Redesign of energetically frustrated regions rescues function in defective T4 clamp loaders

DNA polymerase clamp loaders are AAA+ ATPases that load sliding clamps on DNA for high-speed replication. Using a platform for high-throughput mutagenesis of replication proteins in T4 bacteriophage, we carried out saturation mutagenesis of the AAA+ ATPase module of the T4 clamp loader bearing a mutation, Gln 118→Asn (Q118N), that reduces fitness. We identified residues for which different mutations improve the fitness of the Q118N variant but are neutral in the wild-type background. These conditionally neutral "rescue hotspots" overlap with those identified earlier in another defective variant (D110C). These rescue hotspots localize to regions where the sequence is not optimal for the structure, as determined by energetic frustration analysis. We designed new sequences for three of these regions, using the protein-design algorithm ProteinMPNN. In two helical regions, several designed sequences increased the fitness of both wild-type and mutant proteins, likely due to enhanced stability. An inter-domain hinge in the AAA+ module changes conformation during activation, and designs for the hinge lead to loss of fitness in the wild-type background. However, when using the active conformation as the template, designs for the hinge increase the fitness of defective variants. In contrast designs templated on the inactive conformation lead to loss of fitness, suggesting that a proper conformational balance is crucial. Thus, adaptive capacity in the clamp loader resides in a network of conditionally neutral sites that enable functional tuning through shifts in stability and conformational equilibria.