Substrate specificity of pullulanase

Exploration of the Transglycosylation Activity of Barley Limit Dextrinase for Production of Novel Glycoconjugates

A few α-glucan debranching enzymes (DBEs) of the large glycoside hydrolase family 13 (GH13), also known as the α-amylase family, have been shown to catalyze transglycosylation as well as hydrolysis. However, little is known about their acceptor and donor preferences. Here, a DBE from barley, limit dextrinase (HvLD), is used as a case study. Its transglycosylation activity is studied using two approaches; (i) natural substrates as donors and different p-nitrophenyl (pNP) sugars as well as different small glycosides as acceptors, and (ii) α-maltosyl and α-maltotriosyl fluorides as donors with linear maltooligosaccharides, cyclodextrins, and GH inhibitors as acceptors. HvLD showed a clear preference for pNP maltoside both as acceptor/donor and acceptor with the natural substrate pullulan or a pullulan fragment as donor. Maltose was the best acceptor with α-maltosyl fluoride as donor. The findings highlight the importance of the subsite +2 of HvLD for activity and selectivity when maltooligosaccharides function as acceptors. However, remarkably, HvLD is not very selective when it comes to aglycone moiety; different aromatic ring-containing molecules besides pNP could function as acceptors. The transglycosylation activity of HvLD can provide glycoconjugate compounds with novel glycosylation patterns from natural donors such as pullulan, although the reaction would benefit from optimization.

On the cluster structure of amylopectin

Two opposing models for the amylopectin structure are historically and comprehensively reviewed, which leads us to a better understanding of the specific fine structure of amylopectin. Amylopectin is a highly branched glucan which accounts for approximately 65-85 of starch in most plant tissues. However, its fine structure is still not fully understood due to the limitations of current methodologies. Since the 1940 s, many scientists have attempted to elucidate the distinct structure of amylopectin. One of the most accepted concepts is that amylopectin has a structural element known as "cluster", in which neighboring side chains with a degree of polymerization of ≥ 10 in the region of their non-branched segments form double helices. The double helical structures are arranged in inter- and intra-clusters and are the origin of the distinct physicochemical and crystalline properties of starch granules. Several models of the cluster structure have been proposed by starch scientists worldwide during the progress of analytical methods, whereas no direct evidence so far has been provided. Recently, Bertoft and colleagues proposed a new model designated as "the building block and backbone (BB) model". The BB model sharply contrasts with the cluster model in that the structural element for the BB model is the building block, and that long chains are separately synthesized and positioned from short chains constituting the building block. In the present paper, we conduct the historical review of the cluster concept detailing how and when the concept was established based on experimental results by many scientists. Then, differences between the two opposing concepts are explained and both models are critically discussed, particularly from the point of view of the biochemical regulation of amylopectin biosynthesis.

Contributions of Dexter French (1918-1981) to cycloamylose/cyclodextrin and starch science

Professor Dexter French (1918-1981) was an American chemist and biochemist at Iowa State College (University in 1959). He devoted his career to advance knowledge of polysaccharides and oligosaccharides, in particular starch, cyclodextrins, and enzymes. Cyclodextrins are oligosaccharides obtained from starch and are typically cage molecules with a hydrophobic cavity that can encapsulate other compounds nowadays the basis for many industrial applications. Since the 1960s, he has been recognized as an outstanding authority in the field of starches and cyclodextrins and has inspired researchers in laboratories around the world. This review, on the fortieth anniversary of his death, commemorates his remarkable contribution to starch and cyclodextrin chemistry. Firstly, we give an overview of his personal life and career. Secondly, we highlight some of the results on starch and cyclodextrins from Professor French and his group. A third part discusses his impact on the modern chemistry of cyclodextrins and starch.

