Bacillus anthracis is the obligate pathogen of fatal inhalational anthrax, so studies of its genes and proteins are strictly regulated. An alternative approach is to study orthologous genes. We describe biophysicochemical studies of a B. anthracis ortholog in B. cereus, bc1531, requiring minimal experimental equipment and lacking serious safety concerns.
To overcome safety restrictions and regulations when studying genes and proteins from true pathogens, their homologues can be studied. Bacillus anthracis is an obligate pathogen that causes fatal inhalational anthrax. Bacillus cereus is considered a useful model for studying B. anthracis due to its close evolutionary relationship. The gene cluster ba1554 – ba1558 of B. anthracis is highly conserved with the bc1531– bc1535 cluster in B. cereus, as well as with the bt1364-bt1368 cluster in Bacillus thuringiensis, indicating the critical role of the associated genes in the Bacillus genus. This manuscript describes methods to prepare and characterize a protein product of the first gene (ba1554) from the gene cluster in B. anthracis using a recombinant protein of its ortholog in B. cereus, bc1531.
Recombinant protein expression is widely used to overcome problems associated with natural protein sources, such as limited protein quantities and harmful contamination. Moreover, in studies of pathogenic genes and proteins, an alternative laboratory strain that does not require additional safety precautions can be utilized. For example, Bacillus cereus is a useful model for studying Bacillus anthracis due to their close evolutionary relationship1.
B. anthracis is an obligate pathogen that causes fatal inhalational anthrax in humans and livestock and can potentially be used as a bioweapon2. Thus, laboratory studies on B. anthracis are strictly regulated by the US Centers for Disease Control, requiring biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) practices, which mandate that the laboratory area be segregated with negative room pressure. In contrast to B. anthracis, B. cereus is categorized as a BSL-1 agent and thus has minimal safety concerns. B. cereus is an opportunistic pathogen that, upon infection, causes food poisoning that can be treated without medical assistance. However, because B. cereus shares many critical genes with B. anthracis, the functions of B. anthracis proteins can be studied using the corresponding homologs of B. cereus1.
The ba1554 – ba1558 gene cluster of B. anthracis is highly conserved with the bc1531– bc1535 cluster of B. cereus, as well as with the bt1364-bt1368 cluster of Bacillus thuringiensis, in terms of gene organization and sequence. Furthermore, the first genes (ba1554, bc1531, and bt1364) of the respective clusters are absolutely conserved (i.e., 100% nucleotide sequence identity), implying a critical role of the gene product in the Bacillus species. Due to its location in these gene clusters, ba1554 was misidentified as a putative transcription regulator3. However, amino acid sequence analysis of the ba1554 product indicates that it belongs to the MazG family, which has nucleotide pyrophosphohydrolase activity and is not associated with transcription factor activity4,5. Although proteins belonging to the MazG family are diverse with respect to overall sequence and length, they share a common ~100-residue MazG domain characterized by an EXXE12-28EXXD motif ("X" stands for any amino acid residue, and the number indicates the number of X residues).
The MazG domain does not always directly account for a certain catalytic activity. A MazG member from Escherichia coli (EcMazG) possesses two MazG domains, but only the C-terminal MazG domain is enzymatically active6. Moreover, the substrate specificity of MazG enzymes varies from non-specific nucleoside triphosphates (for EcMazG) to specific dCTP/dATP (for integrin-associated MazG) and dUTP (for dUTPases)6,7,8,9. Therefore, biophysicochemical analyses of the BA1554 protein are necessary to confirm its NTPase activity and to decipher its substrate specificity.
Here, we provide a step-by-step protocol that most laboratories without a BSL-3 facility can follow to characterize the protein product of the B. cereus bc1531 gene, which is an ortholog of B. anthracis ba1554, at the molecular level. Briefly, recombinant BC1531 (rBC1531) was expressed in E. coli and purified using an affinity tag. For X-ray crystallographic experiments, the crystallization conditions of the rBC1531 protein were screened and optimized. To assess the enzymatic activity of rBC1531, NTPase activity was monitored colorimetrically to avoid radioactively labeled nucleotides that have been conventionally used. Finally, analyses of the obtained biophysicochemical data enabled us to determine the oligomerization state and catalytic parameters of rBC1531, as well as to obtain X-ray diffraction data from the rBC1531 crystal.
