PNNL

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are unique in many ways and one unusual feature is the presence of a suite of proteins that contain at least one domain with a minimum of eight tandem repeated five-residues (Rfr) of the general consensus sequence A[N/D]LXX. The function of such pentapeptide repeat proteins (PRPs) are still unknown, however, their prevalence in cyanobacteria suggests that they may play some role in the unique biological activities of cyanobacteria. As part of an inter-disciplinary Membrane Biology Grand Challenge at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) and Washington University in St. Louis, the genome of Cyanothece 51142 was sequenced and its molecular biology studied with relation to circadian rhythms. The genome of Cyanothece encodes for 35 proteins that contain at least one PRP domain. These proteins range in size from 105 (Cce_3102) to 930 (Cce_2929) kDa with the PRP domains ranging in predicted size from 12 (Cce_1545) to 62 (cce_3979) tandem pentapeptide repeats. Transcriptomic studies with 29 out of the 35 genes showed that at least three of the PRPs in Cyanothece 51142 (cce_0029, cce_3083, and cce_3272) oscillated with repeated periods of light and dark, further supporting a biological function for PRPs. Using X-ray diffraction crystallography, the structure for two pentapeptide repeat proteins from Cyanothece 51142 were determined, cce_1272 (aka Rfr32) and cce_4529 (aka Rfr23). Analysis of their molecular structures suggests that all PRP may share the same structural motif, a novel type of right-handed quadrilateral ß-helix, or Rfr-fold, reminiscent of a square tower with four distinct faces. Each pentapeptide repeat occupies one face of the Rfr-fold with four consecutive pentapeptide repeats completing a coil that, in turn, stack upon each other to form “protein skyscrapers”. Details of the structural features of the Rfr-fold are reviewed here together with a discussion for the possible role of end-to-end aggregation in PRPs.