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3-to-1: unraveling structural transitions in ureases

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Abstract

Ureases are nickel-dependent enzymes which catalyze the hydrolysis of urea to ammonia and carbamate. Despite the apparent wealth of data on ureases, many crucial aspects regarding these enzymes are still unknown, or constitute matter for ongoing debates. One of these is most certainly their structural organization: ureases from plants and fungi have a single unit, while bacterial and archaean ones have three-chained structures. However, the primitive state of these proteins — single- or three-chained — is yet unknown, despite many efforts in the field. Through phylogenetic inference using three different datasets and two different algorithms, we were able to observe chain number transitions displayed in a 3-to-1 fashion. Our results imply that the ancestral state for ureases is the three-chained organization, with single-chained ureases deriving from them. The two-chained variants are not evolutionary intermediates. A fusion process, different from those already studied, may explain this structural transition.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Charley C. Staats, Cláudia L. Fernandes, Dennis M. Junqueira, and Marilene H. Vainstein for many insightful suggestions and friendly help with the methodology. This work was supported by the Brazilian agencies Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), MCT; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), MEC; Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP); and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Rodrigo Ligabue-Braun, Hugo Verli & Célia Regina Carlini

  2. Biotechnology Undergraduate Program, Center of Biotechnology, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Fábio Carrer Andreis

  3. Center of Biotechnology and Faculty of Pharmacy, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Hugo Verli

  4. Center of Biotechnology and Department of Biophysics-IB, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Célia Regina Carlini

  5. Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Campus do Vale, Caixa postal 15005, 91501-970, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Hugo Verli

  6. Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Campus do Vale, Prédio 43431, 91500-970, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Célia Regina Carlini

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  1. Rodrigo Ligabue-Braun
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  2. Fábio Carrer Andreis
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  3. Hugo Verli
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  4. Célia Regina Carlini
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Correspondence to Hugo Verli or Célia Regina Carlini.

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Communicated by: Sven Thatje

R. Ligabue-Braun and F.C. Andreis contributed equally to this work.

H. Verli and C.R. Carlini share senior authorship.

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Ligabue-Braun, R., Andreis, F.C., Verli, H. et al. 3-to-1: unraveling structural transitions in ureases. Naturwissenschaften 100, 459–467 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-013-1045-2

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