351
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Structural and enzymatic characterization of a glycoside hydrolase family 31 α-xylosidase from Cellvibrio japonicus involved in xyloglucan saccharification. Biochem J 2011; 436:567-80. [DOI: 10.1042/bj20110299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The desire for improved methods of biomass conversion into fuels and feedstocks has re-awakened interest in the enzymology of plant cell wall degradation. The complex polysaccharide xyloglucan is abundant in plant matter, where it may account for up to 20% of the total primary cell wall carbohydrates. Despite this, few studies have focused on xyloglucan saccharification, which requires a consortium of enzymes including endo-xyloglucanases, α-xylosidases, β-galactosidases and α-L-fucosidases, among others. In the present paper, we show the characterization of Xyl31A, a key α-xylosidase in xyloglucan utilization by the model Gram-negative soil saprophyte Cellvibrio japonicus. CjXyl31A exhibits high regiospecificity for the hydrolysis of XGOs (xylogluco-oligosaccharides), with a particular preference for longer substrates. Crystallographic structures of both the apo enzyme and the trapped covalent 5-fluoro-β-xylosyl-enzyme intermediate, together with docking studies with the XXXG heptasaccharide, revealed, for the first time in GH31 (glycoside hydrolase family 31), the importance of a PA14 domain insert in the recognition of longer oligosaccharides by extension of the active-site pocket. The observation that CjXyl31A was localized to the outer membrane provided support for a biological model of xyloglucan utilization by C. japonicus, in which XGOs generated by the action of a secreted endo-xyloglucanase are ultimately degraded in close proximity to the cell surface. Moreover, the present study diversifies the toolbox of glycosidases for the specific modification and saccharification of cell wall polymers for biotechnological applications.
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352
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Yaniv O, Shimon LJW, Bayer EA, Lamed R, Frolow F. Scaffoldin-borne family 3b carbohydrate-binding module from the cellulosome of Bacteroides cellulosolvens: structural diversity and significance of calcium for carbohydrate binding. ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D: BIOLOGICAL CRYSTALLOGRAPHY 2011; 67:506-15. [PMID: 21636890 DOI: 10.1107/s0907444911011322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2011] [Accepted: 03/27/2011] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The potent cellulose-binding modules of cellulosomal scaffoldin subunits belong to the greater family of carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs). They have generally been classified as belonging to family 3a on the basis of sequence similarity. They form nine-stranded β-sandwich structures with jelly-roll topology. The members of this family possess on their surface a planar array of aromatic amino-acid residues (known as the linear strip) that form stacking interactions with the glucose rings of cellulose chains and have a conserved Ca(2+)-binding site. Intriguingly, the CBM3 from scaffoldin A (ScaA) of Bacteroides cellulosolvens exhibits alterations in sequence that make it more similar to the CBMs of free cellulolytic enzymes, which are classified into CBM family 3b. X-ray structural analysis was undertaken in order to examine the structural consequences of the sequence changes and the consequent family affiliation. The CBM3 crystallized in space group I4(1)22 with one molecule in the asymmetric unit, yielding diffraction to a resolution of 1.83 Å using X-ray synchrotron radiation. Compared with the known structures of other scaffoldin-borne CBMs, a sequence insertion and deletion appear to compensate for each other as both contained an aromatic residue that is capable of contributing to cellulose binding; hence, even though there are alterations in the composition and localization of the aromatic residues in the linear strip its binding ability was not compromised. Interestingly, no Ca(2+) ions were detected in the conserved calcium-binding site, although the module was properly folded; this suggests that the structural role of Ca(2+) is less important than originally supposed. These observations indicate that despite their conserved function the scaffoldin-borne CBMs are more diverse in their sequences and structures than previously assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oren Yaniv
