The development of gene expression systems for filamentous fungi

Improving the thermal stability of cellobiohydrolase Cel7A from Hypocrea jecorina by directed evolution

Secreted mixtures of Hypocrea jecorina cellulases are able to efficiently degrade cellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars at large, commercially relevant scales. H. jecorina Cel7A, cellobiohydrolase I, from glycoside hydrolase family 7, is the workhorse enzyme of the process. However, the thermal stability of Cel7A limits its use to processes where temperatures are no higher than 50 °C. Enhanced thermal stability is desirable to enable the use of higher processing temperatures and to improve the economic feasibility of industrial biomass conversion. Here, we enhanced the thermal stability of Cel7A through directed evolution. Sites with increased thermal stability properties were combined, and a Cel7A variant (FCA398) was obtained, which exhibited a 10.4 °C increase in T_m and a 44-fold greater half-life compared with the wild-type enzyme. This Cel7A variant contains 18 mutated sites and is active under application conditions up to at least 75 °C. The X-ray crystal structure of the catalytic domain was determined at 2.1 Å resolution and showed that the effects of the mutations are local and do not introduce major backbone conformational changes. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the catalytic domain of wild-type Cel7A and the FCA398 variant exhibit similar behavior at 300 K, whereas at elevated temperature (475 and 525 K), the FCA398 variant fluctuates less and maintains more native contacts over time. Combining the structural and dynamic investigations, rationales were developed for the stabilizing effect at many of the mutated sites.

Sexual recombination in Aspergillus tubingensis

Aspergillus tubingensis from section Nigri (black Aspergilli) is closely related to A. niger and is used extensively in the industrial production of enzymes and organic acids. We recently discovered sexual reproduction in A. tubingensis, and in this study we demonstrate that the progeny are products of meiosis. Progeny were obtained from six crosses involving five MAT1-1 strains and two MAT1-2 strains. We examined three loci, including mating type (MAT), RNA polymerase II (RPB2) and β-tubulin (BT2), and found that 84% (58/69) of progeny were recombinants. Recombination associated with sexual reproduction in A. tubingensis provides a new option for the genetic improvement of industrial strains for enzyme and organic acid production.

Expression, crystal structure and cellulase activity of the thermostable cellobiohydrolase Cel7A from the fungus Humicola grisea var. thermoidea

Glycoside hydrolase family 7 (GH7) cellobiohydrolases (CBHs) play a key role in biomass recycling in nature. They are typically the most abundant enzymes expressed by potent cellulolytic fungi, and are also responsible for the majority of hydrolytic potential in enzyme cocktails for industrial processing of plant biomass. The thermostability of the enzyme is an important parameter for industrial utilization. In this study, Cel7 enzymes from different fungi were expressed in a fungal host and assayed for thermostability, including Hypocrea jecorina Cel7A as a reference. The most stable of the homologues, Humicola grisea var. thermoidea Cel7A, exhibits a 10°C higher melting temperature (T(m) of 72.5°C) and showed a 4-5 times higher initial hydrolysis rate than H. jecorina Cel7A on phosphoric acid-swollen cellulose and showed the best performance of the tested enzymes on pretreated corn stover at elevated temperature (65°C, 24 h). The enzyme shares 57% sequence identity with H. jecorina Cel7A and consists of a GH7 catalytic module connected by a linker to a C-terminal CBM1 carbohydrate-binding module. The crystal structure of the H. grisea var. thermoidea Cel7A catalytic module (1.8 Å resolution; R(work) and R(free) of 0.16 and 0.21, respectively) is similar to those of other GH7 CBHs. The deviations of several loops along the cellulose-binding path between the two molecules in the asymmetric unit indicate higher flexibility than in the less thermostable H. jecorina Cel7A.

Expression of novel β-glucanase Cel12A from Stachybotrys atra in bacterial and fungal hosts

β-glucanase Cel12A from Stachybotrys atra has been cloned and expressed in Aspergillus niger. The purified enzyme showed high activity of β-1,3-1,4-mixed glucans, was also active on carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), while it did not hydrolyze crystalline cellulose or β-1,3 glucans as laminarin. Cel12A showed a marked substrate preference for β-1,3-1,4 glucans, showing maximum activity on barley β-glucans (27.69 U mg(-1)) while the activity on CMC was much lower (0.51 U mg(-1)). Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), isoelectric focussing (IEF), and zymography showed the recombinant enzyme has apparent molecular weight of 24 kDa and a pI of 8.2. Optimal temperature and pH for enzyme activity were 50°C and pH 6.5. Thin layer chromatography analysis showed that major hydrolysis products from barley β-glucan and lichean were 3-O-β-cellotriosyl-D-glucose and 3-O-β-cellobiosyl-D-glucose, while glucose and cellobiose were released in smaller amounts. The amino acid sequence deduced from cel12A revealed that it is a single domain enzyme belonging to the GH12 family, a family that contains several endoglucanases with substrate preference for β-1,3-1,4 glucans. We believe that S. atra Cel12A should be considered as a lichenase-like or nontypical endoglucanase.

Structural and biochemical studies of GH family 12 cellulases: improved thermal stability, and ligand complexes

In this review we will describe how we have gathered structural and biochemical information from several homologous cellulases from one class of glycoside hydrolases (GH family 12), and used this information within the framework of a protein-engineering program for the design of new variants of these enzymes. These variants have been characterized to identify some of the positions and the types of mutations in the enzymes that are responsible for some of the biochemical differences in thermal stability and activity between the homologous enzymes. In this process we have solved the three-dimensional structure of four of these homologous GH 12 cellulases: Three fungal enzymes, Humicola grisea Cel12A, Hypocrea jecorina Cel12A and Hypocrea schweinitzii Cel12A, and one bacterial, Streptomyces sp. 11AG8 Cel12A. We have also determined the three-dimensional structures of the two most stable H. jecorina Cel12A variants. In addition, four ligand-complex structures of the wild-type H. grisea Cel12A enzyme have been solved and have made it possible to characterize some of the interactions between substrate and enzyme. The structural and biochemical studies of these related GH 12 enzymes, and their variants, have provided insight on how specific residues contribute to protein thermal stability and enzyme activity. This knowledge can serve as a structural toolbox for the design of Cel12A enzymes with specific properties and features suited to existing or new applications.

The Humicola grisea Cel12A enzyme structure at 1.2 A resolution and the impact of its free cysteine residues on thermal stability

As part of a program to discover improved glycoside hydrolase family 12 (GH 12) endoglucanases, we have extended our previous work on the structural and biochemical diversity of GH 12 homologs to include the most stable fungal GH 12 found, Humicola grisea Cel12A. The H. grisea enzyme was much more stable to irreversible thermal denaturation than the Trichoderma reesei enzyme. It had an apparent denaturation midpoint (T(m)) of 68.7 degrees C, 14.3 degrees C higher than the T. reesei enzyme. There are an additional three cysteines found in the H. grisea Cel12A enzyme. To determine their importance for thermal stability, we constructed three H. grisea Cel12A single mutants in which these cysteines were exchanged with the corresponding residues in the T. reesei enzyme. We also introduced these cysteine residues into the T. reesei enzyme. The thermal stability of these variants was determined. Substitutions at any of the three positions affected stability, with the largest effect seen in H. grisea C206P, which has a T(m) 9.1 degrees C lower than that of the wild type. The T. reesei cysteine variant that gave the largest increase in stability, with a T(m) 3.9 degrees C higher than wild type, was the P201C mutation, the converse of the destabilizing C206P mutation in H. grisea. To help rationalize the results, we have determined the crystal structure of the H. grisea enzyme and of the most stable T. reesei cysteine variant, P201C. The three cysteines in H. grisea Cel12A play an important role in the thermal stability of this protein, although they are not involved in a disulfide bond.

