Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2025

Optimization of Synthetic Proteins: Identification of Interpositional Dependencies Indicating Structurally and/or Functionally Linked Residues
Published on: July 14, 2015
Exploring the Structurally Conserved Regions and Functional Significance in Bacterial N-Terminal Nucleophile (Ntn)
Israel Quiroga1, Juan Andrés Hernández-González1, Elizabeth Bautista-Rodríguez1,2
1Department of Life and Health Sciences, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, 13 Poniente No. 1927, Barrio de Santiago, Puebla 72410, Mexico.
Abstract:
The initial adoption of penicillin as an antibiotic marked the start of exploring other compounds essential for pharmaceuticals, yet resistance to penicillins and their side effects has compromised their efficacy. The N-terminal nucleophile (Ntn) amide-hydrolases S45 family plays a key role in catalyzing amide bond hydrolysis in various compounds, including antibiotics like penicillin and cephalosporin. This study comprehensively analyzes the structural and functional traits of the bacterial N-terminal nucleophile (Ntn) amide-hydrolases S45 family, covering penicillin G acylases, cephalosporin acylases, and D-succinylase. Utilizing structural bioinformatics tools and sequence analysis, the investigation delineates structurally conserved regions (SCRs) and substrate binding site variations among these enzymes. Notably, sixteen SCRs crucial for substrate interaction are identified solely through sequence analysis, emphasizing the significance of sequence data in characterizing functionally relevant regions. These findings introduce a novel approach for identifying targets to enhance the biocatalytic properties of N-terminal nucleophile (Ntn) amide-hydrolases, while facilitating the development of more accurate three-dimensional models, particularly for enzymes lacking structural data. Overall, this research advances our understanding of structure-function relationships in bacterial N-terminal nucleophile (Ntn) amide-hydrolases, providing insights into strategies for optimizing their enzymatic capabilities.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Conserved Binding Sites
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally...
Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to...
tRNA Activation
Protein Folding
Nitriles to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis
Amides to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis
Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis:
Hydrolysis of amides under acidic conditions yields carboxylic acids. Since the reaction occurs slowly, hydrolysis requires the conditions of heat.
The mechanism begins with the protonation of the carbonyl oxygen by the acid catalyst. The protonation makes the amide carbonyl carbon more...

