Using Amylosucrase for the Controlled Synthesis of Novel Isoquercitrin Glycosides with Different Glycosidic Linkages

Functional Approaches to Discover New Compounds via Enzymatic Modification: Predicted Data Mining Approach and Biotransformation-Guided Purification

In the field of biotechnology, natural compounds isolated from medicinal plants are highly valued; however, their discovery, purification, biofunctional characterization, and biochemical validation have historically involved time-consuming and laborious processes. Two innovative approaches have emerged to more efficiently discover new bioactive substances: the predicted data mining approach (PDMA) and biotransformation-guided purification (BGP). The PDMA is a computational method that predicts biotransformation potential, identifying potential substrates for specific enzymes from numerous candidate compounds to generate new compounds. BGP combines enzymatic biotransformation with traditional purification techniques to directly identify and isolate biotransformed products from crude extract fractions. This review examines recent research employing BGP or the PDMA for novel compound discovery. This research demonstrates that both approaches effectively allow for the discovery of novel bioactive molecules from natural sources, the enhancement of the bioactivity and solubility of existing compounds, and the development of alternatives to traditional methods. These findings highlight the potential of integrating traditional medicinal knowledge with modern enzymatic and computational tools to advance drug discovery and development.

Efficient Biosynthesis of Theanderose, a Potent Prebiotic, Using Amylosucrase from Deinococcus deserti

The study aimed to develop an efficient bioprocess for the discovery and synthesis of theanderose by using amylosucrase from Deinococcus deserti (DdAS). An unknown trisaccharide produced by DdAS was detected by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography-pulsed amperometric detection and high-performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detection, purified using medium-pressure liquid chromatography, and identified as theanderose (α-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-α-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-fructofuranoside) through nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. DdAS synthesized theanderose with a 25.4% yield (174.1 g/L) using 2.0 M sucrose at 40 °C for 96 h. In an in vitro digestion model, theanderose showed a 6.5% hydrolysis rate over 16 h. Prebiotic efficacy tests confirmed that theanderose significantly enhanced the proliferation of selected Bifidobacterium strains in the culturing medium with theanderose as the main carbon source. Subsequently, fecal fermentation was performed by adding theanderose to the feces of 20 individuals of varying ages to assess its effect on the gut microbiota. Theanderose increased the relative abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae and Prevotellaceae while decreasing the population ratio of Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae. Conclusively, theanderose displayed excellent prebiotic potential when judged by low digestibility and selective growth of beneficial microbes over harmful microbes.

A novel cascade catalysis for one-pot enzymatically modified isoquercitrin (EMIQ) conversion from rutin and sucrose using rationally designed gradient temperature control

Enzymatically modified isoquercitrin (EMIQ) is a glyco-chemically modified flavonoid exhibiting notably high biological activity, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties. However, the utilization of expensive substrates such as isoquercitrin and cyclodextrin in the conventional approach has hindered the industrial-scale production of EMIQ due to high cost and low yields. Hence, the development of a cost-effective and efficient method is crucial for the biological synthesis of EMIQ. In this study, a natural cascade catalytic reaction system was constructed with α-L-rhamnosidase and amylosucrase using the inexpensive substrates rutin and sucrose. Additionally, a novel approach integrating gradient temperature regulation into biological cascade reactions was implemented. Under the optimal conditions, the rutin conversion reached a remarkable 95.39% at 24 h. Meanwhile, the productivity of quercetin-3-O-tetraglucoside with the best bioavailability reached an impressive 41.69%. This study presents promising prospects for future mass production of EMIQ directly prepared from rutin and sucrose.

