Effects of the N-terminal and C-terminal domains of Meiothermus ruber CBS-01 trehalose synthase on thermostability and activity

Trehalose synthases from the subfamily GH13_16 involved in α-glucan biosynthesis - a focus on their maltokinase domain

The subfamily GH13_16 trehalose synthase (TreS) converts maltose to trehalose and vice versa. Typically, it consists of three domains, but it may contain a C-terminal extension exhibiting clear sequence features of a maltokinase (MaK). The present in silico study was focused on collection of naturally fused TreS-MaKs and their subsequent detailed bioinformatics analysis. Hence a set of total 3354 unique sequences was compared consisting of 1900 single TreSs, 1426 fused TreS-MaKs and 28 single MaKs. Fused TreS-MaKs were divided into five groups, namely with a standard MaK, with mutations in the maltose-binding site, of the catalytic nucleophile, of the general acid/base and of both catalytic residues. Sequence logos bearing the best conserved sequence regions were prepared for both TreSs and MaKs in an effort to find unique sequence features. In addition, linkers connecting the TreS and MaK parts in the fused enzymes were analysed. This analysis revealed that MaKs in fused enzymes have an extended N-terminal regions compared to single MaKs. Finally, the evolutionary relationships were demonstrated by phylogenetic trees of TreS parts from single TreSs and fused TreS-MaKs from the same organism as well as of single TreSs existing in multiple isoforms in the same organism.

Improving the thermostability of trehalose synthase from Thermomonospora curvata by covalent cyclization using peptide tags and investigation of the underlying molecular mechanism

One of the most desirable properties for industrial enzymes is high thermotolerance, which can reduce the amount of biocatalyst used and lower the production cost. Aiming to improve the thermotolerance of trehalose synthase (TreS, EC 5.4.99.16) from Thermomonospora curvata, four mutants (G78D, V289L, G322A, I323L) and four cyclized TreS variants fused using different Tag/Catcher pairs (SpyTag-TreS-SpyCatcher, SpyTag-TreS-KTag, SnoopTag-TreS-SnoopCatcher, SnoopTagJR-TreS-DogTag) were constructed. The results showed that cyclization led to a much larger increase of thermostability than that achieved via site-directed mutagenesis. The t_1/2 of all four cyclized TreS variants at 55 °C increased 2- to 3- fold, while the analysis of kinetic and thermodynamic stability indicated that the T₅₀ of the different cyclized TreS variants increased by between 7.5 °C and 15.5 °C. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that the Rg values of cyclized TreS decreased significantly, indicating that the protein maintained a tight tertiary structure at high temperatures, avoiding exposure of the hydrophobic core to the solvent. Cyclization using a Tag/Catcher pair is a simple and effective method for improving the thermotolerance of enzymes.

Simple, fast, and efficient process for producing and purifying trehalulose

A new property of recombinant trehalose synthase (GTase) from Thermus thermophilus HB-8 (ATCC 27634) was found and described in this study. GTase can act on sucrose and catalyze trehalulose formation without isomaltose, isomaltulose, or isomelezitose, releasing small amounts of glucose and fructose as byproducts. Maximum trehalulose yield (approximately 81%) was obtained at an optimum temperature of 65°C and was independent of substrate concentration. A simple, fast, and efficient method of producing and purifying trehalulose is then described. In the first step, GTase catalyzed trehalulose formation using a 20% sucrose substrate. Miscellaneous sugars were then rapidly removed, while trehalulose was completely preserved by Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Finally, the cells were separated by centrifugation, and salt ions were removed by an ion-exchange resin, subsequently obtaining a high-purity trehalulose solution. A trehalulose recovery rate of over 95% was achieved using this process. This method has a simple process, fast separation efficiency, and low investment in production equipment, so greatly to improve production efficiency and reduce production costs.