Identification of Residue Involved in Nucleotidyltransferase Activity of LinA from Staphylococci by Site-directed Mutagenesis

The lincosamide class of antibacterials is widely used for the treatment of a broad spectrum of infections, and one prevalent route of resistance to lincosamides in pathogenic gram-positive cocco is antibiotic modification. Enzymes encoded by lin genes, belonging to nucleotidyltransferase superfamily, catalyze adenylylation to inactivate lincosamides. LinA can adenylylate lincosamides at either 3?-or 4?-OH of the methylthiolincosamide sugar. The crystal structure of LinA/lincomycin has confirmed its active site. However, the residue interacting with nucleotidyl donors remains elusive. Here, we modeled the complex structure of LinA/lincomycin/Mg~(2+)/AMPCPP to reveal a putative pocket for nucleotidyl donors and suggested the residue R45 in this pocket involved in the recognition of donor substrates NTP and catalysis. ITC and enzyme activity assays show that the mutation of residue R45 impairs LinA nucleotidyltransferase activity in vitro. This work provides insights into the molecular mechanism of the nucleotide binding and transferring activity of antibiotic NTases.