Polypeptides, biosynthesis

DE Cane. Introduction polyketide and nonribosomal polypeptide biosynthesis. From Collie to Coli. Chem Rev 97 2463-2464, 1997. 

Cane, D. E., ed. (1997). Polyketide and nonribosomal polypeptide biosynthesis. Chemical Reviews, 97, 2463-706 (includes 13 papers on the topic). 

TABLE I. Changes in polypeptide biosynthesis in response to levulinic acid. 

In the case of QAs it has been demonstrated that the decarboxylation of lysine to cadaverine is the first step of their biosynthesis (see review in Wink, 1985). In contrast with the pyrrolidine alkaloids, which are mainly synthesized in the roots, the biosynthesis of QAs occurs in the aerial parts. The enzyme of QA formation (LE)C) was demonstrated in leaves of Lupinus polyphyllus (Wink and Hartmann, 1981) and subsequently localized in the stroma of chloroplasts (Wink and Hartmann, 1982). In QA alkaloid-bearing cultures of Heimia sali-cifolia, LEXT activity was found to be positively correlated with chlorophyll levels (Pelosi et al, 1986). It appears that QAs act not only in nitrogen storage, nitrogen transport, and chemical defense (Wink, 1985), but also in the regulation of polypeptide biosynthesis (Twardowski et al, 1982). 

Much of protein engineering concerns attempts to explore the relationship between protein stmcture and function. Proteins are polymers of amino acids (qv), which have general stmcture +H3N—CHR—COO , where R, the amino acid side chain, determines the unique identity and hence the stmcture and reactivity of the amino acid (Fig. 1, Table 1). Formation of a polypeptide or protein from the constituent amino acids involves the condensation of the amino-nitrogen of one residue to the carboxylate-carbon of another residue to form an amide, also called peptide, bond and water. The linear order in which amino acids are linked in the protein is called the primary stmcture of the protein or, more commonly, the amino acid sequence. Only 20 amino acid stmctures are used commonly in the cellular biosynthesis of proteins (qv). 

Figure 4.7 Two of the enzymatic activities involved in the biosynthesis of tryptophan in E. coli, phosphoribosyl anthranilate (PRA) isomerase and indoleglycerol phosphate (IGP) synthase, are performed by two separate domains in the polypeptide chain of a bifunctional enzyme. Both these domains are a/p-barrel structures, oriented such that their active sites are on opposite sides of the molecule. The two catalytic reactions are therefore independent of each other. The diagram shows the IGP-synthase domain (residues 48-254) with dark colors and the PRA-isomerase domain with light colors. The a helices are sequentially labeled a-h in both barrel domains. Residue 255 (arrow) is the first residue of the second domain. (Adapted from J.P. Priestle et al., Proc.

Ribosomal RNAs characteristically contain a number of specially modified nucleotides, including pseudouridine residues, ribothymidylic acid, and methylated bases (Figure 11.26). The central role of ribosomes in the biosynthesis of proteins is treated in detail in Chapter 33. Here we briefly note the significant point that genetic information in the nucleotide sequence of an mRNA is translated into the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide chain by ribosomes. 

Transfer RNA (tRNA) serves as a carrier of amino acid residues for protein synthesis. Transfer RNA molecules also fold into a characteristic secondary structure (marginal figure). The amino acid is attached as an aminoacyl ester to the 3 -terminus of the tRNA. Aminoacyl-tRNAs are the substrates for protein biosynthesis. The tRNAs are the smallest RNAs (size range—23 to 30 kD) and contain 73 to 94 residues, a substantial number of which are methylated or otherwise unusually modified. Transfer RNA derives its name from its role as the carrier of amino acids during the process of protein synthesis (see Chapters 32 and 33). Each of the 20 amino acids of proteins has at least one unique tRNA species dedicated to chauffeuring its delivery to ribosomes for insertion into growing polypeptide chains, and some amino acids are served by several tRNAs. For example, five different tRNAs act in the transfer of leucine into... 

As well as donating electrons to the MoFe protein, the Fe protein has at least two and possibly three other functions (see Section IV,C) It is involved in the biosynthesis of the iron molybdenum cofactor, FeMoco it is required for insertion of the FeMoco into the MoFe protein polypeptides and it has been implicated in the regulation of the biosynthesis of the alternative nitrogenases. 

Fe protein polypeptide NifH is also involved in FeMoco and MoFe protein biosynthesis MoFe protein polypeptides... 

The complex series of events in collagen maturation provide a model that illustrates the biologic consequences of incomplete polypeptide maturation. The best-known defect in collagen biosynthesis is scurvy, a result of a dietary deficiency of vitamin C required by... 

Five of the first six enzyme activities of pyrimidine biosynthesis reside on multifunctional polypeptides. One such polypeptide catalyzes the first three reactions of Figure 34-2 and ensures efficient channeling of carbamoyl phosphate to pyrimidine biosynthesis. A second bifunctional enzyme catalyzes reactions 5 and 6. 