Metatranscriptomic and Thermodynamic Insights into Medium-Chain Fatty Acid Production Using an Anaerobic Microbiome

Mixed communities of microbes play important roles in health, the environment, agriculture, and biotechnology. While tapping the combined activities of organisms within microbiomes may allow the utilization of a wider range of substrates in preference to the use of pure cultures for biomanufacturing, harnessing the metabolism of these mixed cultures remains a major challenge. Here, we predicted metabolic functions of bacteria in a microbiome that produces medium-chain fatty acids from a renewable feedstock. Our findings lay the foundation for efforts to begin addressing how to engineer and control microbiomes for improved biomanufacturing, how to build synthetic mixtures of microbes that produce valuable chemicals from renewable resources, and how to better understand the microbial communities that contribute to health, agriculture, and the environment.

Biomanufacturing from renewable feedstocks can offset fossil fuel-based chemical production. One potential biomanufacturing strategy is production of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) from organic feedstocks using either pure cultures or microbiomes. While the set of microbes in a microbiome can often metabolize organic materials of greater diversity than a single species can and while the role of specific species may be known, knowledge of the carbon and energy flow within and between organisms in MCFA-producing microbiomes is only now starting to emerge. Here, we integrated metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, and thermodynamic analyses to predict and characterize the metabolic network of an anaerobic microbiome producing MCFA from organic matter derived from lignocellulosic ethanol fermentation conversion residue. A total of 37 high-quality (>80% complete, <10% contamination) metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were recovered from the microbiome, and metabolic reconstruction of the 10 most abundant MAGs was performed. Metabolic reconstruction combined with metatranscriptomic analysis predicted that organisms affiliated with Lactobacillus and Coriobacteriaceae would degrade carbohydrates and ferment sugars to lactate and acetate. Lachnospiraceae- and Eubacteriaceae-affiliated organisms were predicted to transform these fermentation products to MCFA. Thermodynamic analyses identified conditions under which H₂ is expected to be either produced or consumed, suggesting a potential role of H₂ partial pressure in MCFA production. From an integrated systems analysis perspective, we propose that MCFA production could be improved if microbiomes were engineered to use homofermentative instead of heterofermentative Lactobacillus and if MCFA-producing organisms were engineered to preferentially use a thioesterase instead of a coenzyme A (CoA) transferase as the terminal enzyme in reverse β-oxidation.

IMPORTANCE Mixed communities of microbes play important roles in health, the environment, agriculture, and biotechnology. While tapping the combined activities of organisms within microbiomes may allow the utilization of a wider range of substrates in preference to the use of pure cultures for biomanufacturing, harnessing the metabolism of these mixed cultures remains a major challenge. Here, we predicted metabolic functions of bacteria in a microbiome that produces medium-chain fatty acids from a renewable feedstock. Our findings lay the foundation for efforts to begin addressing how to engineer and control microbiomes for improved biomanufacturing, how to build synthetic mixtures of microbes that produce valuable chemicals from renewable resources, and how to better understand the microbial communities that contribute to health, agriculture, and the environment.

Author Video: An author video summary of this article is available.

Elucidation of the mechanism of interaction between Klebsiella pneumoniae pullulanase and cyclodextrin

Crystal structures of Klebsiella pneumoniae pullulanase (KPP) in complex with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD), β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) were refined at around 1.98–2.59 Å resolution from data collected at SPring-8. In the structures of the complexes obtained with 1 mM α-CD or γ-CD, one molecule of CD was found at carbohydrate-binding module 41 only (CBM41). In the structures of the complexes obtained with 1 mM β-CD or with 10 mM α-CD or γ-CD, two molecules of CD were found at CBM41 and in the active-site cleft, where the hydrophobic residue of Phe746 occupies the inside cavity of the CD rings. In contrast to α-CD and γ-CD, one β-CD molecule was found at the active site only in the presence of 0.1 mM β-CD. These results were coincident with the solution experiments, which showed that β-CD inhibits this enzyme more than a thousand times more potently than α-CD and γ-CD. The strong inhibition of β-CD is caused by the optimized interaction between β-CD and the side chain of Phe746. The increased K i values of the F746A mutant for β-CD supported the importance of Phe746 in the strong interaction of pullulanase with β-CD.

