Characterization of a Glucose-, Xylose-, Sucrose-, and d-Galactose-Stimulated β-Glucosidase from the Alkalophilic Bacterium Bacillus halodurans C-125

Improved methods for genetic manipulation of the alkaliphile Halalkalibacterium halodurans

An improved approach was developed for the genetic manipulation of the Gram-positive extremophile Halalkalibacterium halodurans (formerly called Bacillus halodurans). We describe an allelic replacement method originally developed for Staphylococcus aureus that allows the deletion, mutation, or insertion of genes without leaving markers or other genetic scars. In addition, a protocol for rapid in vitro plasmid methylation and transformation is presented. The combined methods allow the routine genetic manipulation of H. halodurans from initial transformation to the desired strain in 8 days. These methods improve H. halodurans as a model organism for the study of extremophiles.

Characterization of a novel cold-adapted GH1 β-glucosidase from Psychrobacillus glaciei and its application in the hydrolysis of soybean isoflavone glycosides

The novel β-glucosidase gene (pgbgl1) of glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 1 from the psychrotrophic bacterium Psychrobacillus glaciei sp. PB01 was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The deduced PgBgl1 contained 447 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 51.4 kDa. PgBgl1 showed its maximum activity at pH 7.0 and 40 °C, and still retained over 10% activity at 0 °C, suggesting that the recombinant PgBgl1 is a cold-adapted enzyme. The substrate specificity, Km, Vmax, and Kcat/Km for the p-Nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (pNPG) as the substrate were 1063.89 U/mg, 0.36 mM, 1208.31 U/mg and 3871.92/s, respectively. Furthermore, PgBgl1 demonstrated remarkable stimulation of monosaccharides such as glucose, xylose, and galactose, as well as NaCl. PgBgl1 also demonstrated a high capacity to convert the primary soybean isoflavone glycosides (daidzin, genistin, and glycitin) into their respective aglycones. Overall, PgBgl1 exhibited high catalytic activity towards aryl glycosides, suggesting promising application prospects in the food, animal feed, and pharmaceutical industries.

Marine enzymes: Classification and application in various industries

Oceans are regarded as a plentiful and sustainable source of biological compounds. Enzymes are a group of marine biomaterials that have recently drawn more attention because they are produced in harsh environmental conditions such as high salinity, extensive pH, a wide temperature range, and high pressure. Hence, marine-derived enzymes are capable of exhibiting remarkable properties due to their unique composition. In this review, we overviewed and discussed characteristics of marine enzymes as well as the sources of marine enzymes, ranging from primitive organisms to vertebrates, and presented the importance, advantages, and challenges of using marine enzymes with a summary of their applications in a variety of industries. Current biotechnological advancements need the study of novel marine enzymes that could be applied in a variety of ways. Resources of marine enzyme can benefit greatly for biotechnological applications duo to their biocompatible, ecofriendly and high effectiveness. It is beneficial to use the unique characteristics offered by marine enzymes to either develop new processes and products or improve existing ones. As a result, marine-derived enzymes have promising potential and are an excellent candidate for a variety of biotechnology applications and a future rise in the use of marine enzymes is to be anticipated.

Enhancing the ethanol production by exploiting a novel metagenomic-derived bifunctional xylanase/β-glucosidase enzyme with improved β-glucosidase activity by a nanocellulose carrier