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
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353
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Luís AS, Alves VD, Romão MJ, Prates JAM, Fontes CMGA, Najmudin S. Overproduction, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray characterization of a novel carbohydrate-binding module of endoglucanase Cel5A from Eubacterium cellulosolvens. Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun 2011; 67:491-3. [PMID: 21505249 PMCID: PMC3080158 DOI: 10.1107/s1744309111004246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2010] [Accepted: 02/03/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The anaerobic cellulolytic rumen bacterium Eubacterium cellulosolvens produces a large array of cellulases and hemicellulases that are responsible for the hydrolysis of plant cell-wall polysaccharides. One of these enzymes, endoglucanase Cel5A, comprises two tandemly repeated novel carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) and two catalytic domains belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 5 joined by flexible linker sequences. The novel CBM located at the N-terminus of the endoglucanase has been crystallized. The crystals belonged to the hexagonal space group P6(1)22 and contained a single molecule in the asymmetric unit. The structure of the L-selenomethionine derivative has been solved by a MAD experiment on crystals that diffracted to 1.75 Å resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana S. Luís
- CIISA – Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Victor D. Alves
- CIISA – Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Maria J. Romão
- REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, FCT–UNL, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - José A. M. Prates
- CIISA – Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Carlos M. G. A. Fontes
- CIISA – Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Shabir Najmudin
- CIISA – Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal
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354
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Molecular Architecture and Structural Transitions of a Clostridium thermocellum Mini-Cellulosome. J Mol Biol 2011; 407:571-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2011.01.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2010] [Revised: 01/14/2011] [Accepted: 01/31/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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355
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Abstract
Geobacillus stearothermophilus T-6 is a thermophilic soil bacterium that has a 38-kb gene cluster for the utilization of arabinan, a branched polysaccharide that is part of the plant cell wall. The bacterium encodes a unique three-component regulatory system (araPST) that includes a sugar-binding lipoprotein (AraP), a histidine sensor kinase (AraS), and a response regulator (AraT) and lies adjacent to an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) arabinose transport system (araEGH). The lipoprotein (AraP) specifically bound arabinose, and gel mobility shift experiments showed that the response regulator, AraT, binds to a 139-bp fragment corresponding to the araE promoter region. Taken together, the results showed that the araPST system appeared to sense extracellular arabinose and to activate a specific ABC transporter for arabinose (AraEGH). The promoter regions of the arabinan utilization genes contain a 14-bp inverted repeat motif resembling an operator site for the arabinose repressor, AraR. AraR was found to bind specifically to these sequences, and binding was efficiently prevented in the presence of arabinose, suggesting that arabinose is the molecular inducer of the arabinan utilization system. The expression of the arabinan utilization genes was reduced in the presence of glucose, indicating that regulation is also mediated via a catabolic repression mechanism. The cluster also encodes a second putative ABC sugar transporter (AbnEFJ) whose sugar-binding lipoprotein (AbnE) was shown to interact specifically with linear and branched arabino-oligosaccharides. The final degradation of the arabino-oligosaccharides is likely carried out by intracellular enzymes, including two α-l-arabinofuranosidases (AbfA and AbfB), a β-l-arabinopyranosidase (Abp), and an arabinanase (AbnB), all of which are encoded in the 38-kb cluster.
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356
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Brás JLA, Cartmell A, Carvalho ALM, Verzé G, Bayer EA, Vazana Y, Correia MAS, Prates JAM, Ratnaparkhe S, Boraston AB, Romão MJ, Fontes CMGA, Gilbert HJ. Structural insights into a unique cellulase fold and mechanism of cellulose hydrolysis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011; 108:5237-42. [PMID: 21393568 PMCID: PMC3069175 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1015006108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Clostridium thermocellum is a well-characterized cellulose-degrading microorganism. The genome sequence of C. thermocellum encodes a number of proteins that contain type I dockerin domains, which implies that they are components of the cellulose-degrading apparatus, but display no significant sequence similarity to known plant cell wall-degrading enzymes. Here, we report the biochemical properties and crystal structure of one of these proteins, designated CtCel124. The protein was shown to be an endo-acting cellulase that displays a single displacement mechanism and acts in synergy with Cel48S, the major cellulosomal exo-cellulase. The crystal structure of CtCel124 in complex with two cellotriose molecules, determined to 1.5 Å, displays a superhelical fold in which a constellation of α-helices encircle a central helix that houses the catalytic apparatus. The catalytic acid, Glu96, is located at the C-terminus of the central helix, but there is no candidate catalytic base. The substrate-binding cleft can be divided into two discrete topographical domains in which the bound cellotriose molecules display twisted and linear conformations, respectively, suggesting that the enzyme may target the interface between crystalline and disordered regions of cellulose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana L. A. Brás
- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Pólo Universitário do Alto da Ajuda, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Alan Cartmell
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-4712
| | - Ana Luísa M. Carvalho
- Rede de Química e Tecnologia, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Genny Verzé
- Rede de Química e Tecnologia, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
- Biocrystallography Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy
| | - Edward A. Bayer
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 Israel; and
| | - Yael Vazana
- Department of Biological Chemistry, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 Israel; and
| | - Márcia A. S. Correia
- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Pólo Universitário do Alto da Ajuda, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - José A. M. Prates
- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Pólo Universitário do Alto da Ajuda, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Supriya Ratnaparkhe
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-4712
| | - Alisdair B. Boraston
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 3P6
| | - Maria J. Romão
- Rede de Química e Tecnologia, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Carlos M. G. A. Fontes
- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Pólo Universitário do Alto da Ajuda, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Harry J. Gilbert
- Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-4712
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357
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Correia MAS, Mazumder K, Brás JLA, Firbank SJ, Zhu Y, Lewis RJ, York WS, Fontes CMGA, Gilbert HJ. Structure and function of an arabinoxylan-specific xylanase. J Biol Chem 2011; 286:22510-20. [PMID: 21378160 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m110.217315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The enzymatic degradation of plant cell walls plays a central role in the carbon cycle and is of increasing environmental and industrial significance. The enzymes that catalyze this process include xylanases that degrade xylan, a β-1,4-xylose polymer that is decorated with various sugars. Although xylanases efficiently hydrolyze unsubstituted xylans, these enzymes are unable to access highly decorated forms of the polysaccharide, such as arabinoxylans that contain arabinofuranose decorations. Here, we show that a Clostridium thermocellum enzyme, designated CtXyl5A, hydrolyzes arabinoxylans but does not attack unsubstituted xylans. Analysis of the reaction products generated by CtXyl5A showed that all the oligosaccharides contain an O3 arabinose linked to the reducing end xylose. The crystal structure of the catalytic module (CtGH5) of CtXyl5A, appended to a family 6 noncatalytic carbohydrate-binding module (CtCBM6), showed that CtGH5 displays a canonical (α/β)(8)-barrel fold with the substrate binding cleft running along the surface of the protein. The catalytic apparatus is housed in the center of the cleft. Adjacent to the -1 subsite is a pocket that could accommodate an l-arabinofuranose-linked α-1,3 to the active site xylose, which is likely to function as a key specificity determinant. CtCBM6, which adopts a β-sandwich fold, recognizes the termini of xylo- and gluco-configured oligosaccharides, consistent with the pocket topology displayed by the ligand-binding site. In contrast to typical modular glycoside hydrolases, there is an extensive hydrophobic interface between CtGH5 and CtCBM6, and thus the two modules cannot function as independent entities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Márcia A S Correia
- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal
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358
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Jeon SD, Yu KO, Kim SW, Han SO. A celluloytic complex from Clostridium cellulovorans consisting of mannanase B and endoglucanase E has synergistic effects on galactomannan degradation. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2011; 90:565-72. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-011-3108-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2010] [Revised: 12/30/2010] [Accepted: 01/05/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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359
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Abstract
Carbohydrate-active enzymes face huge substrate diversity in a highly selective manner using only a limited number of available folds. They are therefore subjected to multiple divergent and convergent evolutionary events. This and their frequent modularity render their functional annotation in genomes difficult in a number of cases. In the present paper, a classification of polysaccharide lyases (the enzymes that cleave polysaccharides using an elimination instead of a hydrolytic mechanism) is shown thoroughly for the first time. Based on the analysis of a large panel of experimentally characterized polysaccharide lyases, we examined the correlation of various enzyme properties with the three levels of the classification: fold, family and subfamily. The resulting hierarchical classification, which should help annotate relevant genes in genomic efforts, is available and constantly updated at the Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes Database (http://www.cazy.org).
