Peculiar properties of lipase fromCandida parapsilosis (Ashford) langeron and talice

Triglycerides of medium-chain fatty acids: a concise review

Medium-chain triglycerides contain medium-chain fatty acid esterified to the glycerol backbone. These MCFA have a shorter chain length and are quickly metabolized in the body serving as an immediate energy source. They are known to have good physiological as well as functional characteristics which help in treating various health disorders. Naturally, they are found in coconut oil, milk fat, and palm kernel oil, and they are synthetically produced by esterification and interesterification reactions. Due to their numerous health benefits, MCT is used as a functional or nutraceutical oil in various food and pharmaceutical formulations. To increase their nutraceutical benefits and food applications MCFA can be used along with polyunsaturated fatty acids in the synthesis of structured lipids. This review aims to provide information about triglycerides of MCFA, structure, metabolism, properties, synthetic routes, intensified synthesis approaches, health benefits, application, and safety of use of MCT in the diet.

A Novel High-Throughput Assay Enables the Direct Identification of Acyltransferases

Acyltransferases are enzymes that are capable of catalyzing the transesterification of non-activated esters in an aqueous environment and therefore represent interesting catalysts for applications in various fields. However, only a few acyltransferases have been identified so far, which can be explained by the lack of a simple, broadly applicable high-throughput assay for the identification of these enzymes from large libraries. Here, we present the development of such an assay that is based on the enzymatic formation of oligocarbonates from dimethyl carbonate and 1,6-hexanediol. In contrast to the monomers used as substrates, the oligomers are not soluble in the aqueous environment and form a precipitate which is used to detect enzyme activity by the naked eye, by absorbance or by fluorescence measurements. With activity detected and thus confirmed for the enzymes Est8 and MsAcT, the assay enabled the first identification of acyltransferases that act on carbonates. It will thus allow for the discovery of further efficient acyltransferases or of more efficient variants via enzyme engineering.

Edible lipids modification processes: A review

Lipid is the general name given to fats and oils, which are the basic components of cooking oils, shortening, ghee, margarine, and other edible fats. The chosen term depends on the physical state at ambient temperature; fats are solids and oils are liquids. The chemical properties of the lipids, including degree of saturation, fatty acid chain length, and acylglycerol molecule composition are the basic determinants of physical characteristics such as melting point, cloud point, solid fat content, and thermal behavior. This review will discuss the major lipid modification strategies, hydrogenation, and chemical and enzymatic interesterification, describing the catalysts used mechanisms, kinetics, and impacts on the health-related properties of the final products. Enzymatic interesterification will be emphasized as method that produces a final product with good taste, zero trans fatty acids, and a low number of calories, requires less contact with chemicals, and is cost efficient.

The 3D model of the lipase/acyltransferase from Candida parapsilosis, a tool for the elucidation of structural determinants in CAL-A lipase superfamily

Because lipids are hydrophobic, the development of efficient bioconversions in aqueous media free of organic solvents is particularly challenging for green oleochemistry. Within this aim, enzymes exhibiting various abilities to catalyze acyltransfer reaction in water/lipid systems have been identified. Among these, CpLIP2 from Candida parapsilosis has been characterized as a lipase/acyltransferase, able to catalyze acyltransfer reactions preferentially to hydrolysis in the presence of particularly low acyl acceptor concentration and high thermodynamic activity of water (aw>0.9). Lipase/acyltransferases are thus of great interest, being able to produce new esters at concentrations above the thermodynamic equilibrium of hydrolysis/esterification with limited to no release of free fatty acids. Here, we present a 3D model of CpLIP2 based on homologies with crystallographic structures of Pseudozyma antarctica lipase A. Indeed, the two enzymes have 31% of identity in their primary sequence, yielding a same general structure, but different catalytic properties. The quality of the calculated CpLIP2 model was confirmed by several methods. Limited proteolysis confirmed the location of some loops at the surface of the protein 3D model. Directed mutagenesis also supported the structural model constructed on CAL-A template: the functional properties of various mutants were consistent with their structure-based putative involvement in the oxyanion hole, substrate specificity, acyltransfer or hydrolysis catalysis and structural stability. The CpLIP2 3D model, in comparison with CAL-A 3D structure, brings insights for the elucidation and improvement of the structural determinants involved in the exceptional acyltransferase properties of this promising biocatalyst and of homologous enzymes of the same family.

