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Santema LL, Rotilio L, Xiang R, Tjallinks G, Guallar V, Mattevi A, Fraaije MW. Discovery and biochemical characterization of thermostable glycerol oxidases. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2024; 108:61. [PMID: 38183484 PMCID: PMC10771423 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12883-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
Alditol oxidases are promising tools for the biocatalytic oxidation of glycerol to more valuable chemicals. By integrating in silico bioprospecting with cell-free protein synthesis and activity screening, an effective pipeline was developed to rapidly identify enzymes that are active on glycerol. Three thermostable alditol oxidases from Actinobacteria Bacterium, Streptomyces thermoviolaceus, and Thermostaphylospora chromogena active on glycerol were discovered. The characterization of these three flavoenzymes demonstrated their glycerol oxidation activities, preference for alkaline conditions, and excellent thermostabilities with melting temperatures higher than 75 °C. Structural elucidation of the alditol oxidase from Actinobacteria Bacterium highlighted a constellation of side chains that engage the substrate through several hydrogen bonds, a histidine residue covalently bound to the FAD prosthetic group, and a tunnel leading to the active site. Upon computational simulations of substrate binding, a double mutant targeting a residue pair at the tunnel entrance was created and found to display an improved thermal stability and catalytic efficiency for glycerol oxidation. The hereby described alditol oxidases form a valuable panel of oxidative biocatalysts that can perform regioselective oxidation of glycerol and other polyols. KEY POINTS: • Rapid pipeline designed to identify putative oxidases • Biochemical and structural characterization of alditol oxidases • Glycerol oxidation to more valuable derivatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars L Santema
- Molecular Enzymology, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Rotilio
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, via Ferrata 9, 27100, Pavia, Italy
| | - Ruite Xiang
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, 08034, Spain
| | - Gwen Tjallinks
- Molecular Enzymology, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Victor Guallar
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, 08034, Spain.
| | - Andrea Mattevi
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Pavia, via Ferrata 9, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Marco W Fraaije
- Molecular Enzymology, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
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Thornton EL, Paterson SM, Stam MJ, Wood CW, Laohakunakorn N, Regan L. Applications of cell free protein synthesis in protein design. Protein Sci 2024; 33:e5148. [PMID: 39180484 PMCID: PMC11344276 DOI: 10.1002/pro.5148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2024] [Revised: 07/26/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 08/26/2024]
Abstract
In protein design, the ultimate test of success is that the designs function as desired. Here, we discuss the utility of cell free protein synthesis (CFPS) as a rapid, convenient and versatile method to screen for activity. We champion the use of CFPS in screening potential designs. Compared to in vivo protein screening, a wider range of different activities can be evaluated using CFPS, and the scale on which it can easily be used-screening tens to hundreds of designed proteins-is ideally suited to current needs. Protein design using physics-based strategies tended to have a relatively low success rate, compared with current machine-learning based methods. Screening steps (such as yeast display) were often used to identify proteins that displayed the desired activity from many designs that were highly ranked computationally. We also describe how CFPS is well-suited to identify the reasons designs fail, which may include problems with transcription, translation, and solubility, in addition to not achieving the desired structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella Lucille Thornton
- Centre for Engineering Biology, Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Sarah Maria Paterson
- Centre for Engineering Biology, Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Michael J. Stam
- Centre for Engineering Biology, Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Christopher W. Wood
- Centre for Engineering Biology, Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Nadanai Laohakunakorn
- Centre for Engineering Biology, Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Lynne Regan
- Centre for Engineering Biology, Institute of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
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Rolf J, Handke J, Burzinski F, Lütz S, Rosenthal K. Amino acid balancing for the prediction and evaluation of protein concentrations in cell-free protein synthesis systems. Biotechnol Prog 2023; 39:e3373. [PMID: 37408088 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.3373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) systems are an attractive method to complement the usual cell-based synthesis of proteins, especially for screening approaches. The literature describes a wide variety of CFPS systems, but their performance is difficult to compare since the reaction components are often used at different concentrations. Therefore, we have developed a calculation tool based on amino acid balancing to evaluate the performance of CFPS by determining the fractional yield as the ratio between theoretically achievable and experimentally achieved protein molar concentration. This tool was applied to a series of experiments from our lab and to various systems described in the literature to identify systems that synthesize proteins very efficiently and those that still have potential for higher yields. The well-established Escherichia coli system showed a high efficiency in the utilization of amino acids, but interestingly, less considered systems, such as those based on Vibrio natriegens or Leishmania tarentolae, also showed exceptional fractional yields of over 70% and 90%, respectively, implying very efficient conversions of amino acids. The methods and tools described here can quickly identify when a system has reached its maximum or has limitations. We believe that this approach will facilitate the evaluation and optimization of existing CFPS systems and provides the basis for the systematic development of new CFPS systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jascha Rolf
- Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering, Chair for Bioprocess Engineering, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Julian Handke
- Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering, Chair for Bioprocess Engineering, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Frank Burzinski
- Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering, Chair for Bioprocess Engineering, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stephan Lütz
- Department of Biochemical and Chemical Engineering, Chair for Bioprocess Engineering, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
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Walter RM, Zemella A, Schramm M, Kiebist J, Kubick S. Vesicle-based cell-free synthesis of short and long unspecific peroxygenases. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:964396. [PMID: 36394036 PMCID: PMC9663805 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.964396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs, EC 1.11.2.1) are fungal enzymes that catalyze the oxyfunctionalization of non-activated hydrocarbons, making them valuable biocatalysts. Despite the increasing interest in UPOs that has led to the identification of thousands of putative UPO genes, only a few of these have been successfully expressed and characterized. There is currently no universal expression system in place to explore their full potential. Cell-free protein synthesis has proven to be a sophisticated technique for the synthesis of difficult-to-express proteins. In this work, we aimed to establish an insect-based cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) platform to produce UPOs. CFPS relies on translationally active cell lysates rather than living cells. The system parameters can thus be directly manipulated without having to account for cell viability, thereby making it highly adaptable. The insect-based lysate contains translocationally active, ER-derived vesicles, called microsomes. These microsomes have been shown to allow efficient translocation of proteins into their lumen, promoting post-translational modifications such as disulfide bridge formation and N-glycosylations. In this study the ability of a redox optimized, vesicle-based, eukaryotic CFPS system to synthesize functional UPOs was explored. The influence of different reaction parameters as well as the influence of translocation on enzyme activity was evaluated for a short UPO from Marasmius rotula and a long UPO from Agrocybe aegerita. The capability of the CFPS system described here was demonstrated by the successful synthesis of a novel UPO from Podospora anserina, thus qualifying CFPS as a promising tool for the identification and evaluation of novel UPOs and variants thereof.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben Magnus Walter
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Potsdam, Germany
| | - Anne Zemella
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Potsdam, Germany
| | - Marina Schramm
- Institute of Biotechnology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Senftenberg, Germany
| | - Jan Kiebist
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Potsdam, Germany
- Institute of Biotechnology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Senftenberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Kubick
- Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (IZI), Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Potsdam, Germany
- Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry – Biochemistry, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Joint Faculty of the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus – Senftenberg, The Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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