Some enzymes can catalyze more than one chemical conversion for which they are physiologically specialized. This secondary function, which is called underground, promiscuous, metabolism, or cross activity, is recognized as a valuable feature and has received much attention for developing new catalytic functions in industrial applications. In this study, a novel bifunctional xylanase/β-glucosidase metagenomic-derived enzyme, PersiBGLXyn1, with underground β-glucosidase activity was mined by in-silico screening. Then, the corresponding gene was cloned, expressed and purified. The PersiBGLXyn1 improved the degradation efficiency of organic solvent pretreated coffee residue waste (CRW), and subsequently the production of bioethanol during a separate enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) process. After characterization, the enzyme was immobilized on a nanocellulose (NC) carrier generated from sugar beet pulp (SBP), which remarkably improved the underground activity of the enzyme up to four-fold at 80°C and up to two-fold at pH 4.0 compared to the free one. The immobilized PersiBGLXyn1 demonstrated 12 to 13-fold rise in half-life at 70 and 80°C for its underground activity. The amount of reducing sugar produced from enzymatic saccharification of the CRW was also enhanced from 12.97 g/l to 19.69 g/l by immobilization of the enzyme. Bioethanol production was 29.31 g/l for free enzyme after 72 h fermentation, while the immobilized PersiBGLXyn1 showed 51.47 g/l production titre. Overall, this study presented a cost-effective in-silico metagenomic approach to identify novel bifunctional xylanase/β-glucosidase enzyme with underground β-glucosidase activity. It also demonstrated the improved efficacy of the underground activities of the bifunctional enzyme as a promising alternative for fermentable sugars production and subsequent value-added products.

Unconventional β-Glucosidases: A Promising Biocatalyst for Industrial Biotechnology

β-Glucosidases primarily catalyze removal of terminal glucosyl residues from a variety of glucoconjugates and also perform transglycosylation and reverse hydrolysis. These catalytic properties can be readily exploited for degradation of lignocellulosic biomass as well as for pharmaceutical, food and flavor industries. β-Glucosidases have been either isolated in the native form from the producer organism or recombinantly expressed and gaged for their biochemical properties and substrate specificities. Although almond and Aspergillus niger have been instantly recognizable sources of β-glucosidases utilized for various applications, an intricate pool of novel β-glucosidases from different sources can provide their potent replacements. Moreover, one can envisage the better efficacy of these novel candidates in biofuel and biorefinery industries facilitating efficient degradation of biomass. This article reviews properties of the novel β-glucosidases such as glucose tolerance and activation, substrate specificity, and thermostability which can be useful for their applications in lignocellulose degradation, food industry, and pharmaceutical industry in comparison with the β-glucosidases from the conventional sources. Such β-glucosidases have potential for encouraging white biotechnology.

A thermostable 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from Thermotoga maritima enhances glyphosate tolerance in Escherichia coli and transgenic Arabidopsis

5-Enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) overexpression, attempting to provide excess EPSPS to combine with glyphosate, is one way to improve glyphosate resistance of plants. The EPSPS in extremophiles which is selected by nature to withstand the evolutionary pressure may possess some potential-specific biological functions. In this study, we reported the cloning, expression and enzymatic characterization of a novel Class II EPSPS AroAT. maritima from Thermotoga maritima MSB8. The enzyme showed low sequence identities with other EPSPSs, and was one of the most thermostable EPSPSs so far, which showed the optimum enzyme activity at 80 °C. The enzyme maintains the activity below 50 °C and in a wide range of pH 4.0-10, which indicated its stability under rough environment, especially in tropical regions and alkaline soil. Excellent Ki/Km value of AroAT. maritima suggested that the enzyme showed powerful competitive binding capacity of PEP over glyphosate and high glyphosate tolerance. Furthermore, aroAT. maritima gene was transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana. The transgenic lines were resistant to 15 mM glyphosate, which proved the application value in the cultivation of glyphosate-tolerant plants.

Glucose tolerant and glucose stimulated β-glucosidases - A review

The β-glucosidases (β-D-glucoside glucohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.21) hydrolyze glycosidic bonds of alkyl-, amino-, or aryl-β-D-glucosides, cyanogenic glucosides, disaccharides and short oligosaccharides and can also catalyze the synthesis of glycosyl-bonds between different molecules via transglycosylation. Due to their ubiquitous phylogenetic distribution, substrate diversity and ability to both hydrolyze and synthesize glycosidic bonds, the catalysis and regulation of β-glucosidases have been extensively studied. Many β-glucosidases are inhibited by the reaction product glucose, and reduced catalytic activity may limit the biotechnological and industrial applications of these enzymes and this has stimulated the search for β-glucosidases that maintain their activity at high glucose concentrations. Studies of many glucose tolerant enzymes have been reported and due to the ongoing interest in these enzymes, here it has been reviewed this accumulated body of knowledge which provides valuable insights as to the kinetics, structure, regulation and evolution of glucose tolerant and glucose stimulated β-glucosidases.

