Metal Binding Studies and EPR Spectroscopy of the Manganese Transport Regulator MntR

Abstract

Manganese transport regulator (MntR) is a member of the diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) family of transcription factors that is responsible for manganese homeostasis in [4295][4296][4297][4298][4299][4300][4301][4302][4303], and generally follow the Irving-Williams series. Direct detection of the dinuclear Mn 2+ site in MntR with EPR spectroscopy is presented, and the exchange interaction was determined, J = -0.2 cm -1 . This value is lower in magnitude than most known dinuclear Mn 2+ sites in proteins and synthetic complexes and is consistent with a dinuclear Mn 2+ site with a longer Mn···Mn distance (4.4 Å) observed in some of the available crystal structures. MntR is found to have a surprisingly low binding affinity (∼160 μM) for its cognate metal ion Mn 2+ . Moreover, the results of DNA binding studies in the presence of limiting metal ion concentrations were found to be consistent with the measured metal-binding constants. The metalbinding affinities of MntR reported here help to elucidate the regulatory mechanism of this metaldependent transcription factor.Bacteria handle the delicate issue of metal ion homeostasis using a class of transcription factors known as metalloregulatory proteins (metalloregulators). In some systems, these metal-sensing proteins are involved in mediating the removal of toxic metals, while in other systems they are central to maintaining the required levels of essential metals. To date, a large number of metalloregulatory proteins have been identified that respond to a variety of metal ions (1-3). The subject of how metal binding is translated into an ability to control transcription via a † This work was supported by the University of California, San Diego, the Hellman Family fund, a Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation (S.M.C.), and the National Institutes of Health GM077387 (M.P.H.). * Author to whom correspondence should be adddressed. (M.P.H.) Telephone: (412) 268-1058; fax: (412) NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript metalloregulator has become a prominent subject of investigation (4-10). Indeed, many metalloregulators are reported to bind several metal ions in vitro, while only eliciting a specific transcriptional response when they are bound to the cognate metal in vivo (5)(6)(7)9). This observation naturally leads to the question: how does a metalloregulator selectively respond to its cognate metal ion as opposed to other available metal ion activators? The ability of a metalloregulator to respond selectively to a metal ion may depend on several factors, including the availability of the requisite metal ion, the binding affinity for the metal ion, the charge on the metal ion, and the coordination geometry/number assumed by the metal ion upon binding. Determining which of these factors are most important for a given metalloregulator is essential for gaining a better understanding of how these proteins elicit transcriptional control.The manganese transport regulator MntR 1 is found in Bacillus subtilis and is ...

Metal-Ion Mutagenesis: Conversion of a Purple Acid Phosphatase from Sweet Potato to a Neutral Phosphatase with the Formation of an Unprecedented Catalytically Competent MnIIMnII Active Site

“…The new EPR methodology presented herein will also be useful for the analysis of EPR spectra from other dinuclear Mn metalloenzymes, for example, the 3′-5′ exonuclease DNA proofreading activity from Escherichia coli ( Figure S1, Supporting Information), 58 the glycerophophodiesterase GpdQ from Enterobacter aerogenase, 33 and the manganese transport regulator protein from Bacillus subtilis. 59 …”

AztD, a Periplasmic Zinc Metallochaperone to an ATP-binding Cassette (ABC) Transporter System in Paracoccus denitrificans

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“…Fluorescence excitation spectra were scanned from 250 to 450 nm while monitoring emission at 505 nm. The fluorescence intensities at ex ϭ 330 nm for zinc titrations were fit using the program DYNAFIT (30, 31) using scripts adapted from Golynskiy et al (29).…”

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