1. Recombinant Protein Production and Purification of rBC1531
2. Crystallization Screening and Optimization of rBC1531
3. Characterization of the Nucleoside Triphosphatase (NTPase) Activity of rBC1531
Characterization of the protein of interest in this study began by preparing a sufficient quantity of recombinant B. cereus bc1531 (rBC1531) protein, preferably more than several milligrams. The DNA fragment encoding the BC1531 protein was prepared by PCR using the genomic DNA of B. cereus as a template, as it contains orthologous genes identical to ba1554. rBC1531 was overexpressed as a soluble protein in E. coli cells. The rBC1531 protein was expressed with a 6x-Histidine tag and a thrombin cleavage site at its N-terminus12. As a first step of purification, rBC1531 was purified by nickel-affinity chromatography (Figure 1A). Next, a thrombin digestion trial was performed to determine the lowest amount of thrombin required for the complete digestion of the affinity tag from rBC1531 (Figure 1A). In our hands, 0.3 units of thrombin was sufficient to completely remove the affinity tag from rBC1531. Thus, when scaling, 10 mg of rBC1531 was treated with 60 units of thrombin for tag removal. After thrombin digestion, the tag-free rBC1531 was applied to a SEC column to remove any soluble aggregates and higher- or lower-molecular weight contaminants. The rBC1531 fractions were analyzed by SDS-PAGE, the results of which suggested that rBC1531 was ~99% pure (Figure 1A). Overall, 1 L of culture yielded ~8 mg of rBC1531 protein.
To estimate the oligomeric status of rBC1531, SEC was performed. A standard linear curve that correlates the log value of the molecular weights of the samples with their corresponding elution volumes was plotted using the peaks of the protein standards (Figure 1B). rBC1531 was eluted at an elution volume of ~84 mL, and its apparent molecular weight was estimated as ~55 kDa. Given that the calculated molecular weight of the rBC1531 monomer is ~13 kDa, these results indicate that rBC1531 assembles as a tetramer.
Purified rBC1531 was screened for crystallization using ~400 conditions in a sitting-drop vapor diffusion method. The rBC1531 crystals appeared in ~2 days at two conditions: condition-A, 0.1 M sodium citrate (pH 5.5) and 20% PEG 3000 (Figure 2A) and condition-B, 0.1 M sodium cacodylate (pH 6.5) and 1.0 M sodium citrate (Figure 2B). The crystallization conditions were optimized by varying the pH (0.1 M sodium citrate, pH 5.0-6.0) and the concentration of PEG 3000 (18-21% PEG 3000) from condition-A and by modifying the pH (0.1 M sodium cacodylate, pH 5.5-6.8) and salt concentration (0.9-1.2 M sodium citrate) from condition-B. Diffraction-suitable crystals were obtained only for condition-B, whereas the crystals from condition-A tended to be inter-grown rather than singular. Condition-B crystals diffracted X-rays to a resolution of 2.74 Å (Figure 2C) and were used for rBC1531 structure determination.
The observation of a conserved MazG domain in the BA1554 protein sequence suggested the presence of NTPase activity capable of hydrolyzing NTPs. NTP hydrolysis generally yields nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) and inorganic phosphate (Pi), or nucleoside monophosphate (NMP) and pyrophosphate (PPi). PPi requires additional pyrophosphatase activity to yield Pi. Levels of Pi can be directly measured using molybdate, which forms a blue-colored complex with Pi (molybdate-Pi) that can be monitored using the optical density at a wavelength of 690 nm (OD690nm) (Figure 3A). In our study, after NTP hydrolysis by rBC1531, no visible blue color was produced after adding molybdate (Figure 3B). However, when pyrophosphatase was added to the rBC1531-mediated NTP hydrolysis reaction, the color changed to deep blue (Figure 3B), indicating that rBC1531 has NTP pyrophosphohydrolase activity. A plot of the OD690nm and NTP concentration was analyzed using a non-linear regression method to determine the kinetic parameters (Vmax of 0.75 and Km of 10 µM) for the rBC1531 enzyme (Figure 3C).
