The Melibiose Transporter of Escherichia coli CRITICAL CONTRIBUTION OF LYS-377 TO THE STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE INTERACTING SUBSTRATE BINDING SITES

Background: Lys-377 mutants of the E. coli melibiose permease are defective in the cotransport of substrates. Results: Lys-377 mutants do not bind substrates, whereas Ile-22 mutants bind Na+ but not sugars. Both observations are explained by molecular dynamics simulations. Conclusion: Lys-377 is crucial for the organization of the binding site. Ile-22 may participate in sugar binding. Significance: Uncovering the architecture of the substrate binding site is essential for understanding the transport mechanism. We examine the role of Lys-377, the only charged residue in helix XI, on the functional mechanism of the Na+-sugar melibiose symporter from Escherichia coli. Intrinsic fluorescence, FRET, and Fourier transform infrared difference spectroscopy reveal that replacement of Lys-377 with either Cys, Val, Arg, or Asp disables both Na+ and melibiose binding. On the other hand, molecular dynamics simulations extending up to 200-330 ns reveal that Lys-377 (helix XI) interacts with the anionic side chains of two of the three putative ligands for cation binding (Asp-55 and Asp-59 in helix II). When Asp-59 is protonated during the simulations, Lys-377 preferentially interacts with Asp-55. Interestingly, when a Na+ ion is positioned in the Asp-55-Asp-59 environment, Asp-124 in helix IV (a residue essential for melibiose binding) reorients and approximates the Asp-55-Asp-59 pair, and all three acidic side chains act as Na+ ligands. Under these conditions, the side chain of Lys-377 interacts with the carboxylic moiety of these three Asp residues. These data highlight the crucial role of the Lys-377 residue in the spatial organization of the Na+ binding site. Finally, the analysis of the second-site revertants of K377C reveals that mutation of Ile-22 (in helix I) preserves Na+ binding, whereas that of melibiose is largely abolished according to spectroscopic measurements. This amino acid is located in the border of the sugar-binding site and might participate in sugar binding through apolar interactions.