Purification and Properties of a Thermostable Pullulanase from a Newly Isolated Thermophilic Anaerobic Bacterium, Fervidobacterium pennavorans Ven5

Extremely thermophilic anaerobic fermentative bacteria growing at temperatures between 50 and 80(deg)C (optimum, 65 to 70(deg)C) were isolated from mud samples collected at Abano Terme spa (Italy). The cells were gram-negative motile rods, about 1.8 (mu)m in length and 0.6 (mu)m in width, occurring singly and in pairs. Cells commonly formed spheroids at one end similar to Fervidobacterium islandicum and Fervidobacterium nodosum. The new isolate differs from F. nodosum by the 7% higher G+C content of its DNA (40.6 mol%) but is similar to Fervidobacterium pennavorans and F. islandicum in its G+C content and phenotypic properties. The phylogenetic dendrogram indicates that strain Ven5 belongs to the order Thermotogales and shows the highest 16S ribosomal DNA sequence similarity to F. pennavorans, F. islandicum, and F. nodosum, with similarities of 99.0, 98.6, and 96.0%, respectively. During growth on starch the strain produced a thermostable pullulanase of type I which preferentially hydrolyzed (alpha)-1,6 glucosidic linkages. The enzyme was purified 65-fold by anion-exchange, gel permeation, and hydrophobic chromatography. The native pullulanase has a molecular mass of 240,000 Da and is composed of three subunits, each with a molecular mass of 77,600 Da as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Optimal conditions for the activity and stability of the purified pullulanase were pH 6.0 and 85(deg)C. At pH 6.0, the half-life of the enzyme was over 2 h at 80(deg)C and 5 min at 90(deg)C. This is the first report on the presence of pullulanase type I in an anaerobic bacterium.

Purification and characterization of an alkaline amylopullulanase with both alpha-1,4 and alpha-1,6 hydrolytic activity from alkalophilic Bacillus sp. KSM-1378

The novel alkaline amylopullulanase produced by alkalophilic Bacillus sp. KSM-1378 was purified to an electrophoretically homogeneous state from culture medium. The purified enzyme was a glycoprotein with an apparent molecular mass of about 210 kDa and an isoelectric point of pH 4.8. The N-terminal amino acid sequence was Glu-Thr-Gly-Asp-Lys-Arg-Ile-Glu-Phe-Ser-Tyr-Glu-Arg-Pro and showed no homology to the N-terminal regions of other amylopullulanases reported to date. The enzyme was able to attack specifically the alpha-1,6 linkages in pullulan to generate maltotriose as the major end product, as well as the alpha-1,4 linkages in amylose, amylopectin and glycogen to generate various oligosaccharides. The pH and temperature optima for the pullulanase and alpha-amylase activities were pH 9.5 and 50 degrees C and pH 8.5 and 50 degrees C respectively. Both activities were strongly inhibited by well characterized inhibitors, such as diethyl pyrocarbonate and N-bromosuccinimide. The pullulanase activity was specifically inactivated by Hg2+ ions, alpha-cyclodextrin and beta-cyclodextrin while the amylase activity was strongly inhibited by EDTA and EGTA, although inhibition could be reversed by Ca2+ ions. It is suggested that the single alkaline amylopullulanase protein has two different active sites, one for the cleavage of alpha-1,4-linked substrates and one for the cleavage of alpha-1,6-linked substrates.

