Papers In Press, published online ahead of print February 7, 2008
J. Biol. Chem, 10.1074/jbc.M708549200
Submitted on October 15, 2007
Revised on December 18, 2007
Accepted on February 7, 2008
Binding of sulfurated molybdenum cofactor to the C-terminal domain of ABA3 from Arabidopsis thaliana provides insight into the mechanism of molybdenum cofactor sulfuration
Silke Wollers, Torsten Heidenreich, Maryam Zarepour, Dieter Zachmann, Claudia Kraft, Yunde Zhao, Ralf R. Mendel, and Florian Bittner
Department of Botany, Technical University of Braunschweig, Braunschweig D-38106
Corresponding Author: r.mendel{at}tu-bs.de
The molybdenum cofactor sulfurase ABA3 from Arabidopsis thaliana is needed for post-translational activation of aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase by transferring a sulfur atom to the desulfo-molybdenum cofactor of these enzymes. ABA3 is a two-domain protein consisting of an NH2-terminal NifS-like cysteine desulfurase domain and a C-terminal domain of yet undescribed function. The NH2-terminal domain of ABA3 decomposes L-cysteine to yield elemental sulfur, which subsequently is bound as persulfide to a conserved protein cysteinyl residue within this domain. In vivo, activation of aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase also depends on the function of the C-terminal domain as can be concluded from the A. thaliana aba3/sir3-3 mutant. sir3-3 plants are strongly reduced in aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase activities due to a substitution of arginine723 by a lysine within the C-terminal domain of the ABA3 protein. Here we present first evidence for the function of the C-terminal domain and show that molybdenum cofactor is bound to this domain with high affinity. Furthermore, cyanide treated ABA3 C-terminus was shown to release thiocyanate, indicating that the molybdenum cofactor bound to the C-terminal domain is present in the sulfurated form. Co-incubation of partially active aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase with ABA3 C-terminus carrying sulfurated molybdenum cofactor resulted in stimulation of aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase activity. The data of this work suggest that the C-terminal domain of ABA3 might act as a scaffold protein where prebound desulfo-molybdenum cofactor is converted into sulfurated cofactor prior to activation of aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase.