5k3h

Publication Abstract from PubMed

Caenorhabditis elegans secretes ascarosides as pheromones to communicate with other worms and to coordinate the development and behavior of the population. Peroxisomal beta-oxidation cycles shorten the side chains of ascaroside precursors to produce the short-chain ascaroside pheromones. Acyl-CoA oxidases, which catalyze the first step in these beta-oxidation cycles, have different side chain-length specificities and enable C. elegans to regulate the production of specific ascaroside pheromones. Here, we determine the crystal structure of the acyl-CoA oxidase 1 (ACOX-1) homodimer and the ACOX-2 homodimer bound to its substrate. Our results provide a molecular basis for the substrate specificities of the acyl-CoA oxidases and reveal why some of these enzymes have a very broad substrate range, whereas others are quite specific. Our results also enable predictions to be made for the roles of uncharacterized acyl-CoA oxidases in C. elegans and in other nematode species. Remarkably, we show that most of the C. elegans acyl-CoA oxidases that participate in ascaroside biosynthesis contain a conserved ATP-binding pocket that lies at the dimer interface, and we identify key residues in this binding pocket. ATP binding induces a structural change that is associated with tighter binding of the FAD cofactor. Mutations that disrupt ATP binding reduce FAD binding and reduce enzyme activity. Thus, ATP may serve as a regulator of acyl-CoA oxidase activity, thereby directly linking ascaroside biosynthesis to ATP concentration and metabolic state.

Structural characterization of acyl-CoA oxidases reveals a direct link between pheromone biosynthesis and metabolic state in Caenorhabditis elegans.,Zhang X, Li K, Jones RA, Bruner SD, Butcher RA Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Sep 6;113(36):10055-60. doi:, 10.1073/pnas.1608262113. Epub 2016 Aug 22. PMID:27551084^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.