Substrate specificity and detailed characterization of a bifunctional amylase-pullulanase enzyme from Bacillus circulans F-2 having two different active sites on one polypeptide

Bacillus circulans F-2 amylase-pullulanase enzyme (APE) displayed dual activity with respect to glycosidic bond cleavage. The enzyme was active on alpha-1,6 bonds in pullulan, amylopectin, and glycogen, while it showed alpha-1,4 activity against malto-oligosaccharides, amylose, amylopectin, and soluble starch, but not pullulan. Kinetic analysis of the purified enzyme in a system which contained both pullulan and amylose as two competing substrates was used to distinguish the dual specificity of the enzyme from the single-substrate specificity known for pullulanases and alpha-amylases. Enzyme activities were inhibited by some metal ions, and by metal-chelating agents with a different mode. The enzyme-inhibitory results of amylase and pullulanase with Hg2+ and Co2+ ions were different, indicating that the activation mechanisms of both enzyme activities are different. Cyclomaltoheptaose inhibited both alpha-amylase and pullulanase activities with inhibition constants (Ki) of 0.029 and 0.06 mg/ml, respectively. Modification with 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide confirmed a carboxy group at the active sites of both enzymes. The N-terminal sequence of the enzyme was: Ala-Asp-Ala-Lys-Lys-Thr-Pro- Gln-Gln-Gln-Phe- Asp-Ala-Leu-Trp-Ala-Ala-Gly-Ile-Val-Thr-Gly-Thr-Pro-Asp-Gly-Phe. The purified enzyme displayed Michaelis constant (Km) values of 0.55 mg/ml for amylose, and 0.71 mg/ml for pullulan. When both amylose and pullulan were simultaneously present, the observed rate of product formation closely fitted a kinetic model in which the two substrates are hydrolyzed at different active sites. These results suggest that amylopullulanases, which possess both alpha-1,6 and alpha-1,4 cleavage activities at the same active site, should be distinguished from APEs, which contain both activities at different active sites on the same polypeptide. Also, it is proposed that the Enzyme Commission use the term 'amylase-pullulanase enzyme' to refer to enzymes which act on starch and cleave both alpha-1,6-bonds in pullulan and alpha-1,4 bonds in amylose at different active sites.

Mechanism of action of D-galacturonan digalacturonohydrolase of Selenomonas ruminantium on oligogalactosiduronic acids

The mechanism of action of the specific D-galacturonan digalacturonohydrolase [poly-(1----4)-alpha-D-galactosiduronate digalacturonohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.82] of Selenomonas ruminantium was investigated by using reducing-end [1-3H]-labeled oligogalactosiduronates having degree of polymerization 3-5 as the substrates. The reaction products, incorporation and distribution of radioactivity in products, and the frequency of oligogalactosiduronate bond-cleavage were quantitatively estimated as functions of the substrate concentration. An alternative cleavage of tri(D-galactosiduronate) occurred during the enzyme reaction, indicating the participation of some bimolecular mechanism in addition to unimolecular hydrolysis in the action of the enzyme. Unimolecular hydrolysis takes place at low initial concentration of the substrate. The shifted termolecular enzyme-substrate complex formation and the subsequent galactosyluronic transfer is the predominant mechanism in degradation of tri(D-galactosiduronate) at high concentration. Tetra(D-galactosiduronate) and penta(D-galactosiduronate) are degraded by unimolecular hydrolysis at low, as well as high concentration of the substrate.

Effects of reduced malto-oligosaccharides on the thermal stability of pullulanase from Bacillus acidopullulyticus

We investigated the effects of the reduced malto-oligosaccharides, D-glucitol (G1-OH), maltitol (G2-OH), maltotriitol (G3-OH), maltotetraitol (G4-OH), and maltopentaitol (G5-OH) on the thermal stability of Bacillus acidopullulyticus pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41). The thermal stability depended on the concentration of D-glucitol; after heat treatment for 90 min at 60 degrees in the presence of 0.56, 0.28, 0.14, or 0M G1-OH, the residual activity was 100, 80, 32, and 10% of the control, respectively. Stability increased with the number of glucosyl residues in the alditols added; the effects of G3-OH, G4-OH, and G5-OH on stability were remarkable. Addition of 30% G2-OH, G3-OH, and G4-OH also contributed to the thermal stability of the pullulanase immobilized onto chitosan beads treated with glutaraldehyde. A high concentration of G2-OH stabilized other debranching amylases, Klebsiella pneumoniae pullulanse, Bacillus sectorramus pullulanase, and Pseudomonas amyloderamosa isoamylase (EC 3.2.1.68) under heat treatment for 48 h at 60 degrees, as well as the pullullanase of B. acidopullulyticus.

