Structure of an E. coli integral membrane sulfurtransferase and its structural transition upon SCN(−) binding defined by EPR-based hybrid method

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)-based hybrid experimental and computational approaches were applied to determine the structure of a full-length E. coli integral membrane sulfurtransferase, dimeric YgaP, and its structural and dynamic changes upon ligand binding. The solution NMR structures of the YgaP transmembrane domain (TMD) and cytosolic catalytic rhodanese domain were reported recently, but the tertiary fold of full-length YgaP was not yet available. Here, systematic site-specific EPR analysis defined a helix-loop-helix secondary structure of the YagP-TMD monomers using mobility, accessibility and membrane immersion measurements. The tertiary folds of dimeric YgaP-TMD and full-length YgaP in detergent micelles were determined through inter- and intra-monomer distance mapping and rigid-body computation. Further EPR analysis demonstrated the tight packing of the two YgaP second transmembrane helices upon binding of the catalytic product SCN(−), which provides insight into the thiocyanate exportation mechanism of YgaP in the E. coli membrane.