The FixL proteins are biological oxygen sensors that restrict the expression of specific genes to hypoxic conditions. FixL's oxygen-detecting domain is a heme binding region that controls the activity of an attached histidine kinase. The FixL switch is regulated by binding of oxygen and other strong-field ligands. In the absence of bound ligand, the heme domain permits kinase activity. In the presence of bound ligand, this domain turns off kinase activity. Comparison of the structures of two forms of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum FixL heme domain, one in the ''on'' state without bound ligand and one in the ''off'' state with bound cyanide, reveals a mechanism of regulation by a heme that is distinct from the classical hemoglobin models. The close structural resemblance of the FixL heme domain to the photoactive yellow protein confirms the existence of a PAS structural motif but reveals the presence of an alternative regulatory gateway.

Genes encoding methanogenic methylamine methyltransferases all contain an in-frame amber (UAG) codon that is read through during translation. We have identified the UAG-encoded residue in a 1.55 angstrom resolution structure of the Methanosarcina barkeri monomethylamine methyltransferase (MtmB). This structure reveals a homohexamer comprised of individual subunits with a TIM barrel fold. The electron density for the UAG-encoded residue is distinct from any of the 21 natural amino acids. Instead it appears consistent with a lysine in amide-linkage to (4R,5R)-4-substituted-pyrroline-5-carboxylate. We suggest that this amino acid be named l-pyrrolysine.

The redox-regulated open/closed conformational switch of hPDI endows the protein with versatile target-binding capacities for its enzymatic and chaperone functions.

The FixL heme domain serves as the dioxygen switch in the FixL/FixJ two-component system of Rhizobia. Recent structural studies of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum FixL heme domain (BjFixLH) have suggested an allosteric mechanism that is distinct from the classical hemoglobin model. To gain further insight into the FixL sensing mechanism, structures of BjFixLH bound to dioxygen, imidazole, and nitric oxide have been determined. These structures, particularly the structure of BjFixLH bound to its physiological ligand, dioxygen, have helped to address a number of important issues relevant to the BjFixLH sensing mechanism. On the basis of the oxy-BjFixLH structure, a conserved arginine is found to stabilize the dioxygen ligand in a mode reminiscent of the distal histidine in classical myoglobins and hemoglobins. The structure of BjFixLH bound to imidazole elucidates the structural requirements for accommodating sterically bulky ligands. Finally, the structure of BjFixLH bound to nitric oxide provides evidence for a structural intermediate in the heme-driven conformational change.

An avian-origin human-infecting influenza (H7N9) virus was recently identified in China. We have evaluated the viral hemagglutinin (HA) receptor-binding properties of two human H7N9 isolates, A/Shanghai/1/2013 (SH-H7N9) (containing the avian-signature residue Gln(226)) and A/Anhui/1/2013 (AH-H7N9) (containing the mammalian-signature residue Leu(226)). We found that SH-H7N9 HA preferentially binds the avian receptor analog, whereas AH-H7N9 HA binds both avian and human receptor analogs. Furthermore, an AH-H7N9 mutant HA (Leu(226) → Gln) was found to exhibit dual receptor-binding property, indicating that other amino acid substitutions contribute to the receptor-binding switch. The structures of SH-H7N9 HA, AH-H7N9 HA, and its mutant in complex with either avian or human receptor analogs show how AH-H7N9 can bind human receptors while still retaining the avian receptor-binding property.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) together with CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins form the CRISPR/Cas system to defend against foreign nucleic acids of bacterial and archaeal origin. In the I-E subtype CRISPR/Cas system, eleven subunits from five Cas proteins (CasA1B2C6D1E1) assemble along a CRISPR RNA (crRNA) to form the Cascade complex. Here we report on the 3.05 Å crystal structure of the 405-kilodalton Escherichia coli Cascade complex that provides molecular details beyond those available from earlier lower-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structures. The bound 61-nucleotide crRNA spans the entire 11-protein subunit-containing complex, where it interacts with all six CasC subunits (named CasC1-6), with its 5' and 3' terminal repeats anchored by CasD and CasE, respectively. The crRNA spacer region is positioned along a continuous groove on the concave surface generated by the aligned CasC1-6 subunits. The five long β-hairpins that project from individual CasC2-6 subunits extend across the crRNA, with each β-hairpin inserting into the gap between the last stacked base and its adjacent splayed counterpart, and positioned within the groove of the preceding CasC subunit. Therefore, instead of continuously stacking, the crRNA spacer region is divided into five equal fragments, with each fragment containing five stacked bases flanked by one flipped-out base. Each of those crRNA spacer fragments interacts with CasC in a similar fashion. Furthermore, our structure explains why the seed sequence, with its outward-directed bases, has a critical role in target DNA recognition. In conclusion, our structure of the Cascade complex provides novel molecular details of protein-protein and protein-RNA alignments and interactions required for generation of a complex mediating RNA-guided immune surveillance.

