Macromolecular aging: ATP hydrolysis-driven functional and structural changes in Escherichia coli RecQ helicase

Dan Li; Hou-Qiang Xu; Xu-Guang Xi

doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.01.020

Macromolecular aging: ATP hydrolysis-driven functional and structural changes in Escherichia coli RecQ helicase

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2021 Jan 20:542:29-33. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.01.020. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Dan Li¹, Hou-Qiang Xu², Xu-Guang Xi³

Affiliations

¹ College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China.
² Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics Breeding and Production in the Plateau Mountains Region, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China.
³ College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China; The LBPA, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Université Paris Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France. Electronic address: xxi01@ens-cachan.fr.

PMID: 33485211
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.01.020

Abstract

Aging has been considered a phenomenon that can be only applied to cells or organisms. Here, we show that RecQ helicase from E. coli displays an aging phenomenon: this macromolecular motor loses its structure and function after hydrolyzing a certain number of ATP molecules. The aging process was only triggered by repeated catalytic cycles. These observations lead to a new concept: macromolecule aging.

Keywords: ATP hydrolysis; Fatigued enzyme; Macromolecular aging; Non-fatigued enzyme; RecQ helicase.