Structural basis of CoA recognition by the Pyrococcus single-domain CoA-binding proteins

The single-domain coenzyme A (CoA)-binding protein is conserved in bacteria, archaea, and a few eukaryal taxa. It consists of a Rossmann-fold domain, belonging to the FAD/NAD(P)-binding `superfamily. The crystal structure of the Thermus thermophilus single-domain CoA-binding protein, TTHA1899, has been determined and it has been demonstrated, by isothermal titration calorimetry, that the protein interacts with CoA [Wada T. et al. Acta Crystallogr D Biol Crystallogr 59 (2003) 1213]. In the present study, we determined the crystal structures of an orthologous protein from the archaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii (PH1109), alone and complexed with CoA, at 1.65 A and 1.70 A resolutions, respectively, and that of P. furiosus protein (PF0725) in the CoA-bound form at 1.70 A. The CoA-bound structures are very similar to each other, revealing that the Pyrococcus proteins bind CoA in a 1:1 stoichiometry. Five loop-containing regions form the CoA-binding groove, to which the CoA molecule is docked. A comparison of the structures and the sequences of the Pyrococcus proteins with those of the T. theromphilus orthologue TTHA1899 indicated that archaeal and bacterial single-domain CoA-binding proteins share the same CoA-binding mode. Nevertheless, many of the peripheral residues involved in the hydrogen-bonding/electrostatic interactions with CoA are not strictly conserved in the family. The CoA interaction of the single-domain CoA-binding proteins is significantly different and much more extensive than that of the multi-subunit/multi-domain CoA-binding protein succinyl-CoA synthetase.