Author:
Park Si Hoon,Park Jaehyun,Lee Sang Jae,Yang Woo Seok,Park Sehan,Kim Kyungdo,Park Zee-Yong,Song Hyun Kyu
Abstract
Abstract
The hydroxymethylation of cytosine bases plays a vital role in the phage DNA protection system inside the host Escherichia coli. This modification is known to be catalyzed by the dCMP hydroxymethylase from bacteriophage T4 (T4dCH); structural information on the complexes with the substrate, dCMP and the co-factor, tetrahydrofolate is currently available. However, the detailed mechanism has not been understood clearly owing to a lack of structure in the complex with a reaction intermediate. We have applied the X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) technique to determine a high-resolution structure of a T4dCH D179N active site mutant. The XFEL structure was determined at room temperature and exhibited several unique features in comparison with previously determined structures. Unexpectedly, we observed a bulky electron density at the active site of the mutant that originated from the physiological host (i.e., E. coli). Mass-spectrometric analysis and a cautious interpretation of an electron density map indicated that it was a dTMP molecule. The bound dTMP mimicked the methylene intermediate from dCMP to 5′-hydroxymethy-dCMP, and a critical water molecule for the final hydroxylation was convincingly identified. Therefore, this study provides information that contributes to the understanding of hydroxymethylation.
Funder
National Research Foundation of Korea
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Cited by
2 articles.
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