A novel ∼34-kDa α-amylase from psychrotroph Exiguobacterium sp. SH3: production, purification, and characterization

Probing the function of C-terminal region of recombinant α-amylase BmaN1 from Bacillus megaterium NL3

The α-amylase BmaN1 from Bacillus megaterium NL3 is a member of GH13_45 subfamily that has a conserved C-terminal region of approximately 30 residues. This region features a motif of five aromatic amino acids predicted to play a role in starch binding. This study aimed to unravel the role of the C-terminal region in starch hydrolysis. The full-length and C-terminally truncated forms of BmaN1 (BmaN1∆C) were expressed in Escherichia coli ArcticExpress (DE3), resulting in proteins with molecular weights of 56 kDa and 49 kDa, respectively. They exhibited comparable enzymatic activity in the hydrolysis of soluble starch, displaying versatility across a wide range of pH values, temperatures, and NaCl concentrations. BmaN1 and BmaN1∆C activities were inhibited by acarbose and were reduced by SDS and EDTA. In terms of binding and degrading the starch granules, BmaN1∆C showed lower affinity and activity in comparison to BmaN1. Our study indicates that the C-terminal region of BmaN1 significantly enhances its binding affinity and degrading the raw starches.IMPORTANCEα-Amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) stands as an endo-acting enzyme, essential for catalyzing the hydrolysis of α-1,4 glycosidic bonds within starch molecules. The relevance of α-amylases in biotechnological applications is substantial, constituting approximately 30% of the global enzyme market. Among these enzymes, BmaN1 was the first α-amylase identified to possess distinct catalytic residues within the GH13 family. BmaN1 from B. megaterium NL3 belongs to the GH13_45 subfamily. This subfamily is characterized by a conserved C-terminal region consisting of approximately 30 residues that contains a motif of five aromatic residues predicted to be involved in starch binding. Our study shows that the C-terminal effectively contributes to binding and degrading the raw starch granules. This pioneering research on BmaN1 expands our understanding of α-amylases and holds promise for innovative biotechnological advancements.

Advances in cold-adapted enzymes derived from microorganisms

Cold-adapted enzymes, produced in cold-adapted organisms, are a class of enzyme with catalytic activity at low temperatures, high temperature sensitivity, and the ability to adapt to cold stimulation. These enzymes are largely derived from animals, plants, and microorganisms in polar areas, mountains, and the deep sea. With the rapid development of modern biotechnology, cold-adapted enzymes have been implemented in human and other animal food production, the protection and restoration of environments, and fundamental biological research, among other areas. Cold-adapted enzymes derived from microorganisms have attracted much attention because of their short production cycles, high yield, and simple separation and purification, compared with cold-adapted enzymes derived from plants and animals. In this review we discuss various types of cold-adapted enzyme from cold-adapted microorganisms, along with associated applications, catalytic mechanisms, and molecular modification methods, to establish foundation for the theoretical research and application of cold-adapted enzymes.

Biotechnological potential of psychrophilic microorganisms as the source of cold-active enzymes in food processing applications

Microorganisms striving in extreme environments and exhibiting optimal growth and reproduction at low temperatures, otherwise known as psychrophilic microorganisms, are potential sources of cold-active enzymes. Owing to higher stability and cold activity, these enzymes are gaining enormous attention in numerous industrial bioprocesses. Applications of several cold-active enzymes have been established in the food industry, e.g., β-galactosidase, pectinase, proteases, amylases, xylanases, pullulanases, lipases, and β-mannanases. The enzyme engineering approaches and the accumulating knowledge of protein structure and function have made it possible to improve the catalytic properties of interest and express the candidate enzyme in a heterologous host for a higher level of enzyme production. This review compiles the relevant and recent information on the potential uses of different cold-active enzymes in the food industry.

Alkaline lipase production by novel meso-tolerant psychrophilic Exiguobacterium sp. strain (AMBL-20) isolated from glacier of northeastern Pakistan

Lipase is an important commercial enzyme with unique and versatile biotechnological applications. This study was conducted to biosynthesize and characterizes alkaliphilic lipase by Exiguobacterium sp. strain AMBL-20^T isolated from the glacial water samples of the northeastern (Gilgit-Baltistan) region of Pakistan. The isolated bacterium was identified as Exiguobaterium sp. strain AMBL-20^T on the basis of morphological, biochemical, and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA sequences with GenBank accession number MW229267. The bacterial strain was further screened for its lipolytic activity, biosynthesis, and characterization by different parameters with the aim of maximizing lipase activity. Results showed that 2% Olive oil, 0.2% peptone at 25 °C, pH 8, and 24 h of incubation time found optimal for maximum lipase production. The lipase enzyme was partially purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation and its activity was standardized at pH 8 under 30 °C temperature. The enzyme showed functional stability over a range of temperature and pH. Hence, extracellular alkaliphilic lipase from Exiguobacterium sp. is a potential candidate with extraordinary industrial applications, particularly in bio-detergent formulations.

