Purification and characterization of trans-3-(4-methoxyphenyl) glycidic acid methyl ester hydrolyzing lipase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Surface modification of magnetite nanoparticles using gluconic acid and their application in immobilized lipase

Superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles (SMN) were surface-modified with gluconic acid (GLA) to improve their hydrophilicity and bio-affinity. Gluconic acid was successfully coated on the surface of magnetite nanoparticles and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). With water-soluble carbodiimide (EDC) as the coupling reagent, lipase was successfully immobilized onto the hydroxyl-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles. The immobilized lipase had better resistance to temperature and pH inactivation in comparison to the free form and hence widened the reaction pH and temperature range. Thermostability and storage stability of the enzyme improved upon covalent immobilization. Immobilized lipase showed higher activity after recycling when compared to the free one and could be recovered by magnetic separation.

Iterative saturation mutagenesis accelerates laboratory evolution of enzyme stereoselectivity: rigorous comparison with traditional methods

Efficacy in laboratory evolution of enzymes is currently a pressing issue, making comparative studies of different methods and strategies mandatory. Recent reports indicate that iterative saturation mutagenesis (ISM) provides a means to accelerate directed evolution of stereoselectivity and thermostability, but statistically meaningful comparisons with other methods have not been documented to date. In the present study, the efficacy of ISM has been rigorously tested by applying it to the previously most systematically studied enzyme in directed evolution, the lipase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a catalyst in the stereoselective hydrolytic kinetic resolution of a chiral ester. Upon screening only 10,000 transformants, unprecedented enantioselectivity was achieved (E = 594). ISM proves to be considerably more efficient than all previous systematic efforts utilizing error-prone polymerase chain reaction at different mutation rates, saturation mutagenesis at hot spots, and/or DNA shuffling, pronounced positive epistatic effects being the underlying reason.

Knowledge-guided laboratory evolution of protein thermolability

In rare but nevertheless important cases it is of practical interest to decrease the thermostability of an enzyme, that is, to increase thermolability in a controlled manner. In the present model study, this unconventional goal has been reached by applying directed evolution to the lipase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAL). By utilizing the B-factor iterative test (B-FIT), previously developed to increase the thermostability of enzymes, it was possible to reduce the T(15)(50) value from 71.6 degrees C in the case of wild type (WT-PAL) to 35.6 degrees C (best mutant) without affecting the catalytic profile in terms of substrate acceptance or enantioselectivity at room temperature. Accordingly, saturation mutagenesis was performed at sites in PAL, which on the basis of its X-ray structure, have the lowest B-factors indicative of high rigidity. Focused mutations were introduced which can be expected to decrease rigidity, the ensuing increased flexibility leading to higher thermolability without changing the actual catalytic profile.

Purification and characterization of extracellular lipases from Pseudomonas monteilii TKU009 by the use of soybeans as the substrate

A lipase-producing bacterium was isolated and identified as Pseudomonas monteilii TKU009. A lipase (F2) and lipase-like materials (F1) were purified from the culture supernatant of P. monteilii TKU009 with soybean powder as the sole carbon/nitrogen source. The molecular mass of F1 and F2 was estimated to be 44 kDa by SDS-PAGE and gel filtration. The optimum pH, optimum temperature, and pH and thermal stabilities of F2 were 7, 40 degrees C, 8-11, and 50 degrees C; and of F1 were 6, 40 degrees C, 6-7, and 50 degrees C, respectively. F2 was completely inhibited by EDTA and slightly by Mg(2+), Fe(2+), Mn(2+), and SDS. F1 was completely inhibited by EDTA and Fe(2+) and strongly by Zn(2+), Mn(2+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+), and SDS. The activities of both the enzymes were enhanced by the addition of non-ionic surfactants Triton X-100 and Tween 40, especially for F1. F2 preferably acted on substrates with a long chain (C10-C18) of fatty acids, while F1 showed a broad spectrum on those with chain length of C4-C18. The marked activity of F2 in organic solvents makes it an ideal choice for application in a water-restricted medium including organic synthesis.