Cellulases from Thermophiles Found by Metagenomics

Cellulases are a heterogeneous group of enzymes that synergistically catalyze the hydrolysis of cellulose, the major component of plant biomass. Such reaction has biotechnological applications in a broad spectrum of industries, where they can provide a more sustainable model of production. As a prerequisite for their implementation, these enzymes need to be able to operate in the conditions the industrial process requires. Thus, cellulases retrieved from extremophiles, and more specifically those of thermophiles, are likely to be more appropriate for industrial needs in which high temperatures are involved. Metagenomics, the study of genes and gene products from the whole community genomic DNA present in an environmental sample, is a powerful tool for bioprospecting in search of novel enzymes. In this review, we describe the cellulolytic systems, we summarize their biotechnological applications, and we discuss the strategies adopted in the field of metagenomics for the discovery of new cellulases, focusing on those of thermophilic microorganisms.

Increased enzymatic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse by a novel glucose- and xylose-stimulated β-glucosidase from Anoxybacillus flavithermus subsp. yunnanensis E13T

Background

β-Glucosidase is claimed as a key enzyme in cellulose hydrolysis. The cellulosic fibers are usually entrapped with hemicelluloses containing xylose. So there is ongoing interest in searching for glucose- and xylose-stimulated β-glucosidases to increase the efficiency of hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass.

Results

A thermostable β-glucosidase gene (Bglp) was cloned from Anoxybacillus flavithermus subsp. yunnanensis E13^T and characterized. Optimal enzyme activity was observed at 60 °C and pH 7.0. Bglp was relatively stable at 60 °C with a 10-h half-life. The kinetic parameters V_max and K_m for p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (pNPG) were 771 ± 39 μmol/min/mg and 0.29 ± 0.01 mM, respectively. The activity of Bglp is dramatically stimulated by glucose or xylose at concentrations up to 1.4 M. After Bglp was added to Celluclast® 1.5 L, the conversion of sugarcane bagasse was 48.4 ± 0.8%, which was much higher than of Celluclast® 1.5 L alone. Furthermore, Bglp showed obvious advantages in the hydrolysis when initial concentrations of glucose and xylose are high.

Conclusions

The supplementation of BglP significantly enhanced the glucose yield from sugarcane bagasse, especially in the presence of high concentrations of glucose or xylose. Bglp should be a promising candidate for industrial applications.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12858-017-0079-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Structures of a glucose-tolerant β-glucosidase provide insights into its mechanism

Cellulose can be converted to ethanol via the fermentation of glucose, which is considered as a promising green alternative for transportation fuels. The conversion of cellulose to glucose needs three enzymes, in which β-glucosidase (BGL) plays an essential role. However, BGL is inhibited by its own product glucose, greatly limiting its applications in industry. We previously obtained a novel BGL named Bgl6 with a high glucose tolerance. Further engineering through random mutagenesis produced a triple mutant M3 with improved thermostability. This enzyme shows promising properties for wide applications but the structural basis of the unusual properties of Bgl6 is not clear. In this study, we determined the crystal structures of Bgl6 and variants at high resolution, which provide insights into its glucose-tolerant mechanism and thermostability. Particularly, Bgl6 forms an extra channel that could be used as a secondary binding site for glucose, which may contribute to glucose tolerance. Additionally, the triple mutations could strengthen the hydrophobic interactions within the enzyme and may be responsible for the enhanced thermostability exhibited by M3, which was further confirmed by dynamic light scattering data. Lastly, structural comparison to other orthologs allows us to formulate new strategies on how to improve the catalytic efficiency of Bgl6.