Staphylococcal lipases stereoselectively hydrolyse the sn-2 position of monomolecular films of diglyceride analogs. Application to sn-2 hydrolysis of triolein

Using the monomolecular film technique, a kinetic study on the stereoselectivity of nine staphylococcal lipase forms was carried out with three pairs of enantiomers from diglyceride analogs (didecanoyl-deoxyamino-O-methyl glycerol, DDG) containing a single hydrolysable decanoyl ester group and two lipase-resistant groups. Our results show that the kinetic profiles of the wild type, the recombinant untagged and the recombinant tagged forms of staphylococcal lipases are significantly different. As with most of the lipases investigated so far, these staphylococcal lipases showed higher catalytic rates with primary esters than with secondary esters. However, it is noteworthy that all these staphylococcal lipases were found to significantly hydrolyse the secondary ester group of diglyceride analogs, with a strong preference for the R configuration. This stereopreference, which was predicted on the basis of Kazlauskas' rule, was comparable to that of Candida rugosa and Pseudomonas glumae lipases. As was to be expected, all the staphylococcal lipases tested efficiently hydrolysed triolein at the sn-2 position. This hydrolytic activity was quantified by performing thin-layer chromatography to analyse the hydrolytic products of triolein. From the qualitative point of view, the sn-2 preferences observed with triolein and diglyceride analogs bearing a secondary ester function were in good agreement. Diglyceride analogs might therefore provide useful initial screening tools for use in future searches for strictly sn-2 specific lipases.

High-level expression of Candida parapsilosis lipase/acyltransferase in Pichia pastoris

Candida parapsilosis has been previously shown to produce a lipase/acyltransferase (EC 3.1.1.3) that preferentially catalyses transfer reactions such as alcoholysis over hydrolysis in the presence of suitable nucleophiles other than water, even in aqueous media (aw > 0.9 ). This enzyme has been shown to belong to a new family of lipases. The present work describes the cloning of the gene coding for this lipase/acyltransferase in the yeast Pichia pastoris and the heterologous high-level expression of the recombinant enzyme. The lipase/acyltransferase gene, in which the sequence encoding the signal peptide was replaced by that of the alpha-factor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was placed under the control of the methanol inducible promoter of the alcohol oxidase 1 gene (AOX1). A transformed P. pastoris clone, containing five copies of the lipase/acyltransferase gene, was selected for the production of recombinant enzyme. The fed-batch culture supernatant contained 5.8 gl(-1) (weighted) of almost pure recombinant lipase/acyltransferase displaying the same catalytic behavior as the original enzyme.

The lipase/acyltransferase from Candida parapsilosis: molecular cloning and characterization of purified recombinant enzymes

Candida parapsilosis has been previously shown to produce a lipase (i.e. able to catalyze efficiently the hydrolysis of insoluble lipid esters such as triacylglycerols) that preferentially catalyses transfer reactions such as alcoholysis in the presence of suitable nucleophiles other than water, even in aqueous media with high (> 0.9) water thermodynamic activity. The present work describes the cloning and the overexpression of the gene coding for this enzyme. Two ORFs (CpLIP1 and CpLIP2) were isolated. The deduced 465-amino-acid protein sequences contained the consensus motif (G-X-S-X-G) which is conserved among lipolytic enzymes. Only one of the two deduced proteins (CpLIP2) contained peptide sequences obtained from the purified lipase/acyltransferase. Homology investigations showed that CpLIP2 has similarities principally with 11 lipases produced by C. albicans (42-61%) and the lipase A from Candida antarctica (31%) but not with the other lipases sequenced so far. Both CpLIP1 and CpLIP2 were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but only CpLIP2 coded for an active protein. The substrate specificity and the catalytic behavior of purified recombinant CpLIP2, with or without a C-terminal histidine tag, were not changed compared to those of the native lipase.

