title: Structural studies of lysyl-tRNA synthetase: conformational changes induced by substrate binding.
abstract: Lysyl-tRNA synthetase is a member of the class II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and catalyses the specific aminoacylation of tRNA(Lys). The crystal structure of the constitutive lysyl-tRNA synthetase (LysS) from Escherichia coli has been determined to 2.7 A resolution in the unliganded form and in a complex with the lysine substrate. A comparison between the unliganded and lysine-bound structures reveals major conformational changes upon lysine binding. The lysine substrate is involved in a network of hydrogen bonds. Two of these interactions, one between the alpha-amino group and the carbonyl oxygen of Gly 216 and the other between the carboxylate group and the side chain of Arg 262, trigger a subtle and complicated reorganization of the active site, involving the ordering of two loops (residues 215-217 and 444-455), a change in conformation of residues 393-409, and a rotation of a 4-helix bundle domain (located between motif 2 and 3) by 10 degrees. The result of these changes is a closing up of the active site upon lysine binding.
authors.affiliation: Biophysics Section, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2BZ, UK. s.onesti@ic.ac.uk
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Onesti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Desogus
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brevet
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Plateau
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blanquet
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brick
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D003460:Crystallization; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000201:enzymology; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008239:Lysine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008250:Lysine-tRNA Ligase / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D012343:RNA, Transfer; D008250:Lysine-tRNA Ligase; D008239:Lysine