Figure 1: SDS-PAGE and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) analysis. (A) SDS-PAGE analysis of rBC1531. (Left) The rBC1531 elution peaks from nickel affinity chromatography (lane 2, Ni) and SEC (lane 3) were analyzed along with protein standards (lane 1; labeled in kDa). (Right) Analysis of the thrombin digestion of rBC1531 for the removal of the affinity tag. The amounts of thrombin added to 50 µg of rBC1531 in different reactions are indicated in units above the gel. (B) Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) analysis of rBC1531 and the protein standards. (Left) Elution profiles of rBC1531 (blue) and standards (red). Molecular weights of the standard proteins are shown above each peak, in kDa. The vertical (y) and horizontal (x) axes show the milli-absorption units (mAU at 280 nm) and retention volumes (mL), respectively. (Right) The apparent molecular size of rBC1531 was estimated using a linear plot for the molecular weights, in log scale, and elution volumes of protein standards (R2 = 0.9934). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Crystallization and X-ray diffraction. (A) rBC1531 crystals in condition-A, 0.1 M sodium citrate (pH 5.5) and 20% PEG 3000. (B) rBC1531 crystals in condition-B, 0.1 M sodium cacodylate (pH 6.5) and 1.0 M sodium citrate. Initial (left) and optimized (middle and right) crystals are shown. The optimized rBC1531 crystal (right, ~0.35 mm x ~0.35 mm x ~0.20 mm) was used for X-ray diffraction. Scale bars = 100 µm. (C) X-ray diffraction image of the rBC1531 crystal obtained at the PAL beamline BL-7A12. The arrow indicates a high-resolution spot. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3: NTPase activity. (A) The formation of the molybdenum-Pi complex is dependent on Pi concentration. Optical density at 690 nm is directly associated with increase in Pi levels. The Y-axis and X-axis represent the OD690nm and concentration (µM) of Pi, respectively. (B) Color changes upon the addition of pyrophosphatase. In the first row of wells, pyrophosphatase was not added and did not form the blue-colored Pi-complex. However, the second row consists of wells in which the rBC1531-NTP reactions were treated with pyrophosphatase and developed a blue color. OD690nm values increased with increase in NTP concentrations. (C) Michaelis-Menten plot of the rBC1531-NTP reactions. The Y-axis and X-axis represent the OD690nm and concentration (0-120 µM) of NTP substrates, respectively. The error bars represent the standard deviation for three separate experiments. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Studies of true pathogens are limited due to safety restrictions and regulations. Alternatively, pathogens can be studied using evolutionarily related non-pathogens or less pathogenic species. The ba1554 gene is considered a critical gene in B. anthracis. Fortunately, an identical gene is present in nonclinical B. cereus. Thus, without serious safety concerns, recombinant BC1531 protein can be used for biophysical and enzymatic characterization. Here, we described detailed procedures, moving from a gene to a purified recombinant protein. Using recombinant protein, biophysical characterization analyses were conducted to reveal that tetrameric rBC1531 catalyzes NTP hydrolysis into NMP and PPi.
SEC was employed as the last step of protein purification to remove any protein contaminants derived from the cell lysates that have different sizes than rBC1531. A SEC column was also used to determine the oligomerization status of rBC1531, which was a tetramer. The crystal structure of rBC1531 was consistently determined to be tetrameric12.
Among biophysical techniques, X-ray crystallography is the best technique for generating atomic models of protein. In general, three-dimensional singular crystals with dimensions larger than 0.1 mm are required for X-ray diffraction. To obtain X-ray diffraction-suitable crystals, crystallization conditions were optimized. For rBC1531, two conditions produced crystals in the initial screening, but only one condition was useful for producing diffraction-suitable crystals12.
The NTP hydrolysis activity of rBC1531 was assessed by monitoring the formation of a blue-colored complex of molybdate and Pi in the rBC1531-mediated enzymatic reaction15. It has the great advantage of non-radioactively detecting NTP hydrolysis, since the molybdate-Pi complex can be optically measured. In the rBC1531 reaction, the blue-colored complex was generated only in the presence of pyrophosphatase, demonstrating that rBC1531 hydrolyzes NTP into NMP and pyrophosphate. Furthermore, because the blue color of the molybdate-Pi complex can be detected with the naked eye, Pi levels in the rBC1531 reaction, as well as in other applications, can be easily assessed in pilot experiments. Moreover, kinetic parameters, such as Km and Vmax can be calculated by quantifying the intensity of the colorimetric reaction using a visible-light spectrophotometer. However, the presences of free phosphate in the reaction buffer or precipitation during the enzymatic reaction would impair the attainment of accurate results from the NTP hydrolysis reactions. Thus, it is desirable to prepare a Pi standard curve using the identical reaction buffer as in the NTP hydrolysis runs and to ensure an increase in optical density only in the presences of Pi.
