title: Quaternary Structure Analyses of an Essential Oligomeric Enzyme.
abstract: Here, we review recent studies aimed at defining the importance of quaternary structure to a model oligomeric enzyme, dihydrodipicolinate synthase. This will illustrate the complementary and synergistic outcomes of coupling the techniques of analytical ultracentrifugation with enzyme kinetics, in vitro mutagenesis, macromolecular crystallography, small angle X-ray scattering, and molecular dynamics simulations, to demonstrate the role of subunit self-association in facilitating protein dynamics and enzyme function. This multitechnique approach has yielded new insights into the molecular evolution of protein quaternary structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Tatiana P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Soares da Costa
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Janni B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Sebastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Desbois
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Shane E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Ruchi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Campbell J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hogan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Tao G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: IBM Research Collaboratory for Life Sciences-Melbourne, Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Matthew T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Downton
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Physics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Chamodi K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Gardhi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Physics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Belinda M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.affiliation: IBM Research Collaboratory for Life Sciences-Melbourne, Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Santosh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panjikar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: m.perugini@latrobe.edu.au.
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Perugini
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006836:Hydro-Lyases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007700:Kinetics; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D021122:Protein Subunits; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle; D014461:Ultracentrifugation; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D021122:Protein Subunits; D006836:Hydro-Lyases; C020040:4-hydroxy-tetrahydrodipicolinate synthase
keywords: Analytical ultracentrifugation; Dihydrodipicolinate synthase; Molecular dynamics simulations; Oligomer; Quaternary structure; Sedimentation equilibrium; Sedimentation velocity; Self-association; Small angle X-ray scattering; X-ray crystallography