Specific assay of alpha-dextrin 6-glucanohydrolase using labeled pullulan

A new method was developed for the assay of alpha-dextrin 6-glucanohydrolase (EC 3.2.1.41), which hydrolyzes the alpha-D (1----6) glucosidic bonds occurring in polyglucans such as pullulan and amylopectin limit dextrins. After enzymatic hydrolysis of a pullulan-dye conjugate, the remaining substrate is precipitated by adding ethanol. Colored reaction products are determined by measuring the supernatant absorbance at 534 nm. The assay is simple, specific, and suitable for both plant and bacterial enzymes.

Pattern of action of Bacillus stearothermophilus neopullulanase on pullulan

The action of neopullulanase from Bacillus stearothermophilus on many oligosaccharides was tested. The enzyme hydrolyzed not only alpha-(1----4)-glucosidic linkages but also specific alpha-(1----6)-glucosidic linkages of several branched oligosaccharides. When pullulan was used as a substrate, panose, maltose, and glucose, in that order, were produced as final products at a final molar ratio of 3:1:1. According to these results, we proposed a model for the pattern of action of neopullulanase on pullulan as follows. In the first step, the enzyme hydrolyzes only alpha-(1----4)-glucosidic linkages on the nonreducing side of alpha-(1----6) linkages of pullulan and produces panose and several intermediate products composed of some panose units. In the second step, taking 6(2)-O-alpha-(6(3)-O-alpha-glucosyl-maltotriosyl)-maltose as an example of one of the intermediate products, the enzyme hydrolyzes either alpha-(1----4) (the same position as that described above) or alpha-(1----6) linkages and produces panose or 6(3)-O-alpha-glucosyl-maltotriose plus maltose, respectively. In the third step, the alpha-(1----4) linkage of 6(3)-O-alpha-glucosyl-maltotriose is hydrolyzed by the enzyme, and glucose and another panose are produced. To confirm the model of the pattern of action, we extracted intermediate products produced from pullulan by neopullulanase and analyzed the structures by glucoamylase, pullulanase, and neopullulanase analyses. The experimental results supported the above-mentioned model of the pattern of action of neopullulanase on pullulan.

Purification and characterization of a highly thermostable novel pullulanase from Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum

Clostridium thermohydrosulfuricum mutant Z 21-109 produced intracellular thermostable pullulanase and glucoamylase activities. The glucoamylase activity was inactivated by treating C. thermohydrosulfuricum cells with 10% (v/v) propan-1-ol at 85 degrees C in the presence of 5 mM-CaCl2. Pullulanase activity was selectively solubilized from cells by treatment with detergent and lipase. The solubilized pullulanase was purified by treatment with streptomycin sulphate and (NH4)2SO4 and by DEAE-Sephacel, octyl-Sepharose and pullulan-Sepharose chromatography. Pullulanase was purified 3511-fold and displayed homogeneity on SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The pullulanase was a monomeric glycoprotein with an apparent Mr of about 136,500, and it displayed a pI of 5.9. The enzyme was enriched in both acidic and hydrophobic amino acids. The purified pullulanase was stable and optimally active at 90 degrees C. The optimum pH for activity and pH-stability ranges were 5.0-5.5 and 3.0-5.0 respectively. The enzyme was inhibited by cyclodextrins, EDTA and N-bromosuccinimide, but not by p-chloromercuribenzoate and acarbose. The pullulanase displayed a relative substrate specificity for hydrolysis of pullulan (100%) versus 75% for glycogen and 50% for soluble starch. The apparent Km, Vmax. and Kcat. values for enzyme activity on pullulan at 60 degrees C were 0.675 mg/ml, 122.5 mumol of reducing sugar formed/min per mg of protein and 16,240 min-1 respectively. The novel properties of this extremely thermostable pullulanase are discussed in relation to other purified starch-debranching enzymes.