Given that the Km value of the rBC1531-NTP was low (Km = 10 µM), the true substrate for rBC1531 may be a specific type of canonical or noncanonical (d)NTP. To test this possibility, the experimental conditions can be modified to use a specific NTP (i.e., ATP, GTP, CTP, or UTP) rather than a mixture of NTPs. By comparing kinetic parameters, substrate specificity can be determined in future applications. Indeed, additional studies indicate that BC1531 prefers ATP12. Despite the technical simplicity of the colorimetric assay using the molybdate reaction, this assay has a drawback in that the color can become randomly intense when the blue-colored molybdate-Pi complex is left at neutral pH for an extended period of time. Therefore, a critical step is to perform measurements within 15-30 min after the molybdate is added to the Pi-containing sample. The experiment is repeated using the same time point to avoid variations in OD measurements.
In conclusion, various biophysicochemical methods were used to analyze the oligomerization state and enzymatic activity of rBC1531 and to prepare diffraction-quality crystals for structural studies. These methods can be safely and easily applied to other proteins of interest with minimal experimental equipment requirements.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
The X-ray diffraction datasets were collected at beamline 7A of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (Korea). This study was supported by the Basic Science Research Program administered through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (2015R1A1A01057574 to MH).
Bacillus cereus ATCC14579 | Korean Collection for Tissue Culture | 3624 | |
Genomic DNA prep kit | GeneAll | 106-101 | Genomic DNA preparation |
Forward primer | Macrogen | GAAGGATCCGGAAGCAAAAA CGATGAAAGATATGCA |
BamHI site is underlined |
Reverse primer | Macrogen | CTTGTCGACTTATTCTTTCTCT CCCTCATCAATACGTG |
SalI site is underlined |
nPfu-Forte | Enzynomics | P410 | PCR polymerase |
BamHI | Enzynomics | R003S | |
SalI | Enzynomics | R009S | |
pET49b expression vector | Novagen | 71463 | Expression vector was modified to add affinity tags and BamHI/SalI sites10 |
T4 DNA ligase | Enzynomics | M001S | |
Dialysis memebrane | Thermofisher | 18265017 | |
Dry block heater | JSR | JSBL-02T | |
LB broth (Luria-Bertani) | LPS solution | LB-05 | |
LB Agar, Miller (Luria-Bertani) | Becton, Dickinson and Company | ||
Kanamycin | LPS solution | KAN025 | |
Mini-prep kit | Favorgen | FAPDE300 | Plasmid DNA preparation |
BL21(DE3) Competent cell | Novagen | 69450-3CN | |
Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) | Fisher BioReagents | 50-213-378 | |
Sodium chloride | Daejung | 7548-4100 | PBS material |
Potassium chloride | Daejung | 6566-4405 | PBS material |
Potassium phosphate | Bio Basic Inc | PB0445 | PBS material |
Sodium phosphate | Bio Basic Inc | S0404 | PBS material |
Imidazole | Bio Basic Inc | IB0277 | |
Sonicator | Sonics | VCX 130 | |
Ni-NTA agaros | Qiagen | 30210 | Nickel bead |
Rotator | Finepcr | AG | |
Precision Plus Protein Dual Color Standards | Bio-rad | 1610374 | SDS-PAGE protein standard |
Coonmassie Brilliant Blue R-250 | Fisher BioReagents | BP101-25 | Coomassie staining solution |
Methyl alcohol | Samchun chemical | M0585 | Coomassie staining solution |
Acetic acid | Daejung | 1002-4105 | Coomassie staining solution |
Dialysis memebrane | Thermofisher | 68035 | |
2-Mercaptoethanol | Sigma-aldrich | M6250 | |
Thrombin | Merckmillipore | 605157-1KUCN | Prepare aliquots of 20 μl (1 Unit per μl) and store at 70 °C and thaw before use |
Superdex 200 16/600 | General Electric | 28989335 | Size exclusion chromatography |
Gel filtration standard | Bio-rad | 151-1901 | |
Centrifugal filter | Amicon | UFC800396 | |
Crystralization plates | Hampton research | HR3-083 | 96-well sitting drop plate |
The JCSG core suite I-IV | Qiagen | 130924-130927 | Crystallization secreening solution |
Microscope | Nikon | SMZ745T | |
Cryschem plates | Hampton research | HR3-158 | 24-well sitting drop plate |
Inorganic pyrophosphatase | Sigma | 10108987001 | |
Ammonium molybdate solution | Sigma | 13106-76-8 | |
L-ascorbic acid | Sigma | 50-81-7 | |
NTP substrate | Startagene | 200415-51 | |
Spectrophotometer | Biotek | SynergyH1 | microplate reader |
GraphPad Prism 5 | GraphPad | Prism 5 for Window |