Squire Booker

Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry; Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Squire Booker

Research Summary

Elucidating the chemical mechanisms by which enzymes containing iron-sulfur clusters catalyze chemical reactions. Most ongoing projects deal with members of the Radical S-adenosylmethionine Superfamily, a diverse group of enzymes that employ radical chemistry to catalyze transformations involved in post-transcriptional and post-translational modifications, cofactor biosynthesis, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and enzyme activation.

Huck Affiliations

Links

Publication Tags

Enzymes S Adenosylmethionine Proteins Iron Catalysis Aldehyde Decarbonylase Methylation Formic Acid Aldehydes Oxidation Reduction Protein Vitamin B 12 Fatty Aldehyde Electrons Sulfur Carbon Monoxide Aldehyde Oxygenases Ferritins X Ray Crystallography Formate Alkanes Carbon Substrates Rna

Most Recent Papers

Structural basis for non-radical catalysis by TsrM, a radical SAM methylase

Hayley L. Knox, Percival Yang Ting Chen, Anthony J. Blaszczyk, Arnab Mukherjee, Tyler L. Grove, Erica L. Schwalm, Bo Wang, Catherine L. Drennan, Squire J. Booker, 2021, Nature Chemical Biology on p. 485-491

First step in catalysis of the radical s-adenosylmethionine methylthiotransferase MiaB yields an intermediate with a [3Fe-4S]0-like auxiliary cluster

Bo Zhang, Arthur J. Arcinas, Matthew I. Radle, Alexey Silakov, Squire J. Booker, Carsten Krebs, 2020, Journal of the American Chemical Society on p. 1911-1924

Crystallographic snapshots of TsrM, a radical S-adenosylmethionine enzyme whose reaction is not so radical

Hayley Knox, Percival Chen, Anthony Blaszczyk, Tyler Grove, Erica Schwalm, B Wang, Catherine Drennan, Squire Booker, 2020, FASEB JOURNAL

Radical S-adenosylmethionine methylases.

Arthur Arcinas, Stephanie Maiocco, Sean Elliott, A Silakov, Squire Booker, 2020, Comprehensive Natural Products III. Chemistry and Biology

The biosynthesis of lipoic acid

E. McCarthy, Squire Booker, 2020, Comprehensive Natural Products III. Chemistry and Biology

The expanding role of methyl-coenzyme m reductase in the anaerobic functionalization of alkanes

Danielle V. Miller, Squire J. Booker, 2019, Biochemistry on p. 4269-4271

An unexpected species determined by X-ray crystallography that may represent an intermediate in the reaction catalyzed by quinolinate synthase

Olga A. Esakova, Alexey Silakov, Tyler L. Grove, Douglas M. Warui, Neela H. Yennawar, Squire J. Booker, 2019, Journal of the American Chemical Society on p. 14142-14151

Understanding the role of electron donors in the reaction catalyzed by Tsrm, a cobalamin-dependent radical S-adenosylmethionine methylase

Anthony J. Blaszczyk, Hayley L. Knox, Squire J. Booker, 2019, Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry on p. 831-839

Methanogenesis marker protein 10 (Mmp10) from methanosarcina acetivorans is a radical S-adenosylmethionine methylase that unexpectedly requires cobalamin

Matthew I. Radle, Danielle V. Miller, Tatiana N. Laremore, Squire J. Booker, 2019, Journal of Biological Chemistry on p. 11712-11725

Analysis of RNA Methylation by Phylogenetically Diverse Cfr Radical S-Adenosylmethionine Enzymes Reveals an Iron-Binding Accessory Domain in a Clostridial Enzyme

James D. Gumkowski, Ryan J. Martinie, Patrick S. Corrigan, Juan Pan, Matthew R. Bauerle, Mohamed Almarei, Squire J. Booker, Alexey Silakov, Carsten Krebs, Amie K. Boal, 2019, Biochemistry on p. 3169-3184

Most-Cited Papers

A radically different mechanism for S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferases

Tyler L. Grove, Jack S. Benner, Matthew I. Radle, Jessica H. Ahlum, Bradley J. Landgraf, Carsten Krebs, Squire J. Booker, 2011, Science on p. 604-607

Structural basis for methyl transfer by a radical SAM enzyme

Amie K. Boal, Tyler L. Grove, Monica I. McLaughlin, Neela H. Yennawar, Squire J. Booker, Amy C. Rosenzweig, 2011, Science on p. 1089-1092

Mechanistic diversity of radical S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent methylation

Matthew R. Bauerle, Erica L. Schwalm, Squire J. Booker, 2015, Journal of Biological Chemistry on p. 3995-4002

Evidence for only oxygenative cleavage of aldehydes to alk(a/e)nes and formate by cyanobacterial aldehyde decarbonylases

Ning Li, Wei Chen Chang, Douglas Warui, Squire J. Booker, Carsten Krebs, Joseph M. Bollinger, Jr., 2012, Biochemistry on p. 7908-7916

Detection of formate, rather than carbon monoxide, as the stoichiometric coproduct in conversion of fatty aldehydes to alkanes by a cyanobacterial aldehyde decarbonylase

Douglas M. Warui, Ning Li, Hanne Nørgaard, Carsten Krebs, J. Martin Bollinger, Squire J. Booker, 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society on p. 3316-3319

Conversion of fatty aldehydes to alka(e)nes and formate by a cyanobacterial aldehyde decarbonylase: Cryptic redox by an unusual dimetal oxygenase

Ning Li, Hanne Nørgaard, Douglas M. Warui, Squire J. Booker, Carsten Krebs, J. Martin Bollinger, 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society on p. 6158-6161

X-ray structure of an AdoMet radical activase reveals an anaerobic solution for formylglycine posttranslational modification

Peter J. Goldman, Tyler L. Grove, Lauren A. Sites, Martin I. McLaughlin, Squire J. Booker, Catherine L. Drennan, 2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 8519-8524

RlmN and AtsB as models for the overproduction and characterization of radical SAM proteins

Nicholas D. Lanz, Tyler L. Grove, Camelia Baleanu Gogonea, Kyung Hoon Lee, Carsten Krebs, Squire J. Booker, 2012, Methods in enzymology on p. 125-152

Cyanobacterial alkane biosynthesis further expands the catalytic repertoire of the ferritin-like 'di-iron-carboxylate' proteins

Carsten Krebs, J. Martin Bollinger, Squire J. Booker, 2011, Current Opinion in Chemical Biology on p. 291-303

Mössbauer spectroscopy of Fe/S proteins

Maria Eirini Pandelia, Nicholas D. Lanz, Squire J. Booker, Carsten Krebs, 2015, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Cell Research on p. 1395-1405

News Articles Featuring Squire Booker

Sep 15, 2021

Modifying RNA: Crucial steps for adding chemical tag to transfer RNA revealed

The chemical steps in an important cellular modification process that adds a chemical tag to some RNAs have been revealed in a new study. Interfering with this process in humans can lead to neuronal diseases, diabetes, and cancers.

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Apr 27, 2021

Squire Booker named inaugural fellow of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Squire J. Booker, Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State, holder of the Eberly Family Distinguished Chair in Science, and investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has been named an inaugural fellow of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

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Jan 18, 2021

Synthesis of potent antibiotic follows unusual chemical pathway

Images of a protein involved in creating a potent antibiotic reveal the unusual first steps of the antibiotic’s synthesis. The improved understanding of the chemistry behind this process, detailed in a new study led by Penn State chemists, could allow researchers to adapt this and similar compounds for use in human medicine.

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Sep 30, 2020

Mapping a trail of chemical reactions, Howard Hughes Investigator Squire Booker shows how one group of enzymes helps us stay healthy

Mapping a trail of chemical reactions, Howard Hughes Investigator Squire Booker shows how one group of enzymes helps us stay healthy

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May 01, 2019

Squire Booker Elected as Member of the National Academy of Sciences

Squire J. Booker, professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, Holder of the Eberly Distinguished Chair in Science, and investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

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