis at 1.75 Å resolution shows that the SBP-Tag binds to streptavidin in an unprecedented manner by simultaneously interacting with biotin-binding pockets from two separate subunits. An N-terminal HVV peptide sequence (residues 12-14) and a C-terminal HPQ sequence (residues 31-33) form the bulk of the direct interactions between the SBP-Tag and the two biotin-binding pockets. Surprisingly, most of the peptide spanning these two sites (residues 17-28) adopts a regular -helical structure that projects three leucine side chains into a groove formed at the interface between two streptavidin protomers. The crystal structure shows that residues 1-10 and 35-38 of the original SBP-Tag identified through in vitro selection and deletion analysis do not appear to contact streptavidin and thus may not be important for binding. A 25-residue peptide comprising residues 11-34 (SBP-Tag2) was synthesized and shown using surface plasmon resonance to bind streptavidin with very similar affinity and kinetics when compared with the SBP-Tag. The SBP-Tag2 was also added to the C-terminus of -lactamase and was shown to be just as effective as the full-length SBP-Tag in affinity purification. These results validate the molecular structure of the SBP-Tagstreptavidin complex and establish a minimal bivalent streptavidin-binding tag from which further rational design and optimization can proceed.

Arteriviruses are enveloped, positive-stranded RNA viruses and include pathogens of major economic concern to the swine-and horse-breeding industries. The arterivirus replicase gene encodes two large precursor polyproteins that are processed by the viral main proteinase nonstructural protein 4 (nsp4). The three-dimensional structure of the 21-kDa nsp4 from the arterivirus prototype equine arteritis virus has been determined to 2.0 Å resolution. Nsp4 adopts the smallest known chymotrypsin-like fold with a canonical catalytic triad of Ser-120, His-39, and Asp-65, as well as a novel ␣/␤ Cterminal extension domain that may play a role in mediating protein-protein interactions. In different copies of nsp4 in the asymmetric unit, the oxyanion hole adopts either a collapsed inactive conformation or the standard active conformation, which may be a novel way of regulating proteolytic activity.

The Potato II (Pot II) family of proteinase inhibitors plays important roles in the constitutive and inducible defense of plants against predation by a wide range of pests. The structural basis of inhibition by a multidomain Pot II family inhibitor was revealed recently by the structure of the ternary complex between the twoheaded tomato inhibitor-II (TI-II) and two molecules of subtilisin Carlsberg. Here we report the 2.15-Å resolution crystal structure of the unbound form of TI-II that reveals significant conformational flexibility in the absence of bound proteinase molecules. The four independent copies of unbound TI-II in the asymmetric unit of the unit cell display a range of different conformations when compared with the bound form of the inhibitor, most strikingly in the orientations of the inhibitory domains and in the conformations of the reactive site loops. One of the two linker segments (residues 74 to 79) between the two domains as well as the adjacent ␤-strand in Domain I (residues 80 -85) is well ordered in all four copies of the unbound inhibitor, even though this region appeared to be disordered in the structure of the ternary complex. Conformational flexibility seen in the reactive site loops of unbound TI-II suggests a mechanism by which the inhibitor can balance the need for tight binding with the need for broad inhibitory function.

A novel form of tetrameric streptavidin has been engineered to have reversible biotin binding capability. In wild-type streptavidin, loop3–4 functions as a lid for the entry and exit of biotin. When biotin is bound, interactions between biotin and key residues in loop3–4 keep this lid in the closed state. In the engineered mutein, a second biotin exit door is created by changing the amino acid sequence of loop7–8. This door is mobile even in the presence of the bound biotin and can facilitate the release of biotin from the mutein. Since loop7–8 is involved in subunit interactions, alteration of this loop in the engineered mutein results in an 11° rotation between the two dimers in reference to wild-type streptavidin. The tetrameric state of the engineered mutein is stabilized by a H127C mutation, which leads to the formation of inter-subunit disulfide bonds. The biotin binding kinetic parameters (koff of 4.28×10−4 s−1 and Kd of 1.9×10−8 M) make this engineered mutein a superb affinity agent for the purification of biotinylated biomolecules. Affinity matrices can be regenerated using gentle procedures, and regenerated matrices can be reused at least ten times without any observable reduction in binding capacity. With the combination of both the engineered mutein and wild-type streptavidin, biotinylated biomolecules can easily be affinity purified to high purity and immobilized to desirable platforms without any leakage concerns. Other potential biotechnological applications, such as development of an automated high-throughput protein purification system, are feasible.

A Java Web applet is described that helps biochemistry students learn how varying ionic strength and pH can affect separation of proteins in an ion-exchange chromatography experiment. The applet simulates a common scenario: a foreign protein is overexpressed in bacteria and needs to be isolated from the other water-soluble proteins of the cell lysate. It allows visualization of proteins on the column, a protein output graph (absorbance at 280 nm), and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of selected output fractions.