title: Crystal structure of MraY, an essential membrane enzyme for bacterial cell wall synthesis.
abstract: MraY (phospho-MurNAc-pentapeptide translocase) is an integral membrane enzyme that catalyzes an essential step of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis: the transfer of the peptidoglycan precursor phospho-MurNAc-pentapeptide to the lipid carrier undecaprenyl phosphate. MraY has long been considered a promising target for the development of antibiotics, but the lack of a structure has hindered mechanistic understanding of this critical enzyme and the enzyme superfamily in general. The superfamily includes enzymes involved in bacterial lipopolysaccharide/teichoic acid formation and eukaryotic N-linked glycosylation, modifications that are central in many biological processes. We present the crystal structure of MraY from Aquifex aeolicus (MraYAA) at 3.3 Å resolution, which allows us to visualize the overall architecture, locate Mg(2+) within the active site, and provide a structural basis of catalysis for this class of enzyme.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, 2 Genome Ct, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Ben C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, 2 Genome Ct, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Jinshi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, 2 Genome Ct, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
authors.forename: Do-Yeon
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, 2 Genome Ct, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Ziqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.|Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Jiyong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, 2 Genome Ct, Durham, NC 27710, USA.|Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, 2 Genome Ct, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Seok-Yong
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000201:enzymology; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000201:enzymology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D019897:Periplasm / Q000201:enzymology; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D014166:Transferases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D017855:Transferases (Other Substituted Phosphate Groups)
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D014166:Transferases; D017855:Transferases (Other Substituted Phosphate Groups); C079803:mraY protein, Bacteria