Efficient biotransformation of naringenin to naringenin α-glucoside, a novel α-glucosidase inhibitor, by amylosucrase from Deinococcus wulumuquiensis

Amylosucrase (ASase) efficiently biosynthesizes α-glucoside using flavonoids as acceptor molecules and sucrose as a donor molecule. Here, ASase from Deinococcus wulumuqiensis (DwAS) biosynthesized more naringenin α-glucoside (NαG) with sucrose and naringenin as donor and acceptor molecules, respectively, than other ASases from Deinococcus sp. The biotransformation rate of DwAS to NαG was 21.3% compared to 7.1-16.2% for other ASases. Docking simulations showed that the active site of DwAS was more accessible to naringenin than those of others. The 217th valine in DwAS corresponded to the 221st isoleucine in Deinococcus geothermalis AS (DgAS), and the isoleucine possibly prevented naringenin from accessing the active site. The DwAS-V217I mutant had a significantly lower biosynthetic rate of NαG than DwAS. The kcat/Km value of DwAS with naringenin as the donor was significantly higher than that of DgAS and DwAS-V217I. In addition, NαG inhibited human intestinal α-glucosidase more efficiently than naringenin.

Characterization of a unique pH-dependent amylosucrase from Deinococcus cellulosilyticus

The amylosucrase (ASase, EC 2.4.1.4) utilizes sucrose as the sole substrate to catalyze multifunctional reactions. It can naturally synthesize α-1,4-linked glucans such as amylose as well as sucrose isomers with more favorable properties than sucrose with a lower intestinal digestibility and non-cariogenic properties. The amino acid sequence of the asase gene from Deinococcus cellulosilyticus (DceAS) exhibits low homology with those of other ASases from other Deinococcus species. In this study, we cloned and expressed DceAS and demonstrated its high activity at pH 6 and pH 8 and maintained stability. It showed higher polymerization activity at pH 6 than at pH 8, but similar isomerization activity and produced more turanose and trehalulose at pH 6 than at pH 8 and produced more isomaltulose at pH 8. Furthermore, the molecular weight of DceAS was 226.6 kDa at pH 6 and 145.5 kDa at pH 8, indicating that it existed as a trimer and dimer, respectively under those conditions. Additionally, circular dichroism spectra showed that the DceAS secondary structure was different at pH 6 and pH 8. These differences in reaction products at different pHs can be harnessed to naturally produce sucrose alternatives that are more beneficial to human health.

Secretory expression of amylosucrase in Bacillus licheniformis through twin-arginine translocation pathway

Amylosucrase (EC 2.4.1.4) is a versatile enzyme with significant potential in biotechnology and food production. To facilitate its efficient preparation, a novel expression strategy was implemented in Bacillus licheniformis for the secretory expression of Neisseria polysaccharea amylosucrase (NpAS). The host strain B. licheniformis CBBD302 underwent genetic modification through the deletion of sacB, a gene responsible for encoding levansucrase that synthesizes extracellular levan from sucrose, resulting in a levan-deficient strain, B. licheniformis CBBD302B. Neisseria polysaccharea amylosucrase was successfully expressed in B. licheniformis CBBD302B using the highly efficient Sec-type signal peptide SamyL, but its extracellular translocation was unsuccessful. Consequently, the expression of NpAS via the twin-arginine translocation (TAT) pathway was investigated using the signal peptide SglmU. The study revealed that NpAS could be effectively translocated extracellularly through the TAT pathway, with the signal peptide SglmU facilitating the process. Remarkably, 62.81% of the total expressed activity was detected in the medium. This study marks the first successful secretory expression of NpAS in Bacillus species host cells, establishing a foundation for its future efficient production.

ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARY

Amylosucrase was secreted in Bacillus licheniformis via the twin-arginine translocation pathway.

Recent trends in the modification of polyphenolic compounds using hydroxylation and glycosylation

Polyphenols are bioactive molecules that are used in therapeutics. Polyphenol hydroxylation and glycosylation have been shown to increase their bioavailability, solubility, bioactivity, and stability for use in various applications. Ortho-hydroxylation of polyphenols using tyrosinase allows high selectivity and yield without requiring a cofactor, while meta- and para-hydroxylation of polyphenols are mediated by site-specific hydroxylases and cytochrome P450s, although these processes are somewhat rare. O-glycosylation of polyphenols proceeds further after hydroxylation. The O-glycosylation reaction typically requires nucleotide diphosphate (NDP) sugar. However, amylosucrase (AS) has emerged as a promising enzyme for polyphenol glycosylation in large-scale production without requiring NDP-sugar. Overall, this review describes recent findings on the enzymatic mechanisms, enzyme engineering, and applications of enzymatic reactions.