Improvement of foreign-protein production in Aspergillus niger var. awamori by constitutive induction of the unfolded-protein response

Unfolded-protein response (UPR) denotes the upregulation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident chaperone and foldase genes and numerous other genes involved in secretory functions during the accumulation of unfolded proteins into the ER. Overexpression of individual foldases and chaperones has been used in attempts to improve protein production in different production systems. We describe here a novel strategy to improve foreign-protein production. We show that the constitutive induction of the UPR pathway in Aspergillus niger var. awamori can be achieved by expressing the activated form of the transcription factor hacA. This induction enhances the production of Trametes versicolor laccase by up to sevenfold and of bovine preprochymosin by up to 2.8-fold in this biotechnically important fungus. The regulatory range of UPR was studied by analyzing the mRNA levels of novel A. niger var. awamori genes involved in different secretory functions. This revealed both similarities and differences to corresponding studies in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Comparison of family 12 glycoside hydrolases and recruited substitutions important for thermal stability

As part of a program to discover improved glycoside hydrolase family 12 (GH 12) endoglucanases, we have studied the biochemical diversity of several GH 12 homologs. The H. schweinitzii Cel12A enzyme differs from the T. reesei Cel12A enzyme by only 14 amino acids (93% sequence identity), but is much less thermally stable. The bacterial Cel12A enzyme from S. sp. 11AG8 shares only 28% sequence identity to the T. reesei enzyme, and is much more thermally stable. Each of the 14 sequence differences from H. schweinitzii Cel12A were introduced in T. reesei Cel12A to determine the effect of these amino acid substitutions on enzyme stability. Several of the T. reesei Cel12A variants were found to have increased stability, and the differences in apparent midpoint of thermal denaturation (T(m)) ranged from a 2.5 degrees C increase to a 4.0 degrees C decrease. The least stable recruitment from H. schweinitzii Cel12A was A35S. Consequently, the A35V substitution was recruited from the more stable S. sp. 11AG8 Cel12A and this T. reesei Cel12A variant was found to have a T(m) 7.7 degrees C higher than wild type. Thus, the buried residue at position 35 was shown to be of critical importance for thermal stability in this structural family. There was a ninefold range in the specific activities of the Cel12 homologs on o-NPC. The most and least stable T. reesei Cel12A variants, A35V and A35S, respectively, were fully active. Because of their thermal tolerance, S. sp. 11AG8 Cel12A and T. reesei Cel12A variant A35V showed a continual increase in activity over the temperature range of 25 degrees C to 60 degrees C, whereas the less stable enzymes T. reesei Cel12A wild type and the destabilized A35S variant, and H. schweinitzii Cel12A showed a decrease in activity at the highest temperatures. The crystal structures of the H. schweinitzii, S. sp. 11AG8, and T. reesei A35V Cel12A enzymes have been determined and compared with the wild-type T. reesei Cel12A enzyme. All of the structures have similar Calpha traces, but provide detailed insight into the nature of the stability differences. These results are an example of the power of homolog recruitment as a method for identifying residues important for stability.

The X-ray crystal structure of the Trichoderma reesei family 12 endoglucanase 3, Cel12A, at 1.9 A resolution

We present the three-dimensional structure of Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase 3 (Cel12A), a small, 218 amino acid residue (24.5 kDa), neutral pI, glycoside hydrolase family 12 cellulase that lacks a cellulose-binding module. The structure has been determined using X-ray crystallography and refined to 1.9 A resolution. The asymmetric unit consists of six non-crystallographic symmetry-related molecules that were exploited to improve initial multiple isomorphous replacement phasing, and subsequent structure refinement. The enzyme contains one disulfide bridge and is glycosylated at Asp164 by a single N-acetyl glucosamine residue. The protein has the expected fold for a glycoside hydrolase clan-C family 12 enzyme. It contains two beta-sheets, of six and nine strands, packed on top of one another, and one alpha-helix. The concave surface of the nine-stranded beta-sheet forms a large substrate-binding groove in which the active-site residues are located. In the active site, we find a carboxylic acid trio, similar to that of glycoside hydrolase families 7 and 16. The strictly conserved Asp99 hydrogen bonds to the nucleophile, the invariant Glu116. The binding crevice is lined with both aromatic and polar amino acid side-chains which may play a role in substrate binding. The structure of the fungal family 12 enzyme presented here allows a complete structural characterization of the glycoside hydrolase-C clan.

Penicillopepsin-JT2, a recombinant enzyme from Penicillium janthinellum and the contribution of a hydrogen bond in subsite S3 to k(cat)

The nucleotide sequence of the gene (pepA) of a zymogen of an aspartic proteinase from Penicillium janthinellum with a 71% identity in the deduced amino acid sequence to penicillopepsin (which we propose to call penicillopepsin-JT1) has been determined. The gene consists of 60 codons for a putative leader sequence of 20 amino acid residues, a sequence of about 150 nucleotides that probably codes for an activation peptide and a sequence with two introns that codes for the active aspartic proteinase. This gene, inserted into the expression vector pGPT-pyrG1, was expressed in an aspartic proteinase-free strain of Aspergillus niger var. awamori in high yield as a glycosylated form of the active enzyme that we call penicillopepsin-JT2. After removal of the carbohydrate component with endoglycosidase H, its relative molecular mass is between 33,700 and 34,000. Its kinetic properties, especially the rate-enhancing effects of the presence of alanine residues in positions P3 and P2' of substrates, are similar to those of penicillopepsin-JT1, endothiapepsin, rhizopuspepsin, and pig pepsin. Earlier findings suggested that this rate-enhancing effect was due to a hydrogen bond between the -NH- of P3 and the hydrogen bond accepting oxygen of the side chain of the fourth amino acid residue C-terminal to Asp215. Thr219 of penicillopepsin-JT2 was mutated to Ser, Val, Gly, and Ala. Thr219Ser showed an increase in k(cat) when a P3 residue was present in the substrate, which was similar to that of the wild-type, whereas the mutants Thr219Val, Thr219Gly, and Thr219Ala showed no significant increase when a P3 residue was added. The results show that the putative hydrogen bond alone is responsible for the increase. We propose that by locking the -NH- of P3 to the enzyme, the scissile peptide bond between P1 and P1' becomes distorted toward a tetrahedral conformation and becomes more susceptible to nucleophilic attack by the catalytic apparatus without the need of a conformational change in the enzyme.

Characterization of the gene encoding an extracellular laccase of Myceliophthora thermophila and analysis of the recombinant enzyme expressed in Aspergillus oryzae

A genomic DNA segment encoding an extracellular laccase was isolated from the thermophilic fungus Myceliophthora thermophila, and the nucleotide sequence of this gene was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of M. thermophila laccase (MtL) shows homology to laccases from diverse fungal genera. A vector containing the M. thermophila laccase coding region, under transcriptional control of an Aspergillus oryzae alpha-amylase gene promoter and terminator, was constructed for heterologous expression in A. oryzae. The recombinant laccase expressed in A. oryzae was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by anion-exchange chromatography. Amino-terminal sequence data suggests that MtL is synthesized as a preproenzyme. The molecular mass was estimated to be approximately 100 to 140 kDa by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300 and to be 85 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Carbohydrate analysis revealed that MtL contains 40 to 60% glycosylation. The laccase shows an absorbance spectrum that is typical of blue copper oxidases, with maxima at 276 and 589 nm, and contains 3.9 copper atoms per subunit. With syringaldazine as a substrate, MtL has optimal activity at pH 6.5 and retains nearly 100% of its activity when incubated at 60 degrees C for 20 min. This is the first report of the cloning and heterologous expression of a thermostable laccase.

Hyphal tip extension in Aspergillus nidulans requires the manA gene, which encodes phosphomannose isomerase

A strain of Aspergillus nidulans carrying a temperature-sensitive mutation in the manA gene produces cell walls depleted of D-mannose and forms hyphal tip balloons at the restrictive temperature (B.P. Valentine and B.W. Bainbridge, J. Gen. Microbiol. 109:155-168, 1978). We have isolated and characterized the manA gene and physically located it between 3.5 and 5.5 kb centromere distal of the riboB locus on chromosome VIII. The manA gene contains four introns and encodes a 50.6-kDa protein which has significant sequence identity to type I phosphomannose isomerase proteins from other eukaryotes. We have constructed by integrative transformation a null mutation in the manA gene which can only be maintained in a heterokaryotic strain with wild-type manA+ nuclei. Thus, a manA null mutation is lethal in A. nidulans. The phenotype of the mutation was analyzed in germinating conidia. Such conidia are able to commence germination but swell abnormally, sometimes producing a misshapen germ tube, before growth ceases. The reason for the lethality is probably the lack of synthesis of mannose-containing cell wall polymers that must be required for normal cell wall development in growing hyphae.

Hyphal tip extension in Aspergillus nidulans requires the manA gene, which encodes phosphomannose isomerase

A strain of Aspergillus nidulans carrying a temperature-sensitive mutation in the manA gene produces cell walls depleted of D-mannose and forms hyphal tip balloons at the restrictive temperature (B.P. Valentine and B.W. Bainbridge, J. Gen. Microbiol. 109:155-168, 1978). We have isolated and characterized the manA gene and physically located it between 3.5 and 5.5 kb centromere distal of the riboB locus on chromosome VIII. The manA gene contains four introns and encodes a 50.6-kDa protein which has significant sequence identity to type I phosphomannose isomerase proteins from other eukaryotes. We have constructed by integrative transformation a null mutation in the manA gene which can only be maintained in a heterokaryotic strain with wild-type manA+ nuclei. Thus, a manA null mutation is lethal in A. nidulans. The phenotype of the mutation was analyzed in germinating conidia. Such conidia are able to commence germination but swell abnormally, sometimes producing a misshapen germ tube, before growth ceases. The reason for the lethality is probably the lack of synthesis of mannose-containing cell wall polymers that must be required for normal cell wall development in growing hyphae.

Use of Aspergillus overproducing mutants, cured for integrated plasmid, to overproduce heterologous proteins

Aspergillus niger var. awamori was previously transformed with a vector designed to express a fused glucoamylase-prochymosin gene and bearing the Neurospora crassa pyr4 gene as a selectable marker. Mutant strains that overproduced the glucoamylase-prochymosin fusion protein were derived from one of the transformants. Despite the fact that the expression vector was integrated into the genome of these strains it was possible to obtain strains from which the vector sequences had been removed. This was performed by selection against the pyr4 gene present on the expression vector using 5-fluoroorotic acid. The cured strains were retransformed in order to investigate production of heterologous proteins using other expression vectors. In addition to the glucoamylase-prochymosin fusion protein, the mutant Aspergillus strains also overproduced Rhizomucor miehei aspartic proteinase but not preprochymosin produced as a non-fusion protein. The ability to select for loss of integrated plasmid from Aspergillus transformants may prove to be important for a variety of applications.

Gene expression systems for filamentous fungi

The extraordinary capacity of filamentous fungi to produce large quantities of extracellular protein, together with the advent of DNA-mediated fungal transformation, has resulted in rapid advances in the development of gene expression systems for filamentous fungi. This review focuses on recent developments in the expression of both fungal and non-fungal genes and improvements to the host.

Sequence of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-encoding cDNA from the rumen anaerobic fungus Neocallimastix frontalis: comparison of the amino acid sequence with animals and yeast

The nucleotide sequence of the cDNA of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-encoding gene from the fungus Neocallimastix frontalis, was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence (608 residues) and the predicted protein structure were compared to their counterparts in animals and yeast. Catalytic regions (substrate-binding site and nucleotide-binding domains) are highly conserved among fungal and animal organisms. The yeast sequence showed no similarity to the fungal sequence.

Commercial Levels of Chymosin Production by Aspergillus

We have increased the production of bovine chymosin in Aspergillus niger var. awamori to more than one gram per liter of secreted authentic enzyme by combining a mutagenesis protocol with a novel robotic screening program. Analysis of the superior chymosin producing strains indicated that they have enhanced capabilities to secrete extracellular proteins.

Molecular cloning, nucleotide sequence and expression of the gene encoding prepro-polygalacturonaseII of Aspergillus niger

PolygalacturonaseII of Aspergillus niger was fragmented using CNBr and the NH2-terminal fragment and another fragment were partially sequenced. The polygalacturonaseII (pgaII) gene was then isolated by using an oligonucleotide mixture based on the internal amino acid sequence as a probe. The nucleotide sequence of the pgaII structural gene was determined. It was found that polygalacturonaseII is synthesized as a precursor having an NH2-terminal prepro-sequence of 27 amino acids. The cloned gene was used to construct polygalacturonaseII over-producing A. niger strains. PolygalacturonaseII was isolated from one such strain and was determined to be correctly processed and to be fully active.