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Shamshoum M, Kuperman OA, Shadmi SK, Itkin M, Malitsky S, Natalio F. 2-NBDG Uptake in Gossypium hirsutum in vitro ovules: exploring tissue-specific accumulation and its impact on hexokinase-mediated glycolysis regulation. Front Plant Sci 2023; 14:1242150. [PMID: 37818315 PMCID: PMC10561253 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1242150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
Fluorescent glucose derivatives are valuable tools as glucose analogs in plant research to explore metabolic pathways, study enzyme activity, and investigate cellular processes related to glucose metabolism and sugar transport. They allow visualization and tracking of glucose uptake, its utilization, and distribution within plant cells and tissues. This study investigates the phenotypic and metabolic impact of the exogenously fed glucose derivative, 2-(N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino)-2-deoxyglucose) (2-NBDG) on the fibers of Gossypium hirsutum (Upland cotton) ovule in vitro cultures. The presence of 2-NBDG in the culture medium did not lead to macroscopic morphological alterations in ovule and fiber development or to the acquisition of fluorescence or yellow coloration. Confocal laser scanning microscope imaging and chromatographic analysis of cotton ovules' outer rim cross-sections showed that the 2-NBDG is transported from the extracellular space and accumulated inside some outer integument cells, epidermal cells, and fertilized epidermal cells (fibers), but is not incorporated into the cell walls. Untargeted metabolic profiling of the fibers revealed significant changes in the relative levels of metabolites involved in glycolysis and upregulation of alternative energy-related pathways. To provide biochemical and structural evidence for the observed downregulation of glycolysis pathways in the fibers containing 2-NBDG, kinetics analysis and docking simulations were performed on hexokinase from G. hirsutum (GhHxk). Notably, the catalytic activity of heterologously expressed recombinant active GhHxk exhibited a five-fold decrease in reaction rates compared to D-glucose. Furthermore, GhHxk exhibited a linear kinetic behavior in the presence of 2-NBDG instead of the Michaelis-Menten kinetics found for D-glucose. Docking simulations suggested that 2-NBDG interacts with a distinct binding site of GhHxk9, possibly inducing a conformational change. These results highlight the importance of considering fluorescent glucose derivatives as ready-to-use analogs for tracking glucose-related biological processes. However, a direct comparison between their mode of action and its extrapolation into biochemical considerations should go beyond microscopic inspection and include complementary analytical techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ofir Aharon Kuperman
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Sapir Korman Shadmi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Maxim Itkin
- Metabolic Profiling Unit, Life Sciences Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Sergey Malitsky
- Metabolic Profiling Unit, Life Sciences Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Filipe Natalio
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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Shamshoum M, Natalio F. Conserved Active Site Architecture Between Bacterial Cellulose and Chitin Synthases. Chembiochem 2023; 24:e202300388. [PMID: 37253095 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202300388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Glycosyltransferases (GTs) are a large and diverse group of enzymes responsible for catalyzing the formation of a glycosidic bond between a donor molecule, usually a monosaccharide, and a wide range of acceptor molecules, thus, playing critical roles in various essential biological processes. Chitin and cellulose synthases are two inverting processive integral membrane GTs, belonging to the type-2 family involved in the biosynthesis of chitin and cellulose, respectively. Herein, we report that bacterial cellulose and chitin synthases share an E-D-D-ED-QRW-TK active site common motif that is spatially co-localized. This motif is conserved among distant bacterial evolutionary species despite their low amino acid sequence and structural similarities between them. This theoretical framework offers a new perspective to the current view that bacterial cellulose and chitin synthases are substrate specific and that chitin and cellulose are organism specific. It lays the ground for future in vivo and in silico experimental assessment of cellulose synthase catalytic promiscuity against uridine diphosphate N-acetylglucosamine and chitin synthase against uridine diphosphate glucose, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl St., Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Filipe Natalio
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl St., Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
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Davidi D, Shamshoum M, Guo Z, Bar‐On YM, Prywes N, Oz A, Jablonska J, Flamholz A, Wernick DG, Antonovsky N, de Pins B, Shachar L, Hochhauser D, Peleg Y, Albeck S, Sharon I, Mueller‐Cajar O, Milo R. Highly active rubiscos discovered by systematic interrogation of natural sequence diversity. EMBO J 2020; 39:e104081. [PMID: 32500941 PMCID: PMC7507306 DOI: 10.15252/embj.2019104081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
