Enhancement of cellulolytic enzyme activity by clustering cellulose binding domains on nanoscaffolds

Combinatorial optimization of the hybrid cellulase complex structure designed from modular libraries

Cellulase selectively recognizes cellulose surfaces and cleaves their β-1,4-glycosidic bonds. Combining hydrolysis using cellulase and fermentation can produce alternative fuels and chemical products. However, anaerobic bacteria produce only low levels of highly active cellulase complexes so-called cellulosomes. Therefore, we designed hybrid cellulase complexes from 49 biotinylated catalytic domain (CD) and 30 biotinylated cellulose-binding domain (CBD) libraries on streptavidin-conjugated nanoparticles to enhance cellulose hydrolysis by mimicking the cellulosome structure. The hybrid cellulase complex, incorporating both native CD and CBD, significantly improved reducing sugar production from cellulose compared to free native modular enzymes. The optimal CBD for each hybrid cellulase complex differed from that of the native enzyme. The most effective hybrid cellulase complex was observed with the combination of CD6-4 from Thermobifida fusca YX and CBD46 from the Bacillus halodurans C-125. The hybrid cellulase complex/CD6-4-CBD46 and -CD6-4-CBD2-5 combinations showed increased reducing sugar production. Similar results were also observed in microcrystalline cellulose degradation. Furthermore, clustering on nanoparticles enhanced enzyme thermostability. Our results demonstrate that hybrid cellulase complex structures improve enzyme function through synergistic effects and extend the lifespan of the enzyme.

Recent research advances on non-linear phenomena in various biosystems

All biological phenomena can be classified as open, dissipative and non-linear. Moreover, the most typical phenomena are associated with non-linearity, dissipation and openness in biological systems. In this review article, four research topics on non-linear biosystems are described to show the examples from various biological systems. First, membrane dynamics of a lipid bilayer for the cell membrane is described. Since the cell membrane separates the inside of the cell from the outside, self-organizing systems that form spatial patterns on membranes often depend on non-linear dynamics. Second, various data banks based on recent genomics analysis supply the data including vast functional proteins from many organisms and their variable species. Since the proteins existing in nature are only a very small part of the space represented by amino acid sequence, success of mutagenesis-based molecular evolution approach crucially depends on preparing a library with high enrichment of functional proteins. Third, photosynthetic organisms depend on ambient light, the regular and irregular changes of which have a significant impact on photosynthetic processes. The light-driven process proceeds through many redox couples in the cyanobacteria constituting chain of redox reactions. Forth topics focuses on a vertebrate model, the zebrafish, which can help to understand, predict and control the chaos of complex biological systems. In particular, during early developmental stages, developmental differentiation occurs dynamically from a fertilized egg to divided and mature cells. These exciting fields of complexity, chaos, and non-linear science have experienced impressive growth in recent decades. Finally, future directions for non-liner biosystems are presented.

Advances in consolidated bioprocessing using synthetic cellulosomes

The primary obstacle impeding the more widespread use of biomass for energy and chemical production is the absence of a low-cost technology for overcoming their recalcitrant nature. It has been shown that the overall cost can be reduced by using a 'consolidated' bioprocessing (CBP) approach, in which enzyme production, biomass hydrolysis, and sugar fermentation can be combined. Cellulosomes are enzyme complexes found in many anaerobic microorganisms that are highly efficient for biomass depolymerization. While initial efforts to display synthetic cellulosomes have been successful, the overall conversion is still low for practical use. This limitation has been partially alleviated by displaying more complex cellulsome structures either via adaptive assembly or by using synthetic consortia. Since synthetic cellulosome nanostructures have also been created using either protein nanoparticles or DNA as a scaffold, there is the potential to tether these nanostructures onto living cells in order to further enhance the overall efficiency.

Self-assembling protein nanocages for modular enzyme assembly by orthogonal bioconjugation

The wide variety of enzymatic pathways that can benefit from enzyme scaffolding is astronomical. While enzyme co-localization based on protein, DNA, and RNA scaffolds has been reported, we still lack scaffolds that offer well-defined and uniform three-dimensional structures for enzyme organization. Here we reported a new approach for protein co-localization using naturally occurring protein nanocages as a scaffold. Two different nanocages, the 25 nm E2 and the 34 nm heptatitis B virus, were used to demonstrate the successfully co-localization of the endoglucanase CelA and cellulose binding domain using the robust SpyTag/SpyCatcher bioconjugation chemistry. Because of the simplicity of the assembly, this strategy is useful not only for in vivo enzyme cascading but also the potential for in vivo applications as well.

Modular Assembly of Unique Chimeric Lytic Enzymes on a Protein Scaffold Possessing Anti-Staphylococcal Activity

Lytic enzymes have been considered as potential alternatives to antibiotics. These enzymes, particularly those that target Gram-positive bacteria, consist of modular cell wall-binding and catalytic domains, which can be shuffled with those of other lytic enzymes to produce unnatural chimeric enzymes. In this work, we report the in vitro shuffling of two different modular domains using a protein self-assembly methodology. Catalytic domains (CD) and cell wall-binding domains (BD) from the bacteriocin lysostaphin (Lst) and a putative autolysin from Staphylococcus aureus (SA1), respectively, were genetically site-specifically biotinylated and assembled with streptavidin to generate 23 permuted chimeras. The specific assembly of a CD (3 equiv) and a BD (1 equiv) from Lst and SA1, respectively [CD_L-BD_S (3:1)], on a streptavidin scaffold yielded high lytic activity against S. aureus (at least 5.6 log reduction), which was higher than that obtained with either native Lst or SA1 alone. Moreover, at 37 °C, the initial rate of cell lysis was over 3-fold higher than that with free Lst, thereby revealing the unique catalytic properties of the chimeric proteins. In vitro self-assembly of functional domains from modular lytic enzymes on a protein scaffold likely expands the repertoire of bactericidal enzymes with improved activities.

Covalently-assembled single-chain protein nanostructures with ultra-high stability

Protein nanostructures with precisely defined geometries have many potential applications in catalysis, sensing, signal processing, and drug delivery. While many de novo protein nanostructures have been assembled via non-covalent intramolecular and intermolecular interactions, a largely unexplored strategy is to construct nanostructures by covalently linking multiple individually folded proteins through site-specific ligations. Here, we report the synthesis of single-chain protein nanostructures with triangular and square shapes made using multiple copies of a three-helix bundle protein and split intein chemistry. Coarse-grained simulations confirm the experimentally observed flexibility of these nanostructures, which is optimized to produce triangular structures with high regularity. These single-chain nanostructures also display ultra-high thermostability, resist denaturation by chaotropes and organic solvents, and have applicability as scaffolds for assembling materials with nanometer resolution. Our results show that site-specific covalent ligation can be used to assemble individually folded proteins into single-chain nanostructures with bespoke architectures and high stabilities.

De novo protein nanostructures are typically assembled via top-down approaches. Here, the authors developed a bottom-up approach, using split inteins to ligate multiple copies of a three-helix bundle to create 2D triangular and square-shaped structures with high stability.

Pursuing the Promise of Enzymatic Enhancement with Nanoparticle Assemblies

The growing emphasis on green chemistry, renewable resources, synthetic biology, regio-/stereospecific chemical transformations, and nanotechnology for providing new biological products and therapeutics is reinvigorating research into enzymatic catalysis. Although the promise is profound, many complex issues remain to be addressed before this effort will have a significant impact. Prime among these is to combat the degradation of enzymes frequently seen in ex vivo formats following immobilization to stabilize the enzymes for long-term application and to find ways of enhancing their activity. One promising avenue for progress on these issues is via nanoparticle (NP) display, which has been found in a number of cases to enhance enzyme activity while also improving long-term stability. In this feature article, we discuss the phenomenon of enhanced enzymatic activity at NP interfaces with an emphasis on our own work in this area. Important factors such as NP surface chemistry, bioconjugation approaches, and assay formats are first discussed because they can critically affect the observed enhancement. Examples are given of improved performance for enzymes such as phosphotriesterase, alkaline phosphatase, trypsin, horseradish peroxidase, and β-galactosidase and in configurations with either the enzyme or the substrate attached to the NP. The putative mechanisms that give rise to the performance boost are discussed along with how detailed kinetic modeling can contribute to their understanding. Given the importance of biosensing, we also highlight how this configuration is already making a significant contribution to NP-based enzymatic sensors. Finally, a perspective is provided on how this field may develop and how NP-based enzymatic enhancement can be extended to coupled systems and multienzyme cascades.