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360
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Abstract
Bacteria construct elaborate nanostructures, obtain nutrients and energy from diverse sources, synthesize complex molecules, and implement signal processing to react to their environment. These complex phenotypes require the coordinated action of multiple genes, which are often encoded in a contiguous region of the genome, referred to as a gene cluster. Gene clusters sometimes contain all of the genes necessary and sufficient for a particular function. As an evolutionary mechanism, gene clusters facilitate the horizontal transfer of the complete function between species. Here, we review recent work on a number of clusters whose functions are relevant to biotechnology. Engineering these clusters has been hindered by their regulatory complexity, the need to balance the expression of many genes, and a lack of tools to design and manipulate DNA at this scale. Advances in synthetic biology will enable the large-scale bottom-up engineering of the clusters to optimize their functions, wake up cryptic clusters, or to transfer them between organisms. Understanding and manipulating gene clusters will move towards an era of genome engineering, where multiple functions can be "mixed-and-matched" to create a designer organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Fischbach
- Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California – San Francisco, MC 2530, Room 308C, 1700 4 Street, (415) 514-9435
| | - Christopher A. Voigt
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California – San Francisco, MC 2540, Room 408C, 1700 4 Street, San Francisco, CA 94158, (415) 502-7050
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361
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Clostridium thermocellum cellulosomal genes are regulated by extracytoplasmic polysaccharides via alternative sigma factors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:18646-51. [PMID: 20937888 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1012175107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Clostridium thermocellum produces a highly efficient cellulolytic extracellular complex, termed the cellulosome, for hydrolyzing plant cell wall biomass. The composition of the cellulosome is affected by the presence of extracellular polysaccharides; however, the regulatory mechanism is unknown. Recently, we have identified in C. thermocellum a set of putative σ and anti-σ factors that include extracellular polysaccharide-sensing components [Kahel-Raifer et al. (2010) FEMS Microbiol Lett 308:84-93]. These factor-encoding genes are homologous to the Bacillus subtilis bicistronic operon sigI-rsgI, which encodes for an alternative σ(I) factor and its cognate anti-σ(I) regulator RsgI that is functionally regulated by an extracytoplasmic signal. In this study, the binding of C. thermocellum putative anti-σ(I) factors to their corresponding σ factors was measured, demonstrating binding specificity and dissociation constants in the range of 0.02 to 1 μM. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR measurements revealed three- to 30-fold up-expression of the alternative σ factor genes in the presence of cellulose and xylan, thus connecting their expression to direct detection of their extracellular polysaccharide substrates. Cellulosomal genes that are putatively regulated by two of these σ factors, σ(I1) or σ(I6), were identified based on the sequence similarity of their promoters. The ability of σ(I1) to direct transcription from the sigI1 promoter and from the promoter of celS (encodes the family 48 cellulase) was demonstrated in vitro by runoff transcription assays. Taken together, the results reveal a regulatory mechanism in which alternative σ factors are involved in regulating the cellulosomal genes via an external carbohydrate-sensing mechanism.
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362
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Elkins JG, Raman B, Keller M. Engineered microbial systems for enhanced conversion of lignocellulosic biomass. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2010; 21:657-62. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2010.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2010] [Accepted: 05/27/2010] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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