Structural insights into the catalytic mechanism of the microcystin tailoring enzyme McyI

Abstract The most common cyanotoxin microcystin is a cyclic heptapeptide produced by non-ribosomal peptide-polyketide synthetases and tailoring enzymes. The tailoring enzyme McyI, a 2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase, converts (3-methyl)malate into (3-methyl)oxaloacetate to produce the non-proteinogenic am...

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Main Authors: Xiao Wang, Yue Yin, Wen-Long Cheng, Ya-Fei Duan, Yu-Shuai Li, Jia Wang, Mingzhu Wang, Huai-En Dai, Lin Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Communications Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08008-9
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Summary:Abstract The most common cyanotoxin microcystin is a cyclic heptapeptide produced by non-ribosomal peptide-polyketide synthetases and tailoring enzymes. The tailoring enzyme McyI, a 2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase, converts (3-methyl)malate into (3-methyl)oxaloacetate to produce the non-proteinogenic amino acid (3-methyl)aspartate. The reaction is NAD(P)-dependent but the catalytic mechanism remains unclear. Here we describe the crystal structures of McyI at three states: bound with copurified NAD, cocrystallized with NAD/NADP, and cocrystallized with malate or the substrate analogue citrate. An McyI protomer has unusual three nicotinamide cofactor-binding sites, named the NAD-prebound, NADP specific, and non-specific sites. Biochemical studies confirmed the NADP preference during oxidoreductase reaction. Molecular basis for McyI catalysis was revealed by the structures of McyI-NAD binary complex, McyI-NAD-NADP and McyI-NAD-malate ternary complexes, which demonstrate different opening angles between the substrate-binding domain and the nucleotide-binding domain. These findings indicate that McyI is a unique member of the 2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase superfamily and provide detailed structural insights into its catalytic mechanism. In addition, the structural ensemble representing various binding states offers clues for designing enzyme for bioengineering applications.
ISSN:2399-3642