Investigation into the effect of phenylalanine gating on anaerobic haem breakdown using the energy landscape approach

We have recently demonstrated a novel anaerobic NADH-dependent haem breakdown reaction, which is carried out by a range of haemoproteins. The Yersinia enterocolitica protein, HemS, is the focus of further research presented in the current paper. Using conventional experimental methods, bioinformatics, and energy landscape theory (ELT), we provide new insight into the mechanism of the novel breakdown process. Of particular interest is the behavior of a double phenylalanine gate, which opens and closes according to the relative situations of haem and NADH within the protein pocket. This behavior suggests that the double phe-gate fulfills a regulatory role within the pocket, controlling the access of NADH to haem. Additionally, stopped-flow spectroscopy results provide kinetic comparisons between the wild-type and the selected mutants. We also present a fully resolved crystal structure for the F104AF199A HemS monomer, including its extensive loop, the first such structure to be completely resolved for HemS or any of its close homologues. The energy landscapes approach provided key information regarding the gating strategy employed by HemS, compensating for current limitations with conventional biophysical and molecular dynamics approaches. We propose that ELT become more widely used in the field, particularly in the investigation of the dynamics and interactions of weak-binding ligands, and for gating features, within protein cavities.