CYP51 sterol demethylases are the only cytochrome P450 enzymes with a conserved function across the animal, fungal, and plant kingdoms (in the synthesis of essential sterols). These highly conserved enzymes, which are important targets for cholesterol-lowering drugs, antifungal agents, and herbicides, are regarded as the most ancient member cytochrome P450 family. Here we present a report of a CYP51 enzyme that has acquired a different function. We show that the plant enzyme AsCYP51H10 is dispensable for synthesis of essential sterols and has been recruited for the production of antimicrobial compounds (avenacins) that confer disease resistance in oats. The AsCyp51H10 gene is synonymous with Sad2 , a gene that we previously had defined by mutation as being required for avenacin synthesis. In earlier work, we showed that Sad1 , the gene encoding the first committed enzyme in the avenacin pathway (β-amyrin synthase), had arisen by duplication and divergence of a cycloartenol synthase-like gene. Together these data indicate an intimate evolutionary connection between the sterol and avenacin pathways. Sad1 and Sad2 lie within 70 kb of each other and are expressed specifically in the epidermal cells of the root tip, the site of accumulation of avenacins. These findings raise intriguing questions about the recruitment, coevolution, and regulation of the components of this specialized defense-related metabolic pathway.

Members of the cytochromes P450 superfamily (P450s) catalyze a huge variety of oxidation reactions in microbes and higher organisms. Most P450 families are highly divergent, but in contrast the cytochrome P450 14α-sterol demethylase (CYP51) family is one of the most ancient and conserved, catalyzing sterol 14α-demethylase reactions required for essential sterol synthesis across the fungal, animal, and plant kingdoms. Oats (Avena spp.) produce antimicrobial compounds, avenacins, that provide protection against disease. Avenacins are synthesized from the simple triterpene, β-amyrin. Previously we identified a gene encoding a member of the CYP51 family of cytochromes P450, AsCyp51H10 (also known as Saponin-deficient 2, Sad2), that is required for avenacin synthesis in a forward screen for avenacin-deficient oat mutants. sad2 mutants accumulate β-amyrin, suggesting that they are blocked early in the pathway. Here, using a transient plant expression system, we show that AsCYP51H10 is a multifunctional P450 capable of modifying both the C and D rings of the pentacyclic triterpene scaffold to give 12,13β-epoxy-3β,16β-dihydroxy-oleanane (12,13β-epoxy-16β-hydroxy-β-amyrin). Molecular modeling and docking experiments indicate that C16 hydroxylation is likely to precede C12,13 epoxidation. Our computational modeling, in combination with analysis of a suite of sad2 mutants, provides insights into the unusual catalytic behavior of AsCYP51H10 and its active site mutants. Fungal bioassays show that the C12,13 epoxy group is an important determinant of antifungal activity. Accordingly, the oat AsCYP51H10 enzyme has been recruited from primary metabolism and has acquired a different function compared to other characterized members of the plant CYP51 family—as a multifunctional stereo- and regio-specific hydroxylase in plant specialized metabolism. Significance We carried out functional analysis of the oat enzyme AsCYP51H10, which is a divergent member of the CYP51 cytochrome P450 family and showed that this enzyme is able to catalyze both hydroxylation and epoxidation of the simple triterpene β-amyrin to give 12,13β-epoxy-3β,16β-dihydroxy-oleanane (12,13β-epoxy-16β-hydroxy-β-amyrin). In contrast, the canonical CYP51 enzymes are highly conserved and catalyze only sterol demethylation. We further show that the C12,13 epoxy group is critical for antifungal activity, a discovery that has important implications for triterpene metabolic engineering for food, health, and industrial biotechnology applications.

Reduced inorganic sulfur compounds are utilized by many bacteria as electron donors to photosynthetic or respiratory electron transport chains. This metabolism is a key component of the biogeochemical sulfur cycle. The SoxAX protein is a heterodimeric c ‐type cytochrome involved in thiosulfate oxidation. The crystal structures of SoxAX from the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodovulum sulfidophilum have been solved at 1.75 Å resolution in the oxidized state and at 1.5 Å resolution in the dithionite‐reduced state, providing the first structural insights into the enzymatic oxidation of thiosulfate. The SoxAX active site contains a haem with unprecedented cysteine persulfide (cysteine sulfane) coordination. This unusual post‐translational modification is also seen in sulfurtransferases such as rhodanese. Intriguingly, this enzyme shares further active site characteristics with SoxAX such as an adjacent conserved arginine residue and a strongly positive electrostatic potential. These similarities have allowed us to suggest a catalytic mechanism for enzymatic thiosulfate oxidation. The atomic coordinates and experimental structure factors have been deposited in the PDB with the accession codes 1H31, 1H32 and 1H33.

Iron is an essential micro-nutrient and, in the case of bacteria, its availability is commonly a growth-limiting factor. However, correct functioning of cells requires that the labile pool of chelatable ‘free’ iron is tightly regulated. Correct metalation of proteins requiring iron as a cofactor demands that such a readily accessible source of iron exists, but over-accumulation results in an oxidative burden that, if unchecked, would lead to cell death. The toxicity of iron stems from its potential to catalyze formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that, in addition to causing damage to biological molecules, can also lead to the formation of reactive nitrogen species (RNS). In order to avoid iron-mediated oxidative stress, bacteria utilize iron-dependent global regulators to sense the iron status of the cell and regulate the expression of proteins involved in the acquisition, storage and efflux of iron accordingly. Here, we survey the current understanding of the structure and mechanism of the important members of each of these classes of protein. Diversity in the details of iron homeostasis mechanisms reflect the differing nutritional stresses resulting from the wide variety of ecological niches that bacteria inhabit. However, in this review we seek to highlight the similarities of iron homeostasis between different bacteria, whilst acknowledging important variations. In this way we hope to illustrate how bacteria have evolved common approaches to overcome the dual problems of the insolubility and potential toxicity of iron.

Polarized growth in eukaryotes requires polar multiprotein complexes. Here, we establish that selection and maintenance of cell polarity for growth also requires a dedicated multiprotein assembly in the filamentous bacterium,Streptomyces coelicolor. We present evidence for a tip organizing center and confirm two of its main components: Scy (Streptomycescytoskeletal element), a unique bacterial coiled-coil protein with an unusual repeat periodicity, and the known polarity determinant DivIVA. We also establish a link between the tip organizing center and the filament-forming protein FilP. Interestingly, both deletion and overproduction of Scy generated multiple polarity centers, suggesting a mechanism wherein Scy can both promote and limit the number of emerging polarity centers via the organization of the Scy-DivIVA assemblies. We propose that Scy is a molecular “assembler,” which, by sequestering DivIVA, promotes the establishment of new polarity centers for de novo tip formation during branching, as well as supporting polarized growth at existing hyphal tips.