The catalytic reaction mediated by DNA polymerases is known to require two Mg(II) ions, one associated with dNTP binding and the other involved in metal ion catalysis of the chemical step. Here we report a functional intermediate structure of a DNA polymerase with only one metal ion bound, the DNA polymerase beta-DNA template-primer-chromium(III).2'-deoxythymidine 5'-beta,gamma-methylenetriphosphate [Cr(III).dTMPPCP] complex, at 2.6 A resolution. The complex is distinct from the structures of other polymerase-DNA-ddNTP complexes in that the 3'-terminus of the primer has a free hydroxyl group. Hence, this structure represents a fully functional intermediate state. Support for this contention is provided by the observation of turnover in biochemical assays of crystallized protein as well as from the determination that soaking Pol beta crystals with Mn(II) ions leads to formation of the product complex, Pol beta-DNA-Cr(III).PCP, whose structure is also reported. An important feature of both structures is that the fingers subdomain is closed, similar to structures of other ternary complexes in which both metal ion sites are occupied. These results suggest that closing of the fingers subdomain is induced specifically by binding of the metal-dNTP complex prior to binding of the catalytic Mg(2+) ion. This has led us to reevaluate our previous evidence regarding the existence of a rate-limiting conformational change in Pol beta's reaction pathway. The results of stopped-flow studies suggest that there is no detectable rate-limiting conformational change step.

Piwi proteins are modified by symmetric dimethylation of arginine (sDMA), and the methylarginine-dependent interaction with Tudor domain proteins is critical for their functions in germline development. Cocrystal structures of an extended Tudor domain (eTud) of Drosophila Tudor with methylated peptides of Aubergine, a Piwi family protein, reveal that sDMA is recognized by an asparagine-gated aromatic cage. Furthermore, the unexpected Tudor-SN/p100 fold of eTud is important for sensing the position of sDMA. The structural information provides mechanistic insights into sDMA-dependent Piwi-Tudor interaction, and the recognition of sDMA by Tudor domains in general.Supplemental material is available at http://www.genesdev.org.Received June 3, 2010; revised version accepted July 13, 2010.Piwi proteins are a conserved subfamily of Argonaute proteins that, together with small RNAs with which they associate (piRNA ½Piwi-interacting RNA), safeguard germline development by silencing transposons (Aravin and Hannon 2008;Lin and Yin 2008). Certain arginine residues at the N termini of Piwi proteins are symmetrically dimethylated by PRMT5, and the post-translational modification is required for interaction with Tudor domain proteins Kirino et al. 2009;Nishida et al. 2009;Reuter et al. 2009;Vagin et al. 2009;Vasileva et al. 2009;Wang et al. 2009;Siomi et al. 2010). In Drosophila, the Piwi family protein Aub is symmetrically dimethylated at Arg11, Arg13, and Arg15, and loss of methylation at these sites disrupts the interaction with the maternal effect protein Tud and reduces association with piRNA (Kirino et al. 2009(Kirino et al. , 2010Nishida et al. 2009). However, a mechanistic understanding of methylarginine-dependent Tud-Aub interaction is lacking. At present, no structure of any protein in complex with a symmetric dimethylation of arginine (sDMA)-modified protein/peptide has been reported. The best characterized sDMA-Tudor interaction to date is the binding of sDMA-modified spliceosomal Sm proteins by the Tudor domain of Survival Motor Neuron (SMN) (Brahms et al. 2001;Friesen et al. 2001;Sprangers et al. 2003), although an understanding of their binding mode in atomic resolution details is still lacking. Interestingly, several Tudor domains have been shown to bind histone tails with methylated lysine residues, and an understanding of the structural basis for methyllysine recognition by Tudor domains has been developed (Botuyan et al. 2006;Huang et al. 2006;Kim et al. 2006). Thus, a pressing matter for understanding the biological functions of Tudor domain proteins is to elucidate the structural determinants responsible for Tudor domain's binding preference for an sDMA or methyllysine, which necessitates the determination of a Tudor domain structure in complex with an sDMA ligand. Results and DiscussionTudor domains 7-11 are sufficient for germ cell formation and Aubergine binding Tud is a large protein (2515 amino acids) comprised of 11 copies of a defined sequence motif, which can be found in many eukaryotic proteins and...