IChO 2013 · Theory problem 8

Unique life of archaea

Archaea (or archaebacteria) are single-celled microorganisms. They significantly differ from bacteria and eukaryotes at the molecular level.

Enzymatic reaction of methylamine with water is the major energy source for some archaea. In a particular experiment, an archaea strain was cultivated at pH 7 under anaerobic (oxygen free) conditions with the nutrient medium containing \(\ce{^{13}CH3NH2}\) as the only energy source. After a certain incubation period, the gas over the archaea culture was sampled and analyzed. It was found that the gas contains two substances, A and B, in a molar ratio of 1 : 3 correspondingly (the sample density relative to \(\ce{H2}\) is 12.0).

8.1 Calculate the volume fractions (in %) of A and B in the mixture.

8.2 Determine A and B if there are no nitrogen atoms in the gas collected.

8.3 Write down the equation of enzymatic reaction of methylamine with water described in the above experiment using predominant form of each species.

Enzymes containing the residue of α-amino acid X, are found in many archaea capable of methylamine utilization. It is known that X:

  • is composed of atoms of 4 elements;
  • contains 18.8 mass % of oxygen;
  • possesses the single individual tRNA and is incorporated into proteins of archaea during translation.

Amino acid L-lysine (see the structure in scheme below) was identified as the X precursor in archaea. All carbon and nitrogen atoms found in X originate from two starting lysine molecules. Different isotope-labelled L-lysines were introduced into a model system to clarify the biosynthetic pathways of X. The results are summarized in the table.

Isotope composition of L-lysine Molar mass (rounded to integer) of the X residue \(\ce{[RCH(NH2)CO]}\), bound to tRNA, \((\mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}})\)
Normal 238
All carbons \(\ce{^{13}C}\), all nitrogens \(\ce{^{15}N}\) 253
ε-amino group with \(\ce{^{15}N}\) 239

8.4 Determine the molecular formula of X.

X is biosynthesized in archaea according to the following scheme (\(E_1\), \(E_2\), and \(E_3\) – enzymes):

Figure 1

At the first step, lysine is transformed into its structural isomer (α-amino acid, C), whereas D contains a peptide bond, and E a formyl group \(\ce{-CHO}\). All reaction coefficients in the above scheme are equal to 1.

8.5 i) Give the chemical formula of C, D and E.

ii) From the reaction types given hereunder, choose (tick) only one corresponding to the enzyme \(E_3\) catalyzed reaction.

  • ☐ Oxidative deamination
  • ☐ Decarboxylation
  • ☐ Intermolecular deamination
  • ☐ Hydroxylation
  • ☐ Peptide bond hydrolysis

X contains the following fragment:

Figure 2

R is a massive substituent (\(M>100\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}\)). The 3rd carbon atom is non-asymmetric. The 4th and 5th carbon atoms are stereogenic centres. All carbon atoms in the cycle are bound with at least one hydrogen atom. Each substituent (H, Me and R) is found only once.

8.6 Determine the positions of substituents H, Me, and R.

8.7 Draw structural formulae of C and X with stereochemical details. Mark every stereocenter of X with either \(R\) or \(S\).

Only one codon is responsible for the incorporation of X residues into proteins in archaea. The nitrogen bases forming this codon contain two exocyclic amino groups and three exocyclic oxygen atoms in total.

Figure 3

8.8 Determine the nucleotide composition of the codon by filling in the hereunder table. Write down the number of each nitrogen base in the codon encoding X. Tick only one box in each line.

The number of bases in the codon

Nitrogen base 1 2 3 0 or 1 1 or 2
A
C
G
U

The fragment of mRNA coding sequence given below contains the codons encoding X residue incorporation into an archaea enzyme:

\(5'\ldots\mathrm{AAUAGAAUUAGCGGAACAGAGGGUGAC}\ldots3'\)

8.9 a Using the table of the genetic code, decide how many amino acid residues are incorporated into the enzyme chain due to this fragment translation.

8.9 b Write down the amino acid sequence translated from this fragment. Note that more than one X residue is found in the fragment.

