The CD27L and CTP1L endolysins targeting Clostridia contain a built-in trigger and release factor.

The bacteriophage ΦCD27 is capable of lysing Clostridium difficile, a pathogenic bacterium that is a major cause for nosocomial infection. A recombinant CD27L endolysin lyses C. difficile in vitro, and represents a promising alternative as a bactericide. To better understand the lysis mechanism, we...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Matthew Dunne, Haydyn D T Mertens, Vasiliki Garefalaki, Cy M Jeffries, Andrew Thompson, Edward A Lemke, Dmitri I Svergun, Melinda J Mayer, Arjan Narbad, Rob Meijers
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-07-01
Series:PLoS Pathogens
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1004228&type=printable
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849331093751201792
author Matthew Dunne
Haydyn D T Mertens
Vasiliki Garefalaki
Cy M Jeffries
Andrew Thompson
Edward A Lemke
Dmitri I Svergun
Melinda J Mayer
Arjan Narbad
Rob Meijers
author_facet Matthew Dunne
Haydyn D T Mertens
Vasiliki Garefalaki
Cy M Jeffries
Andrew Thompson
Edward A Lemke
Dmitri I Svergun
Melinda J Mayer
Arjan Narbad
Rob Meijers
author_sort Matthew Dunne
collection DOAJ
description The bacteriophage ΦCD27 is capable of lysing Clostridium difficile, a pathogenic bacterium that is a major cause for nosocomial infection. A recombinant CD27L endolysin lyses C. difficile in vitro, and represents a promising alternative as a bactericide. To better understand the lysis mechanism, we have determined the crystal structure of an autoproteolytic fragment of the CD27L endolysin. The structure covers the C-terminal domain of the endolysin, and represents a novel fold that is identified in a number of lysins that target Clostridia bacteria. The structure indicates endolysin cleavage occurs at the stem of the linker connecting the catalytic domain with the C-terminal domain. We also solved the crystal structure of the C-terminal domain of a slow cleaving mutant of the CTP1L endolysin that targets C. tyrobutyricum. Two distinct dimerization modes are observed in the crystal structures for both endolysins, despite a sequence identity of only 22% between the domains. The dimers are validated to be present for the full length protein in solution by right angle light scattering, small angle X-ray scattering and cross-linking experiments using the cross-linking amino acid p-benzoyl-L-phenylalanine (pBpa). Mutagenesis on residues contributing to the dimer interfaces indicates that there is a link between the dimerization modes and the autocleavage mechanism. We show that for the CTP1L endolysin, there is a reduction in lysis efficiency that is proportional to the cleavage efficiency. We propose a model for endolysin triggering, where the extended dimer presents the inactive state, and a switch to the side-by-side dimer triggers the cleavage of the C-terminal domain. This leads to the release of the catalytic portion of the endolysin, enabling the efficient digestion of the bacterial cell wall.
format Article
id doaj-art-76e1091774d84f3ca598478c1eec7367
institution Kabale University
issn 1553-7366
1553-7374
language English
publishDate 2014-07-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS Pathogens
spelling doaj-art-76e1091774d84f3ca598478c1eec73672025-08-20T03:46:43ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Pathogens1553-73661553-73742014-07-01107e100422810.1371/journal.ppat.1004228The CD27L and CTP1L endolysins targeting Clostridia contain a built-in trigger and release factor.Matthew DunneHaydyn D T MertensVasiliki GarefalakiCy M JeffriesAndrew ThompsonEdward A LemkeDmitri I SvergunMelinda J MayerArjan NarbadRob MeijersThe bacteriophage ΦCD27 is capable of lysing Clostridium difficile, a pathogenic bacterium that is a major cause for nosocomial infection. A recombinant CD27L endolysin lyses C. difficile in vitro, and represents a promising alternative as a bactericide. To better understand the lysis mechanism, we have determined the crystal structure of an autoproteolytic fragment of the CD27L endolysin. The structure covers the C-terminal domain of the endolysin, and represents a novel fold that is identified in a number of lysins that target Clostridia bacteria. The structure indicates endolysin cleavage occurs at the stem of the linker connecting the catalytic domain with the C-terminal domain. We also solved the crystal structure of the C-terminal domain of a slow cleaving mutant of the CTP1L endolysin that targets C. tyrobutyricum. Two distinct dimerization modes are observed in the crystal structures for both endolysins, despite a sequence identity of only 22% between the domains. The dimers are validated to be present for the full length protein in solution by right angle light scattering, small angle X-ray scattering and cross-linking experiments using the cross-linking amino acid p-benzoyl-L-phenylalanine (pBpa). Mutagenesis on residues contributing to the dimer interfaces indicates that there is a link between the dimerization modes and the autocleavage mechanism. We show that for the CTP1L endolysin, there is a reduction in lysis efficiency that is proportional to the cleavage efficiency. We propose a model for endolysin triggering, where the extended dimer presents the inactive state, and a switch to the side-by-side dimer triggers the cleavage of the C-terminal domain. This leads to the release of the catalytic portion of the endolysin, enabling the efficient digestion of the bacterial cell wall.https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1004228&type=printable
spellingShingle Matthew Dunne
Haydyn D T Mertens
Vasiliki Garefalaki
Cy M Jeffries
Andrew Thompson
Edward A Lemke
Dmitri I Svergun
Melinda J Mayer
Arjan Narbad
Rob Meijers
The CD27L and CTP1L endolysins targeting Clostridia contain a built-in trigger and release factor.
PLoS Pathogens
title The CD27L and CTP1L endolysins targeting Clostridia contain a built-in trigger and release factor.
title_full The CD27L and CTP1L endolysins targeting Clostridia contain a built-in trigger and release factor.
title_fullStr The CD27L and CTP1L endolysins targeting Clostridia contain a built-in trigger and release factor.
title_full_unstemmed The CD27L and CTP1L endolysins targeting Clostridia contain a built-in trigger and release factor.
title_short The CD27L and CTP1L endolysins targeting Clostridia contain a built-in trigger and release factor.
title_sort cd27l and ctp1l endolysins targeting clostridia contain a built in trigger and release factor
url https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1004228&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT matthewdunne thecd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT haydyndtmertens thecd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT vasilikigarefalaki thecd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT cymjeffries thecd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT andrewthompson thecd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT edwardalemke thecd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT dmitriisvergun thecd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT melindajmayer thecd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT arjannarbad thecd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT robmeijers thecd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT matthewdunne cd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT haydyndtmertens cd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT vasilikigarefalaki cd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT cymjeffries cd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT andrewthompson cd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT edwardalemke cd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT dmitriisvergun cd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT melindajmayer cd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT arjannarbad cd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor
AT robmeijers cd27landctp1lendolysinstargetingclostridiacontainabuiltintriggerandreleasefactor