The catalytic domain of Penicillium crustosum endoglucanase EGL1 has cellulose-binding capacity and cellulolytic activity

The cellulase-mediated degradation of cellulosic materials, which is initiated by endoglucanases by the random cleavage of the glycosidic bonds between glucose units to break long cellulose molecules into shorter ones, represents a major carbon flow in the global carbon cycle. The structure of a typical endoglucanase contains a classical (α/β)₈ barrel fold catalytic domain, a linker region and a cellulose-binding domain. In this study, we found that both the full-length enzyme and the catalytic domain of endoglucanase EGL1 cloned from Penicillium crustosum strain 601 have CMCase and FPase activity. A cellulose-binding assay using green fluorescent protein as a marker further showed that the catalytic domain could also bind the cellulose substrate. The three-dimensional structure of the catalytic domain of EGL1 revealed that this cellulose substrate-binding capacity of the catalytic domain may come from the hydrophobic core formed by aromatic amino acids distributed in or outside the (α/β)₈ barrel fold. A glycine scanning mutagenesis assay further found that the aromatic amino acids at the bottom of the barrel fold and those adjacent to the catalytic site significantly affect the cellulolytic activity and the cellulose binding affinity of the catalytic domain. Thus, it could be speculated that the aromatic amino acids in the bottom of the barrel fold might be the main contributors in the binding capacity of the catalytic domain with the cellulose substrate, and those distributed around the active sites on the top of the enzyme might participate in moving the cellulose substrate to the active site in the barrel fold or releasing the hydrolysis products.

Enzymatic Activities of Polycatalytic Complexes with Nonprocessive Cellulases Immobilized on the Surface of Magnetic Nanoparticles

Polycatalytic enzyme complexes made by immobilization of industrial enzymes on polymer- or nanoparticle-based scaffolds are technologically attractive due to their recyclability and their improved substrate binding and catalytic activities. Herein, we report the synthesis of polycatalytic complexes by the immobilization of nonprocessive cellulases on the surface of colloidal polymers with a magnetic nanoparticle core and the study of their binding and catalytic activities. These polycatalytic cellulase complexes have increased binding affinity for the substrate. But due to their larger size, these complexes were unable to access to the internal surfaces of cellulose and have significantly lower binding capacity when compared to those of the corresponding free enzymes. Analysis of released soluble sugars indicated that the formation of complexes may promote the prospect of having consistent, multiple attacks on cellulose substrate. Once bound to the substrate, polycatalytic complexes tend to remain on the surface with very limited mobility due to their strong, multivalent binding to cellulose. Hence, the overall performance of polycatalytic complexes is limited by its substrate accessibility as well as mobility on the substrate surface.

Nanoscale Engineering of Designer Cellulosomes

Biocatalysts showcase the upper limit obtainable for high-speed molecular processing and transformation. Efforts to engineer functionality in synthetic nanostructured materials are guided by the increasing knowledge of evolving architectures, which enable controlled molecular motion and precise molecular recognition. The cellulosome is a biological nanomachine, which, as a fundamental component of the plant-digestion machinery from bacterial cells, has a key potential role in the successful development of environmentally-friendly processes to produce biofuels and fine chemicals from the breakdown of biomass waste. Here, the progress toward so-called "designer cellulosomes", which provide an elegant alternative to enzyme cocktails for lignocellulose breakdown, is reviewed. Particular attention is paid to rational design via computational modeling coupled with nanoscale characterization and engineering tools. Remaining challenges and potential routes to industrial application are put forward.

Microtubule guiding in a multi-walled carbon nanotube circuit

In nanotechnological devices, mass transport can be initiated by pressure driven flow, diffusion or by employing molecular motors. As the scale decreases, molecular motors can be helpful as they are not limited by increased viscous resistance. Moreover, molecular motors can move against diffusion gradients and are naturally fitted for nanoscale transportation. Among motor proteins, kinesin has particular potential for lab-on-a-chip applications. It can be used for sorting, concentrating or as a mechanical sensor. When bound to a surface, kinesin motors propel microtubules in random directions, depending on their landing orientation. In order to circumvent this complication, the microtubule motion should be confined or guided. To this end, dielectrophoretically aligned multi-walled-carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) can be employed as nanotracks. In order to control more precisely the spatial repartition of the MWCNTs, a screening method has been implemented and tested. Polygonal patterns have been fabricated with the aim of studying the guiding and the microtubule displacement between MWCNT segments. Microtubules are observed to transfer between MWCNT segments, a prerequisite for the guiding of microtubules in MWCNT circuit-based biodevices. The effect of the MWCNT organization (crenellated or hexagonal) on the MT travel distance has been investigated as well.