Fill in the boxes below with the amino acid abbreviations (from N- to C-terminus).

Note that the number of boxes is excessive. If there is more than one possibility, write all separated by “/”. If the translation is stopped in a particular position, write “STOP” and leave all the boxes to the right empty.

Figure 4

(a) RNA codons for the twenty amino acids

Second base

First base U C A G Third base
U Phe Ser Tyr Cys U
U Phe Ser Tyr Cys C
U Leu Ser STOP STOP A
U Leu Ser STOP Trp G
C Leu Pro His Arg U
C Leu Pro His Arg C
C Leu Pro Gln Arg A
C Leu Pro Gln Arg G
A Ile Thr Asn Ser U
A Ile Thr Asn Ser C
A Ile Thr Lys Arg A
A Met (start) Thr Lys Arg G
G Val Ala Asp Gly U
G Val Ala Asp Gly C
G Val Ala Glu Gly A
G Val Ala Glu Gly G
Amino Acids Abbreviations:
Ala = Alanine
Arg = Arginine
Asp = Aspartic acid
Asn = Aaparagine
Cys = Cysteine
Glu = Glutamic Acid
Gln = Glutamine
Gly = Glycine
His = Histidine
Ile = Isoleucine
Leu = Leucine
Lys = Lysine
Met = Methionine
Phe = Phenylalanine
Pro = Proline
Ser = Serine
Thr = Threonine
Trp = Tryptophan
Tyr = Tyrosine
Val = Valine

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • 8.1: \(A=25\%\), \(B=75\%\) by volume.

  • 8.2: A is carbon dioxide-\(^{13}\mathrm C\), \(\ce{^{13}CO2}\), O=[13C]=O; B is methane-\(^{13}\mathrm C\), \(\ce{^{13}CH4}\), [13CH4].

  • 8.3: \[ \boxed{\ce{4 ^{13}CH3NH3+ + 3 H2O -> 3 ^{13}CH4 + H^{13}CO3- + 4 NH4+ + H+}} \]

  • 8.4: \(\boxed{\ce{C12H21N3O3}}\). X is pyrrolysine, N[C@@H](CCCCNC(=O)[C@@H]1N=CC[C@H]1C)C(=O)O.

  • 8.5 i: \(\boxed{\mathbf C:\ce{C6H14N2O2};\quad \mathbf D:\ce{C12H26N4O3};\quad \mathbf E:\ce{C12H23N3O4}}\). Their names and structural SMILES are given in the solution.

  • 8.5 ii: Oxidative deamination.

  • 8.6: \(\boxed{3:\mathrm H;\quad4:\mathrm{Me};\quad5:\mathrm R}\).

  • 8.7: C is \((2R,3R)\)-2,5-diamino-3-methylpentanoic acid, N[C@H]([C@H](C)CCN)C(=O)O. X has three stereocentres: the lysine α-carbon is \(S\), and ring positions 4 and 5 are both \(R\).

  • 8.8: Tick 1 for A, 0 or 1 for C, 0 or 1 for G, and 1 for U. Exactly one of C and G is present.

  • 8.9 a: \(\boxed{8\text{ amino acid residues}}\), reading UGA as selenocysteine in this enzyme-coding fragment.

  • 8.9 b: From N- to C-terminus: \[ \boxed{\mathrm{X-Asn-X-Arg-Asn-Arg-Gly-Sec}} \] Here X is pyrrolysine and Sec is selenocysteine. Fill eight boxes and leave the remaining two empty.

Solution

8.1

At the same temperature and pressure, gas volumes are proportional to amounts in moles. Thus

\[ \phi_A=\frac{1}{1+3}\times100\%=25\%, \qquad \phi_B=\frac{3}{1+3}\times100\%=75\%. \]

8.2

The reference gas is dihydrogen, \(\ce{H2}\), [H][H]. Using the integer atomic masses appropriate to the supplied data,

\[ \overline M =D_{\ce{H2}}M_{\ce{H2}} =12.0\times2.00 =24.0\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}. \]

Since \(n_A:n_B=1:3\),

\[ \frac{M_A+3M_B}{4}=24.0\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}. \]

The substrate is methylamine-\(^{13}\mathrm C\), [13CH3]N. Its carbon has oxidation state \(-2\). Disproportionation can oxidize one carbon to \(+4\) in carbon dioxide and reduce three carbons to \(-4\) in methane: the first releases six electrons, while the other three consume two electrons each.

