{"id":{"repo_id":"columbia-diss","oai_identifier":"oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/D8736Q7B"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/columbia-diss/oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/D8736Q7B","repository":{"repo_id":"columbia-diss","name":"Columbia University","base_url":"https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/oai"},"display":{"title":"Structural and Functional Studies of Biotin-Dependent Carboxylases","abstract":"A persisting question in biology concerns the exceptional diversity of metabolic enzymes and how they respond to their ligands and dynamic environments with remarkable precision. In humans, the family of biotin-dependent carboxylases holds important roles in intermediary metabolism. Recent years have witnessed significant progress toward understanding these enzymes' roles in homeostatic regulation. However, due to a lack of structural information, their catalytic mechanisms, as well as the macromolecular consequences of their genetic mutations, are still not well understood. This dissertation describes the characterization of two biotin-dependent carboxylases that catalyze essential metabolic transformations in humans and bacteria, using X-ray crystallography to elucidate their structures and biochemical assays to verify their activities. We engineer a novel chimeric variant of propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC) and produce the first crystal structure of its 750-kDa α6β6 holoenzyme. This structure reveals the architecture of PCC's twelve catalytic domains and allows the mapping of its disease-associated gene mutations to predict their effects on enzyme stability and catalysis. We also identify and describe a new domain that is integral to maintaining inter-subunit contacts within PCC. Following this, we extend our studies to methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCC), another 750-kDa α6β6 holoenzyme that differs from PCC primarily in its substrate preference. The crystal structure of MCC assumes a markedly different configuration from PCC despite the high sequence identity between the two. Theorizing that these enzymes may represent unique lineages in the evolution of the biotin-dependent carboxylases, we apply similar approaches to the study of a third biotin-dependent carboxylase. Our efforts have produced the first two holoenzyme structures of CoA-recognizing biotin-dependent carboxylases, and provide valuable insight for understanding the functions of these vital enzymes.","abstract_html":"A persisting question in biology concerns the exceptional diversity of metabolic enzymes and how they respond to their ligands and dynamic environments with remarkable precision. In humans, the family of biotin-dependent carboxylases holds important roles in intermediary metabolism. Recent years have witnessed significant progress toward understanding these enzymes' roles in homeostatic regulation. However, due to a lack of structural information, their catalytic mechanisms, as well as the macromolecular consequences of their genetic mutations, are still not well understood. This dissertation describes the characterization of two biotin-dependent carboxylases that catalyze essential metabolic transformations in humans and bacteria, using X-ray crystallography to elucidate their structures and biochemical assays to verify their activities. We engineer a novel chimeric variant of propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC) and produce the first crystal structure of its 750-kDa α6β6 holoenzyme. This structure reveals the architecture of PCC's twelve catalytic domains and allows the mapping of its disease-associated gene mutations to predict their effects on enzyme stability and catalysis. We also identify and describe a new domain that is integral to maintaining inter-subunit contacts within PCC. Following this, we extend our studies to methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCC), another 750-kDa α6β6 holoenzyme that differs from PCC primarily in its substrate preference. The crystal structure of MCC assumes a markedly different configuration from PCC despite the high sequence identity between the two. Theorizing that these enzymes may represent unique lineages in the evolution of the biotin-dependent carboxylases, we apply similar approaches to the study of a third biotin-dependent carboxylase. Our efforts have produced the first two holoenzyme structures of CoA-recognizing biotin-dependent carboxylases, and provide valuable insight for understanding the functions of these vital enzymes.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Huang, Christine S."],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013","date_published":"2013","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:44:29Z","subjects":["Biochemistry","Biophysics","Biotin","Pyruvate carboxylase","Enzymes--Metabolism","Mutagenesis"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D8736Q7B","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Huang, Christine S."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2013"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Theses"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Biochemistry","Biophysics","Biotin","Pyruvate carboxylase","Enzymes--Metabolism","Mutagenesis"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.7916/D8736Q7B"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["A persisting question in biology concerns the exceptional diversity of metabolic enzymes and how they respond to their ligands and dynamic environments with remarkable precision. In humans, the family of biotin-dependent carboxylases holds important roles in intermediary metabolism. Recent years have witnessed significant progress toward understanding these enzymes' roles in homeostatic regulation. However, due to a lack of structural information, their catalytic mechanisms, as well as the macromolecular consequences of their genetic mutations, are still not well understood. This dissertation describes the characterization of two biotin-dependent carboxylases that catalyze essential metabolic transformations in humans and bacteria, using X-ray crystallography to elucidate their structures and biochemical assays to verify their activities. We engineer a novel chimeric variant of propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC) and produce the first crystal structure of its 750-kDa α6β6 holoenzyme. This structure reveals the architecture of PCC's twelve catalytic domains and allows the mapping of its disease-associated gene mutations to predict their effects on enzyme stability and catalysis. We also identify and describe a new domain that is integral to maintaining inter-subunit contacts within PCC. Following this, we extend our studies to methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCC), another 750-kDa α6β6 holoenzyme that differs from PCC primarily in its substrate preference. The crystal structure of MCC assumes a markedly different configuration from PCC despite the high sequence identity between the two. Theorizing that these enzymes may represent unique lineages in the evolution of the biotin-dependent carboxylases, we apply similar approaches to the study of a third biotin-dependent carboxylase. Our efforts have produced the first two holoenzyme structures of CoA-recognizing biotin-dependent carboxylases, and provide valuable insight for understanding the functions of these vital enzymes."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Structural and Functional Studies of Biotin-Dependent Carboxylases"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Huang, Christine S."],"dc:date":["2013"],"dc:description":["A persisting question in biology concerns the exceptional diversity of metabolic enzymes and how they respond to their ligands and dynamic environments with remarkable precision. In humans, the family of biotin-dependent carboxylases holds important roles in intermediary metabolism. Recent years have witnessed significant progress toward understanding these enzymes' roles in homeostatic regulation. However, due to a lack of structural information, their catalytic mechanisms, as well as the macromolecular consequences of their genetic mutations, are still not well understood. This dissertation describes the characterization of two biotin-dependent carboxylases that catalyze essential metabolic transformations in humans and bacteria, using X-ray crystallography to elucidate their structures and biochemical assays to verify their activities. We engineer a novel chimeric variant of propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC) and produce the first crystal structure of its 750-kDa α6β6 holoenzyme. This structure reveals the architecture of PCC's twelve catalytic domains and allows the mapping of its disease-associated gene mutations to predict their effects on enzyme stability and catalysis. We also identify and describe a new domain that is integral to maintaining inter-subunit contacts within PCC. Following this, we extend our studies to methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCC), another 750-kDa α6β6 holoenzyme that differs from PCC primarily in its substrate preference. The crystal structure of MCC assumes a markedly different configuration from PCC despite the high sequence identity between the two. Theorizing that these enzymes may represent unique lineages in the evolution of the biotin-dependent carboxylases, we apply similar approaches to the study of a third biotin-dependent carboxylase. Our efforts have produced the first two holoenzyme structures of CoA-recognizing biotin-dependent carboxylases, and provide valuable insight for understanding the functions of these vital enzymes."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.7916/D8736Q7B"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["Biochemistry","Biophysics","Biotin","Pyruvate carboxylase","Enzymes--Metabolism","Mutagenesis"],"dc:title":["Structural and Functional Studies of Biotin-Dependent Carboxylases"],"dc:type":["Theses"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:44:29Z"}