Novel enzymes through design and evolution

Thermostable lipases and their dynamics of improved enzymatic properties

Thermal stability is one of the most desirable characteristics in the search for novel lipases. The search for thermophilic microorganisms for synthesising functional enzyme biocatalysts with the ability to withstand high temperature, and capacity to maintain their native state in extreme conditions opens up new opportunities for their biotechnological applications. Thermophilic organisms are one of the most favoured organisms, whose distinctive characteristics are extremely related to their cellular constituent particularly biologically active proteins. Modifications on the enzyme structure are critical in optimizing the stability of enzyme to thermophilic conditions. Thermostable lipases are one of the most favourable enzymes used in food industries, pharmaceutical field, and actively been studied as potential biocatalyst in biodiesel production and other biotechnology application. Particularly, there is a trade-off between the use of enzymes in high concentration of organic solvents and product generation. Enhancement of the enzyme stability needs to be achieved for them to maintain their enzymatic activity regardless the environment. Various approaches on protein modification applied since decades ago conveyed a better understanding on how to improve the enzymatic properties in thermophilic bacteria. In fact, preliminary approach using advanced computational analysis is practically conducted before any modification is being performed experimentally. Apart from that, isolation of novel extremozymes from various microorganisms are offering great frontier in explaining the crucial native interaction within the molecules which could help in protein engineering. In this review, the thermostability prospect of lipases and the utility of protein engineering insights into achieving functional industrial usefulness at their high temperature habitat are highlighted. Similarly, the underlying thermodynamic and structural basis that defines the forces that stabilize these thermostable lipase is discussed. KEY POINTS: • The dynamics of lipases contributes to their non-covalent interactions and structural stability. • Thermostability can be enhanced by well-established genetic tools for improved kinetic efficiency. • Molecular dynamics greatly provides structure-function insights on thermodynamics of lipase.

Enzyme recruitment and its role in metabolic expansion

Although more than 10(9) years have passed since the existence of the last universal common ancestor, proteins have yet to reach the limits of divergence. As a result, metabolic complexity is ever expanding. Identifying and understanding the mechanisms that drive and limit the divergence of protein sequence space impact not only evolutionary biologists investigating molecular evolution but also synthetic biologists seeking to design useful catalysts and engineer novel metabolic pathways. Investigations over the past 50 years indicate that the recruitment of enzymes for new functions is a key event in the acquisition of new metabolic capacity. In this review, we outline the genetic mechanisms that enable recruitment and summarize the present state of knowledge regarding the functional characteristics of extant catalysts that facilitate recruitment. We also highlight recent examples of enzyme recruitment, both from the historical record provided by phylogenetics and from enzyme evolution experiments. We conclude with a look to the future, which promises fruitful consequences from the convergence of molecular evolutionary theory, laboratory-directed evolution, and synthetic biology.

A rewired green fluorescent protein: folding and function in a nonsequential, noncircular GFP permutant

The sequential order of secondary structural elements in proteins affects the folding and activity to an unknown extent. To test the dependence on sequential connectivity, we reconnected secondary structural elements by their solvent-exposed ends, permuting their sequential order, called "rewiring". This new protein design strategy changes the topology of the backbone without changing the core side chain packing arrangement. While circular and noncircular permutations have been observed in protein structures that are not related by sequence homology, to date no one has attempted to rationally design and construct a protein with a sequence that is noncircularly permuted while conserving three-dimensional structure. Herein, we show that green fluorescent protein can be rewired, still functionally fold, and exhibit wild-type fluorescence excitation and emission spectra.

Engineering cytochrome P450 biocatalysts for biotechnology, medicine and bioremediation

IMPORTANCE OF THE FIELD

Cytochrome P450 enzymes comprise a superfamily of heme monooxygenases that are of considerable interest for the: i) synthesis of novel drugs and drug metabolites; ii) targeted cancer gene therapy; iii) biosensor design; and iv) bioremediation. However, their applications are limited because cytochrome P450, especially mammalian P450 enzymes, show a low turnover rate and stability, and require a complex source of electrons through cytochrome P450 reductase and NADPH.

AREAS COVERED IN THIS REVIEW

In this review, we discuss the recent progress towards the use of P450 enzymes in a variety of the above-mentioned applications. We also present alternate and cost-effective ways to perform P450-mediated reaction, especially using peroxides. Furthermore, we expand upon the current progress in P450 engineering approaches describing several recent examples that are utilized to enhance heterologous expression, stability, catalytic efficiency and utilization of alternate oxidants.

