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 Iron Proteins Sulfur Catalysis Methionine Methylation Cofactor Biosynthesis Molecular Cluster Cleavage Vitamin B 12 Carbon Formic Acid Aldehyde Decarbonylase Aldehydes Modification Electrons Protein Spectrum Analysis Escherichia Coli Nucleic Acids X Rays Cysteine

Most Recent Papers

The biosynthesis of lipoic acid

Squire Booker, 2022, FASEB Journal

Structure of a B<sub>12</sub>-dependent radical SAM enzyme in carbapenem biosynthesis

Hayley L. Knox, Erica K. Sinner, Craig A. Townsend, Amie K. Boal, Squire J. Booker, 2022, Nature on p. 343-348

Structural characterization of cobalamin-dependent radical S-adenosylmethionine methylases

Hayley L. Knox, Squire J. Booker, 2022, on p. 3-27

[FeFe]-Hydrogenase

Adrien Pagnier, Batuhan Balci, Eric M. Shepard, Hao Yang, Douglas M. Warui, Stella Impano, Squire J. Booker, Brian M. Hoffman, William E. Broderick, Joan B. Broderick, 2022, Angewandte Chemie - International Edition

Using peptide substrate analogs to characterize a radical intermediate in NosN catalysis

Bo Wang, Alexey Silakov, Squire J. Booker, 2022, on p. 469-487

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

Biochemical Approaches to Probe the Role of the Auxiliary Iron-Sulfur Cluster of Lipoyl Synthase from Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Vivian Robert Jeyachandran, Jay V. Pendyala, Erin L. McCarthy, Amie K. Boal, Squire J. Booker, 2021, on p. 307-332

Structural basis for carbapenem C-alkylation by TokK, a B12-dependent radical SAM enzyme

O Knox, Sinner, C Townsend, A Boal, Squire Booker, 2021, Nature

Radical S-adenosylmethionine methylases

Danielle V. Millera, Hayley L. Knoxa, Bo Wang, Erica L. Schwalm, Anthony J. Blaszczyk, Squire J. Booker, 2020, on p. 24-69

Overview and introduction

J. Martin Bollinger, Vahe Bandarian, Squire J. Booker, 2020, on p. 1-2

Most-Cited Papers

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

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

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

Auxiliary iron-sulfur cofactors in radical SAM enzymes

Nicholas D. Lanz, Squire J. Booker, 2015, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Cell Research on p. 1316-1334

A high-throughput screen for quorum-sensing inhibitors that target acyl-homoserine lactone synthases

Quin H. Christensen, Tyler L. Grove, Squire J. Booker, E. Peter Greenberg, 2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 13815-13820

Destruction and reformation of an iron-sulfur cluster during catalysis by lipoyl synthase

Erin L. McCarthy, Squire J. Booker, 2017, Science on p. 373-377

Atlas of the Radical SAM Superfamily

Gemma L. Holliday, Eyal Akiva, Elaine C. Meng, Shoshana D. Brown, Sara Calhoun, Ursula Pieper, Andrej Sali, Squire J. Booker, Patricia C. Babbitt, 2018, on p. 1-71

Identification and function of auxiliary iron-sulfur clusters in radical SAM enzymes

Nicholas D. Lanz, Squire J. Booker, 2012, BBA - Protein Structure on p. 1196-1212

News Articles Featuring Squire Booker

Apr 18, 2022

Booker receives Hans Neurath Award from Protein Society

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 honored with the Hans Neurath Award from the Protein Society, the premier international society dedicated to supporting protein research.

Full Article

Apr 06, 2022

First round of funded projects announced from the Benkovic Research Initiative

Four projects have been announced as recipients of funding from the Patricia and Stephen Benkovic Research Initiative, which supports risky, highly innovative investigation at the interface of chemistry and the life sciences.

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Feb 02, 2022

The key to a powerful antibiotic’s formation now clear

A powerful class of antibiotics called carbapenems can circumvent antibiotic resistance thanks to a particular chain of atoms in their structure. Now, a team of researchers from Penn State and Johns Hopkins University have imaged an enzyme involved in the creation of this chain to better understand how it forms — and perhaps replicate the process to improve future antibiotics.

Full Article

Oct 22, 2021

How To Modify RNA: Crucial Steps for Adding Chemical Tag To Transfer RNA Discovered

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. A research team, led by chemists at Penn State, has imaged a protein that facilitates this RNA modification in bacteria, allowing the researchers to reconstruct the process.

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Sep 30, 2021

Enzymes show off new moves

A 2022 annual meeting session on enzymology

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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.

Full Article

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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