Formation of 6-O-alpha-maltosylcyclomalto-oligosaccharides by transfer action of three debranching enzymes

O-Maltosylcyclomaltohexaoses (G2-cG6) were formed in yields of 24.3 and 23.2 mmol from 40 mmol of alpha-maltosyl fluoride (alpha-G2F) and 90 mmol of cyclomaltohexaose (cG6) by the transfer action of pullulanase from Aerobacter aerogenes (A-pullulanase) and isoamylase from Pseudomonas amyloderamosa, respectively. These yields were three times that given by pullulanase from Bacillus acidopullulyticus (B-pullulanase). The yields of O-maltosylcyclomalto-oligosaccharides were changed according to the origin of the enzymes and the kind of cyclomalto-oligosaccharide (cG6, cG7, or cG8) used as the acceptor. By the reaction with 40 mmol of alpha-G2F and 90 mmol of cG6, 20 mmol of alpha-G2F and 30 mmol of cG7, or 40 mmol of alpha-G2F and 90 mmol of cG8, the amounts of O-maltosylcyclomalto-oligosaccharides produced and the transfer ratios of alpha-G2F to the acceptors were as follows. By A-pullulanase, 24.3 mmol of G2-cG6 was produced in a 60.8% transfer ratio, whereas the yields of G2-cG7 and G2-cG8 were 1.7 mmol (8.5%) and 8.4 mmol (21.0%), respectively. The yields of G2-cG6, G2-cG7, and G2-cG8 by B-pullulanase were 8.8 mmol (22.0%), 1.2 mmol (6.0%), and 11.7 mmol (29.3%), respectively. In the case of isoamylase, G2-cG7 (9.2 mmol, 46.0%) and G2-cG8 (20.9 mmol, 52.3%) were produced, as much as for G2-cG6 (23.2 mmol, 58.0%). It was suggested that the difference in the amounts of G2-cG6 produced by these three debranching enzymes is based on the difference in the mode of action on the alpha-G2F used as the substrate, either a transfer action or a hydrolytic action.

Active-site- and substrate-specificity of Thermoanaerobium Tok6-B1 pullulanase

Thermoanaerobium Tok6-B1 pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41) was active on alpha 1-6-glucosidic linkages of pullulan, amylopectin and glycogen and the alpha 1-4 linkages of amylose, amylopectin and glycogen but not of pullulan. Hydrolysis of short-chain-length malto-oligosaccharides (seven or fewer glucose residues) yielded maltose as product. Pullulan hydrolysis was pH-dependent and a plot of log(V/Km) versus pH implied a carboxy group with pKa 4.3 at the active site. Modification with 1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodi-imide (EDAC) confirmed this view, and analysis of the order of reaction and inactivation kinetics suggested the presence of a single carboxy group at a catalytic centre of the active site. EDAC-mediated inhibition of pullulan alpha 1-6-bond hydrolysis was relieved by amylose or pullulan. Similarly both pullulan and amylose protected the activity directed at alpha 1-4 bonds of amylose from EDAC inhibition. When both amylose and pullulan were simultaneously present, the observed rate of product formation closely fitted a kinetic model in which both substrates were hydrolysed at the same active site.

Detection of pullulanase in polyacrylamide gels using pullulan-reactive red agar plates

After electrophoresis, active pullulanase bands in acrylamide gels have been detected by overlaying and then incubating the gel on a replica gel containing 2.5% pullulan-reactive red conjugate and 2.1% agar. The enzyme activity is revealed as a clear band against a red background on the replica gel. The sensitivity of the replica plate is such that 0.0012 unit of Klebsiella aerogenes pullulanase can be detected easily. This procedure is effective in enzyme screening to distinguish pullulanase from other carbohydrases.