WHAT THE READER WILL GAIN

The review provides a comprehensive knowledge in the design of P450 biocatalysts for potentially practical purposes. Finally, we provide a prospective on the future aspects of P450 engineering and its applications in biotechnology, medicine and bioremediation.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

Because of its wide applications, academic and pharmaceutical researchers, environmental scientists and healthcare providers are expected to gain current knowledge and future prospects of the practical use of P450 biocatalysts.

Redesigning dehalogenase access tunnels as a strategy for degrading an anthropogenic substrate

Engineering enzymes to degrade anthropogenic compounds efficiently is challenging. We obtained Rhodococcus rhodochrous haloalkane dehalogenase mutants with up to 32-fold higher activity than wild type toward the toxic, recalcitrant anthropogenic compound 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) using a new strategy. We identified key residues in access tunnels connecting the buried active site with bulk solvent by rational design and randomized them by directed evolution. The most active mutant has large aromatic residues at two out of three randomized positions and two positions modified by site-directed mutagenesis. These changes apparently enhance activity with TCP by decreasing accessibility of the active site for water molecules, thereby promoting activated complex formation. Kinetic analyses confirmed that the mutations improved carbon-halogen bond cleavage and shifted the rate-limiting step to the release of products. Engineering access tunnels by combining computer-assisted protein design with directed evolution may be a valuable strategy for refining catalytic properties of enzymes with buried active sites.

Enzyme (re)design: lessons from natural evolution and computation

The (re)design of enzymes to catalyze 'new' reactions is a topic of considerable practical and intellectual interest. Directed evolution (random mutagenesis followed by screening/selection) has been used widely to identify novel biocatalysts. However, 'rational' approaches using either natural divergent evolution or computational predictions based on chemical principles have been less successful. This review summarizes recent progress in evolution-based and computation-based (re)design.

The mutability of enzyme active-site shape determinants

Investigations of enzyme action typically focus on elucidating the catalytic roles of hydrogen bonding interactions between polar active-site residues and substrate molecules. Less clear is the importance of non-hydrogen bonding contacts to enzymatic rate accelerations. To investigate the importance of such interactions in a model system, six residues that participate in van der Waals contacts with substrate glucose within the active site of Escherichia coli glucokinase were individually randomized via site-directed mutagenesis. In vivo selection in a glucokinase-deficient bacterium was employed to identify amino acid substitutions that were complicit with enzyme activity. The results suggest that small residues, such as alanine and glycine, are largely immutable, whereas larger amino acids are more tolerant of diverse substitution patterns. Surprisingly, a glucokinase variant that contains glycine in place of six non-hydrogen bonding contacts retains approximately 1% of the wild-type activity. These findings establish non-hydrogen bonding shape determinants as highly appealing targets for widespread substitution during efforts to redesign the catalytic properties of natural enzymes.

Metabolic engineering of a genetic selection system with tunable stringency

The biosynthesis of small molecules can be fine-tuned by (re)engineering metabolic flux within cells. We have adapted this approach to optimize an in vivo selection system for the conversion of prephenate to phenylpyruvate, a key step in the production of the essential aromatic amino acid phenylalanine. Careful control of prephenate concentration in a bacterial host lacking prephenate dehydratase, achieved through provision of a regulable enzyme that diverts it down a parallel biosynthetic pathway, provides the means to systematically increase selection pressure on replacements of the missing catalyst. Successful differentiation of dehydratases whose activities vary over a >50,000-fold range and the isolation of mechanistically informative prephenate dehydratase variants from large protein libraries illustrate the potential of the engineered selection strain for characterizing and evolving enzymes. Our approach complements other common methods for adjusting selection pressure and should be generally applicable to any selection system that is based on the conversion of an endogenous metabolite.

Tunnel plasticity and quaternary structural integrity of a pentameric protein ring

Cyclic protein oligomers are common in cells. However, the importance of the residues that line the central tunnel of protein rings for overall architectural integrity is not well understood. To investigate the role of tunnel positions in protein assembly and stability, we prepared variants of the homo-pentameric lumazine synthase (LS) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae in which the three residues that line the middle of the tunnel were simultaneously changed. As a consequence of symmetry, these mutations cause a total of 15 changes in the structure of the pentameric complex. Detailed characterization of the variants indicates that they retain quaternary structural integrity, even in cases where the mutations induce considerable secondary structure alterations. The tunnels of symmetric ring-shaped proteins, such as LS, may consequently represent an overlooked site for protein engineering.