Stoichiometrically Controlled Immobilization of Multiple Enzymes on Magnetic Nanoparticles by the Magnetosome Display System for Efficient Cellulose Hydrolysis

The immobilization of multiple cellulase complexes receiving attention for use in the efficient hydrolysis of celluloses. In this study, the magnetosome display system was employed for the preparation of systems mimicking natural multiple cellulase complexes (cellulosomes) on magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Initially, two fluorescent proteins, namely, green fluorescent protein and mCherry, were immobilized on MNPs. Fluorescence analysis revealed the close proximity of two different proteins on the MNPs. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis showed that stoichiometrically equivalent amounts of the proteins were immobilized on the MNPs. Next, endoglucanase (EG) and β-glucosidase (BG) were immobilized on MNPs to give EG/BG-MNPs. The resulting MNPs were applied for the hydrolysis of celluloses, with rapid hydrolysis of carboxymethyl cellulose being observed. Furthermore, the fusion of the cellulose-binding domain to EG/BG-MNPs promoted improved hydrolysis activity against the insoluble cellulose. We could therefore conclude that the magnetosome display system can expand the possibilities of mimicking natural cellulosome organization on MNPs.

Behavior of Kinesin Driven Quantum Dots Trapped in a Microtubule Loop

We report the observation of kinesin driven quantum dots (QDs) trapped in a microtubule loop, allowing the investigation of moving QDs for a long time and an unprecedented long distance. The QD conjugates did not depart from our observational field of view, enabling the tracking of specific conjugates for more than 5 min. The unusually long run length and the periodicity caused by the loop track allow comparing and studying the trajectory of the kinesin driven QDs for more than 2 full laps, i.e., about 70 μm, enabling a statistical analysis of interactions of the same kinesin driven object with the same obstacle. The trajectories were extracted and analyzed from kymographs with a newly developed algorithm. Despite dispersion, several repetitive trajectory patterns can be identified. A method evaluating the similarity is introduced allowing a quantitative comparison between the trajectories. The velocity variations appear strongly correlated to the presence of obstacles. We discuss the reasons making this long continuous travel distances on the loop track possible.

Engineering Streptavidin and a Streptavidin-Binding Peptide with Infinite Binding Affinity and Reversible Binding Capability: Purification of a Tagged Recombinant Protein to High Purity via Affinity-Driven Thiol Coupling

To extend and improve the utility of the streptavidin-binding peptide tag (SBP-tag) in applications ranging from affinity purification to the reversible immobilization of recombinant proteins, a cysteine residue was introduced to the streptavidin mutein SAVSBPM18 and the SBP-tag to generate SAVSBPM32 and SBP(A18C), respectively. This pair of derivatives is capable of forming a disulfide bond through the newly introduced cysteine residues. SAVSBPM32 binds SBP-tag and biotin with binding affinities (K_d ~ 10^-8M) that are similar to SAVSBPM18. Although SBP(A18C) binds to SAVSBPM32 more weakly than SBP-tag, the binding affinity is sufficient to bring the two binding partners together efficiently before they are locked together via disulfide bond formation–a phenomenon we have named affinity-driven thiol coupling. Under the condition with SBP(A18C) tags in excess, two SBP(A18C) tags can be captured by a tetrameric SAVSBPM32. The stoichiometry of the disulfide-bonded SAVSBPM32-SBP(A18C) complex was determined using a novel two-dimensional electrophoresis method which has general applications for analyzing the composition of disulfide-bonded protein complexes. To illustrate the application of this reversible immobilization technology, optimized conditions were established to use the SAVSBPM32-affinity matrix for the purification of a SBP(A18C)-tagged reporter protein to high purity. Furthermore, we show that the SAVSBPM32-affinity matrix can also be applied to purify a biotinylated protein and a reporter protein tagged with the unmodified SBP-tag. The dual (covalent and non-covalent) binding modes possible in this system offer great flexibility to many different applications which need reversible immobilization capability.

