X-ray structure of PQQ-dependent methanol dehydrogenase

The three-dimensional structure of the PQQ-dependent quinoprotein, methanol dehydrogenase from Methylobacterium extorquens AM1, has been determined at 3A resolution. The a2b2 tetrameric enzyme has a large a-chain of almost spherical form with a chain fold in which eight 4-stranded antiparallel b-sheets segments are arranged radially around a pseudo 8-fold molecular symmetry axis. The much smaller b-chain is surprisingly not globular, but has an extended conformation running across the surface of the alpha-subunit. The PQQ prosthetic group is buried within the large a-subunit located on the pseudo 8-fold molecular symmetry axis. It is surrounded by protein side-chains but not covalently bound. Associated with the PQQ are two unexpected features: a vicinal disulphide bridge formed between Cys103 and Cys104, and a calcium ion bound between the protein and the PQQ. Vicinal disulphide bridges forming highly distorted structures containing a cis peptide bond, have been proposed to be present in one or two enzymes but have not previously been available for detailed structural investigation. Activity studies have indicated that the ability of the enzyme to transfer electrons derived from the reduction of the alcohols to the specific cytochrome CL receptor is lost when the vicinal disulphide bridge is reduced. The roles of the calcium ions and the b-chain in the enzyme's activity remain to be determined.