Porphyromonas gingivalis, an asaccharolytic Gram-negative oral anaerobe, is a major pathogen associated with adult periodontitis, a chronic infective disease that a significant percentage of the human population suffers from. It preferentially utilizes dipeptides as its carbon source, suggesting the importance of dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) types of enzyme for its growth. Until now DPP IV, DPP5, 7 and 11 have been extensively investigated. Here, we report the characterization of DPP III using molecular biology, biochemical, biophysical and computational chemistry methods. In addition to the expected evolutionarily conserved regions of all DPP III family members, PgDPP III possesses a C-terminal extension containing an Armadillo (ARM) type fold similar to the AlkD family of bacterial DNA glycosylases, implicating it in alkylation repair functions. However, complementation assays in a DNA repair-deficient Escherichia coli strain indicated the absence of alkylation repair function for PgDPP III. Biochemical analyses of recombinant PgDPP III revealed activity similar to that of DPP III from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, and in the range between activities of human and yeast counterparts. However, the catalytic efficiency of the separately expressed DPP III domain is ~1000-fold weaker. The structure and dynamics of the ligand-free enzyme and its complex with two different diarginyl arylamide substrates was investigated using small angle X-ray scattering, homology modeling, MD simulations and hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX). The correlation between the experimental HDX and MD data improved with simulation time, suggesting that the DPP III domain adopts a semi-closed or closed form in solution, similar to that reported for human DPP III. The obtained results reveal an atypical DPP III with increased structural complexity: its superhelical C-terminal domain contributes to peptidase activity and influences DPP III interdomain dynamics. Overall, this research reveals multifunctionality of PgDPP III and opens direction for future research of DPP III family proteins.

The objective of our study is to uncover the micro-processes of managing repeated episodes of tensions occurrence between product and service business model. By contrasting 10 national subsidiaries, we find that whereas the unsuccessful subsidiaries pursue a bargaining process to tension management that preserves the dualism between the two business models, the successful subsidiaries upgrade from an initial synergistic process to a subsequent routinized process of tension management, which allows them to move towards a duality. Rather than bargaining for compromises between diverging interests, the successful subsidiaries engaged in promoting common overarching goals, resolving the conflict of interest, and promoting the identification of synergies. As trust in the success of the synergistic process grows, organizational members begin to learn how to resolve conflicts without their leader’s active mediation. They jointly generate and implement routines for the proactive identification of latent tensions,...

Product providers have increasingly embraced services alongside their product offerings in order to improve performance. Yet, it remains unclear how this change in the market strategy and the underpinning innovation in the business model – the activity system design –jointly create value. Relying on 12 case studies of product providers that shifted to providing highly sophisticated service offerings – outcome-based contracts – we derive theoretical propositions regarding the interplay of service market strategy and business model innovation on value creation. The product providers we studied report two interdependent changes that they pursue to secure the required fit; they evolve the market strategy from pure products to outcomes so as to achieve a better fit with the client’s needs and to grow the service business. In parallel, they ‘open up’ their business models to maintain the internal activity system’s fit with their core competencies while relying on ecosystem partners for activities outside the pr...

Manufacturing companies increasingly search to improve their competitiveness through service growth opportunities. However, the service transition strategy brings additional risks as complementary ...