Identification of a phosphinothricin-resistant mutant of rice glutamine synthetase using DNA shuffling

To date, only bar/pat gene derived from Streptomyces has been used to generate the commercial PPT-resistant crops currently available in the market. The limited source of bar/pat gene is probably what has caused the decrease in PPT-tolerance, which has become the main concern of those involved in field management programs. Although glutamine synthetase (GS) is the target enzyme of PPT, little study has been reported about engineering PPT-resistant plants with GS gene. Then, the plant-optimized GS gene from Oryza sativa (OsGS1S) was chemically synthesized in the present study by PTDS to identify a GS gene for developing PPT-tolerant plants. However, OsGS1S cannot be directly used for developing PPT-tolerant plants because of its poor PPT-resistance. Thus, we performed DNA shuffling on OsGS1S, and one highly PPT-resistant mutant with mutations in four amino acids (A63E, V193A, T293A and R295K) was isolated after three rounds of DNA shuffling and screening. Among the four amino acids substitutions, only R295K was identified as essential in altering PPT resistance. The R295K mutation has also never been previously reported as an important residue for PPT resistance. Furthermore, the mutant gene has been transformed into Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Arabidopsis to confirm its potential in developing PPT-resistant crops.

Engineering a novel glucose-tolerant β-glucosidase as supplementation to enhance the hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse at high glucose concentration

BACKGROUND

Most β-glucosidases reported are sensitive to the end product (glucose), making it the rate limiting component of cellulase for efficient degradation of cellulose through enzymatic route. Thus, there are ongoing interests in searching for glucose-tolerant β-glucosidases, which are still active at high glucose concentration. Although many β-glucosidases with different glucose-tolerance levels have been isolated and characterized in the past decades, the effects of glucose-tolerance on the hydrolysis of cellulose are not thoroughly studied.

RESULTS

In the present study, a novel β-glucosidase (Bgl6) with the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50) of 3.5 M glucose was isolated from a metagenomic library and characterized. However, its poor thermostability at 50 °C hindered the employment in cellulose hydrolysis. To improve its thermostability, random mutagenesis was performed. A thermostable mutant, M3, with three amino acid substitutions was obtained. The half-life of M3 at 50 °C is 48 h, while that of Bgl6 is 1 h. The K cat/K m value of M3 is 3-fold higher than that of Bgl6. The mutations maintained its high glucose-tolerance with IC 50 of 3.0 M for M3. In a 10-h hydrolysis of cellobiose, M3 completely converted cellobiose to glucose, while Bgl6 reached a conversion of 80 %. Then their synergistic effects with the commercial cellulase (Celluclast 1.5 L) on hydrolyzing pretreated sugarcane bagasse (SCB) were investigated. The supplementation of Bgl6 or mutant M3 to Celluclast 1.5 L significantly improved the SCB conversion from 64 % (Celluclast 1.5 L alone) to 79 % (Bgl6) and 94 % (M3), respectively. To further evaluate the application potential of M3 in high-solids cellulose hydrolysis, such reactions were performed at initial glucose concentration of 20-500 mM. Results showed that the supplementation of mutant M3 enhanced the glucose production from SCB under all the conditions tested, improving the SCB conversion by 14-35 %.

CONCLUSIONS

These results not only clearly revealed the significant role of glucose-tolerance in cellulose hydrolysis, but also showed that mutant M3 may be a potent candidate for high-solids cellulose refining.

Characterization of a novel β-glucosidase from Gongronella sp. W5 and its application in the hydrolysis of soybean isoflavone glycosides

A novel β-glucosidase named BglW5 from Gongronella sp. was isolated, purified, and characterized for the first time. Under solid state fermentation, the yield of BglW5 was 49.9 U/g fermented medium. BglW5 was stable over a wide pH range of 3.0-8.5 and retained more than 50% of its maximal activity after incubation at 25 °C for 96 h. The half-lives of BglW5 were 20 h at 60 °C, and 1 h at 70 °C. The activity of BglW5 was stimulated by xylose and fructose at concentrations up to 500 mM, with maximal stimulatory effect of 1.6-fold and 2.2-fold, respectively. BglW5 converted isoflavone glycosides to aglycones, with a hydrolysis rate of 96.2% for daidzin and 96.7% for genistin. The productivities were 1.5 mmol L(-1) h(-1) for daidzein and 1.23 mmol L(-1) h(-1) for genistein, respectively. These features suggest that BglW5 has great application potential in the hydrolysis of soybean isoflavone glycosides.

