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Summary As global temperatures rise, improving crop yields will require enhancing the thermotolerance of crops. One approach for improving thermotolerance is using bioengineering to increase the thermostability of enzymes catalysing essential biological processes. Photorespiration is an essential recycling process in plants that is integral to photosynthesis and crop growth. The enzymes of photorespiration are targets for enhancing plant thermotolerance as this pathway limits carbon fixation at elevated temperatures. We explored the effects of temperature on the activity of the photorespiratory enzyme glycerate kinase (GLYK) from various organisms and the homologue from the thermophilic algaCyanidioschyzon merolaewas more thermotolerant than those from mesophilic plants, includingArabidopsis thaliana. To understand enzyme features underlying the thermotolerance ofC. merolaeGLYK (CmGLYK), we performed molecular dynamics simulations using AlphaFold‐predicted structures, which revealed greater movement of loop regions of mesophilic plant GLYKs at higher temperatures compared to CmGLYK. Based on these simulations, hybrid proteins were produced and analysed. These hybrid enzymes contained loop regions from CmGLYK replacing the most mobile corresponding loops of AtGLYK. Two of these hybrid enzymes had enhanced thermostability, with melting temperatures increased by 6 °C. One hybrid with three grafted loops maintained higher activity at elevated temperatures. Whilst this hybrid enzyme exhibited enhanced thermostability and a similar Kmfor ATP compared to AtGLYK, its Kmfor glycerate increased threefold. This study demonstrates that molecular dynamics simulation‐guided structure‐based recombination offers a promising strategy for enhancing the thermostability of other plant enzymes with possible application to increasing the thermotolerance of plants under warming climates.
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This content will become publicly available on December 1, 2025
Temperature-dependent iron motion in extremophile rubredoxins – no need for ‘corresponding states’
Abstract Extremophile organisms are known that can metabolize at temperatures down to − 25 °C (psychrophiles) and up to 122 °C (hyperthermophiles). Understanding viability under extreme conditions is relevant for human health, biotechnological applications, and our search for life elsewhere in the universe. Information about the stability and dynamics of proteins under environmental extremes is an important factor in this regard. Here we compare the dynamics of small Fe-S proteins – rubredoxins – from psychrophilic and hyperthermophilic microorganisms, using three different nuclear techniques as well as molecular dynamics calculations to quantify motion at the Fe site. The theory of ‘corresponding states’ posits that homologous proteins from different extremophiles have comparable flexibilities at the optimum growth temperatures of their respective organisms. Although ‘corresponding states’ would predict greater flexibility for rubredoxins that operate at low temperatures, we find that from 4 to 300 K, the dynamics of the Fe sites in these homologous proteins are essentially equivalent.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2149122
- PAR ID:
- 10517717
- Editor(s):
- Soares, Cláudio
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Portfolio
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Scientific Reports
- Volume:
- 14
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2045-2322
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 12197
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Rubredoxin, Iron-Sulfur Extremophile Hyperthermophile Psychrophile Corresponding States
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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