Large-Size Subunit Catalases Are Chimeric Proteins: A H₂ O₂ Selecting Domain with Catalase Activity Fused to a Hsp31-Derived Domain Conferring Protein Stability and Chaperone Activity

Bacterial and fungal large-size subunit catalases (LSCs) are like small-size subunit catalases (SSCs) but have an additional C-terminal domain (CT). The catalytic domain is conserved at both primary sequence and structural levels and its amino acid composition is optimized to select H₂ O₂ over water. The CT is structurally conserved, has an amino acid composition similar to very stable proteins, confers high stability to LSCs, and has independent molecular chaperone activity. While heat and denaturing agents increased Neurospora crassa catalase-1 (CAT-1) activity, a CAT-1 version lacking the CT (C63) was no longer activated by these agents. The addition of catalase-3 (CAT-3) CT to the CAT-1 or CAT-3 catalase domains prevented their heat denaturation in vitro. Protein structural alignments indicated CT similarity with members of the DJ-1/PfpI superfamily and the CT dimers present in LSCs constitute a new type of symmetric dimer within this superfamily. However, only the bacterial Hsp31 proteins show sequence similarity to the bacterial and fungal catalase mobile coil (MC) and are phylogenetically related to MC_CT sequences. LSCs might have originated by fusion of SSC and Hsp31 encoding genes during early bacterial diversification, conferring at the same time great stability and molecular chaperone activity to the novel catalases.