CO2 is converted into biomass almost solely by the enzyme rubisco. The poor carboxylation properties of plant rubiscos have led to efforts that made it the most kinetically characterized enzyme, yet these studies focused on < 5% of its natural diversity. Here, we searched for fast-carboxylating variants by systematically mining genomic and metagenomic data. Approximately 33,000 unique rubisco sequences were identified and clustered into ≈ 1,000 similarity groups. We then synthesized, purified, and biochemically tested the carboxylation rates of 143 representatives, spanning all clusters of form-II and form-II/III rubiscos. Most variants (> 100) were active in vitro, with the fastest having a turnover number of 22 ± 1 s-1 -sixfold faster than the median plant rubisco and nearly twofold faster than the fastest measured rubisco to date. Unlike rubiscos from plants and cyanobacteria, the fastest variants discovered here are homodimers and exhibit a much simpler folding and activation kinetics. Our pipeline can be utilized to explore the kinetic space of other enzymes of interest, allowing us to get a better view of the biosynthetic potential of the biosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Davidi
- Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
- Present address:
Department of GeneticsHarvard Medical SchoolBostonMAUSA
| | - Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
| | - Zhijun Guo
- School of Biological SciencesNanyang Technological UniversitySingaporeSingapore
| | - Yinon M Bar‐On
- Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
| | - Noam Prywes
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeleyCAUSA
| | - Aia Oz
- Migal Galilee Research InstituteKiryat ShmonaIsrael
- Tel Hai CollegeUpper GalileeIsrael
| | - Jagoda Jablonska
- Department of Biomolecular SciencesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
| | - Avi Flamholz
- Department of Molecular and Cell BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaBerkeleyCAUSA
| | - David G Wernick
- Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
- Present address:
BASF Enzymes LLCSan DiegoCAUSA
| | - Niv Antonovsky
- Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
- Present address:
Laboratory of Genetically Encoded Small MoleculesThe Rockefeller UniversityNew YorkNYUSA
| | - Benoit de Pins
- Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
| | - Lior Shachar
- Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
| | - Dina Hochhauser
- Department of Molecular GeneticsWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
| | - Yoav Peleg
- Department of Life Sciences Core FacilitiesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
| | - Shira Albeck
- Department of Life Sciences Core FacilitiesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
| | - Itai Sharon
- Migal Galilee Research InstituteKiryat ShmonaIsrael
- Tel Hai CollegeUpper GalileeIsrael
| | | | - Ron Milo
- Department of Plant and Environmental SciencesWeizmann Institute of ScienceRehovotIsrael
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Gleizer S, Ben-Nissan R, Bar-On YM, Antonovsky N, Noor E, Zohar Y, Jona G, Krieger E, Shamshoum M, Bar-Even A, Milo R. Conversion of Escherichia coli to Generate All Biomass Carbon from CO 2. Cell 2020; 179:1255-1263.e12. [PMID: 31778652 PMCID: PMC6904909 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 233] [Impact Index Per Article: 58.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The living world is largely divided into autotrophs that convert CO2 into biomass and heterotrophs that consume organic compounds. In spite of widespread interest in renewable energy storage and more sustainable food production, the engineering of industrially relevant heterotrophic model organisms to use CO2 as their sole carbon source has so far remained an outstanding challenge. Here, we report the achievement of this transformation on laboratory timescales. We constructed and evolved Escherichia coli to produce all its biomass carbon from CO2. Reducing power and energy, but not carbon, are supplied via the one-carbon molecule formate, which can be produced electrochemically. Rubisco and phosphoribulokinase were co-expressed with formate dehydrogenase to enable CO2 fixation and reduction via the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. Autotrophic growth was achieved following several months of continuous laboratory evolution in a chemostat under intensifying organic carbon limitation and confirmed via isotopic labeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shmuel Gleizer
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Roee Ben-Nissan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Yinon M Bar-On
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Niv Antonovsky
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Elad Noor
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Yehudit Zohar
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Ghil Jona
- Department of Life Sciences Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Eyal Krieger
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Arren Bar-Even
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Ron Milo
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