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of a Novel α-Amylase from Antarctic Sea Ice Bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. M175 and Its Primary Application in Detergent

A novel cold-adapted and salt-tolerant α-amylase gene (amy175) from Antarctic sea ice bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. M175 was successfully cloned and expressed. The open reading frame (ORF) of amy175 had 1722 bp encoding a protein of 573 amino acids residues. Multiple alignments indicated Amy175 had seven highly conserved sequences and the putative catalytic triad (Asp²⁴⁴, Glu²⁸⁶, and Asp³⁷²). It was the first identified member of GH13_36 subfamily which contained QPDLN in the CSR V. The recombinant enzyme (Amy175) was purified to homogeneity with a molecular mass of about 62 kDa on SDS-PAGE. It had a mixed enzyme specificity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Amy175 displayed highest activity at pH 8.0 and 25°C and exhibited extreme salt-resistance with the maximum activity at 1 M NaCl. Amy175 was strongly stimulated by Mg²⁺, Ni²⁺, K⁺, 1 mM Ca²⁺, 1 mM Ba²⁺, 1 mM Pb²⁺, 1 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), and 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) but was significantly inhibited by Cu²⁺, Mn²⁺, Hg²⁺, 10 mM β-mercaptoethanol (β-ME), and 10% Tween 80. Amy175 demonstrated excellent resistance towards all the tested commercial detergents, and wash performance analysis displayed that the addition of Amy175 improved the stain removal efficiency. This study demonstrated that Amy175 would be proposed as a novel α-amylase source for industrial application in the future.

Biochemical properties of Glu-SH3 as a family 13 glycoside hydrolase with remarkable substrate specificity for trehalose: Implications to sequence-based classification of CAZymes

A novel glycoside hydrolase from Exiguobacterium sp. SH3 was characterized. The enzyme, designated as Glu-SH3, was predicted by in silico analysis to have structural similarity with members of oligo-1,6-glucosidase and trehalose-6-phosphate hydrolase subfamilies in the GH-13 family of glycoside hydrolases. The gene was expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant enzyme was purified as a His-tagged protein of about 60 kDa. The enzyme was shown to have remarkable substrate specificity for trehalose. The characteristic ability of Glu-SH3 to hydrolyze trehalose was ascertained by zymography, thin layer chromatography, and NMR spectroscopy. The maximum activity of Glu-SH3 was obtained at 35 °C and pH 7, but it was able to exhibit more than 90% of the activity within the pH range of 5-8. The Vmax and Km values were estimated to be 170 U and 4.5 mg ml(-1), respectively. By comparison with trehalases, Glu-SH3 with Kcat and Kcat/Km values of 1552 s(-1) and 119.4 mM(-1) s(-1) can be recognized as a very efficient trehalose-hydrolyzing glycosidase. Given the phylogeny and the substrate specificity of Glu-SH3, it may be assumed that the enzyme shares a common ancestor with oligo-1,6-glucosidases but have evolved distinctly to serve a physiological function in trehalose metabolism.

Degradation properties of various macromolecules of cultivable psychrophilic bacteria from the deep-sea water of the South Pacific Gyre

The deep-sea water of the South Pacific Gyre (SPG, 20°S-45°S) is a cold and ultra-oligotrophic environment that is the source of cold-adapted enzymes. However, the characteristic features of psychrophilic enzymes derived from culturable microbes in the SPG remained largely unknown. In this study, the degradation properties of 174 cultures from the deep water of the SPG were used to determine the diversity of cold-adapted enzymes. Thus, the abilities to degrade polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and DNA at 4, 16, and 28 °C were investigated. Most of the isolates showed one or more extracellular enzyme activities, including amylase, chitinase, cellulase, lipase, lecithinase, caseinase, gelatinase, and DNase at 4, 16, and 28 °C. Moreover, nearly 85.6 % of the isolates produced cold-adapted enzymes at 4 °C. The psychrophilic enzyme-producing isolates distributed primarily in Alteromonas and Pseudoalteromonas genera of the Gammaproteobacteria. Pseudoalteromonas degraded 9 types of macromolecules but not cellulose, Alteromonas secreted 8 enzymes except for cellulase and chitinase. Interestingly, the enzymatic activities of Gammaproteobacteria isolates at 4 °C were higher than those observed at 16 or 28 °C. In addition, we cloned and expressed a gene encoding an α-amylase (Amy2235) from Luteimonas abyssi XH031(T), and examined the properties of the recombinant protein. These cold-active enzymes may have huge potential for academic research and industrial applications. In addition, the capacity of the isolates to degrade various types of organic matter may indicate their unique ecological roles in the elemental biogeochemical cycling of the deep biosphere.

Improved cultivation and metagenomics as new tools for bioprospecting in cold environments

Only a small minority of microorganisms from an environmental sample can be cultured in the laboratory leaving the enormous bioprospecting potential of the uncultured diversity unexplored. This resource can be accessed by improved cultivation methods in which the natural environment is brought into the laboratory or through metagenomic approaches where culture-independent DNA sequence information can be combined with functional screening. The coupling of these two approaches circumvents the need for pure, cultured isolates and can be used to generate targeted information on communities enriched for specific activities or properties. Bioprospecting in extreme environments is often associated with additional challenges such as low biomass, slow cell growth, complex sample matrices, restricted access, and problematic in situ analyses. In addition, the choice of vector system and expression host may be limited as few hosts are available for expression of genes with extremophilic properties. This review summarizes the methods developed for improved cultivation as well as the metagenomic approaches for bioprospecting with focus on the challenges faced by bioprospecting in cold environments.

An exceptionally cold-adapted alpha-amylase from a metagenomic library of a cold and alkaline environment

A cold-active α-amylase, AmyI3C6, identified by a functional metagenomics approach was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Sequence analysis showed that the AmyI3C6 amylase was similar to α-amylases from the class Clostridia and revealed classical characteristics of cold-adapted enzymes, as did comparison of the kinetic parameters K m and k cat to a mesophilic α-amylase. AmyI3C6 was shown to be heat-labile. Temperature optimum was at 10-15 °C, and more than 70 % of the relative activity was retained at 1 °C. The pH optimum of AmyI3C6 was at pH 8-9, and the enzyme displayed activity in two commercial detergents tested, suggesting that the AmyI3C6 α-amylase may be useful as a detergent enzyme in environmentally friendly, low-temperature laundry processes.