L-Threonine aldolases (TAs) represent a family of homologous pyridoxal 5’-phosphate-dependent enzymes found in bacteria and fungi, and catalyse the reversible cleavage of several l-3-hydroxy-α-amino acids. TAs have great biotechnological potential, since they catalyse the formation of carbon-carbon bonds, and therefore may be exploited for bioorganic synthesis of l-3-hydroxyamino acids that are biologically active or constitute building blocks for pharmaceutical molecules. Many TAs, showing different stereospecificity towards the Cβ configuration, have been isolated. Because of their potential to carry out diastereoselective syntheses, TAs have been the subject of structural, functional and mechanistic studies. Nevertheless, their catalytic mechanism and the structural bases of their stereospecificity have not been elucidated. In this study, we have determined the crystal structure of low-specificity l-threonine aldolase from Escherichia coli at 2.2 Å resolution, in the unliganded form and co-crystallized with l-serine and l-threonine. Furthermore, several active-site mutants have been functionally characterised in order to elucidate the reaction mechanism and the molecular bases of stereospecificity. No active site catalytic residue was revealed, and a structural water molecule was assumed to act as catalytic base in the retro-aldol cleavage reaction. Interestingly, the very large active site opening of E. coli TA suggests that a much larger molecule than l-threonine isomers may be easily accommodated, and threonine aldolases may actually play diverse physiological functions in different organisms. Substrate recognition and reaction specificity seem to be guided by the overall microenvironment that surrounds the substrate at the enzyme active site, rather than to one ore more specific residues.

DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) in human cells is initiated by Ku heterodimer binding to a DSB, followed by recruitment of core NHEJ factors including DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs), XRCC4-like factor (XLF), and XRCC4 (X4)-DNA ligase IV (L4). Ku also interacts with accessory factors such as aprataxin and polynucleotide kinase/phosphatase-like factor (APLF). Yet, how these factors interact to tether, process, and ligate DSB ends while allowing regulation and chromatin interactions remains enigmatic. Here, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and mutational analyses show APLF is largely an intrinsically disordered protein that binds Ku, Ku/DNA-PKcs (DNA-PK), and X4L4 within an extended flexible NHEJ core complex. X4L4 assembles with Ku heterodimers linked to DNA-PKcs via flexible Ku80 C-terminal regions (Ku80CTR) in a complex stabilized through APLF interactions with Ku, DNA-PK, and X4L4. Collective results unveil the solution architecture of the six-protein complex and suggest cooperative assembly of an extended flexible NHEJ core complex that supports APLF accessibility while possibly providing flexible attachment of the core complex to chromatin. The resulting dynamic tethering furthermore, provides geometric access of L4 catalytic domains to the DNA ends during ligation and of DNA-PKcs for targeted phosphorylation of other NHEJ proteins as well as trans-phosphorylation of DNA-PKcs on the opposing DSB without disrupting the core ligation complex. Overall the results shed light on evolutionary conservation of Ku, X4, and L4 activities, while explaining the observation that Ku80CTR and DNA-PKcs only occur in a subset of higher eukaryotes.

HLA class I presentation of pathogen-derived peptide ligands is essential for CD8+ T-cell recognition of Toxoplasma gondii infected cells. Currently, little data exist pertaining to peptides that are presented after T. gondii infection. Herein we purify HLA-A*02:01 complexes from T. gondii infected cells and characterize the peptide ligands using LCMS. We identify 195 T. gondii encoded ligands originating from both secreted and cytoplasmic proteins. Surprisingly, T. gondii ligands are significantly longer than uninfected host ligands, and these longer pathogen-derived peptides maintain a canonical N-terminal binding core yet exhibit a C-terminal extension of 1–30 amino acids. Structural analysis demonstrates that binding of extended peptides opens the HLA class I F’ pocket, allowing the C-terminal extension to protrude through one end of the binding groove. In summary, we demonstrate that unrealized structural flexibility makes MHC class I receptive to parasite-derived ligands that exhibit unique C-terminal peptide extensions.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.12556.001

Bacterial nucleoid remodeling dependent on conserved histone-like protein, HU is one of the determining factors in global gene regulation. By imaging of near-native, unlabeled E. coli cells by soft X-ray tomography, we show that HU remodels nucleoids by promoting the formation of a dense condensed core surrounded by less condensed isolated domains. Nucleoid remodeling during cell growth and environmental adaptation correlate with pH and ionic strength controlled molecular switch that regulated HUαα dependent intermolecular DNA bundling. Through crystallographic and solution-based studies we show that these effects mechanistically rely on HUαα promiscuity in forming multiple electrostatically driven multimerization interfaces. Changes in DNA bundling consequently affects gene expression globally, likely by constrained DNA supercoiling. Taken together our findings unveil a critical function of HU-DNA interaction in nucleoid remodeling that may serve as a general microbial mechanism for transcriptional regulation to synchronize genetic responses during the cell cycle and adapt to changing environments.