lip2, a novel lipase gene cloned from Aspergillus niger exhibits enzymatic characteristics distinct from its previously identified family member

Harnessing the power of Neobacillus niacini AUMC-B524 for silver oxide nanoparticle synthesis: optimization, characterization, and bioactivity exploration

BACKGROUND

Biotechnology provides a cost-effective way to produce nanomaterials such as silver oxide nanoparticles (Ag2ONPs), which have emerged as versatile entities with diverse applications. This study investigated the ability of endophytic bacteria to biosynthesize Ag2ONPs.

RESULTS

A novel endophytic bacterial strain, Neobacillus niacini AUMC-B524, was isolated from Lycium shawii Roem. & Schult leaves and used to synthesize Ag2ONPS extracellularly. Plackett-Burman design and response surface approach was carried out to optimize the biosynthesis of Ag2ONPs (Bio-Ag2ONPs). Comprehensive characterization techniques, including UV-vis spectral analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering analysis, Raman microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis, confirmed the precise composition of the Ag2ONPS. Bio-Ag2ONPs were effective against multidrug-resistant wound pathogens, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (1-25 µg mL-1). Notably, Bio-Ag2ONPs demonstrated no cytotoxic effects on human skin fibroblasts (HSF) in vitro, while effectively suppressing the proliferation of human epidermoid skin carcinoma (A-431) cells, inducing apoptosis and modulating the key apoptotic genes including Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Caspase-3 (Cas-3), and guardian of the genome (P53).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the therapeutic potential of Bio-Ag2ONPs synthesized by endophytic N. niacini AUMC-B524, underscoring their antibacterial efficacy, anticancer activity, and biocompatibility, paving the way for novel therapeutic strategies.

Biochemical characterization, substrate and stereoselectivity of an outer surface putative α/β hydrolase from the pathogenic Leptospira

The genome of pathogenic leptospira encodes a plethora of outer surface and secretory proteins. The outer surface or secreted α/β hydrolases in a few pathogenic organisms are crucial virulent factors. They hydrolyze host immune factors and pathogen's immune-activating ligands, which help pathogens to evade the host's innate immunity. In this study, we report biochemical characterizations, substrate and stereoselectivity of one of the leptospiral outer surface putative α/β hydrolases, IQB77_09235 (LABH). Purified LABH displayed better kinetic parameters towards small water-soluble esters such as p-nitrophenyl acetate and p-nitrophenyl butyrate. The LABH exhibited moderate thermostability and displayed a pH optimum of 8.5. Remarkably, a phylogenetic study suggested that LABH does not cluster with other characterized bacterial esterases or lipases. Protein structural modeling revealed that some structural features are closely associated with Staphylococcus hycus lipase (SAH), a triacylglycerol hydrolase. The hydrolytic activity of the protein was found to be inhibited by a lipase inhibitor, orlistat. Biocatalytic application of the protein in the kinetic resolution of racemic 1-phenylethyl acetate reveals excellent enantioselectivity (E > 500) in the production of (R)-1-phenylethanol, a valuable chiral synthon in several industries. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed characterization of outer surface α/β hydrolases from leptospiral spp.

Prevalence of lipase producer Aspergillus niger in nuts and anti-biofilm efficacy of its crude lipase against some human pathogenic bacteria

Nuts are the natural source of healthy lipids, proteins, and omega-3. They are susceptible to fungal and mycotoxins contamination because of their high nutritional value. Twenty-five species comprising 12 genera were isolated from 80 samples of dried fruits and nuts using the dilution plate method. Peanut recorded the highest level of contamination followed by coconut; almond and raisin were the lowest. Aspergillus was the most prevalent genus and A.niger, was the most dominant species. The morphological identification of the selected A.niger isolates as they were detected in high frequency of occurrence was confirmed by using 18SrRNA sequence. Ochratoxin biosynthesis gene Aopks was detected in the tested isolates. Lipase production by the selected A.niger isolates was determined with enzyme activity index (EAI) ranging from 2.02 to 3.28. A.niger-26 was the highest lipase producer with enzyme activity of 0.6 ± 0.1 U/ml by the trimetric method. Lip2 gene was also detected in the tested isolates. Finally, the antibacterial and antibiofilm efficiency of crude lipase against some human pathogens was monitored. Results exhibited great antibacterial efficacy with minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 20 to 40 µl/100 µl against Escherichiacoli, Pseudomonasaeruginosa, Proteusmirabilis, and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcusaureus (MRSA). Interestingly, significant anti-biofilm efficacy with inhibition percentages of 95.3, 74.9, 77.1 and 93.6% was observed against the tested pathogens, respectively.