Although carotenogenesis in plants takes place in plastids, all of the carotenoid biosynthesis genes are nuclear encoded and their polypeptide products are imported into the plastids. Therefore, they contain a N-terminal transit peptide sequence. For example, the size of the transit peptide of PSY from ripe tomato fruit is approximately 9 kDa, corresponding to about 80 amino acid residues (Misawa et al, 1994). 

Many different glycosyltransferase activities involved in higher plant wall biosynthesis have been identified in cell free membrane fractions, but in only a few cases has glycosyltransferase activity been retained in detergent-solubilized preparations, and in even fewer cases have any purified polypeptides been identified as plant cell wall glycosyltransferases (29,33). 

There are at least three types of PKS. Type I PKSs catalyze the biosynthesis of macrolides such as erythromycin and rapamycin. As modular enzymes, they contain separate catalytic modules for each reaction catalyzed sequentially in the polyketide biosynthetic pathway. Type II PKSs have only a few active sites on separate polypeptides, and the active sites are used iteratively, catalyzing the biosynthesis of bacterial aromatic polyketides. Type III are fungal PKSs they are hybrids of type I and type II PKSs [49,50]. 

Biosynthesis as a tandemly repetitive polypeptide which is cleaved into multiple functionally similar proteins is highly unusual, and the only similar examples are the filaggrins of the skin of mammals (Rothnagel and Steinert, 1990). The reason why NPAs and filaggrins are produced in this way remains obscure. If a protein needs to be produced in large quantities rapidly, then a polyprotein would seem advantageous, but it seems inefficient for a genome to encode multiple copies of a protein when one will do, and other abundantly produced proteins are produced in the conventional... 

The ribosome is a ribozyme this is how Cech (2000) commented on the report by Nissen et al. (2000) in Science on the successful proof of ribozyme action in the formation of the peptide bond at the ribosome. It has been known for more than 30 years that in the living cell, the peptidyl transferase activity of the ribosome is responsible for the formation of the peptide bond. This process, which takes place at the large ribosome subunit, is the most important reaction of protein biosynthesis. The determination of the molecular mechanism required more than 20 years of intensive work in several research laboratories. The key components in the ribosomes of all life forms on Earth are almost the same. It thus seems justified to assume that protein synthesis in a (still unknown) common ancestor of all living systems was catalysed by a similarly structured unit. For example, in the case of the bacterium E. coli, the two subunits which form the ribosome consist of 3 rRNA strands and 57 polypeptides. Until the beginning of the 1980s it was considered certain that the formation of the peptide bond at the ribozyme could only be carried out by ri-bosomal proteins. However, doubts were expressed soon after the discovery of the ribozymes, and the possibility of the participation of ribozymes in peptide formation was discussed. 

Biosynthesis of the polypeptide chain is realised by a complicated process called translation. The basic polypeptide chain is subsequently chemically modified by the so-called posttranslational modifications. During this sequence of events the peptide chain can be cleaved by directed proteolysis, some of the amino acids can be covalently modified (hydroxylated, dehydrogenated, amidated, etc.) or different so-called prosthetic groups such as haem (haemoproteins), phosphate residues (phosphoproteins), metal ions (metal-loproteins) or (oligo)saccharide chains (glycoproteins) can be attached to the molecule by covalent bonds. Naturally, one protein molecule can be modified by more means. 

Upon biosynthesis, a polypeptide folds into its native conformation, which is structurally stable and functionally active. The conformation adopted ultimately depends upon the polypeptide s amino acid sequence, explaining why different polypeptide types have different characteristic conformations. We have previously noted that stretches of secondary structure are stabilized by short-range interactions between adjacent amino acid residues. Tertiary structure, on the other hand, is stabilized by interactions between amino acid residues that may be far apart from each other in terms of amino acid sequence, but which are brought into close proximity by protein folding. The major stabilizing forces of a polypeptide s overall conformation are ... 

The Li+-induced inhibition of the production of the HSV virus may be related to its actions upon viral DNA polymerase production and activity. Li+ reduces both the synthesis of DNA polymerase in tissue culture and the activity of DNA polymerase in vitro, each by about 50%. It has been proposed that Li+ reduces the biosynthesis of viral polypeptides and nucleic acids, and hence inhibits viral DNA replication by competition with Mg2+, a cofactor of many enzymes [243]. However, the inhibitory effect of Li+ on HSV replication in tissue culture is not affected by Mg2+ levels. A more likely hypothesis is the alteration of the intracellular K+ levels, possibly modifying levels of the high-energy phosphate compounds by replacement of either Na+ or K+ in Na+/K+-ATPase [244]. In tissue culture, HSV replication has been shown to be affected by the... 

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