Characterization of a class II 5-enopyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase with high tolerance to glyphosate from Sinorhizobium fredii

5-Enopyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSP synthase) is an important enzyme in the shikimate pathway mediating the biosynthesis of aromatic compounds in plants and microorganisms. A novel class II EPSP synthase AroA S. fredii from Sinorhizobium fredii NGR234 was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21. It was purified to homogeneity and its catalytic properties were studied. The enzyme exhibited optimum catalytic activity at pH 8.0 and 50 °C. It was stable below 40 °C, and over a broad range of pH 5.0-9.0. The EPSP synthase was increasingly activated by 100 mM of the chlorides of NH4 (+), K(+), Na(+) and Li(+). Kinetic analysis of AroA S. fredii suggested that the enzyme exhibited a high glyphosate tolerance and high level of affinity for phosphoenolpyruvate, which indicates the enzyme with a high potential for structural and functional studies and its potential usage for the generation of transgenic crops resistant to the herbicide.

Heterologous expression and characterization of laccase 2 from Coprinopsis cinerea capable of decolourizing different recalcitrant dyes

The gene (CcLcc2) encoding laccase from the basidiomycete Coprinopsis cinerea Okayama-7 #130 was synthesized by polymerase chain reaction-based two-step DNA synthesis, and heterologously expressed in Pichia pastoris. The recombinant protein was purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation and nickel nitrilotriacetic acid chromatography. The molecular mass of CcLcc2 was estimated to be 54 kDa by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The optimum pH and temperature for laccase catalysis for the oxidation of 2,2ʹ-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS) were 2.6 and 45 °C, respectively. The Km values of the enzyme towards the substrates ABTS, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (2,6-DMP) and guaiacol were 0.93, 1.02 and 28.07 mmol·L⁻¹, respectively. The decolourization of methyl orange, crystal violet and malachite green, commonly used in the textile industry, was assessed. The decolourization percentage of crystal violet and malachite green was 80% after 4 h of reaction, and that of methyl orange was 50% at 4 h. These results show that the CcLcc2 has enormous potential for the decolourization of highly stable triphenylmethane dyes.

Two promising alkaline β-glucosidases isolated by functional metagenomics from agricultural soil, including one showing high tolerance towards harsh detergents, oxidants and glucose

New β-glucosidase activities were identified by screening metagenomic libraries constructed with DNA isolated from the topsoil of a winter wheat field. Two of the corresponding proteins, displaying an unusual preference for alkaline conditions, were selected for purification by Ni-NTA chromatography. AS-Esc6, a 762-amino-acid enzyme belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 3, proved to be a mesophilic aryl-β-glucosidase with maximal activity around pH 8 and 40 °C. A similar pH optimum was found for AS-Esc10, a 475-amino-acid GH1-family enzyme, but this enzyme remained significantly active across a wider pH range and was also markedly more stable than AS-Esc6 at pH greater than 10. AS-Esc10 was found to degrade cellobiose and diverse aryl glycosides, with an optimal temperature of 60 °C and good stability up to 50 °C. Unlike AS-Esc6, which showed a classically low inhibitory constant for glucose (14 mM), AS-Esc10 showed enhanced activity in the presence of molar concentrations of glucose. AS-Esc10 was highly tolerant to hydrogen peroxide and also to sodium dodecyl sulfate, this being indicative of kinetic stability. This unique combination of properties makes AS-Esc10 a particularly promising candidate whose potential in biotechnological applications is worth exploring further.

Mutation by DNA shuffling of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from Malus domestica for improved glyphosate resistance

A new 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene from Malus domestica (MdEPSPS) was cloned and characterized by rapid amplification of cDNA ends to identify an EPSPS gene appropriate for the development of transgenic glyphosate-tolerant plants. However, wild-type MdEPSPS is not suitable for the development of transgenic glyphosate-tolerant plants because of its poor glyphosate resistance. Thus, we performed DNA shuffling on MdEPSPS, and one highly glyphosate-resistant mutant with mutations in eight amino acids (N63D, N86S, T101A, A187T, D230G, H317R, Y399R and C413A.) was identified after five rounds of DNA shuffling and screening. Among the eight amino acid substitutions on this mutant, only two residue changes (T101A and A187T) were identified by site-directed mutagenesis as essential and additive in altering glyphosate resistance, which was further confirmed by kinetic analyses. The single-site A187T mutation has also never been previously reported as an important residue for glyphosate resistance. Furthermore, transgenic rice was used to confirm the potential of MdEPSPS mutant in developing glyphosate-resistant crops.

