Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36989297›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2023

Identification of a broadly conserved family of enzymes that hydrolyze (p)ppApp.

Shehryar Ahmad, Isis J Gordon, Kara K Tsang, Andrea G Alexei, David Sychantha, Jake Colautti, Sarah L Trilesky, Youngchang Kim, Boyuan Wang, John C Whitney

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Prokaryotic homeostasis - a solution to thrive and survive.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2025
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Shehryar AhmadMichael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-2747-5212
Isis J GordonDepartment of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75235.ORCID 0000-0001-8336-160X
Kara K TsangDepartment of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-7742-8855
Andrea G AlexeiMichael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.
David SychanthaMichael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.
Jake ColauttiMichael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.
Sarah L TrileskyMichael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.
Youngchang KimStructural Biology Center, X-ray Science, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439.ORCID 0000-0002-1610-4889
Boyuan WangDepartment of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.
John C WhitneyMichael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-4517-8836
McMaster University · CALondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · GBArgonne National Laboratory · USThe University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center · US

Funding

In-depth characterization of the metabolic effect of the bacterial alamorne ppGppR00GM135536 · NIGMS · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI WANG, BOYUAN · 2022 to 2024
$747k
NIGMS NIH HHS R00 GM135536
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bacteria produce a variety of nucleotide second messengers to adapt to their surroundings. Although chemically similar, the nucleotides guanosine penta- and tetraphosphate [(p)ppGpp] and adenosine penta- and tetraphosphate [(p)ppApp] have distinct functions in bacteria. (p)ppGpp mediates survival under nutrient-limiting conditions and its intracellular levels are regulated by synthetases and hydrolases belonging to the RelA-SpoT homolog (RSH) family of enzymes. By contrast, (p)ppApp is not known to be involved in nutrient stress responses and is synthesized by RSH-resembling toxins that inhibit the growth of bacterial cells. However, it remains unclear whether there exists a family of hydrolases that specifically act on (p)ppApp to reverse its toxic effects. Here, we present the structure and biochemical characterization of adenosine 3'-pyrophosphohydrolase 1 (Aph1), the founding member of a monofunctional (p)ppApp hydrolase family of enzymes. Our work reveals that Aph1 adopts a histidine-aspartate (HD)-domain fold characteristic of phosphohydrolase metalloenzymes and its activity mitigates the growth inhibitory effects of (p)ppApp-synthesizing toxins. Using an informatic approach, we identify over 2,000 putative (p)ppApp hydrolases that are widely distributed across bacterial phyla and found in diverse genomic contexts, and we demonstrate that 12 representative members hydrolyze ppApp. In addition, our in silico analyses reveal a unique molecular signature that is specific to (p)ppApp hydrolases, and we show that mutation of two residues within this signature broadens the specificity of Aph1 to promiscuously hydrolyze (p)ppGpp in vitro. Overall, our findings indicate that like (p)ppGpp hydrolases, (p)ppApp hydrolases are widespread in bacteria and may play important and underappreciated role(s) in bacterial physiology.

Indexed as

Bacterial ProteinsToxins, BiologicalAdenine NucleotidesAdenosineBacteriaGuanosine PentaphosphateGuanosine TetraphosphateHydrolasesLigasesAdenine NucleotidesAdenosineadenosine 3'-diphosphate 5'-diphosphateBacterial ProteinsGuanosine PentaphosphateGuanosine TetraphosphateHydrolasesLigasesToxins, Biologicalalarmonepolymorphic toxins(p)ppAppX-ray crystallography

Identifiers

PMID36989297
PMCPMC10083569
OpenAlexW4361298593

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.