The 1.5-Å Structure of XplA-heme, an Unusual Cytochrome P450 Heme Domain That Catalyzes Reductive Biotransformation of Royal Demolition Explosive

Abstract

XplA is a cytochrome P450 of unique structural organization, consisting of a heme- domain that is C-terminally fused to its native flavodoxin redox partner. XplA, along with flavodoxin reductase XplB, has been shown to catalyze the breakdown of the nitramine explosive and pollutant hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (royal demolition explosive) by reductive denitration. The structure of the heme domain of XplA (XplA-heme) has been solved in two crystal forms: as a dimer in space group P21 to a resolution of 1.9 Å and as a monomer in space group P21212 to a resolution of 1.5 Å, with the ligand imidazole bound at the heme iron. Although it shares the overall fold of cytochromes P450 of known structure, XplA-heme is unusual in that the kinked I-helix that traverses the distal face of the heme is broken by Met-394 and Ala-395 in place of the well conserved Asp/Glu plus Thr/Ser, important in oxidative P450s for the scission of the dioxygen bond prior to substrate oxygenation. The heme environment of XplA-heme is hydrophobic, featuring a cluster of three methionines above the heme, including Met-394. Imidazole was observed bound to the heme iron and is in close proximity to the side chain of Gln-438, which is situated over the distal face of the heme. Imidazole is also hydrogen-bonded to a water molecule that sits in place of the threonine side-chain hydroxyl exemplified by Thr-252 in Cyt-P450cam. Both Gln-438 → Ala and Ala-395 → Thr mutants of XplA-heme displayed markedly reduced activity compared with the wild type for royal demolition explosive degradation when combined with surrogate electron donors. XplA is a cytochrome P450 of unique structural organization, consisting of a heme- domain that is C-terminally fused to its native flavodoxin redox partner. XplA, along with flavodoxin reductase XplB, has been shown to catalyze the breakdown of the nitramine explosive and pollutant hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (royal demolition explosive) by reductive denitration. The structure of the heme domain of XplA (XplA-heme) has been solved in two crystal forms: as a dimer in space group P21 to a resolution of 1.9 Å and as a monomer in space group P21212 to a resolution of 1.5 Å, with the ligand imidazole bound at the heme iron. Although it shares the overall fold of cytochromes P450 of known structure, XplA-heme is unusual in that the kinked I-helix that traverses the distal face of the heme is broken by Met-394 and Ala-395 in place of the well conserved Asp/Glu plus Thr/Ser, important in oxidative P450s for the scission of the dioxygen bond prior to substrate oxygenation. The heme environment of XplA-heme is hydrophobic, featuring a cluster of three methionines above the heme, including Met-394. Imidazole was observed bound to the heme iron and is in close proximity to the side chain of Gln-438, which is situated over the distal face of the heme. Imidazole is also hydrogen-bonded to a water molecule that sits in place of the threonine side-chain hydroxyl exemplified by Thr-252 in Cyt-P450cam. Both Gln-438 → Ala and Ala-395 → Thr mutants of XplA-heme displayed markedly reduced activity compared with the wild type for royal demolition explosive degradation when combined with surrogate electron donors. Royal demolition explosive (RDX) 2The abbreviations used are: RDXroyal demolition explosiveXplAcytochrome P450 XplAXplA-hemesubcloned heme-domain of XplAP450EryFcytochrome P450 EryF from S. erythreaP450camcytochrome P450cam from P. putidar.m.s.d.root mean square deviationBis- Tris2-[bis(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diolCYPcytochrome P450. or cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine 1 (see Fig. 1) is a widely used explosive compound with both military and civil applications. The extensive global usage of RDX has resulted in concerns over environmental contamination, because it is both recalcitrant to degradation, leading to contamination in soil and ground water, and a potent convulsant and possible carcinogen. The bio