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Stern J, Moraïs S, Ben-David Y, Salama R, Shamshoum M, Lamed R, Shoham Y, Bayer EA, Mizrahi I. Assembly of Synthetic Functional Cellulosomal Structures onto the Cell Surface of Lactobacillus plantarum, a Potent Member of the Gut Microbiome. Appl Environ Microbiol 2018; 84:e00282-18. [PMID: 29453253 PMCID: PMC5881048 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00282-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Heterologous display of enzymes on microbial cell surfaces is an extremely desirable approach, since it enables the engineered microbe to interact directly with the plant wall extracellular polysaccharide matrix. In recent years, attempts have been made to endow noncellulolytic microbes with genetically engineered cellulolytic capabilities for improved hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass and for advanced probiotics. Thus far, however, owing to the hurdles encountered in secreting and assembling large, intricate complexes on the bacterial cell wall, only free cellulases or relatively simple cellulosome assemblies have been introduced into live bacteria. Here, we employed the "adaptor scaffoldin" strategy to compensate for the low levels of protein displayed on the bacterial cell surface. That strategy mimics natural elaborated cellulosome architectures, thus exploiting the exponential features of their Lego-like combinatorics. Using this approach, we produced several bacterial consortia of Lactobacillus plantarum, a potent gut microbe which provides a very robust genetic framework for lignocellulosic degradation. We successfully engineered surface display of large, fully active self-assembling cellulosomal complexes containing an unprecedented number of catalytic subunits all produced in vivo by the cell consortia. Our results demonstrate that the enzyme stability and performance of the cellulosomal machinery, which are superior to those seen with the equivalent secreted free enzyme system, and the high cellulase-to-xylanase ratios proved beneficial for efficient degradation of wheat straw.IMPORTANCE The multiple benefits of lactic acid bacteria are well established in health and industry. Here we present an approach designed to extensively increase the cell surface display of proteins via successive assembly of interactive components. Our findings present a stepping stone toward proficient engineering of Lactobacillus plantarum, a widespread, environmentally important bacterium and potent microbiome member, for improved degradation of lignocellulosic biomass and advanced probiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Stern
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Sarah Moraïs
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Yonit Ben-David
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Rachel Salama
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, The Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Raphael Lamed
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
| | - Yuval Shoham
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, The Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Edward A Bayer
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Itzhak Mizrahi
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
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6
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Yoav S, Barak Y, Shamshoum M, Borovok I, Lamed R, Dassa B, Hadar Y, Morag E, Bayer EA. How does cellulosome composition influence deconstruction of lignocellulosic substrates in Clostridium ( Ruminiclostridium) thermocellum DSM 1313? Biotechnol Biofuels 2017; 10:222. [PMID: 28932263 PMCID: PMC5604425 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-017-0909-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/07/2017] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bioethanol production processes involve enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars. Due to the relatively high cost of enzyme production, the development of potent and cost-effective cellulolytic cocktails is critical for increasing the cost-effectiveness of bioethanol production. In this context, the multi-protein cellulolytic complex of Clostridium (Ruminiclostridium) thermocellum, the cellulosome, was studied here. C. thermocellum is known to assemble cellulosomes of various subunit (enzyme) compositions, in response to the available carbon source. In the current study, different carbon sources were used, and their influence on both cellulosomal composition and the resultant activity was investigated. RESULTS Glucose, cellobiose, microcrystalline cellulose, alkaline-pretreated switchgrass, alkaline-pretreated corn stover, and dilute acid-pretreated corn stover were used as sole carbon sources in the growth media of C. thermocellum strain DSM 1313. The purified cellulosomes were compared for their activity on selected cellulosic substrates. Interestingly, cellulosomes derived from cells grown on lignocellulosic biomass showed no advantage in hydrolyzing the original carbon source used for their production. Instead, microcrystalline cellulose- and glucose-derived cellulosomes were equal or superior in their capacity to deconstruct lignocellulosic biomass. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed differential composition of catalytic and structural subunits (scaffoldins) in the different cellulosome samples. The most abundant catalytic subunits in all cellulosome types include Cel48S, Cel9K, Cel9Q, Cel9R, and Cel5G. Microcrystalline cellulose- and glucose-derived cellulosome samples showed higher endoglucanase-to-exoglucanase ratios and higher catalytic subunit-per-scaffoldin ratios compared to lignocellulose-derived cellulosome types. CONCLUSION The results reported here highlight the finding that cellulosomes derived from cells grown on glucose and microcrystalline cellulose are more efficient in their action on cellulosic substrates than other cellulosome preparations. These results should be considered in the future development of C. thermocellum-based cellulolytic cocktails, designer cellulosomes, or engineering of improved strains for deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahar Yoav
