Trypanosomatids contain an unusual DNA base J (β-d-glucosylhydroxymethyluracil), which replaces a fraction of thymine in telomeric and other DNA repeats. To determine the function of base J, we have searched for enzymes that catalyze J biosynthesis. We present evidence that a protein that binds to J in DNA, the J-binding protein 1 (JBP1), may also catalyze the first step in J biosynthesis, the conversion of thymine in DNA into hydroxymethyluracil. We show that JBP1 belongs to the family of Fe2+ and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases and that replacement of conserved residues putatively involved in Fe2+ and 2-oxoglutarate-binding inactivates the ability of JBP1 to contribute to J synthesis without affecting its ability to bind to J-DNA. We propose that JBP1 is a thymidine hydroxylase responsible for the local amplification of J inserted by JBP2, another putative thymidine hydroxylase.
Fe II /α-ketoglutarate-dependent hydroxylases uniformly possess a double-stranded β-helix fold with two conserved histidines and one carboxylate coordinating their mononuclear ferrous ions. Oxidative decomposition of the α-keto acid is proposed to generate a ferryl-oxo intermediate capable of hydroxylating unactivated carbon atoms in a myriad of substrates. This perspective focuses on a subgroup of these enzymes that are involved in pyrimidine salvage, purine decomposition, nucleoside and nucleotide hydroxylation, DNA/RNA repair, and chromatin modification. The varied reaction schemes are presented, and selected structural and kinetic information is summarized. IntroductionFerrous ion and α-ketoglutarate (αKG)-dependent dioxygenases comprise an enzyme superfamily with members present in animals, plants, protists, fungi, bacteria and even viruses. Most representatives of this large group of enzymes couple the oxidative decarboxylation of αKG to various hydroxylation reactions ( Fig. 1), but others are capable of catalyzing desaturation, epoxidation, halogenation, ring formation, or ring expansion reactions, which allows them to fill a wide variety of biological roles including antibiotic biosynthesis, hypoxic sensing, DNA repair, and various types of metabolite transformations. [1][2][3] Not surprisingly, the primary substrates also are diverse and include proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and a myriad of small molecules that can be used for synthesis or undergo degradation.The sequences of Fe II /αKG dioxygenases show little overall identity, yet the diverse reactions all are catalyzed by proteins with the same core fold and use similar chemistries. 4 The hallmark of these enzymes is their use of Fe II to activate molecular oxygen according to a mechanism (Scheme 1) first proposed by Hanauske-Abel and Günzler in 1982 for prolyl 4-hydroxylase. 5 (A) In the absence of substrates, a "facial triad" (usually two His plus one Asp or Glu occurring in a His-X-Asp/Glu-X n -His motif) weakly bind one face of the hexacoordinate metal. 6,7 (B) The αKG co-substrate displaces two waters and coordinates Fe II in a bidentate fashion with its C1 carboxyl and C2 keto oxygens. The binding of αKG is Correspondence to: Robert P. Hausinger, hausinge@msu.edu. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptDalton Trans. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 July 20. This perspective focuses on the modification of nucleobases, nucleosides, nucleotides, and chromatin by the Fe II and αKG dependent hydroxylases (Table 1). We discuss the degradation and salvage of free bases by the fungal enzymes thymine 7-hydroxylase and xanthine hydroxylase. Next, nucleoside hydroxylases are briefly described. We then examine the developmental modification of DNA in kinetoplastid protozoans and summarize evidence that the JBP1 and JBP2 proteins possess thymidine hydroxylase activity. The oxidative repair of DNA by Escherichia coli AlkB is discussed, and the properties of mammalian homologues are summarized. Finally, we present emerging evidence pointing to...
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