creators_name: Kaur, Gurmeet
creators_name: Subramanian, Srikrishna
type: article
datestamp: 2015-02-09 10:51:38
lastmod: 2015-02-09 10:51:38
metadata_visibility: show
title: Repurposing TRASH: emergence of the enzyme organomercurial lyase from a non-catalytic zinc finger scaffold.
keywords: Domain duplication; Domain fusion; Enzyme evolution; MerA; MerH; NosL; Promiscuous enzymes
abstract: The mercury resistance pathway enzyme organomercurial lyase (MerB) catalyzes the conversion of organomercurials to ionic mercury (Hg(2+)). Here, we provide evidence for the emergence of this enzyme from a TRASH-like, non-enzymatic, treble-clef zinc finger ancestor by domain duplication and fusion. Surprisingly, the structure-stabilizing metal-binding core of the treble-clef appears to have been repurposed in evolution to serve a catalytic role. Novel enzymatic functions are believed to have evolved from ancestral generalist catalytic scaffolds or from already specialized enzymes with catalytic promiscuity. The emergence of MerB from a zinc finger ancestor serves as a rare example of how a novel enzyme may emerge from a non-catalytic scaffold with a related binding function.
date: 2014-10
date_type: published
publication: Journal of structural biology
volume: 188
number: 1
publisher: Elsevier
pagerange: 16-21
issn: 1095-8657
official_url: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1047847714001877
citation:   Kaur, Gurmeet and Subramanian, Srikrishna  (2014) Repurposing TRASH: emergence of the enzyme organomercurial lyase from a non-catalytic zinc finger scaffold.  Journal of structural biology, 188 (1).  pp. 16-21.  ISSN 1095-8657