Gene Expression, Biochemical Characterization of a sn-1, 3 Extracellular Lipase From Aspergillus niger GZUF36 and Its Model-Structure Analysis

In this study, a sn-1, 3 extracellular lipases from Aspergillus niger GZUF36 (PEXANL1) was expressed in Pichia pastoris, characterized, and the predicted structural model was analyzed. The optimized culture conditions of P. pastoris showed that the highest lipase activity of 66.5 ± 1.4 U/mL (P < 0.05) could be attained with 1% methanol and 96 h induction time. The purified PEXANL1 exhibited the highest activity at pH 4.0 and 40°C temperature, and its original activity remained unaltered in the majority of the organic solvents (20% v/v concentration). Triton X-100, Tween 20, Tween 80, and SDS at a concentration of 0.01% (w/v) enhanced, and all the metal ions tested inhibited activity of purified PEXANL. The results of ultrasound-assisted PEXANL1 catalyzed synthesis of 1,3-diaglycerides showed that the content of 1,3-diglycerides was rapidly increased to 36.90% with 25 min of ultrasound duration (P < 0.05) and later decreased to 19.93% with 35 min of ultrasound duration. The modeled structure of PEXANL1 by comparative modeling showed α/β hydrolase fold. Structural superposition and molecular docking results validated that Ser162, His274, and Asp217 residues of PEXANL1 were involved in the catalysis. Small-angle X-ray scattering analysis indicated the monomer properties of PEXANL1 in solution. The ab initio model of PEXANL1 overlapped with its modeling structure. This work presents a reliable structural model of A. niger lipase based on homology modeling and small-angle X-ray scattering. Besides, the data from this study will benefit the rational design of suitable crystalline lipase variants in the future.

Gene cloning, expression, purification and characterization of a sn-1,3 extracellular lipase from Aspergillus niger GZUF36

Sn-1,3 extracellular Aspergillus niger GZUF36 lipase (EXANL1) has wide application potential in the food industry. However, the A. niger strain has defects such as easy degradation and instability in the expression of sn-1,3 lipase. To obtain a stable expression of this lipase and its subsequent enzymatic properties, the gene encoding EXANL1 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells using pET-28a as the expression vector. The temperature-induced conditions were optimized, and we successfully achieved its active expression in E. coli. These conditions significantly influenced the active expression of EXANL1 (P < 0.05), and the highest enzyme activity of the supernatant of lysis cells expressed at 20 °C was at 7.02 ± 0.05 U/mL. The expressed recombinant EXANL1 was purified using Ni-NTA, showing an estimated relative molecular mass of 35 kDa. The recombinant EXANL1 exhibited maximum activity at 35 °C and pH 4.0, with a wide acid pH range. Thin-layer chromatography analysis showed that the enzyme displayed sn-1,3 positional selectivity toward triolein. The recombinant EXANL1 could maintain its relative activities (> 80%) after 24 h of incubation at pH 3-10, suggesting its suitability for a wide range of industrial applications. After comparing these properties with those of the other A. niger lipases, we found that some key amino acids may play a decisive role in enzymology. This work laid a foundation for the stable expression of the EXANL1 gene and its potential industrial application.

Synthesis of flavor esters by a novel lipase from Aspergillus niger in a soybean-solvent system

To find a lipase for synthesis of flavor esters in food processing, a total of 35 putative lipases from Aspergillus niger F0215 were heterologously expressed and their esterification properties in crude preparations were examined. One of them, named An-lipase with the highest esterification rate (23.1%) was selected for further study. The purified An-lipase had the maximal activity at 20 °C and pH 6.5 and the specific activity of 1293 U/mg. Sixty percent of the activity was maintained in a range of temperatures of 0-30 °C and pHs of 3.0-8.5. The highest hydrolysis activity of An-lipase was towards pNPC (C8), followed by pNPB (C4) and pNPA (C2), then pNPL (C12). K _m, V _max, k _cat, and k _cat/K _m towards pNPC were 26.7 mmol/L, 129.9 mmol/(L h), 23.2 s^-1, and 0.8/mM/s, respectively. The ethyl lactate, butyl butyrate, and ethyl caprylate flavor esters were produced by esterification of the corresponding acids with conversion efficiencies of 15.8, 37.5, and 24.7%, respectively, in a soybean-oil-based solvent system. In conclusion, An lipase identified in this study significantly mediated synthesis of predominant flavor esters (ethyl lactate, butyl butyrate, and ethyl caprylate) in a soybean-oil-lacking other toxic organic solvents, which has potential application in food industries.