Evolutionary, computational, and biochemical studies of the salicylaldehyde dehydrogenases in the naphthalene degradation pathway

Salicylaldehyde (SAL) dehydrogenase (SALD) is responsible for the oxidation of SAL to salicylate using nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) as a cofactor in the naphthalene degradation pathway. We report the use of a protein sequence similarity network to make functional inferences about SALDs. Network and phylogenetic analyses indicated that SALDs and the homologues are present in bacteria and fungi. The key residues in SALDs were analyzed by evolutionary methods and a molecular simulation analysis. The results showed that the catalytic residue is most highly conserved, followed by the residues binding NAD(+) and then the residues binding SAL. A molecular simulation analysis demonstrated the binding energies of the amino acids to NAD(+) and/or SAL and showed that a conformational change is induced by binding. A SALD from Alteromonas naphthalenivorans (SALDan) that undergoes trimeric oligomerization was characterized enzymatically. The results showed that SALDan could catalyze the oxidation of a variety of aromatic aldehydes. Site-directed mutagenesis of selected residues binding NAD(+) and/or SAL affected the enzyme’s catalytic efficiency, but did not eliminate catalysis. Finally, the relationships among the evolution, catalytic mechanism, and functions of SALD are discussed. Taken together, this study provides an expanded understanding of the evolution, functions, and catalytic mechanism of SALD.