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Advanced School for Environmental Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
- Designer Energy Ltd, 2 Bergman Street, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yoav Barak
- Bio-Nano Unit, Chemical Research Support, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 761000 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ilya Borovok
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
| | - Raphael Lamed
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
| | - Bareket Dassa
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yitzhak Hadar
- Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Advanced School for Environmental Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ely Morag
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Edward A. Bayer
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
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Moraïs S, Stern J, Kahn A, Galanopoulou AP, Yoav S, Shamshoum M, Smith MA, Hatzinikolaou DG, Arnold FH, Bayer EA. Enhancement of cellulosome-mediated deconstruction of cellulose by improving enzyme thermostability. Biotechnol Biofuels 2016; 9:164. [PMID: 27493686 PMCID: PMC4973527 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-016-0577-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The concerted action of three complementary cellulases from Clostridium thermocellum, engineered to be stable at elevated temperatures, was examined on a cellulosic substrate and compared to that of the wild-type enzymes. Exoglucanase Cel48S and endoglucanase Cel8A, both key elements of the natural cellulosome from this bacterium, were engineered previously for increased thermostability, either by SCHEMA, a structure-guided, site-directed protein recombination method, or by consensus-guided mutagenesis combined with random mutagenesis using error-prone PCR, respectively. A thermostable β-glucosidase BglA mutant was also selected from a library generated by error-prone PCR that will assist the two cellulases in their methodic deconstruction of crystalline cellulose. The effects of a thermostable scaffoldin versus those of a largely mesophilic scaffoldin were also examined. By improving the stability of the enzyme subunits and the structural component, we aimed to improve cellulosome-mediated deconstruction of cellulosic substrates. RESULTS The results demonstrate that the combination of thermostable enzymes as free enzymes and a thermostable scaffoldin was more active on the cellulosic substrate than the wild-type enzymes. Significantly, "thermostable" designer cellulosomes exhibited a 1.7-fold enhancement in cellulose degradation compared to the action of conventional designer cellulosomes that contain the respective wild-type enzymes. For designer cellulosome formats, the use of the thermostabilized scaffoldin proved critical for enhanced enzymatic performance under conditions of high temperatures. CONCLUSIONS Simple improvement in the activity of a given enzyme does not guarantee its suitability for use in an enzyme cocktail or as a designer cellulosome component. The true merit of improvement resides in its ultimate contribution to synergistic action, which can only be determined experimentally. The relevance of the mutated thermostable enzymes employed in this study as components in multienzyme systems has thus been confirmed using designer cellulosome technology. Enzyme integration via a thermostable scaffoldin is critical to the ultimate stability of the complex at higher temperatures. Engineering of thermostable cellulases and additional lignocellulosic enzymes may prove a determinant parameter for development of state-of-the-art designer cellulosomes for their employment in the conversion of cellulosic biomass to soluble sugars.Graphical abstractConversion of conventional designer cellulosomes into thermophilic designer cellulosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Moraïs
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Johanna Stern
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Amaranta Kahn
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Anastasia P. Galanopoulou
- Microbiology Group, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15784 Athens, Greece
| | - Shahar Yoav
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
- Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Matthew A. Smith
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA
| | - Dimitris G. Hatzinikolaou
- Microbiology Group, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 15784 Athens, Greece
| | - Frances H. Arnold
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA
| | - Edward A. Bayer
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100 Rehovot, Israel
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8
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Artzi L, Morag E, Shamshoum M, Bayer EA. Cellulosomal expansin: functionality and incorporation into the complex. Biotechnol Biofuels 2016; 9:61. [PMID: 26973715 PMCID: PMC4788839 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-016-0474-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2016] [Accepted: 03/02/2016] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Expansins are relatively small proteins that lack enzymatic activity and are found in plants and microorganisms. The function of these proteins is to disrupt the plant cell walls by interfering with the non-covalent interchain bonding of the polysaccharides. Expansins were found to be important for plant growth, but they are also expressed by various bacteria known to have interactions with plants. Clostridium clariflavum is a plant cell wall-degrading bacterium with a highly elaborate