Production of a xylose-stimulated β-glucosidase and a cellulase-free thermostable xylanase by the thermophilic fungus Humicola brevis var. thermoidea under solid state fermentation

Humicola brevis var. thermoidea cultivated under solid state fermentation in wheat bran and water (1:2 w/v) was a good producer of β-glucosidase and xylanase. After optimization using response surface methodology the level of xylanase reached 5,791.2 ± 411.2 U g(-1), while β-glucosidase production was increased about 2.6-fold, reaching 20.7 ± 1.5 U g(-1). Cellulase levels were negligible. Biochemical characterization of H. brevis β-glucosidase and xylanase activities showed that they were stable in a wide pH range. Optimum pH for β-glucosidase and xylanase activities were 5.0 and 5.5, respectively, but the xylanase showed 80 % of maximal activity when assayed at pH 8.0. Both enzymes presented high thermal stability. The β-glucosidase maintained about 95 % of its activity after 26 h in water at 55 °C, with half-lives of 15.7 h at 60 °C and 5.1 h at 65 °C. The presence of xylose during heat treatment at 65 °C protected β-glucosidase against thermal inactivation. Xylanase maintained about 80 % of its activity after 200 h in water at 60 °C. Xylose stimulated β-glucosidase activity up to 1.7-fold, at 200 mmol L(-1). The notable features of both xylanase and β-glucosidase suggest that H. brevis crude culture extract may be useful to compose efficient enzymatic cocktails for lignocellulosic materials treatment or paper pulp biobleaching.

Functional characterization of Class II 5-enopyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from Halothermothrix orenii H168 in Escherichia coli and transgenic Arabidopsis

Although a large number of AroA enzymes (5-enopyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase [EPSPS]) have been identified, cloned and tested for glyphosate resistance, only AroA variants derived from Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain CP4 have been successfully used commercially. We have now used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based two-step DNA synthesis (PTDS) method to synthesize an aroA gene (aroA(H. orenii)) from Halothermothrix orenii H168 encoding a new EPSPS similar to AroA(A. tumefaciens CP4.) AroA(H. orenii) was then expressed in Escherichia coli and key kinetic values of the purified enzyme were determined. Kinetic analysis of AroA(H. orenii) indicated that the full-length enzyme exhibited increased tolerance to glyphosate compared with E. coli AroA(E. coli) while retaining a high affinity for the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants containing aroA(H. orenii) were resistant to 15 mM glyphosate. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that residues Thr355Ser affected the affinity of AroA(H. orenii) for glyphosate, providing further evidence that specific amino acid residues are responsible for differences in enzymatic behavior among different AroA enzymes.

Improvement of glyphosate resistance through concurrent mutations in three amino acids of the Ochrobactrum 5-enopyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase

A mutant of 5-enopyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from Ochrobactrum anthropi was identified after four rounds of DNA shuffling and screening. Its ability to restore the growth of the mutant ER2799 cell on an M9 minimal medium containing 300 mM glyphosate led to its identification. The mutant had mutations in seven amino acids: E145G, N163H, N267S, P318R, M377V, M425T, and P438L. Among these mutations, N267S, P318R, and M425T have never been previously reported as important residues for glyphosate resistance. However, in the present study they were found by site-directed mutagenesis to collectively contribute to the improvement of glyphosate tolerance. Kinetic analyses of these three mutants demonstrated that the effectiveness of these three individual amino acid alterations on glyphosate tolerance was in the order P318R > M425T > N267S. The results of the kinetic analyses combined with a three-dimensional structure modeling of the location of P318R and M425T demonstrate that the lower hemisphere's upper surface is possibly another important region for glyphosate resistance. Furthermore, the transgenic Arabidopsis was obtained to confirm the potential of the mutant in developing glyphosate-resistant crops.