Biomolecular assembly strategies to develop potential artificial cellulosomes

Cellulosic biomass is a sustainable source for fuels and value-added chemicals, and is available in large quantities. One of the key challenges in biomass processing is associated with the establishment of an efficient enzymatic degradation of plant cell wall. A multi-enzymatic complex, cellulosome, was identified as a highly efficient biocatalyst for the hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass in nature. Significant progress has been achieved on cellulosome production and application since its discovery, but there is still a gap for industrial use. Artificial systems are being developed by employing various pairs of proteins and scaffolds with the objective of reconstructing this natural multi-enzymatic complex for sustainable biotechnology application.

Challenges and advances in the heterologous expression of cellulolytic enzymes: a review

Second generation biofuel development is increasingly reliant on the recombinant expression of cellulases. Designing or identifying successful expression systems is thus of preeminent importance to industrial progress in the field. Recombinant production of cellulases has been performed using a wide range of expression systems in bacteria, yeasts and plants. In a number of these systems, particularly when using bacteria and plants, significant challenges have been experienced in expressing full-length proteins or proteins at high yield. Further difficulties have been encountered in designing recombinant systems for surface-display of cellulases and for use in consolidated bioprocessing in bacteria and yeast. For establishing cellulase expression in plants, various strategies are utilized to overcome problems, such as the auto-hydrolysis of developing plant cell walls. In this review, we investigate the major challenges, as well as the major advances made to date in the recombinant expression of cellulases across the commonly used bacterial, plant and yeast systems. We review some of the critical aspects to be considered for industrial-scale cellulase production.

Origins of activity enhancement in enzyme cascades on scaffolds

The concept of "metabolic channeling" as a result of rapid transfer of freely diffusing intermediate substrates between two enzymes on nanoscale scaffolds is examined using simulations and mathematical models. The increase in direct substrate transfer due to the proximity of the two enzymes provides an initial but temporary boost to the throughput of the cascade and loses importance as product molecules of enzyme 1 (substrate molecules of enzyme 2) accumulate in the surrounding container. The characteristic time scale at which this boost is significant is given by the ratio of container volume to the product of substrate diffusion constant and interenzyme distance and is on the order of milliseconds to seconds in some experimental systems. However, the attachment of a large number of enzyme pairs to a scaffold provides an increased number of local "targets", extending the characteristic time. If substrate molecules for enzyme 2 are sequestered by an alternative reaction in the container, a scaffold can result in a permanent boost to cascade throughput with a magnitude given by the ratio of the above-defined time scale to the lifetime of the substrate molecule in the container. Finally, a weak attractive interaction between substrate molecules and the scaffold creates a "virtual compartment" and substantially accelerates initial throughput. If intermediate substrates can diffuse freely, placing individual enzyme pairs on scaffolds is only beneficial in large cells, unconfined extracellular spaces or in systems with sequestering reactions.

Adsorption and hydrolytic activity of the polycatalytic cellulase nanocomplex on cellulose

The formation of polycatalytic enzyme complexes may enhance the effectiveness of enzymes due to improved substrate interaction and synergistic actions of multiple enzymes in proximity. Much effort has been made to develop highly efficient polycatalytic cellulase complexes by immobilizing cellulases on low-cost polymer or nanoparticle scaffolds, aiming at their potential applications in biomass conversion to fuels. However, some key cellulases carry out the hydrolytic reaction on crystalline cellulose in a directional, processive manner. A large, artificial polycatalytic complex is unlikely to undergo a highly coordinated motion to slide on the cellulose surface as a whole unit. The mechanism underlying the activity enhancements observed in some artificial cellulase complexes and the limit of this approach remain elusive. Herein, we report the synthesis of polycatalytic cellulase complexes bound to colloidal polymer nanoparticles with a magnetic core and describe their unique adsorption, hydrolytic activities, and motions on cellulose. The polycatalytic clusters of cellulases on colloidal polymers show an increased rate of hydrolytic reactions on cellulose, but this was observed mainly at relatively low cellulase-to-cellulose ratios. Enhanced efficiency is mainly attributed to increased local concentrations of cellulases on the scaffolds and their polyvalent interactions with cellulose. However, once bound, the polycatalytic complexes can only carry out reactions locally and are not capable of relocating to new sites rapidly due to their lack of long-range surface mobility and their extremely tight binding. The development of highly optimized polycatalytic complexes may arise by developing novel nanoscaffolds that induce concerted motion of the complex as a whole.