Enzymatic Synthesis of Novel and Highly Soluble Puerarin Glucoside by Deinococcus geothermalis Amylosucrase

Puerarin (daidzein-8-C-glucoside) is an isoflavone isolated from several leguminous plants of the genus Pueraria. Puerarin possesses several pharmacological properties; however, the poor solubility of puerarin limits its applications. To resolve this poor solubility, Deinococcus geothermalis amylosucrase (DgAS) was used to modify puerarin into more soluble derivatives. The results showed that DgAS could biotransform puerarin into a novel compound: puerarin-4′-O-α-glucoside. The biotransformation reaction was manipulated at different temperatures, pH values, sucrose concentrations, reaction times, and enzyme concentrations. The results showed that the optimal reaction condition was biotransformed by 200 μg/mL DgAS with 20% (w/v) sucrose at pH 6 and incubated at 40 °C for 48 h, and the optimal production yield was 35.1%. Puerarin-4′-O-α-glucoside showed 129-fold higher solubility than that of puerarin and, thus, could be further applied for pharmacological use in the future.

Novel Glycosylation by Amylosucrase to Produce Glycoside Anomers

Simple Summary

All livings are composed of cells, which contain lipid, proteins, nuclei acids, and saccharides. Saccharides include polysaccharides, oligo saccharides, disaccharides, which are linked by monosaccharides. Monosaccharides such as glucose exist in two forms, named α and β anomer, in solution. In addition, monosaccharides could be linked with lipid, proteins, nuclei acids or other saccharide to form glycosides through glycosylation. In nature, glycosylation is catalyzed by enzymes. Until now, all enzymes catalyzed glycosylation to form glycosides with either α or β form but not both. This study found an enzyme, amylosucrase from Deinococcus geothermalis (DgAS), could catalyze glycosylation of a kind of lipid named ganoderic acids triterpenoids from a medicinal fungus Ganoderma lucidum to form both α and β anomer of glycosides. This is the first report that enzymes could catalyze such glycosylation and a possible reaction mechanism was proposed.

Abstract

Glycosylation occurring at either lipids, proteins, or sugars plays important roles in many biological systems. In nature, enzymatic glycosylation is the formation of a glycosidic bond between the anomeric carbon of the donor sugar and the functional group of the sugar acceptor. This study found novel glycoside anomers without an anomeric carbon linkage of the sugar donor. A glycoside hydrolase (GH) enzyme, amylosucrase from Deinococcus geothermalis (DgAS), was evaluated to glycosylate ganoderic acid F (GAF), a lanostane triterpenoid from medicinal fungus Ganoderma lucidum, at different pH levels. The results showed that GAF was glycosylated by DgAS at acidic conditions pH 5 and pH 6, whereas the activity dramatically decreased to be undetectable at pH 7 or pH 8. The biotransformation product was purified by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography and identified as unusual α-glucosyl-(2→26)-GAF and β-glucosyl-(2→26)-GAF anomers by mass and nucleic magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. We further used DgAS to catalyze another six triterpenoids. Under the acidic conditions, two of six compounds, ganoderic acid A (GAA) and ganoderic acid G (GAG), could be converted to α–glucosyl-(2→26)-GAA and β–glucosyl-(2→26)-GAA anomers and α-glucosyl-(2→26)-GAG and β-glucosyl-(2→26)-GAG anomers, respectively. The glycosylation of triterpenoid aglycones was first confirmed to be converted via a GH enzyme, DgAS. The novel enzymatic glycosylation-formed glycoside anomers opens a new bioreaction in the pharmaceutical industry and in the biotechnology sector.

