Cloning, characterization and expression of a gene encoding endo-1, 4- β-xylanase from the fungus Termitomyces clypeatus

Enzymatic degradation of hemi-cellulosic substrates has gained plenty of industrial attentions recently. Complete enzymatic degradation of complex and recalcitrant hemicellulose requires an enzymatic cocktail consisting primarily of endo-1,4-β-xylanase (xyl), β-xylosidase, arabinofuranosidase etc. This article reports, for the first time, the identification, cloning, expression and partial characterization of a potent endo-1,4- β-xylanase gene (pxyl) from the mushroom Termitomyces clypeatus (TC) in E. coli and S. cerevisiae. The cDNA for pxyl was found to be 678 bp that in turn gives rise to a precursor protein (Pxyl) of 225 amino acids long when cloned in prokaryotic expression vector. To characterize additionally, the cDNA was also expressed in S. cerevisiae. Bioinformatics study predicted that the Pxyl contains a 19 amino acid long leader peptide that enables post translational modifications including glycosylation as well as its efficient secretion in the medium. The recombinant protein has been found to be a member of GH11 family containing two distant glutamic acids as catalytic residues. This report describes yet another new and potent source of xylanase for commercial exploitation by industry in future.

Structural insights of a cellobiose dehydrogenase enzyme from the basidiomycetes fungus Termitomyces clypeatus

Filamentous fungi secrete various oxidative enzymes to degrade the glycosidic bonds of polysaccharides. Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) (E.C.1.1.99.18) is one of the important lignocellulose degrading enzymes produced by various filamentous fungi. It contains two stereo specific ligand binding domains, cytochrome and dehydrogenase - one for heme and the other for flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) respectively. The enzyme is of commercial importance for its use in amperometric biosensor, biofuel production, lactose determination in food, bioremediation etc. Termitomyces clypeatus, an edible fungus belonging to the basidiomycetes group, is a good producer of CDH. In this paper we have analyzed the structural properties of this enzyme from T. clypeatus and identified a distinct carbohydrate binding module (CBM) which is not present in most fungi belonging to the basidiomycetes group. In addition, the dehydrogenase domain of T. clypeatus CDH exhibited the absence of cellulose binding residues which is in contrast to the dehydrogenase domains of CDH of other basidiomycetes. Sequence analysis of cytochrome domain showed that the important residues of this domain were conserved like in other fungal CDHs. Phylogenetic tree, constructed using basidiomycetes and ascomycetes CDH sequences, has shown that very surprisingly the CDH from T. clypeatus, which is classified as a basidiomycetes fungus, is clustered with the ascomycetes group. A homology model of this protein has been constructed using the CDH enzyme of ascomycetes fungus Myricoccum thermophilum as a template since it has been found to be the best match sequence with T. clypeatus CDH. We also have modelled the protein with its substrate, cellobiose, which has helped us to identify the substrate interacting residues (L354, P606, T629, R631, Y649, N732, H733 and N781) localized within its dehydrogenase domain. Our computational investigation revealed for the first time the presence of all three domains - cytochrome, dehydrogenase and CBM - in the CDH of T. clypeatus, a basidiomycetes fungus. In addition to discovering the unique structural attributes of this enzyme from T. clypeatus, our study also discusses the possible phylogenetic status of this fungus.

AkP from mushroom Termitomyces clypeatus is a proteoglycan specific protease with apoptotic effect on HepG2

Termitomyces clypeatus is an edible mushroom, prized for its therapeutic values and as producer of industrially important enzymes. However, the biomedical efficacies of anticancer proteases have not been reported yet. The present study aimed to purify and characterize a serine protease (AkP) from T. clypeatus for investigating cytotoxic potency on HepG2, Hep3B, and compared the effect on normal hepatic L-02 cells. Purification and biochemical characterization of AkP were evaluated by three stage chromatography, 1D/2D-SDS-PAGE, 1D zymography, far-UV CD spectral analysis, N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF/MS-MS analysis and enzyme kinetics studies. AkP could cleave the growth promoting cell surface proteoglycans of HepG2, corroborated by RP-HPLC analysis. AkP (IC50: 75±1.18nM) mediated anti-proliferative activity solely on HepG2 cells through the induction of apoptosis. Augmentation of apoptosis was attributed to up-regulation of p53 and Bax protein expression succeeded by caspase-3 activation. Serine protease inhibitor phenyl methane sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) inhibited both its proteolytic activity and cytotoxicity on HepG2. These findings demonstrate that AkP could be an effective biomolecule for killing of cancer cells by p53 restoration and surface proteoglycans cleavage.

Purification and characterisation of κ-casein specific milk-clotting metalloprotease from Termitomyces clypeatus MTCC 5091

Milk-clotting enzymes are valued as chymosin-like protease substitutes for cheese making industries. An extracellular metalloprotease (AcPs) with high milk-clotting activity was purified from edible mushroom Termitomyces clypeatus and characterised. AcPs was preferentially active towards κ-casein, analysed by Urea-PAGE and LC-ESI-MS, whereas the degradation of α and β-casein components by AcPs proceeded slowly justifying its suitability for cheese making. RP-HPLC peptide profiling revealed that the AcPs activity on milk casein was similar to that of a commercial milk coagulant. The enzyme exhibited pH and temperature optima at 5.0 and 45 °C, respectively and showed a pI value of 4.6. One- and two dimensional zymographies revealed a single polypeptide band with proteolytic signal. The MALDI-TOF/MS followed by peptide mass fingerprinting revealed homology with a predicted protein of Populus trichocarpa. To our knowledge, this is the first report on a metalloprotease from T. clypeatus, and the results indicate that this enzyme can be considered as a potential substitute for chymosin in cheese manufacturing.