Shang Dai, Binqiang Wang, Rui Ye, Dong Zhang, Zhenming Xie, Ning Yu, Chunhui Cai, Cheng Huang, Jie Zhao, Furong Zhang, Yuejin Hua, Ye Zhao, Ruhong Zhou, Bing Tian
Living organisms ranging from bacteria to animals have developed their own ways to accumulate and store phosphate during evolution, in particular as the polyphosphate (polyP) granules in bacteria. Degradation of polyP into phosphate is involved in phosphorus cycling, and exopolyphosphatase (PPX) is the key enzyme for polyP degradation in bacteria. Thus, understanding the structure basis of PPX is crucial to reveal the polyP degradation mechanism. Here, it is found that PPX structure varies in the length of ɑ-helical interdomain linker (ɑ-linker) across various bacteria, which is negatively correlated with their enzymatic activity and thermostability - those with shorter ɑ-linkers demonstrate higher polyP degradation ability...
April 29, 2024: Advanced Science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)