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Despite the immense importance of enzyme–substrate reactions, there is a lack of general and unbiased tools for identifying and prioritizing substrate proteins that are modified by the enzyme on the structural level. Here we describe a high-throughput unbiased proteomics method called System-wide Identification and prioritization of Enzyme Substrates by Thermal Analysis (SIESTA). The approach assumes that the enzymatic post-translational modification of substrate proteins is likely to change their thermal stability. In our proof-of-concept studies, SIESTA successfully identifies several known and novel substrate candidates for selenoprotein thioredoxin reductase 1, protein kinase B (AKT1) and poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase-10 systems. Wider application of SIESTA can enhance our understanding of the role of enzymes in homeostasis and disease, opening opportunities to investigate the effect of post-translational modifications on signal transduction and facilitate drug discovery., The global identification of enzyme substrates is still challenging. Here, the authors develop a method based on proteome-wide thermal shift assays to discover enzyme substrates directly from cell lysates, identifying known and novel oxidoreductase, kinase and poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase substrates.

Pseudomonasare a common cause of hospital acquired infections that may be lethal. ADP-ribosyltransferase activities ofPseudomonasexotoxin-S and -T depend on 14-3-3 proteins inside the host cell. By binding in the 14-3-3 phosphopeptide binding groove, a hydrophobic C-terminal helix of ExoS and ExoT has been thought to be crucial for their activation. However, crystal structures of the 14-3-3β:ExoS and -ExoT complexes presented here reveal an extensive novel binding interface that is sufficient for complex formation and toxin activation. We show that C-terminally truncated ExoS ADP-ribosyltransferase domain lacking the hydrophobic binding motif is active when co-expressed with 14-3-3. Moreover, swapping the hydrophobic C-terminus with a fragment fromVibrioVis toxin creates a 14-3-3 independent toxin that ADP-ribosylates known ExoS targets. Finally, we show that 14-3-3 stabilizes ExoS against thermal aggregation. Together, this indicates that 14-3-3 proteins activate exotoxin ADP-ribosyltransferase domains by chaperoning their hydrophobic surfaces independently of the hydrophobic C-terminal segment.Short summaryCrystal structures of Pseudomonas exotoxins-S and –T identify a novel hydrophobic interface with 14-3-3 proteins, and we show that 14-3-3 activates these toxins independent of their phosphopeptide groove binding C-termini, by preventing their aggregation.