For the labelled products,

\[ M(\ce{^{13}CO2})=13+2(16)=45\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}, \] \[ M(\ce{^{13}CH4})=13+4(1)=17\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}. \]

Their mean molar mass is

\[ \frac{45+3(17)}4=24.0\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}, \]

which matches the measured density. Therefore A is labelled carbon dioxide and B is labelled methane, with the identities and SMILES given above.

8.3

At pH 7, the predominant aqueous forms are methylammonium rather than methylamine, ammonium rather than ammonia, and hydrogen carbonate rather than dissolved carbon dioxide.

The additional species in the equation are:

Species Name SMILES
\(\ce{^{13}CH3NH3+}\) Methylammonium-\(^{13}\mathrm C\) [13CH3][NH3+]
\(\ce{H2O}\) Water O
\(\ce{H^{13}CO3-}\) Hydrogen carbonate-\(^{13}\mathrm C\) O[13C](=O)[O-]
\(\ce{NH4+}\) Ammonium [NH4+]
\(\ce{H+}\) Hydrogen ion, conventionally representing a solvated proton [H+]

The balanced equation is

\[ \boxed{\ce{4 ^{13}CH3NH3+ + 3 H2O -> 3 ^{13}CH4 + H^{13}CO3- + 4 NH4+ + H+}}. \]

Both sides contain four carbon atoms, thirty hydrogen atoms, four nitrogen atoms and three oxygen atoms; both have total charge \(+4\).

The gaseous oxidized product remains carbon dioxide. Its relationship to the predominant dissolved form is

\[ \ce{^{13}CO2 + H2O <=> H^{13}CO3- + H+}. \]

8.4

The specified tRNA-bound residue is the acyl group \(\ce{RCH(NH2)CO}\). Recovering the free amino acid adds an OH group, of molar mass \(17\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}\). Hence

\[ M_X=238+17=255\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}. \]

An α-amino acid already contains C, H, N and O, so these are its four elements. Its number of oxygen atoms is

\[ n_{\mathrm O} =\frac{0.188(255)}{16} =2.996\approx3. \]

Each replacement of \(\ce{^{12}C}\) by \(\ce{^{13}C}\), or \(\ce{^{14}N}\) by \(\ce{^{15}N}\), raises the rounded molar mass by \(1\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}\). Thus

\[ n_{\mathrm C}+n_{\mathrm N}=253-238=15. \]

Two lysine molecules supply at most twelve carbons and four nitrogens. Selective labelling of both starting ε-amino groups raises the product mass by only one unit, so exactly one of those two nitrogen atoms is retained. Including the two possible α-amino nitrogens gives

\[ n_{\mathrm N}\leq3,\qquad n_{\mathrm C}\leq12. \]

Their sum is fifteen, so both upper bounds must be attained:

\[ n_{\mathrm C}=12,\qquad n_{\mathrm N}=3. \]

The remaining mass is hydrogen:

\[ n_{\mathrm H} =\frac{255-12(12)-3(14)-3(16)}{1} =21. \]

Therefore

\[ \boxed{X=\ce{C12H21N3O3}}. \]

The oxygen percentage checks:

\[ \frac{48}{255}\times100\%=18.82\%\approx18.8\%. \]

8.5 i

L-Lysine is \((2S)\)-2,6-diaminohexanoic acid, N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)O, with molecular formula \(\ce{C6H14N2O2}\).

