title: Spectroscopic evidence for an engineered, catalytically active Trp radical that creates the unique reactivity of lignin peroxidase.
abstract: The surface oxidation site (Trp-171) in lignin peroxidase (LiP) required for the reaction with veratryl alcohol a high-redox-potential (1.4 V) substrate, was engineered into Coprinus cinereus peroxidase (CiP) by introducing a Trp residue into a heme peroxidase that has similar protein fold but lacks this activity. To create the catalytic activity toward veratryl alcohol in CiP, it was necessary to reproduce the Trp site and its negatively charged microenvironment by means of a triple mutation. The resulting D179W+R258E+R272D variant was characterized by multifrequency EPR spectroscopy. The spectra unequivocally showed that a new Trp radical [g values of g(x) = 2.0035(5), g(y) = 2.0027(5), and g(z) = 2.0022(1)] was formed after the [Fe(IV)=O Por(*+)] intermediate, as a result of intramolecular electron transfer between Trp-179 and the porphyrin. Also, the EPR characterization crucially showed that [Fe(IV)=O Trp-179(*)] was the reactive intermediate with veratryl alcohol. Accordingly, our work shows that it is necessary to take into account the physicochemical properties of the radical, fine-tuned by the microenvironment, as well as those of the preceding [Fe(IV)=O Por(*+)] intermediate to engineer a catalytically competent Trp site for a given substrate. Manipulation of the microenvironment of the Trp-171 site in LiP allowed the detection by EPR spectroscopy of the Trp-171(*), for which direct evidence has been missing so far. Our work also highlights the role of Trp residues as tunable redox-active cofactors for enzyme catalysis in the context of peroxidases with a unique reactivity toward recalcitrant substrates that require oxidation potentials not realized at the heme site.
authors.affiliation: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité de Recherche Associée 2096 and Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Institut de Biologie et des Technologies Saclay, Laboratoire des Hyperfréquences, Metalloprotéines et Sytèmes de Spin, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France. a.t.smith@sussex.ac.uk
authors.forename: Andrew T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Wendy A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Doyle
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dorlet
authors.forename: Anabella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ivancich
mesh_terms: D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D001592:Benzyl Alcohols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002384:Catalysis; D003302:Coprinus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D009154:Mutation; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010544:Peroxidases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001592:Benzyl Alcohols; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D014364:Tryptophan; D010544:Peroxidases; C042858:lignin peroxidase; D009195:Peroxidase; C042197:veratryl alcohol