Synthesis of branched cyclomalto-oligosaccharides using Pseudomonas isoamylase

Branched cyclomalto-oligosaccharides (cyclodextrins) were synthesised from cyclomalto-oligosaccharides and maltose or maltotriose through the reverse action of Pseudomonas isoamylase. The reaction rate was greater with maltotriose than with maltose, and with increasing size of the cyclomalto-oligosaccharide (cG6 less than cG7 less than cG8). Maltotriose is effective as both a side-chain donor and acceptor, and three isomers of 6-O-alpha-maltotriosylmaltotriose (branched G6) were formed through mutual condensation, but maltose was effective only as a side-chain donor. Each branched cyclomalto-oligosaccharide and G6 was purified by liquid chromatography, and their structures were determined by chemical, enzymic, and 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopic analyses.

Mechanisms of substrate digestion by endo-1,4-beta-xylanase of Cryptococcus albidus. Lysozyme-type pattern of action

The action pattern and reaction mechanism of the endo-1,4-beta-xylanase of the yeast Cryptococcus albidus were investigated using reducing-end (1-3H)-labelled and uniformly 14C-labelled beta-1,4-xylooligosaccharides up to xylopentaose. The enzyme was found to catalyze degradation of oligosaccharides also by other pathways than a simple hydrolytic cleavage. Bond-cleavage frequency of xylotriose, xylotetraose and xylopentaose were found to be concentration dependent. At high substrate concentration reactions such as xylosyl, xylobiosyl and xylotriosyl transfer occur and result in the formation of products larger than the starting substrate. Xylose and xylobiose to significant extent enter the reaction pathways as glycosyl acceptors. None of the transglycosylic reactions observed with reducing-end-labelled substrates or acceptors were accompanied by a significant label redistribution from the reducing-end unit, suggesting that the enzyme-glycosyl intermediates effective in the transfer reactions can be formed from the non-reducing-end units of oligosaccharides. Evidence for the formation of a termomolecular shifted complex of beta-xylanase with xylotriose has also been obtained. All features of the degradation of oligosaccharides by beta-xylanase are consistent with the lysozyme-type reaction mechanism.

Effect of glucose on alpha-glucan degradation in Polyporus circinatus

The effect of glucose on the enzymes involved in the degradation of a reserve alpha-glucan in Polyporus circinatus was studied. The levels of phosphorylase activity, endoamylase, amylo-1,6-glucosidase were regulated by glucose concentration.

Amylases: enzymatic mechanisms

Many types of amylases are found throughout the animal, vegetable and microbial kingdoms. They have evolved along different pathways to enable the organism to convert insoluble starch (or glycogen) into low molecular weight, water soluble dextrins and sugars. Alpha amylases are dextrinogenic and can attack the interior of starch molecules. The products retain the alpha anomeric configuration. Beta amylases act only at the non-reducing chain ends and liberate only beta maltose. Both alpha and beta amylases exhibit multiple (repetitive) attack, that is, after the initial catalytic cleavage, the enzyme may remain attached to the substrate and lead to several more cleavages before dissociation of the enzyme-substrate complex. Amylases have extended substrate binding sites, in the range 4-9 glucose units. This enables the enzyme to stress the substrate and lower the activation energy for hydrolysis. Similarly the enzyme exerts a torsion on the glucose unit at the catalytic site, inducing a transition state conformation (oxycarbonium ion). Alpha and beta amylases differ in the stereospecific hydration of the oxycarbonium ion, in the sequence of liberation of the right-hand vs the left-hand product, and the direction of motion of the retained substrate to give multiple attack.

Multimolecular substrate reactions catalyzed by caabohydrases. Aspergillus oryzae alpha-amylase degradation of maltooligosaccharides

Aspergillus oryzae alpha-amylase degrades maltooligosaccharides by other pathways besides simple glycosidic bond scission. The utilization of the alternate pathways increases with the concentration of substrate implicating a multimolecular substrate mechanism. Reducing-end labeled and uniformly labeled maltooligosaccharides were used to elucidate these alternate degradation mechanisms. Condensation followed by hydrolysis is not a significant pathway. Transglycosylation is concluded to occur, but no single transglycosylation mechanism can account for all of the experimental data for maltotriose degradation. Rather, a combination of transglycosylations must be invoked.

