Crystal structure of blue laccase BP76, a unique termite suicidal defense weapon
Jiří Brynda1, Jana Škerlová1, Jan Šobotník2,3, Marek Zákopčaník4, Petr Novák4, Thomas Bourguignon5, David Sillam-Dussès6 & Pavlína Řezáčová1
1Institute of
Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, 160 00, Czech Republic
2Faculty of Tropical
AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague,
165 00, Czech Republic
3Institute of
Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, České
Budějovice, 370 05, Czech Republic
4Institute of
Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, 142
20, Czech Republic
5Okinawa Institute
of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa,
904-0495, Japan
6Laboratory of
Experimental and Comparative Ethology, UR 4443, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord,
Villetaneuse, 93430, France
rezacova@uochb.cas.cz
Aging workers of the termite Neocapritermes taracua can defend their colony by sacrificing themselves by body rupture, mixing the externally stored blue laccase BP76 with hydroquinones to produce a sticky liquid rich in toxic benzoquinones. Here, we describe the crystal structure of BP76 isolated from N. taracua in its native form (Figure 1) [1]. The structure reveals several stabilization strategies, including compact folding, glycosylation, and flexible loops with disulfide bridges and tight dimer interface. The remarkable stability of BP76 maintains its catalytic activity in solid state during the lifespan of N. taracua workers, providing old workers with an efficient defensive weapon to protect their colony.
Figure 1: Crystal structure of blue laccase BP76 from Neocapritermes
taracua.
[1] Skerlova, J. et al. 2024. Structure 32, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.str.2024.07.015