Dynamic characterization and substrate binding of cis-2,3-dihydrobiphenyl-2,3-diol dehydrogenase-an enzyme used in bioremediation

In recent years, techniques involving the use of organisms to remove or neutralize pollutants from contaminated sites have attracted great attention. The aim of bioremediation is to use naturally occurring organisms to degrade dangerous substances to less toxic or non toxic molecules. The gram-negative bacterium Pandoraea pnomenusa strain B-356 (Pp) has been found to be able to transform a persistent class of organic pollutant compounds, namely the biphenyl and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). A key enzyme in the PCB catabolic pathway is NAD-dependent cis-2,3-dihydrobiphenyl-2,3-diol dehydrogenase (BphB), for which the crystal structure from Pp has been crystallized in apo-, NAD-bound and biphenyldiol-/NAD-bound forms. The substrate binding loop structure has not been completely resolved to date in the former two bound states. Here we report the results of the first extensive molecular dynamics simulations on the three different states of PpBphB. This allowed an in depth characterization of the mechanism of ligand uptake and binding, including unraveling of the gating mechanism. Our simulations give a deep insight into several dynamic features of the enzyme that were not captured by crystal structures.