Niefind KarstenUniversity of Cologne, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, Otto-Fischer-Strss 12-14, 50674 Koln GermanyPhone : Fax : Send E-Mail to Niefind Karsten
Title: Arabidopsis immunity regulator EDS1 in a PAD4/SAG101-unbound form is a monomer with an inherently inactive conformation Voss M, Toelzer C, Bhandari DD, Parker JE, Niefind K Ref: J Struct Biol, 208:107390, 2019 : PubMed
In plant innate immunity, enhanced disease susceptibility 1 (EDS1) integrates all pathogen-induced signals transmitted by TIR-type NLR receptors. Driven by an N-terminal alpha/beta-hydrolase-fold domain with a protruding interaction helix, EDS1 assembles with two homologs, phytoalexin-deficient 4 (PAD4) and senescence-associated gene 101 (SAG101). The resulting heterodimers are critical for EDS1 function and structurally well characterized. Here, we resolve solution and crystal structures of unbound Arabidopsis thaliana EDS1 (AtEDS1) using nanobodies for crystallization. These structures, together with gel filtration and immunoprecipitation data, show that PAD4/SAG101-unbound AtEDS1 is stable as a monomer and does not form the homodimers recorded in public databases. Its PAD4/SAG101 anchoring helix is disordered unless engaged in protein/protein interactions. As in the complex with SAG101, monomeric AtEDS1 has a substrate-inaccessible esterase triad with a blocked oxyanion hole and without space for a covalent acyl intermediate. These new structures suggest that the AtEDS1 monomer represents an inactive or pre-activated ground state.
Title: A novel esterase subfamily with alpha/beta-hydrolase fold suggested by structures of two bacterial enzymes homologous to l-homoserine O-acetyl transferases Tolzer C, Pal S, Watzlawick H, Altenbuchner J, Niefind K Ref: FEBS Letters, 590:174, 2016 : PubMed
MekB from Pseudomonas veronii and CgHle from Corynebacteriumglutamicum belong to the superfamily of alpha/beta-hydrolase fold proteins. Based on sequence comparisons, they are annotated as homoserine transacetylases in popular databases like UNIPROT, PFAM or ESTHER. However, experimentally, MekB and CgHle were shown to be esterases that hydrolyse preferentially acetic acid esters. We describe the x-ray structures of these enzymes solved to high resolution. The overall structures confirm the close relatedness to experimentally validated homoserine acetyl transferases, but simultaneously the structures exclude the ability of MekB and CgHle to bind homoserine and acetyl-CoA. Insofar the MekB and CgHle structures suggest dividing the homoserine transacetylase family into subfamilies, namely genuine acetyl transferases and acetyl esterases with MekB and CgHle as constituting members of the latter.
Biotrophic plant pathogens encounter a postinfection basal resistance layer controlled by the lipase-like protein enhanced disease susceptibility 1 (EDS1) and its sequence-related interaction partners, senescence-associated gene 101 (SAG101) and phytoalexin deficient 4 (PAD4). Maintainance of separate EDS1 family member clades through angiosperm evolution suggests distinct functional attributes. We report the Arabidopsis EDS1-SAG101 heterodimer crystal structure with juxtaposed N-terminal alpha/beta hydrolase and C-terminal alpha-helical EP domains aligned via a large conserved interface. Mutational analysis of the EDS1-SAG101 heterodimer and a derived EDS1-PAD4 structural model shows that EDS1 signals within mutually exclusive heterocomplexes. Although there is evolutionary conservation of alpha/beta hydrolase topology in all three proteins, a noncatalytic resistance mechanism is indicated. Instead, the respective N-terminal domains appear to facilitate binding of the essential EP domains to create novel interaction surfaces on the heterodimer. Transitions between distinct functional EDS1 heterodimers might explain the central importance and versatility of this regulatory node in plant immunity.
