Ancestral [Fe-S] biogenesis system SMS has a unique mechanism of cluster assembly and sulfur utilization.

ABSTRACT: [Fe-S] clusters are ancient and ubiquitous protein co-factors, which contributed to the emergence of life in an anoxic planet. We have recently identified two minimal [Fe-S] biogenesis systems, MIS and SMS, inferred to be ancestral systems dating back to the Last Universal Common Ancestor and which gave rise to the well-studied modern Iron-Sulfur Cluster (ISC), Nitrogen Fixation (NIF), and Sulfur Mobilization (SUF) machineries. The present study focuses on the ancestor SMS from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Methanocaldococcus jannaschii. Biochemical and structural studies showed that SMS is made of a SmsC2B2 heterotetratmer wherein the SmsC subunit hosts both ATP and [Fe-S] cluster binding sites. Binding of ATP and assembly of [Fe-S] were found to be mutually exclusive allowing for a regu

SUBMITTER: Dussouchaud M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12192291 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature