A New Isolate from Fusarium proliferatum (AUF-2) for Efficient Nitrilase Production

Molecular Modification Strategies of Nitrilase for Its Potential Application in Agriculture

Some feed source plants will produce secondary metabolites such as cyanogenic glycosides during metabolism, which will produce some poisonous nitrile compounds after hydrolysis and remain in plant tissues. The consumption of feed-source plants without proper treatment affect the health of the animals' bodies. Nitrilases can convert nitriles and have been used in industry as green biocatalysts. However, due to their bottleneck problems, their application in agriculture is still facing challenges. Acid-resistant nitrilase preparations, high-temperature resistance, antiprotease activity, strong activity, and strict reaction specificity urgently need to be developed. In this paper, the application potential of nitrilase in agriculture, especially in feed processing industry was explored, the source properties and catalytic mechanism of nitrilase were reviewed, and modification strategies for nitrilase application in agriculture were proposed to provide references for future research and application of nitrilase in agricultural and especially in the biological feed scene.

High-throughput screening for distinguishing nitrilases from nitrile hydratases in Aspergillus and application of a Box-Behnken design for the optimization of nitrilase

Nitrilases and nitrile hydratases/amidases hydrolyze nitriles into carboxylic acids and/or amides, which are used in industrial chemical processes. In the present study, 26 microorganisms, including yeasts and filamentous fungi, in a minimum solid mineral medium supplemented with glucose and phenylacetonitrile were screened to evaluate their biocatalytic potential. Of these microorganisms, five fungi of the genus Aspergillus were selected and subjected to colorimetry studies to evaluate the production and distinction of nitrilase and nitrile hydratase/amidase enzymes. Aspergillus parasiticus Speare 7967 and A. niger Tiegh. 8285 produced nitrilases and nitrile hydratase, respectively. Nitrilase optimization was performed using a Box-Behnken design (BBD) and fungus A. parasiticus Speare 7967 with phenylacetonitrile volume (μl), pH, and carbohydrate source (starch:glucose; g/g) as independent variables and nitrilase activity (U ml^-1 ) as dependent variable. Maximum activity (2.97 × 10^-3  U ml^-1 ) was obtained at pH 5.5, 80 μl of phenylacetonitrile, and 15 g of glucose. A. parasiticus Speare 7967 showed promise in the biotransformation of nitriles to carboxylic acids.

Cloning and functional characterization of nitrilase from Fusarium proliferatum AUF-2 for detoxification of nitriles

A fungal nitrilase gene from Fusarium proliferatum AUF-2 was cloned through reverse transcription-PCR. The open reading frame consisted of 903 bp and potentially encoded a protein of 301 amino acid residues with a theoretical molecular mass of 33.0 kDa. The encoding gene was expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21 and the recombinant protein with His6-tag was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity. The purified enzyme exhibited optimal activity in the range of 35-40 °C and pH 8.0. EDTA, Mg(2+), Zn(2+), Ca(2+), Fe(2+), Fe(3+) and Mn(2+) stimulated hydrolytic activity, whereas Cu(2+), Co(2+) and Ni(2+) had inhibitory effect on nitrilase activity. Ag(+) ions showed a strong inhibitory effect on the recombinant nitrilase activity. This nitrilase was specific towards aliphatic, heterocyclic and aromatic nitriles. The kinetic parameters V(max) and K(m) for benzonitrile substrate were determined to be 14.6 μmol/min/mg protein and 1.55 mM, respectively. Homology modelling and molecular docking studies provided an insight into the substrate specificity and the proposed catalytic triad for recombinant nitrilase consisted of Glu-54, Lys-133 and Cys-175. This is the first report on the cloning and heterologous expression of nitrilase from Fusarium proliferatum.