A yeast sterol carrier protein with fatty-acid and fatty-acyl-CoA binding activity

The 14-kDa sterol carrier protein 2 (SCP2) domain is present in Eukaria, Bacteria and Archaea, and has been implicated in the transport and metabolism of lipids. We report the cloning, expression, purification and physicochemical characterization of a SCP2 from the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica (YLSCP2). Analytical size-exclusion chromatography, circular dichroism and fluorescence spectra, indicate that recombinant YLSCP2 is a well-folded monomer. Thermal unfolding experiments show that SCP2 maximal stability is at pH 7.0–9.0. YLSCP2 binds cis-parinaric acid and palmitoyl-CoA with KD values of 81 ± 40 nM and 73 ± 33 nM, respectively, sustaining for the first time the binding of fatty acids and their CoA esters to a nonanimal SCP2. The role of yeast SCP2 and other lipid binding proteins in transport, storage and peroxisomal oxidation of fatty acids is discussed.