Abstract
Polyamines are essential in all branches of life. Spermidine synthase (putrescine aminopropyltransferase, PAPT) catalyzes the biosynthesis of spermidine, a ubiquitous polyamine. The crystal structure of the PAPT from Thermotoga maritima (TmPAPT) has been solved to 1.5 Γ resolution in the presence and absence of AdoDATO (S-adenosyl-1,8-diamino-3-thiooctane), a compound containing both substrate and product moieties. This, the first structure of an aminopropyltransferase, reveals deep cavities for binding substrate and cofactor, and a loop that envelops the active site. The AdoDATO binding site is lined with residues conserved in PAPT enzymes from bacteria to humans, suggesting a universal catalytic mechanism. Other conserved residues act sterically to provide a structural basis for polyamine specificity. The enzyme is tetrameric; each monomer consists of a C-terminal domain with a Rossmann-like fold and an N-terminal Ξ²-stranded domain. The tetramer is assembled using a novel barrel-type oligomerization motif.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Polyamine-mediated mechanisms contribute to oxidative stress tolerance in Pseudomonas syringae
A polyamine acetyltransferase regulates the motility and biofilm formation of Acinetobacter baumannii
Structure and mechanism of human vesicular polyamine transporter
References
Pegg, A.E. Biochem J. 234, 249β262 (1986).
Pegg, A.E., Poulin, R. & Coward, J.K. Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol. 27, 425β442 (1995).
Lakanen, J.R., Pegg, A.E. & Coward, J.K. J. Med. Chem. 38, 2714β2727 (1995).
Tang, K.C., Pegg, A.E. & Coward, J.K. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 96, 1371β1377 (1980).
Rossmann, M.G., Liljas, A., Branden, C.-I. & Banaszak, L.K. Oxidation-reduction (ed. Boyer, P.D.) 61β102 (Academic Press, New York; 1975).
Fauman, E.B., Blumenthal, R.M. & Cheng, X. S-Adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferases (eds Cheng, X. & Blumenthal, R.M.) 1β38 (World Scientific Publishing, Singapore; 1999).
Holm, L. & Sander, C. Nucleic Acids Res. 24, 206β209 (1996).
Vidgren, J., Svensson, L.A. & Liljas, A. Nature 368, 354β358 (1994).
Fu, Z. et al. Biochemistry 35, 11985β11993 (1996).
Schluckebier, G., Kozak, M., Bleimling, N., Weinhold, E. & Saenger, W. J. Mol. Biol. 265, 56β67 (1997).
Hofmann, K., Bucher, P., Falquet, L. & Bairoch, A. Nucleic Acids Res. 27, 215β219 (1999).
Malone, T., Blumenthal, R.M. & Cheng, X. J. Mol. Biol. 253, 618β632 (1995).
Salminen, T. et al. Protein Sci. 5, 1014β1025 (1996).
Hamana, K. et al. Microbios 94, 7β21 (1998).
Shirahata, A., Takahashi, N., Beppu, T., Hosoda, H. & Samejima, K. Biochem. Pharmacol. 45, 1897β1903 (1993).
Orr, G.J. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 110, 5791β5799 (1988).
Scavetta, R. D. et al. Nucleic Acids Res . 28, 3950β3961 (2000).
Wiest, L. & Pegg, A.E. Methods in molecular biology, Vol. 79 (ed. Morgan, D.M.L.) 51β58 (Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey, 1997).
Zhang, R.-G. et al. Structure 9, 1095β1106 (2001).
Hauptman, H.A. Methods Enzymol. 277, 3β13 (1997).
Terwilliger, T.C. & Berendzen, J. Acta Crystallogr. D 55, 849β861 (1999).
Cowtan, K. & Main, P. Acta Crystallogr. D 54, 487β493 (1998).
Perrakis, A., Morris, R. & Lamzin, V.S. Nature Struct. Biol. 6, 458β463 (1999).
Jones, T.A., Zou, J.Y., Cowan, S.W. & Kjeldgaard . Acta Crystallogr. A 47, 110β119 (1991).
BrΓΌnger, A.T. et al. Acta Crystallogr. D 54, 905β921 (1998).
Abagyan, R.A., Totrov, M.M. & Kuznetsov, D.N. J. Comp. Chem. 15, 488β506 (1994).
Thompson, J.D., Higgins, D.G. & Gibson, T.J. Nucleic Acids Res. 22, 4673β4680 (1994).
Gouet, P., Courcelle, E., Stuart, D.I. & Metoz, F. Bioinformatics 15, 305β308 (1999).
Wallace, A.C., Laskowski, R.A. & Thornton, J.M. Protein Eng. 8, 127β134 (1995).
Laskowski, R.A., MacArthur, M.W., Moss, D.S. & Thornton, J.M. J. App. Crystallogr. 26, 283β291 (1993).
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank all members of the SBC at ANL for their help in conducting experiments and L. Keller for help in preparation of this manuscript. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health; the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research; the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund; and National Institutes of Health. A.M.E. and C.H.A. are CIHR Investigators. The submitted manuscript has been created by the University of Chicago as Operator of Argonne National Laboratory ('Argonne') under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. Government retains for itself, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable worldwide license in said article to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Korolev, S., Ikeguchi, Y., Skarina, T. et al. The crystal structure of spermidine synthase with a multisubstrate adduct inhibitor. Nat Struct Mol Biol 9, 27β31 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb737
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb737
Share this article
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
This article is cited by
-
Characterization of a highly conserved Antheraea pernyi spermidine synthase gene
3 Biotech (2019)
-
A novel inhibitor of Plasmodium falciparum spermidine synthase: a twist in the tail
Malaria Journal (2015)
-
Plant polyamines in abiotic stress responses
Acta Physiologiae Plantarum (2013)
-
Identification and characterization of spermidine synthase gene from Panax ginseng
Molecular Biology Reports (2010)
-
Expression of polyamine biosynthesis genes during parthenocarpic fruit development in Citrus clementina
Planta (2010)
