Substrate specificity and complex stability of coproporphyrin ferrochelatase is governed by hydrogen-bonding interactions of the four propionate groups

Coproporpyhrin III is the substrate of coproporphyrin ferrochelatases (CpfCs). These enzymes catalyse the insertion of ferrous iron into the porphyrin ring. This is the penultimate step within the coproporphyrin-dependent haeme biosynthesis pathway. This pathway was discovered in 2015 and is mainly utilised by monoderm bacteria. Prior to this discovery, monoderm bacteria were believed to utilise the protoporphyrin-dependent pathway, analogously to diderm bacteria, where the substrate for the respective ferrochelatase is protoporphyrin IX, which has two propionate groups at positions 6 and 7 and two vinyl groups at positions 2 and 4. In this work, we describe for the first time the interactions of the four-propionate substrate, coproporphyrin III, and the four-propionate product, iron coproporphyrin III (coproheme), with the CpfC from Listeria monocytogenes and pin down differences with respect to the protoporphyrin IX and haeme b complexes in the wild-type (WT) enzyme. We further created seven LmCpfC variants aiming at altering substrate and product coordination. The WT enzyme and all the variants were comparatively studied by spectroscopic, thermodynamic and kinetic means to investigate in detail the H-bonding interactions, which govern complex stability and substrate specificity. We identified a tyrosine residue (Y124 in LmCpfC), coordinating the propionate at position 2, which is conserved in monoderm CpfCs, to be highly important for binding and stabilisation. Importantly, we also describe a tyrosine-serine-threonine triad, which coordinates the propionate at position 4. The study of the triad variants indicates structural differences between the coproporphyrin III and the coproheme complexes. Enzyme: EC 4.99.1.9.