The First Structure of a Bacterial Class B Acid Phosphatase Reveals Further Structural Heterogeneity Among Phosphatases of the Haloacid Dehalogenase Fold

AphA is a periplasmic acid phosphatase of Escherichia coli belonging to class B bacterial phosphatases, which is part of the DDDD superfamily of phosphohydrolases. The crystal structure of AphA has been determined at 2.2 Å and its resolution extended to 1.7 Å on an AuCl3 derivative. This represents the first crystal structure of a class B bacterial phosphatase. Despite the lack of sequence homology, the AphA structure reveals a haloacid dehalogenase-like fold. This finding suggests that this fold could be conserved among members of the DDDD superfamily of phosphohydrolases. The active enzyme is a homotetramer built by using an extended N-terminal arm intertwining the four monomers. The active site of the native enzyme, as prepared, hosts a magnesium ion, which can be replaced by other metal ions. The structure explains the non-specific behaviour of AphA towards substrates, while a structure-based alignment with other phosphatases provides clues about the catalytic mechanism.