Abstract
The enzyme mercuric ion reductase, MerA, is the central component of bacterial mercury resistance encoded by the mer operon. Many MerA proteins possess a metallochaperone-like N-terminal domain, NmerA, that can transfer Hg2+ to the catalytic core (Core) for reduction to Hg0. These domains are tethered to the homodimeric Core by ~30-residue linkers that are subject to proteolysis, which has limited structural and functional characterization of the interactions of these domains. Here, we report purification of homogeneous full-length MerA using a fusion protein construct and combine small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering with molecular dynamics simulation to characterize the structure of constructs that mimic the system before and during handoff of Hg2+ from NmerA to the Core. The radii of gyration, distance distribution functions and Kratky plots derived from the small-angle X-ray scattering data are consistent with full-length MerA adopting elongated conformations resulting from flexibility in the linkers to the NmerA domains. The scattering profiles are best reproduced using an ensemble of linker conformations. This flexible attachment of NmerA may facilitate fast and efficient removal of Hg2+ from diverse protein substrates. Using a specific mutant of MerA allowed determination of the position and relative orientation of NmerA to the Core during Hg2+ handoff. The small buried surface area at the site of interaction suggests molecular recognition may be of less importance for the integrity of metal ion transfers between tethered domains than for transfers between separate proteins in metal trafficking pathways.
