PMID: 23990562 , Related PDB id: 4J72

Authors:

Chung BC, Zhao J, Gillespie RA, Kwon DY, Guan Z, Hong J, Zhou P, Lee SY

Title:

Crystal structure of MraY, an essential membrane enzyme for bacterial cell wall synthesis.

Journal:

Science. 2013 Aug 30;341(6149):1012-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1236501.

Abstract:

MraY (phospho-MurNAc-pentapeptide translocase) is an integral membrane enzyme that catalyzes an essential step of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis: the transfer of the peptidoglycan precursor phospho-MurNAc-pentapeptide to the lipid carrier undecaprenyl phosphate. MraY has long been considered a promising target for the development of antibiotics, but the lack of a structure has hindered mechanistic understanding of this critical enzyme and the enzyme superfamily in general. The superfamily includes enzymes involved in bacterial lipopolysaccharide/teichoic acid formation and eukaryotic N-linked glycosylation, modifications that are central in many biological processes. We present the crystal structure of MraY from Aquifex aeolicus (MraYAA) at 3.3 A resolution, which allows us to visualize the overall architecture, locate Mg(2+) within the active site, and provide a structural basis of catalysis for this class of enzyme.