Structural features correlated with the extreme thermostability of 1[4Fe-4S] ferredoxin from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima

Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind extreme temperature stability is of relevance for the protein folding problem and for designing proteins for industrial and medical applications. A powerful approach for understanding the structural basis of thermostability is the comparison of high resolution structures of homologous proteins from mesophiles and thermophiles. The 1.75 Angstrom crystal structure of Thermotoga maritima 1[4Fe-4S] ferredoxin was compared with those of mesophilic ferredoxins. Detailed analysis of structural differences reveals that thermostability is achieved without large changes of the overall polypeptide chain folding. The most striking differences include the formation of additional hydrogen bonding networks involving both side-chain and main-chain atoms. These networks are mainly connecting turns and strongly fix the N-terminus to the central core of the protein, increasing the overall rigidity of Thermotoga maritima ferredoxin. Other possibly stabilizing factors are the shortening of a solvent exposed surface loop, the increased content of alanines in the second cu-helix, and the replacement of three residues close to the iron-sulfur cluster, which are in energetically unfavourable conformations in other ferredoxins, by glycines.