Production of New Isoflavone Diglucosides from Glycosylation of 8-Hydroxydaidzein by Deinococcus geothermalis Amylosucrase

8-Hydroxydaidzein (8-OHDe) is a non-natural isoflavone polyphenol isolated from fermented soybean foods. 8-OHDe exhibits a wide range of pharmaceutical activities. However, both the poor solubility and instability of 8-OHDe limit its applications. To resolve the limitations of 8-OHDe, Deinococcus geothermalis amylosucrase (DgAS) has previously been used to glycosylate 8-OHDe to produce soluble and stable 8-OHDe-7-O-α-glucopyranoside (8-OHDe-7-G) in a 0.5 h reaction time. In this study, we aimed to use DgAS and an extended reaction time to produce 8-OHDe diglucosides. At least three 8-OHDe derivatives were produced after a 24 h reaction time, and two major products were successfully purified and identified as new compounds: 8-OHDe-7-O-[α-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-α-glucopyranoside] (8-OHDe-7-G2) and 8-OHDe-7,4′-O-α-diglucopyranoside (8-OHDe-7-G-4′-G). 8-OHDe-7-G-4′-G showed a 4619-fold greater aqueous solubility than 8-OHDe. In addition, over 92% of the 8-OHDe diglucosides were stable after 96 h, while only 10% of the 8-OHDe could be detected after being subjected to the same conditions. The two stable 8-OHDe diglucoside derivatives have the potential for pharmacological usage in the future.

Optimized enzymatic synthesis of digestive resistant anomalous isoquercitrin glucosides using amylosucrase and response surface methodology

Diverse flavonoid glycosides are present in the plant kingdom. Advanced technologies have been utilized to synthesize glycosyl flavonoids which exhibit good physicochemical characteristics. Previously, novel isoquercitrin (IQ) mono-, di-, and tri-glucosides (IQ-G1', IQ-G2', and IQ-G3'; atypical IQ-Gs (IQ-G_ap)) were synthesized through the reaction of amylosucrase. Here, the regio-selective transglycosylation yields were predicted using response surface methodology for three variables (glucose donor (sucrose; 100-1500 mM), glucose acceptor (IQ; 100-400 µM), and pH (5.0-8.8)) using 1 unit/mL of enzyme at 45 °C; then, the optima were verified according to the experimental responses. Acidity (pH 5.0) was a major contributor for IQ-G1' production (> 50%), and high sucrose concentration (1500 mM) limited IQ-G3' production (< 15%). Low sucrose concentration (100 mM) at pH 7.0 promoted higher glycosyl IQ production (> 30%). Time-course production of IQ-G_ap showed an exponential growth with different rates. IQ-G_ap was stable under the simulated intestinal conditions compared with typical IQ-Gs. Digestive stable IQ-G_ap can be effectively synthesized by modulating reaction conditions; thereby, atypical glycosyl products may contribute to the elucidation of nutraceutical potential of flavonoid glycosides. KEY POINTS: •Predictions of RSM were validated for the regio-selective IQ-G_ap production. • Time course changes of IQ-G_ap indicate non-processive glycosylation of DGAS. • IQ-G_ap exceed typical IQ-G in digestive stability at simulated intestinal condition.

Analysis of the Effect of N555 Mutations on the Product Specificity of Dextransucrase Using Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester as an Acceptor Substrate

Bioglycosylation is an efficient strategy to improve biological activities and physicochemical properties of natural compounds to develop structural modifications of drugs. In this study, an N555 residue was identified as a candidate for site-directed mutagenesis through sequence alignment with GTF180ΔN. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) was used as an acceptor substrate. Two generated mutants, N555Q and N555E, demonstrated significant specificity of distribution of products. Under identical conditions, the conversion rates of diglycoside products (CAPE-2G) generated by the N555E (80.8%) and N555Q (84.5%) mutants were 3.30- and 3.46-fold higher than those generated by the original enzyme (24.4%). The structural simulation results demonstrated that a new hydrogen bond was formed between the N555 residue and CAPE, and the N555 residue was closely related to substrate elongation. These results provide a reference for subsequent studies. Suitable mutants for transfer of diglycosides have important application potential in the food and pharmaceutical industries.