cellulosomal system. Among its numerous dockerin-containing genes, two expansin-like proteins, Clocl_1862 and Clocl_1298 (termed herein CclEXL1 and CclEXL2) were identified, and CclEXL1 was found to be expressed as part of the cellulosome system. This is the first time that an expansin-like protein is identified in a cellulosome complex, which implicates its possible role in biomass deconstruction. RESULTS In the present article, we analyzed the functionality of CclEXL1. Its dockerin was characterized and shown to bind selectively to type-I cohesins of C. clariflavum, with preferential binding to the cohesin of ScaG, and additionally to a type-I cohesin of C. cellulolyticum. We demonstrated experimentally that the expansin-like protein binds preferentially to microcrystalline cellulose, but it also binds to acid-swollen cellulose, xylan, and wheat straw. CclEXL1 exhibited a pronounced loosening effect on filter paper, which resulted in substantial decrease in tensile stress. The C. clariflavum expansin-like protein thus enhances significantly enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose, both by C. clariflavum cellulosomes and two major cellulosomal cellulases from this bacterium: GH48 (exoglucanase) and GH9 (endoglucanase). Finally, we demonstrated CclEXL1-mediated enhancement of microcrystalline cellulose degradation by different cellulosome fractions and the two enzymes. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study confirm that the C. clariflavum expansin-like protein is part of the elaborate cellulosome system of this bacterium with capabilities of cellulose creeping. The data suggest that pretreatment of cellulosic materials with CclEXL1 can bring about substantial improvement of hydrolysis by cellulases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lior Artzi
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ely Morag
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Edward A. Bayer
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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Stern J, Kahn A, Vazana Y, Shamshoum M, Moraïs S, Lamed R, Bayer EA. Significance of relative position of cellulases in designer cellulosomes for optimized cellulolysis. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0127326. [PMID: 26024227 PMCID: PMC4449128 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2014] [Accepted: 04/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Degradation of cellulose is of major interest in the quest for alternative sources of renewable energy, for its positive effects on environment and ecology, and for use in advanced biotechnological applications. Due to its microcrystalline organization, celluose is extremely difficult to degrade, although numerous microbes have evolved that produce the appropriate enzymes. The most efficient known natural cellulolytic system is produced by anaerobic bacteria, such as C. thermocellum, that possess a multi-enzymatic complex termed the cellulosome. Our laboratory has devised and developed the designer cellulosome concept, which consists of chimaeric scaffoldins for controlled incorporation of recombinant polysaccharide-degrading enzymes. Recently, we reported the creation of a combinatorial library of four cellulosomal modules comprising a basic chimaeric scaffoldin, i.e., a CBM and 3 divergent cohesin modules. Here, we employed selected members of this library to determine whether the position of defined cellulolytic enzymes is important for optimized degradation of a microcrystalline cellulosic substrate. For this purpose, 10 chimaeric scaffoldins were used for incorporation of three recombinant Thermobifida fusca enzymes: the processive endoglucanase Cel9A, endoglucanase Cel5A and exoglucanase Cel48A. In addition, we examined whether the characteristic properties of the T. fusca enzymes as designer cellulosome components are unique to this bacterium by replacing them with parallel enzymes from Clostridium thermocellum. The results support the contention that for a given set of cellulosomal enzymes, their relative position within a scaffoldin can be critical for optimal degradation of microcrystaline cellulosic substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Stern
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Amaranta Kahn
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yael Vazana
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Sarah Moraïs
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Raphael Lamed
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Edward A. Bayer
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- * E-mail:
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Artzi L, Dassa B, Borovok I, Shamshoum M, Lamed R, Bayer EA. Cellulosomics of the cellulolytic thermophile Clostridium clariflavum. Biotechnol Biofuels 2014; 7:100. [PMID: 26413154 PMCID: PMC4582956 DOI: 10.1186/1754-6834-7-100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2014] [Accepted: 06/12/2014] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clostridium clariflavum is an anaerobic, thermophilic, Gram-positive bacterium, capable of growth on crystalline cellulose as a single carbon source. The genome of C. clariflavum has been sequenced to completion, and numerous cellulosomal genes were identified, including putative scaffoldin and enzyme subunits. RESULTS Bioinformatic analysis of the C. clariflavum genome revealed 49 cohesin modules distributed on 13 different scaffoldins and 79 dockerin-containing proteins, suggesting an abundance of putative cellulosome assemblies. The 13-scaffoldin system of C. clariflavum is highly reminiscent of the proposed cellulosome system of