Because C is a structural isomer of lysine,

\[ \boxed{C=\ce{C6H14N2O2}}. \]

Condensation of one molecule of C with one lysine molecule eliminates one water molecule:

\[ \ce{C6H14N2O2 + C6H14N2O2 -> C12H26N4O3 + H2O}. \]

Therefore

\[ \boxed{D=\ce{C12H26N4O3}}. \]

Since E loses one water molecule to produce X,

\[ \ce{C12H23N3O4 -> C12H21N3O3 + H2O}, \]

and hence

\[ \boxed{E=\ce{C12H23N3O4}}. \]

The structures, with the stereochemistry established in 8.6–8.7, are as follows. These SMILES represent neutral free-acid forms.

Compound Name SMILES
C \((2R,3R)\)-2,5-Diamino-3-methylpentanoic acid; 3-methyl-D-ornithine N[C@H]([C@H](C)CCN)C(=O)O
D \(N^\varepsilon\)-[(2R,3R)-2,5-diamino-3-methylpentanoyl]-L-lysine N[C@@H](CCCCNC(=O)[C@H](N)[C@H](C)CCN)C(=O)O
E \(N^\varepsilon\)-[(2R,3R)-2-amino-3-methyl-5-oxopentanoyl]-L-lysine N[C@@H](CCCCNC(=O)[C@H](N)[C@H](C)CC=O)C(=O)O

Their condensed connectivities are

\[ \begin{aligned} C:\;&\ce{HOOC-CH(NH2)-CH(CH3)-CH2-CH2-NH2},\\ D:\;&\ce{HOOC-CH(NH2)-(CH2)4-NH-C(=O)-CH(NH2)-CH(CH3)-CH2-CH2-NH2},\\ E:\;&\ce{HOOC-CH(NH2)-(CH2)4-NH-C(=O)-CH(NH2)-CH(CH3)-CH2-CHO}. \end{aligned} \]

The amide in D joins the carboxyl group of C to the ε-amino group of the second lysine molecule.

8.5 ii

The terminal aminomethyl group in D becomes the aldehyde group in E. This is oxidative deamination.

Writing the neutral molecular forms, its oxidation half-reaction is

\[ \ce{C12H26N4O3 + H2O -> C12H23N3O4 + NH3 + 2 H+ + 2 e-}. \]

Here \(\ce{NH3}\) is ammonia, N. The electron acceptor is not specified in the problem.

The retained amino group of E then attacks its aldehyde carbon intramolecularly. Condensation eliminates water and forms the five-membered imine ring of X.

8.6

Position 3 is a saturated ring carbon with two different ring paths. A methyl or R substituent there would produce a stereogenic methine carbon. Since position 3 is expressly non-asymmetric, its indicated substituent must be H, making it a methylene group.

The remaining substituents, Me and R, occupy positions 4 and 5.

Reverse the final imine-forming condensation conceptually: the imine carbon at position 2 becomes the aldehyde, while the ring nitrogen becomes an amino group attached to position 5. Because precursor C is an α-amino acid, its carboxyl-derived carbonyl must be attached directly to that amino-bearing carbon. Thus the large carboxamide substituent is at position 5:

\[ \mathrm R=\ce{-C(=O)-NH-(CH2)4-CH(NH2)-COOH}. \]

This is the lysine-derived carboxamide substituent, represented with its ring attachment marked by [*] as [*]C(=O)NCCCC[C@H](N)C(=O)O. Its composition is \(\ce{C7H13N2O3}\), corresponding to approximately \(173\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}\), consistent with the stated mass condition.

Consequently,

\[ \boxed{3:\mathrm H,\qquad4:\mathrm{Me},\qquad5:\mathrm R}. \]

8.7

For C, the required structure is

\[ \ce{HOOC-CH(NH2)-CH(CH3)-CH2-CH2-NH2}, \]

with configurations \(\boxed{2R,3R}\).

A precise Fischer-projection description is: put the carboxyl group at the top and the \(\ce{CH2CH2NH2}\) chain at the bottom; place the amino group on the right at C2 and the methyl group on the right at C3, with hydrogen on the left at both centres. Its stereochemical SMILES is N[C@H]([C@H](C)CCN)C(=O)O.

For X, retain the five-membered ring orientation shown in the question:

  • The double bond joins N1 and C2.
  • C3 is a methylene group.
  • C4 bears methyl on the dashed bond, directed away from the viewer.
  • C5 bears R on the solid wedge, directed toward the viewer.
  • The lysine α-carbon retains its \(S\) configuration.

