An integrated approach to unravel a crucial structural property required for the function of the insect steroidogenic Halloween protein Noppera-bo.

ABSTRACT: Ecdysteroids are the principal steroid hormones essential for insect development and physiology. In the last 18 years, several enzymes responsible for ecdysteroid biosynthesis encoded by Halloween genes were identified and genetically and biochemically characterized. However, the tertiary structures of these proteins have not yet been characterized. Here, we report the results of an integrated series of in silico, in vitro, and in vivo analyses of the Halloween GST protein Noppera-bo (Nobo). We determined crystal structures of Drosophila melanogaster Nobo (DmNobo) complexed with GSH and 17β-estradiol, a DmNobo inhibitor. 17β-Estradiol almost fully occupied the putative ligand-binding pocket and a prominent hydrogen bond formed between 17β-estradiol and Asp-113 o

SUBMITTER: Koiwai K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7242711 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature