Structural and mutational analysis of glycoside hydrolase family 1 Br2 β-glucosidase derived from bovine rumen metagenome

Ruminant animals rely on the activities of β-glucosidases from residential microbes to convert feed fibers into glucose for further metabolic uses. In this report, we determined the structures of Br2, which is a glycoside hydrolase family 1 β-glucosidase from the bovine rumen metagenome. Br2 folds into a classical (β/α)8-TIM barrel domain but displays unique structural features at loop β5→α5 and α-helix 5, resulting in different positive subsites from those of other GH1 enzymes. Br2 exhibited the highest specificity toward laminaritriose, suggesting its involvement in β-glucan hydrolysis in digested feed. We then substituted the residues at subsites +1 and + 2 of Br2 with those of Halothermothrix orenii β-glucosidase. The C170E and C221T mutations provided favorable interactions with glucooligosaccharide substrates at subsite +2, while the A219N mutation probably improved the substrate preference for cellobiose and gentiobiose relative to laminaribiose at subsite +1. The N407Y mutation increased the affinity toward cellooligosaccharides. These results give further insights into the molecular determinants responsible for substrate specificity in GH1 β-glucosidases and may provide a basis for future enzyme engineering applications.

Crystal structure and identification of amino acid residues for catalysis and binding of GH3 AnBX β-xylosidase from Aspergillus niger

β-Xylosidases catalyze the hydrolysis of xylooligosaccharides to xylose in the final step of hemicellulose degradation. AnBX, which is a GH3 β-xylosidase from Aspergillus niger, has a high catalytic efficiency toward xyloside substrates. In this study, we report the three-dimensional structure and the identification of catalytic and substrate binding residues of AnBX by performing site-directed mutagenesis, kinetic analysis, and NMR spectroscopy-associated analysis of the azide rescue reaction. The structure of the E88A mutant of AnBX, determined at 2.5-Å resolution, contains two molecules in the asymmetric unit, each of which is composed of three domains, namely an N-terminal (β/α)₈ TIM-barrel-like domain, an (α/β)₆ sandwich domain, and a C-terminal fibronectin type III domain. Asp288 and Glu500 of AnBX were experimentally confirmed to act as the catalytic nucleophile and acid/base catalyst, respectively. The crystal structure revealed that Trp86, Glu88 and Cys289, which formed a disulfide bond with Cys321, were located at subsite -1. Although the E88D and C289W mutations reduced catalytic efficiency toward all four substrates tested, the substitution of Trp86 with Ala, Asp and Ser increased the substrate preference for glucoside relative to xyloside substrates, indicating that Trp86 is responsible for the xyloside specificity of AnBX. The structural and biochemical information of AnBX obtained in this study provides invaluable insight into modulating the enzymatic properties for the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. KEY POINTS: • Asp288 and Glu500 of AnBX are the nucleophile and acid/base catalyst, respectively • Glu88 and the Cys289-Cys321 disulfide bond are crucial for the catalytic activity of AnBX • The W86A and W86S mutations in AnBX increased the preference for glucoside substrates.

Synthesis of long-chain alkyl glucosides via reverse hydrolysis reactions catalyzed by an engineered β-glucosidase

Long-chain alkyl glucosides, such as octyl and decyl β-d-glucopyranosides (OG and DG, respectively), are regarded as a new generation of biodegradable, non-ionic surfactants. Previously, the mutants of Dalbergia cochinchinensis Pierre dalcochinase showed potential in the synthesis of oligosaccharides and alkyl glucosides. In this study, the N189F dalcochinase mutant gave the highest yields of OG and DG synthesis under reverse hydrolysis conditions. The optimized yield of OG (57.5 mol%) was obtained in the reactions containing 0.25 M glucose and 0.3 units of the N189 F mutant in buffer-saturated octanol at 30 °C. The identity of OG and DG products was confirmed by high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and NMR. Consistent with its capability for synthesis, the reactivation kinetics and ITC analysis revealed that the aglycone binding pocket of the N189F mutant was more favorable for long-chain alkyl alcohols than the wild-type dalcochinase, while their glycone binding pockets showed similar affinity for the glucosyl moiety. STD NMR revealed higher interactions at the aglycone sites than the glycone sites. Our results demonstrated a promising potential of the N189F dalcochinase mutant in the future commercial production of long-chain alkyl glucosides via reverse hydrolysis reactions.

Improved synthesis of long-chain alkyl glucosides catalyzed by an engineered β-glucosidase in organic solvents and ionic liquids

OBJECTIVE

To synthesize octyl β-D-glucopyranoside (OG) and decyl β-D-glucopyranoside (DG) in three non-aqueous reaction systems, namely organic solvents, ionic liquids and co-solvent mixtures, via reverse hydrolysis reactions catalyzed by the N189F dalcochinase mutant.

RESULTS

The highest yield of OG (67 mol%) was obtained in the reaction containing 0.5 M glucose, 3 unit ml^-1 enzyme in 20% (v/v) octanol and 70% (v/v) [BMIm][PF₆] at 30 °C. On the other hand, the highest yield of DG (64 mol%) was obtained in the reaction containing 0.5 M glucose, 3 unit ml^-1 enzyme in 20% (v/v) decanol, 20% (v/v) acetone and 50% (v/v) [BMIm][PF₆] at 30 °C. The identities of OG and DG products were confirmed by HRMS and NMR.

CONCLUSION

This is the first report of enzymatic synthesis of OG and DG via reverse hydrolysis reactions in ionic liquids and co-solvent mixtures. The N189F dalcochinase mutant and the non-aqueous reaction systems described here show great potential for future commercial production of long-chain alkyl glucosides.

Multiple mutations in the aglycone binding pocket to convert the substrate specificity of dalcochinase to linamarase

Dalcochinase from Dalbergia cochinchinensis Pierre and linamarase from Manihot esculenta Crantz are β-glucosidases which share 47% sequence identity, but show distinct substrate specificities in hydrolysis and transglucosylation. Previously, three amino acid residues of dalcochinase, namely I185, N189 and V255, were identified as being important for determining substrate specificity. In this study, kinetic analysis of the ensuing double and triple mutants of dalcochinase showed that only those containing the 185A mutation could appreciably hydrolyze linamarin as well as transfer glucose to 2-methyl-2-propanol. So, the space provided by the I185A mutation appeared to be a prerequisite for accommodation of the aglycone moiety containing three substituents at the carbinol carbon. However, quantitative analysis of the energy parameters revealed mostly antagonistic interactions between these mutations. In addition, the N189F mutant showed a potential for use in enzymatic synthesis of alkyl glucosides via transglucosylation and reverse hydrolysis reactions. Thus, substitution of only 2-3 key residues in the aglycone binding pocket of dalcochinase could convert its specificities to that of linamarase, as well as to be suitable for any chosen hydrolytic or synthetic applications.

A metagenomic approach to discover a novel β-glucosidase from bovine rumens

β-Glucosidases play an important role in biomass degradation as they hydrolyze cellobiose to glucose in a final step of cellulolysis. In particular, ruminant animals rely onβ-glucosidases from rumen microorganisms for conversion of plant cellulosic materials into glucose. In this study, we are interested in characterization of a novelβ-glucosidase from rumen microorganisms. However, most rumen microorganisms are obligate anaerobes, which require special cultivation conditions. Presently, the metagenomic techniques, which enable isolation and characterization of microbial genes directly from environmental samples, have been applied to overcome these problems. In this study, the sequence-based screening approach was successfully applied to identify a novelβ-glucosidase gene,Br2, from a bovine rumen metagenomic sample. A 1338-bp complete coding sequence ofBr2encodes a 51-kDa GH1β-glucosidase of 445 amino acid residues with 59% sequence identity to aβ-glucosidase fromCellulosilyticum ruminicolaJCM 14822. The recombinantly expressed Br2 exhibited an optimal activity at pH 6.5 and 40°C, reflecting its rumen bacterial origin, and relatively higher catalytic efficiencies toward glucoside and fucoside substrates than other glycosides, similar to many previously reported bacterialβ-glucosidases. Our sequence-based screening approach can be applied to identify other genes of interest from environmental samples.

Purification and characterization of three β-glycosidases exhibiting high glucose tolerance from Aspergillus niger ASKU28

Production and utilization of cellulosic ethanol has been limited, partly due to the difficulty in degradation of cellulosic feedstock. β-Glucosidases convert cellobiose to glucose in the final step of cellulose degradation, but they are inhibited by high concentrations of glucose. Thus, in this study, we have screened, isolated, and characterized three β-glycosidases exhibiting highly glucose-tolerant property from Aspergillus niger ASKU28, namely β-xylosidase (P1.1), β-glucosidase (P1.2), and glucan 1,3-β-glucosidase (P2). Results from kinetic analysis, inhibition study, and hydrolysis of oligosaccharide substrates supported the identification of these enzymes by both LC/MS/MS analysis and nucleotide sequences. Moreover, the highly efficient P1.2 performed better than the commercial β-glucosidase preparation in cellulose saccharification, suggesting its potential applications in the cellulosic ethanol industry. These results shed light on the nature of highly glucose-tolerant β-glucosidase activities in A. niger, whose kinetic properties and identities have not been completely determined in any prior investigations.