Fatty hydroxamic acid biosynthesis in aqueous medium in the presence of the lipase-acyltransferase from Candida parapsilosis

The lipase-acyltransferase from Candida parapsilosis has been shown to catalyze fatty hydroxamic acid biosynthesis in a biphasic lipid/aqueous medium. The substrates of the reaction were an acyl donor (fatty acid or fatty acid methyl ester) and hydroxylamine. The transfer of acyl groups from a donor ester to hydroxylamine (aminolysis) was catalyzed preferentially to the reaction of free fatty acids. The highest synthesis activity was obtained in the presence of 1 M hydroxylamine at 45 degrees C and pH 6. This work confirmed the originality of the enzyme from Candida parapsilosis, which acts more like an acyltransferase than an hydrolase. This feature makes it an enzyme of choice for the direct bioconversion of oils in aqueous medium.

Substrate specificity of the lipase from Candida parapsilosis

Substrate specificity of the acyltransferase activity of the lipase (EC 3.1.1.3) from Candida parapsilosis CBS 604 was studied in aqueous media. The specificity toward both acid and alcohol parts of a large number of acylglycerols and aliphatic esters was investigated. This lipase showed a high activity in the presence of esters with long-chain fatty acids and particularly unsaturated fatty acids with a cis-delta 9 double bond. It was observed that the activity profile depended not only on the alcohol part of the acyl ester, but also on the temperature of the reactant medium. The best lipid substrates had their melting point between -40 to +20 degrees C, 14 to 18 carbon atoms in the acyl group and 1 to 4 carbon atoms in the alkyl group. The enzyme, defined as an acyltransferase in a previous paper, showed a high affinity for primary and secondary alcohols with a short carbon chain (1 to 5 carbon atoms) as acyl acceptors. The influence of free alcohols in the reactant medium on the hydrolysis and alcoholysis activities of the enzyme is discussed. Two phenomena seem to be involved, depending on the alcohol: competition with water for the acyltransfer reaction and lipid substrate dilution when the alcohol places at the oil/water interface.

Functioning and regioselectivity of the lipase of Candida parapsilosis (Ashford) Langeron and Talice in aqueous medium. New interpretation of regioselectivity taking acyl migration into account

The lipase of Candida parapsilosis catalyses the formation of esters in aqueous media. In addition, the hydrolytic activity of the enzyme has been described in a recent publication as being selective for the 2 position, which is extremely rare. These features led to deeper investigation of the functioning and regioselectivity of the lipase in a biphasic aqueous medium. It is shown that, in addition to hydrolysis, the lipase of C. parapsilosis catalyses an alcoholysis reaction in the strict sense of the term, i.e. the transfer of fatty acyls groups from acylglycerols to various alcohols without direct involvement of water. In the presence of alcohol in the aqueous medium, alcolysis occurred preferentially to hydrolysis. The enzyme thus displays transferase activity in which the acyl acceptor may be either water or alcohol. This activity is not stereospecific to either the acyl donor or acceptor. Hydrolysis and alcoholysis of monooleoylglycerols, dioleoylglycerols and trioleoylglycerols were studied successively. Investigation of the regiospecificity of alcoholysis in the presence of the lipase of C. parapsilosis showed that the selectivity of hydrolysis for the 2 position was, in fact, only apparent. In certain cases, and particularly when the initial substrate was a triacylglycerol, the similtaneous functioning of the two hydrolysis and alcoholysis reactions led to the appearance of equivalent quantities of 1,2(2,3)-diacylglycerol and 1,3-diacylglycerol in the reaction mixture; this proportion might then be interpreted as the result of selectivity of the hydrolysis reaction for position 2 of the triacylglycerol.