Reducing CO 2 is a challenging chemical transformation that biology solves easily, with high efficiency and specificity. In particular, formate dehydrogenases are of great interest since they reduce CO 2 to formate, a valuable chemical fuel and hydrogen storage compound. The metal-dependent formate dehydrogenases of prokaryotes can show high activity for CO 2 reduction. Here, we report an expression system to produce recombinant W/Sec-FdhAB from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough fully loaded with cofactors, its catalytic characterization and crystal structures in oxidized and reduced states. The enzyme has very high activity for CO 2 reduction and displays remarkable oxygen stability. The crystal structure of the formate-reduced enzyme shows Sec still coordinating the tungsten, supporting a mechanism of stable metal coordination during catalysis. Comparison of the oxidized and reduced structures shows significant changes close to the active site. The DvFdhAB is an excellent model for studying catalytic CO 2 reduction and probing the mechanism of this conversion.

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Organic hydroperoxide resistance (Ohr) enzymes are highly efficient Cys-based peroxidases that play central roles in bacterial response to fatty acid hydroperoxides and peroxynitrite, two oxidants that are generated during host-pathogen interactions. In the active site of Ohr proteins, the conserved Arg (Arg19 in Ohr from Xylella fastidiosa) and Glu (Glu51 in Ohr from Xylella fastidiosa) residues, among other factors, are involved in the extremely high reactivity of the peroxidatic Cys (Cp) toward hydroperoxides. In the closed state, the thiolate of Cp is in close proximity to the guanidinium group of Arg19. Ohr enzymes can also assume an open state, where the loop containing the catalytic Arg is far away from Cp and Glu51. Here, we aimed to gain insights into the putative structural switches of the Ohr catalytic cycle. First, we describe the crystal structure of Ohr from Xylella fastidiosa (XfOhr) in the open state that, together with the previously described XfOhr structure in the closed state, may represent two snapshots along the coordinate of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction. These two structures were used for the experimental validation of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. MD simulations employing distinct protonation states and in silico mutagenesis indicated that the polar interactions of Arg19 with Glu51 and Cp contributed to the stabilization of XfOhr in the closed state. Indeed, Cp oxidation to the disulfide state facilitated the switching of the Arg19 loop from the closed to the open state. In addition to the Arg19 loop, other portions of XfOhr displayed high mobility, such as a loop rich in Gly residues. In summary, we obtained a high correlation between crystallographic data, MD simulations and biochemical/enzymatic assays. The dynamics of the Ohr enzymes are unique among the Cys-based peroxidases, in which the active site Arg undergoes structural switches throughout the catalytic cycle, while Cp remains relatively static.

Ohr and OsmC proteins comprise two subfamilies within a large group of proteins that display Cys-based, thiol dependent peroxidase activity. These proteins were previously thought to be restricted to prokaryotes, but we show here, using iterated sequence searches, that Ohr/OsmC homologs are also present in 217 species of eukaryotes with a massive presence in Fungi (186 species). Many of these eukaryotic Ohr proteins possess an N-terminal extension that is predicted to target them to mitochondria. We obtained recombinant proteins for four eukaryotic members of the Ohr/OsmC family and three of them displayed lipoyl peroxidase activity. Further functional and biochemical characterization of the Ohr homologs from the ascomycete fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis Mf_1 (MfOhr), the causative agent of Black Sigatoka disease in banana plants, was pursued. Similarly to what has been observed for the bacterial proteins, we found that: (i) the peroxidase activity of MfOhr was supported by DTT or dihydrolipoamide (dithiols), but not by β-mercaptoethanol or GSH (monothiols), even in large excess; (ii) MfOhr displayed preference for organic hydroperoxides (CuOOH and tBOOH) over hydrogen peroxide; (iii) MfOhr presented extraordinary reactivity towards linoleic acid hydroperoxides (k=3.18 (±2.13)×108 M−1 s−1). Both Cys87 and Cys154 were essential to the peroxidase activity, since single mutants for each Cys residue presented no activity and no formation of intramolecular disulfide bond upon treatment with hydroperoxides. The pKa value of the Cysp residue was determined as 5.7±0.1 by a monobromobimane alkylation method. Therefore, eukaryotic Ohr peroxidases share several biochemical features with prokaryotic orthologues and are preferentially located in mitochondria.

The results of this study showed high resistance rates to the majority of antimicrobial agents among P. aeruginosa samples. High imipenem resistance rates were probably due to continuous selection of resistant mutants. The production of MbetaL did not represent a frequent mechanism of carbapenem resistance in this medical center; but a novel MbetaL was identified. Continued antimicrobial surveillance and infection control measures should be emphasized to minimize the emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.