Diversity of Chemical Mechanisms in Thioredoxin Catalysis Revealed by Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy

Thioredoxins are oxido-reductase enzymes present in all organisms, catalyzing the reduction of disulfide bonds in proteins. By applying a calibrated force to a substrate disulfide, the chemical mechanisms of Trx catalysis can be examined in detail at the single molecule level. Here we use single molecule force-clamp spectroscopy to explore the chemical evolution of Trx catalysis by probing the chemistry of eight different thioredoxin enzymes. While all Trxs show a characteristic Michaelis-Menten mechanism detected when the disulfide bond is stretched at low forces, two different chemical behaviors distinguish bacterial from eukaryotic-origin Trxs at high forces. Eukaryotic-origin Trxs reduce disulfide bonds through a single-electron transfer reaction (SET) whereas bacterial-origin Trxs exhibit both nucleophilic substitution (S(N)2) and SET reactions. A computational analysis of Trx structures identifies the evolution of the binding groove as an important factor controlling the chemistry of Trx catalysis.