Acetivibrio cellulolyticus. Analysis of the C. clariflavum type I dockerin sequences indicated a very high level of conservation, wherein the putative recognition residues are remarkably similar to those of A. cellulolyticus. The numerous interactions among the cellulosomal components were elucidated using a standardized affinity ELISA-based fusion-protein system. The results revealed a rather simplistic recognition pattern of cohesin-dockerin interaction, whereby the type I and type II cohesins generally recognized the dockerins of the same type. The anticipated exception to this rule was the type I dockerin of the ScaB adaptor scaffoldin which bound selectively to the type I cohesins of ScaC and ScaJ. CONCLUSIONS The findings reveal an intricate picture of predicted cellulosome assemblies in C. clariflavum. The network of cohesin-dockerin pairs provides a thermophilic alternative to those of C. thermocellum and a basis for subsequent utilization of the C. clariflavum cellulosomal system for biotechnological application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lior Artzi
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Bareket Dassa
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ilya Borovok
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
| | - Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Raphael Lamed
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
| | - Edward A Bayer
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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Vazana Y, Barak Y, Unger T, Peleg Y, Shamshoum M, Ben-Yehezkel T, Mazor Y, Shapiro E, Lamed R, Bayer EA. A synthetic biology approach for evaluating the functional contribution of designer cellulosome components to deconstruction of cellulosic substrates. Biotechnol Biofuels 2013; 6:182. [PMID: 24341331 PMCID: PMC3878649 DOI: 10.1186/1754-6834-6-182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2013] [Accepted: 11/27/2013] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Select cellulolytic bacteria produce multi-enzymatic cellulosome complexes that bind to the plant cell wall and catalyze its efficient degradation. The multi-modular interconnecting cellulosomal subunits comprise dockerin-containing enzymes that bind cohesively to cohesin-containing scaffoldins. The organization of the modules into functional polypeptides is achieved by intermodular linkers of different lengths and composition, which provide flexibility to the complex and determine its overall architecture. RESULTS Using a synthetic biology approach, we systematically investigated the spatial organization of the scaffoldin subunit and its effect on cellulose hydrolysis by designing a combinatorial library of recombinant trivalent designer scaffoldins, which contain a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) and 3 divergent cohesin modules. The positions of the individual modules were shuffled into 24 different arrangements of chimaeric scaffoldins. This basic set was further extended into three sub-sets for each arrangement with intermodular linkers ranging from zero (no linkers), 5 (short linkers) and native linkers of 27-35 amino acids (long linkers). Of the 72 possible scaffoldins, 56 were successfully cloned and 45 of them expressed, representing 14 full sets of chimaeric scaffoldins. The resultant 42-component scaffoldin library was used to assemble designer cellulosomes, comprising three model C. thermocellum cellulases. Activities were examined using Avicel as a pure microcrystalline cellulose substrate and pretreated cellulose-enriched wheat straw as a model substrate derived from a native source. All scaffoldin combinations yielded active trivalent designer cellulosome assemblies on both substrates that exceeded the levels of the free enzyme systems. A preferred modular arrangement for the trivalent designer scaffoldin was not observed for the three enzymes used in this study, indicating that they could be integrated at any position in the designer cellulosome without significant effect on cellulose-degrading activity. Designer cellulosomes assembled with the long-linker scaffoldins achieved higher levels of activity, compared to those assembled with short-and no-linker scaffoldins. CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrate the robustness of the cellulosome system. Long intermodular scaffoldin linkers are preferable, thus leading to enhanced degradation of cellulosic substrates, presumably due to the increased flexibility and spatial positioning of the attached enzymes in the complex. These findings provide a general basis for improved designer cellulosome systems as a platform for bioethanol production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yael Vazana
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Yoav Barak
- Chemical Research Support, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Tamar Unger
- Structural Proteomics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Yoav Peleg
- Structural Proteomics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Melina Shamshoum
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Tuval Ben-Yehezkel
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
- Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Yair Mazor
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
- Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Ehud Shapiro
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
- Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Raphael Lamed
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Edward A Bayer
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
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