* Enhanced Disease Susceptibility1 (EDS1) is an important regulator of plant basal and receptor-triggered immunity. Arabidopsis EDS1 interacts with two related proteins, Phytoalexin Deficient4 (PAD4) and Senescence Associated Gene101 (SAG101), whose combined activities are essential for defense signaling. The different sizes and intracellular distributions of EDS1-PAD4 and EDS1-SAG101 complexes in Arabidopsis leaf tissues suggest that they perform nonredundant functions. * The nature and biological relevance of EDS1 interactions with PAD4 and SAG101 were explored using yeast three-hybrid assays, in vitro analysis of recombinant proteins purified from Escherichia coli, and characterization of Arabidopsis transgenic plants expressing an eds1 mutant (eds1(L262P) ) protein which no longer binds PAD4 but retains interaction with SAG101. * EDS1 forms molecularly distinct complexes with PAD4 or SAG101 without additional plant factors. Loss of interaction with EDS1 reduces PAD4 post-transcriptional accumulation, consistent with the EDS1 physical association stabilizing PAD4. The dissociated forms of EDS1 and PAD4 are fully competent in signaling receptor-triggered localized cell death at infection foci. By contrast, an EDS1-PAD4 complex is necessary for basal resistance involving transcriptional up-regulation of PAD4 itself and mobilization of salicylic acid defenses. * Different EDS1 and PAD4 molecular configurations have distinct and separable functions in the plant innate immune response.
Title: Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana EDS1, a key component of plant immunity, in complex with its signalling partner SAG101 Wagner S, Rietz S, Parker JE, Niefind K Ref: Acta Crystallographica Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun, 67:245, 2011 : PubMed
In plants, the nucleocytoplasmic protein EDS1 (Enhanced disease susceptibility1) is an important regulator of innate immunity, coordinating host-cell defence and cell-death programs in response to pathogen attack. Arabidopsis thaliana EDS1 stabilizes and signals together with its partners PAD4 (Phytoalexin deficient4) and SAG101 (Senescence-associated gene101). Characterization of EDS1 molecular configurations in vitro and in vivo points to the formation of structurally and spatially distinct EDS1 homomeric dimers and EDS1 heteromeric complexes with either PAD4 or SAG101 as necessary components of the immune response. EDS1, PAD4 and SAG101 constitute a plant-specific protein family with a unique `EP' (EDS1-PAD4-specific) domain at their C-termini and an N-terminal domain resembling enzymes with an alpha/beta-hydrolase fold. Here, the expression, purification and crystallization of a functional EDS1 complex formed by EDS1 and SAG101 from Arabidopsis thaliana are reported. The crystals belonged to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 101.8, b = 115.9, c = 122.8 A, and diffracted to 3.5 A resolution.
Title: Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of cgHle, a homoserine acetyltransferase homologue, from Corynebacterium glutamicum Tolzer C, Pal S, Watzlawick H, Altenbuchner J, Niefind K Ref: Acta Crystallographica Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun, 65:34, 2009 : PubMed
CgHle is an enzyme that is encoded by gene cg0961 from Corynebacterium glutamicum. The physiological function of cgHle is so far unclear. Bioinformatic annotations based on sequence homology indicated that cgHle may be an acetyl-CoA:homoserine acetyl transferase and as such may be involved in methionine biosynthesis, but recent evidence has shown that it is an esterase that catalyzes the hydrolysis of acetyl esters. Here, the crystallization of cgHle in two orthorhombic crystal forms, a trigonal crystal form and a monoclinic crystal form is described. The trigonal crystals have a solvent content of 83.7%, which is one of the highest solvent contents ever found for protein crystals. One of the orthorhombic crystals diffracted X-rays to at least 1.2 A resolution.
Title: Expression, purification, and aggregation studies of His-tagged thermoalkalophilic lipase from Bacillus thermocatenulatus Schlieben NH, Niefind K, Schomburg D Ref: Protein Expr Purif, 34:103, 2004 : PubMed
The His-tagged lipase BTL2 from Bacillus thermocatenulatus was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity by a simple, one-step purification protocol using immobilized metal affinity chromatography. The success of protein separation and purification was pH-dependent and increased with decreasing pH. The purified BTL2 lipase showed a strong tendency to aggregate upon concentration, which prevented a reproducible crystallization. Aggregation studies using dynamic light-scattering (DLS) analysis were performed to improve the purification and concentration of BTL2 lipase. Different chemical classes of additives were tested to manipulate the aggregation behaviour of BTL2 lipase with the aim of obtaining a monodisperse sample to use for crystallization. For the process of concentration of BTL2 lipase in monomeric form, the alcohol 2-propanol and the ionic detergent dodecyl dimethylamine-N-oxide (LDAO) were found to be necessary. For the concentrated lipase, the availability of 5% 2-propanol was sufficient to hold the lipase in monomeric form and no additional detergent was needed.