Action of Pseudomonas isoamylase on various branched oligo and poly-saccharides

Pseudomonas isoamylase (EC 3.2.1.68) hydrolyzes (1 linked to 6)-alpha-D-glucosidic linkages of amylopectin, glycogen, and various branched dextrins and oligosaccharides. The detailed structural requirements for the substrate are examined qualitatively and quantitatively in this paper, in comparison with the pullulanase of Klebsiella aerogenes. As with pullulanase, Ps. isoamylase is unable to cleave D-glucosyl stubs from branched saccharides. Ps. isoamylase differs from pullulanase in the following characteristics: (1) The favored substrates for Ps. isoamylase are higher-molecular-weight polysaccharides. Most of the branched oligosaccharides examined were hydrolyzed at a lower rate, 10% or less of the rate of hydrolysis of amylopectin. (2) Maltosyl branches are hydrolyzed off by Ps. isoamylase very slowly in comparison with maltotriosyl branches. (3) Ps. isoamylase requires a minimum of three D-glucose residues in the B- or C-chain.

The action pattern of human salivary alpha-amylase in the vicinity of the branch points of amylopectin

Salivary alpha-amylase hydrolyses amylopectin in stages. At the end of the so-called second stage, there are present glucose, maltose, and a series of alpha-limit dextrins containing (1 leads to 4)- and (1 leads to 6)-alpha-D-glucosidic bonds. The structures of the limit dextrins containing a single (1 leads to 6)-bond were examined. Six such dextrins were found. Of these, two were capable of being further hydrolysed by alpha-amylase, whereas the remaining four were true, amylase-resistant alpha-limit dextrins. The structures of the limit dextrins afforded information about those (1 leads to 4)-alpha-D-glucosidic bonds of amylopectin that are capable of being cleaved by salivary alpha-amylase and those that are resistant. In order to define further the action of alpha-amylase, the alpha-amylolytic products of 6-alpha-maltotriosyl-D-glucose, 6(3)-alpha-maltotriosylmaltotriose, and 6(3)-alpha-maltotriosylmaltotetraose were examined.

Pullulanase synthesis in klebsiella (aerobacter) aerogenes strains growing in continuous culture

1. Pullulanase synthesis was studied in 16 classified (N.C.I.B.) strains and in an industrial strain (R) of Klebsiella aerogenes grown in chemostats containing maltose as inducer and sole carbon source. 2. Maximum synthesis was associated with carbon-limited growth at a low dilution rate (about 0.2h(-1)). The enzyme remained firmly cell-bound and seemed to be located on the cell surface. 3. Three strains had high activity (R, N.C.I.B. 5938, 8017), twelve were intermediate, and two (N.C.I.B. 8153, 9146) had negligible activity but were inducible with pullulan. 4. Pullulan similarly induced low, but adequate, activity in the other strains in conditions (nutrient limitation other than carbon-limitation) in which pullulanase was otherwise very seriously repressed. Nevertheless, in carbon limitation pullulan induced no more enzyme than did maltose, maltotriose or oligosaccharide mixtures, and ;hyperactivity' never developed on protracted culture. 5. Cyclic AMP relieved the transient repression produced by adding glucose to maltose-limited cultures and a further change to glucose-limited conditions led to constitutive pullulanase synthesis. 6. Amylomaltase and alpha-glucosidase activities were also examined but in less detail. 7. The presence of pullulanase in maltose-limited growth is discussed, but no clear function can be assigned to it at present. The molar growth yields for all the strains were very similar, and no correlation was found between the overgrowth of one strain by another and pullulanase activity. Further, any function as a general branching enzyme in polysaccharide synthesis seems unlikely.