Structures of KaiC Circadian Clock Mutant Proteins: A New Phosphorylation Site at T426 and Mechanisms of Kinase, ATPase and Phosphatase

The circadian clock of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus can be reconstituted in vitro by three proteins, KaiA, KaiB and KaiC. Homo-hexameric KaiC displays kinase, phosphatase and ATPase activities; KaiA enhances KaiC phosphorylation and KaiB antagonizes KaiA. Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of the two known sites in the C-terminal half of KaiC subunits, T432 and S431, follow a strict order (TS-->pTS-->pTpS-->TpS-->TS) over the daily cycle, the origin of which is not understood. To address this void and to analyze the roles of KaiC active site residues, in particular T426, we determined structures of single and double P-site mutants of S. elongatus KaiC.The conformations of the loop region harboring P-site residues T432 and S431 in the crystal structures of six KaiC mutant proteins exhibit subtle differences that result in various distances between Thr (or Ala/Asn/Glu) and Ser (or Ala/Asp) residues and the ATP gamma-phosphate. T432 is phosphorylated first because it lies consistently closer to Pgamma. The structures of the S431A and T432E/S431A mutants reveal phosphorylation at T426. The environments of the latter residue in the structures and functional data for T426 mutants in vitro and in vivo imply a role in dephosphorylation.We provide evidence for a third phosphorylation site in KaiC at T426. T426 and S431 are closely spaced and a KaiC subunit cannot carry phosphates at both sites simultaneously. Fewer subunits are phosphorylated at T426 in the two KaiC mutants compared to phosphorylated T432 and/or S431 residues in the structures of wt and other mutant KaiCs, suggesting that T426 phosphorylation may be labile. The structures combined with functional data for a host of KaiC mutant proteins help rationalize why S431 trails T432 in the loss of its phosphate and shed light on the mechanisms of the KaiC kinase, ATPase and phosphatase activities

Combined SAXS/EM Based Models of the S. elongatus Post-Translational Circadian Oscillator and its Interactions with the Output His-Kinase SasA

The circadian clock in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus is composed of a post-translational oscillator (PTO) that can be reconstituted in vitro from three different proteins in the presence of ATP and a transcription-translation feedback loop (TTFL). The homo-hexameric KaiC kinase, phosphatase and ATPase alternates between hypo- and hyper-phosphorylated states over the 24-h cycle, with KaiA enhancing phosphorylation, and KaiB antagonizing KaiA and promoting KaiC subunit exchange. SasA is a His kinase that relays output signals from the PTO formed by the three Kai proteins to the TTFL. Although the crystal structures for all three Kai proteins are known, atomic resolution structures of Kai and Kai/SasA protein complexes have remained elusive. Here, we present models of the KaiAC and KaiBC complexes derived from solution small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), which are consistent with previous EM based models. We also present a combined SAXS/EM model of the KaiC/SasA complex, which has two N-terminal SasA sensory domains occupying positions on the C-terminal KaiC ring reminiscent of the orientations adopted by KaiB dimers. Using EM we demonstrate that KaiB and SasA compete for similar binding sites on KaiC. We also propose an EM based model of the ternary KaiABC complex that is consistent with the sequestering of KaiA by KaiB on KaiC during the PTO dephosphorylation phase. This work provides the first 3D-catalogue of protein-protein interactions in the KaiABC PTO and the output pathway mediated by SasA

Crystal Structure of the Redox-Active Cofactor Dibromothymoquinone Bound to Circadian Clock Protein KaiA and Structural Basis for Dibromothymoquinone’s Ability to Prevent Stimulation of KaiC Phosphorylation by KaiA

KaiA protein that stimulates KaiC phosphorylation in the cyanobacterial circadian clock was recently shown to be destabilized by dibromothymoquinone (DBMIB), thus revealing KaiA as a sensor of the plastoquinone (PQ) redox state and suggesting an indirect control of the clock by light through PQ redox changes. Here we show using X-ray crystallography that several DBMIBs are bound to KaiA dimer. Some binding modes are consistent with oligomerization of N-terminal KaiA pseudoreceiver domains and/or reduced interdomain flexibility. DBMIB bound to the C-terminal KaiA (C-KaiA) domain and limited stimulation of KaiC kinase activity by C-KaiA in the presence of DBMIB demonstrate that the cofactor may weakly inhibit KaiA-KaiC binding