Activation of a GH43 β-xylosidase by divalent metal cations: slow binding of divalent metal and high substrate specificity

Absence or presence of metal ion activation in two structurally similar GH43 β-xylosidases

Two GH43 β-xylosidases, RS223-BX from a rice straw metagenomic library, and BoXA from Bacteroides ovatus, that share similar amino acid sequences (81% identical) and 19 of 20 active-site residues, were compared by using site-directed mutagenesis of Asp and His residues implicated in metal binding. Thus, RS223-BX is strongly activated by divalent-metal cations and the previously published X-ray structure of this enzyme shows that a Ca²⁺ cation is chelated by an active-site Asp carboxyl group and an active-site His. Mutation to Ala causes 90% loss of activity for the Asp mutant and 98% loss of activity for the His mutant, indicating their importance to catalysis. For the other enzyme (BoXA), mutation to Ala causes 20% loss of activity for the His mutant and 40% gain of activity for the Asp mutant, indicating the lack of importance for activity of the native residues and the lack of metal-dependency, given that the Asp residue occupies the active site to secure the metal cation in known metal ion dependent GH43 xylosidases. The high activity of the BoXA mutants compared to that of the analogous RS223-BX mutants further undermines the possibility that BoXA maintains a tightly bound metal cofactor resistant to EDTA extraction. The results strengthen our conclusion that the very similar proteins differ in one being metal ion dependent and one not.

Biochemical Characterization of a GH43 β-Xylosidase from Bacteroides ovatus

Divalent metal-activated glycoside hydrolase family 43 (GH43) β-xylosidases have been found to have high k _cat/K _m for xylooligosaccharides and may demonstrate high efficacy in industrial reactors digesting hemicellulose. By searching an amino acid database, we found a Bacteroides ovatus GH43 β-xylosidase termed BoXA that is 81% identical in overall amino acid sequence to a GH43, divalent metal-activated β-xylosidase with high k _cat/K _m, and also it has 19 of 20 residues in the active site conserved. However, unlike its metal-activated homolog, the B. ovatus enzyme does not lose activity after extensive EDTA treatment nor does it gain activity by addition of divalent metal ions. Thus, either it cannot be activated by divalent metal or it maintains a tightly bound, non-exchangeable metal ion. At 25 °C and pH 6.0, the k _cat is 69 s^-1 for xylobiose and k _cat/K _m is 210 s^-1 mM^-1 for xylotriose, with the latter being 0.7 that of the highest known value. The determined K _i for D-glucose is 4.9 M, which is the highest known for a β-xylosidase. The enzyme has potential utility operating in bioreactors digesting plant biomass.

Structural dissection of a complex Bacteroides ovatus gene locus conferring xyloglucan metabolism in the human gut

The human gastrointestinal tract harbours myriad bacterial species, collectively termed the microbiota, that strongly influence human health. Symbiotic members of our microbiota play a pivotal role in the digestion of complex carbohydrates that are otherwise recalcitrant to assimilation. Indeed, the intrinsic human polysaccharide-degrading enzyme repertoire is limited to various starch-based substrates; more complex polysaccharides demand microbial degradation. Select Bacteroidetes are responsible for the degradation of the ubiquitous vegetable xyloglucans (XyGs), through the concerted action of cohorts of enzymes and glycan-binding proteins encoded by specific xyloglucan utilization loci (XyGULs). Extending recent (meta)genomic, transcriptomic and biochemical analyses, significant questions remain regarding the structural biology of the molecular machinery required for XyG saccharification. Here, we reveal the three-dimensional structures of an α-xylosidase, a β-glucosidase, and two α-l-arabinofuranosidases from the Bacteroides ovatus XyGUL. Aided by bespoke ligand synthesis, our analyses highlight key adaptations in these enzymes that confer individual specificity for xyloglucan side chains and dictate concerted, stepwise disassembly of xyloglucan oligosaccharides. In harness with our recent structural characterization of the vanguard endo-xyloglucanse and cell-surface glycan-binding proteins, the present analysis provides a near-complete structural view of xyloglucan recognition and catalysis by XyGUL proteins.

Functional and structural diversity in GH62 α-L-arabinofuranosidases from the thermophilic fungus Scytalidium thermophilum

The genome of the thermophilic fungus Scytalidium thermophilum (strain CBS 625.91) harbours a wide range of genes involved in carbohydrate degradation, including three genes, abf62A, abf62B and abf62C, predicted to encode glycoside hydrolase family 62 (GH62) enzymes. Transcriptome analysis showed that only abf62A and abf62C are actively expressed during growth on diverse substrates including straws from barley, alfalfa, triticale and canola. The abf62A and abf62C genes were expressed in Escherichia coli and the resulting recombinant proteins were characterized. Calcium-free crystal structures of Abf62C in apo and xylotriose bound forms were determined to 1.23 and 1.48 Å resolution respectively. Site-directed mutagenesis confirmed Asp55, Asp171 and Glu230 as catalytic triad residues, and revealed the critical role of non-catalytic residues Asp194, Trp229 and Tyr338 in positioning the scissile α-L-arabinofuranoside bond at the catalytic site. Further, the +2R substrate-binding site residues Tyr168 and Asn339, as well as the +2NR residue Tyr226, are involved in accommodating long-chain xylan polymers. Overall, our structural and functional analysis highlights characteristic differences between Abf62A and Abf62C, which represent divergent subgroups in the GH62 family.

Rehabilitation of faulty kinetic determinations and misassigned glycoside hydrolase family of retaining mechanism β-xylosidases

We obtained Cx1 from a commercial supplier, whose catalog listed it as a β-xylosidase of glycoside hydrolase family 43. NMR experiments indicate retention of anomeric configuration in its reaction stereochemistry, opposing the assignment of GH43, which follows an inverting mechanism. Partial protein sequencing indicates Cx1 is similar to but not identical to β-xylosidases of GH52, including Q09LZ0, that have retaining mechanisms. Q09LZ0 β-xylosidase had been characterized biochemically in kinetic reactions that contained Tris. We overproduced Q09LZ0 and demonstrated that Tris is a competitive inhibitor of the β-xylosidase. Also, the previous work used grossly incorrect extinction coefficients for product 4-nitrophenol. We redetermined kinetic parameters using reactions that omitted Tris and using correct extinction coefficients for 4-nitrophenol. Cx1 and Q09LZ0 β-xylosidases were thus shown to possess similar kinetic properties when acting on 4-nitrophenyl-β-d-xylopyranoside and xylobiose. kcat pH profiles of Cx1 and Q09LZ0 acting on 4-nitrophenyl-β-d-xylopyranoside and xylobiose have patterns containing two rate increases with increasing acidity, not reported before for glycoside hydrolases. The dexylosylation step of 4-nitrophenyl-β-d-xylopyranoside hydrolysis mediated by Q09LZ0 is not rate determining for kcat(4NPX).

A novel α-L-arabinofuranosidase of family 43 glycoside hydrolase (Ct43Araf) from Clostridium thermocellum

The study describes a comparative analysis of biochemical, structural and functional properties of two recombinant derivatives from Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405 belonging to family 43 glycoside hydrolase. The family 43 glycoside hydrolase encoding α-L-arabinofuranosidase (Ct43Araf) displayed an N-terminal catalytic module CtGH43 (903 bp) followed by two carbohydrate binding modules CtCBM6A (405 bp) and CtCBM6B (402 bp) towards the C-terminal. Ct43Araf and its truncated derivative CtGH43 were cloned in pET-vectors, expressed in Escherichia coli and functionally characterized. The recombinant proteins displayed molecular sizes of 63 kDa (Ct43Araf) and 34 kDa (CtGH43) on SDS-PAGE analysis. Ct43Araf and CtGH43 showed optimal enzyme activities at pH 5.7 and 5.4 and the optimal temperature for both was 50°C. Ct43Araf and CtGH43 showed maximum activity with rye arabinoxylan 4.7 Umg(-1) and 5.0 Umg(-1), respectively, which increased by more than 2-fold in presence of Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) salts. This indicated that the presence of CBMs (CtCBM6A and CtCBM6B) did not have any effect on the enzyme activity. The thin layer chromatography and high pressure anion exchange chromatography analysis of Ct43Araf hydrolysed arabinoxylans (rye and wheat) and oat spelt xylan confirmed the release of L-arabinose. This is the first report of α-L-arabinofuranosidase from C. thermocellum having the capacity to degrade both p-nitrophenol-α-L-arabinofuranoside and p-nitrophenol-α-L-arabinopyranoside. The protein melting curves of Ct43Araf and CtGH43 demonstrated that CtGH43 and CBMs melt independently. The presence of Ca(2+) ions imparted thermal stability to both the enzymes. The circular dichroism analysis of CtGH43 showed 48% β-sheets, 49% random coils but only 3% α-helices.