The CIP priorities establish the ring configurations:

Centre Priorities, highest to lowest Configuration
Ring C4 Ring path through C5; ring path through C3; methyl; H \(R\)
Ring C5 Ring N; carbonyl carbon of R; ring C4; H \(R\)
Lysine α-carbon Amino N; carboxyl carbon; side-chain carbon; H \(S\)

For example, at ring C5 the carbonyl carbon has the comparison list \((\mathrm O,\mathrm O,\mathrm N)\), which outranks the \((\mathrm C,\mathrm C,\mathrm H)\) list of ring C4.

Thus X is pyrrolysine, with

\[ \boxed{\text{lysine }\alpha:S;\qquad\text{ring }4:R;\qquad\text{ring }5:R}. \]

Its complete stereochemical SMILES is

N[C@@H](CCCCNC(=O)[C@@H]1N=CC[C@H]1C)C(=O)O.

The wedges specify configuration; they do not require a particular fixed ring conformation.

8.8

The functional-group counts in the four bases are:

Base Name and SMILES Exocyclic amino groups Exocyclic oxygen atoms
A Adenine, Nc1ncnc2[nH]cnc12 1 0
C Cytosine, Nc1cc[nH]c(=O)n1 1 1
G Guanine, Nc1nc2[nH]cnc2c(=O)[nH]1 1 1
U Uracil, O=c1cc[nH]c(=O)[nH]1 0 2

Let their numbers in the codon be \(a,c,g,u\). A codon contains three bases:

\[ a+c+g+u=3. \]

The two amino groups give

\[ a+c+g=2, \]

so \(u=1\). The three oxygen atoms give

\[ c+g+2u=3, \]

hence \(c+g=1\), and therefore \(a=1\).

The completed table is

Nitrogen base 1 2 3 0 or 1 1 or 2
A ✓
C ✓
G ✓
U ✓

Thus the codon contains one A, one U, and either one C or one G. This determines composition, but not yet order.

8.9 a

A candidate X codon must contain exactly the bases AUC or AUG in some order. Checking the three reading frames, the first two contain no complete codons with either composition. The third frame gives

\[ 5'\ldots\mathrm{AA}\mid \mathrm{UAG}\mid \mathrm{AAU}\mid \mathrm{UAG}\mid \mathrm{CGG}\mid \mathrm{AAC}\mid \mathrm{AGA}\mid \mathrm{GGG}\mid \mathrm{UGA}\mid \mathrm C\ldots3'. \]

UAG occurs twice, whereas UGA occurs once. Since only one codon encodes X and more than one X residue occurs in the fragment,

\[ \boxed{\text{X codon}=\mathrm{UAG}}. \]

There are eight complete codons. The leading AA and trailing C are incomplete codons and contribute no residues to the requested count.

Since the fragment belongs to the coding sequence of the enzyme, the final complete codon, UGA, is read as selenocysteine in this enzyme-coding fragment. Therefore

\[ \boxed{8\text{ amino acid residues are incorporated}}. \]

8.9 b

The translation is

Complete codon Residue
UAG X, pyrrolysine
AAU Asn
UAG X, pyrrolysine
CGG Arg
AAC Asn
AGA Arg
GGG Gly
UGA Sec

Hence, from N- to C-terminus,

\[ \boxed{\mathrm{X-Asn-X-Arg-Asn-Arg-Gly-Sec}}. \]

The additional amino acids are identified below. The SMILES describe their neutral free amino acids; incorporation into the protein gives the corresponding peptide residues.

Abbreviation Name SMILES
Asn L-Asparagine N[C@@H](CC(=O)N)C(=O)O
Arg L-Arginine N[C@@H](CCCNC(=N)N)C(=O)O
Gly Glycine NCC(=O)O
Sec L-Selenocysteine, with \(R\) configuration at its α-carbon N[C@@H](C[SeH])C(=O)O

Fill the first eight answer boxes with this sequence and leave the final two empty.

The solution was checked against the official solution.