Enzymatic synthesis of a β-d-galactopyranosyl cyclic tetrasaccharide by β-galactosidases

Glycosylation of phenolic compounds by the site-mutated β-galactosidase from Lactobacillus bulgaricus L3

β-Galactosidases can transfer the galactosyl from lactose or galactoside donors to various acceptors and thus are especially useful for the synthesis of important glycosides. However, these enzymes have limitations in the glycosylation of phenolic compounds that have many physiological functions. In this work, the β-galactosidase from Lactobacillus bulgaricus L3 was subjected to site-saturation mutagenesis at the W980 residue. The recombinant pET-21b plasmid carrying the enzyme gene was used as the template for mutation. The mutant plasmids were transformed into Escherichia coli cells for screening. One recombinant mutant, W980F, exhibited increased yield of glycoside when using hydroquinone as the screening acceptor. The enzyme was purified and the effects of the mutation on enzyme properties were determined in detail. It showed improved transglycosylation activity on novel phenolic acceptors besides hydroquinone. The yields of the glycosides produced from phenol, hydroquinone, and catechol were increased by 7.6% to 53.1%. Moreover, it generated 32.3% glycosides from the pyrogallol that could not be glycosylated by the wild-type enzyme. Chemical structures of these glycoside products were further determined by MS and NMR analysis. Thus, a series of novel phenolic galactosides were achieved by β-galactosidase for the first time. This was a breakthrough in the enzymatic galactosylation of the challenging phenolic compounds of great values.

Crystal structures of Trichoderma reesei β-galactosidase reveal conformational changes in the active site

We have determined the crystal structure of Trichoderma reesei (Hypocrea jecorina) β-galactosidase (Tr-β-gal) at a 1.2Å resolution and its complex structures with galactose, IPTG and PETG at 1.5, 1.75 and 1.4Å resolutions, respectively. Tr-β-gal is a potential enzyme for lactose hydrolysis in the dairy industry and belongs to family 35 of the glycoside hydrolases (GH-35). The high resolution crystal structures of this six-domain enzyme revealed interesting features about the structure of Tr-β-gal. We discovered conformational changes in the two loop regions in the active site, implicating a conformational selection-mechanism for the enzyme. In addition, the Glu200, an acid/base catalyst showed two different conformations which undoubtedly affect the pK(a) value of this residue and the catalytic mechanism. The electron density showed extensive glycosylation, suggesting a structure stabilizing role for glycans. The longest glycan showed an electron density that extends to the eighth monosaccharide unit in the extended chain. The Tr-β-gal structure also showed a well-ordered structure for a unique octaserine motif on the surface loop of the fifth domain.

A novel beta-galactosidase capable of glycosyl transfer from Enterobacter agglomerans B1

A novel transglycosylating beta-galactosidase was purified from Enterobacter agglomerans B1. It was a homodimer of approximately 248 kDa. The optimal pH and temperature for oNPGal hydrolysis were 7.5-8.0 and 37-40 degrees C, respectively. The K(m) values for oNPGal and lactose were 0.06 and 114 mM, respectively. The enzyme produced galacto-oligosaccharides in a 38% yield at the lactose concentration of 12.5% (w/v). When using oNPGal as donor, the enzyme was able to catalyze glycosyl transfer to a series of acceptors, including hexose, pentose, beta- or alpha-disaccharides, hexahydroxy alcohol, cyclitol, and aromatic glycosides. This suggested the enzyme to be a potential synthetic tool for preparing galactose-containing chemicals. The gene encoding this enzyme was cloned by degenerate PCR and TAIL-PCR. It revealed an ORF of 3090 nucleotides encoding a 1029 amino-acid protein, which had been expressed in Escherichia coli. Transferase activities in both recombinant and natural enzymes were similar.

Enzymatic synthesis of a 2-O-α-d-glucopyranosyl cyclic tetrasaccharide by kojibiose phosphorylase

The glucosyl transfer reaction of kojibiose phosphorylase (KPase) from Thermoanaerobacter brockii ATCC35047 was examined using cyclo-{-->6)-alpha-d-Glcp-(1-->3)-alpha-d-Glcp-(1-->6)-alpha-d-Glcp-(1-->3)-alpha-d-Glcp-(1-->} (CTS) as an acceptor. KPase produced four transfer products, saccharides 1-4. The structure of a major product, saccharide 4, was 2-O-alpha-d-glucopyranosyl-CTS, cyclo-{-->6)-alpha-d-Glcp-(1-->3)-alpha-d-Glcp-(1-->6)-[alpha-d-Glcp-(1-->2)]-alpha-d-Glcp-(1-->3)-alpha-d-Glcp-(1-->}. The other transfer products, saccharides 1-3, were 2-O-alpha-kojibiosyl-, 2-O-alpha-kojitriosyl-, and 2-O-alpha-kojitetraosyl-CTS, respectively. These results showed that KPase transferred a glucose residue to the C-2 position at the ring glucose residue of CTS. This enzyme also catalyzed the chain-extending reaction of the side chain of 2-O-alpha-d-glycopyranosyl-CTS.

Enzymatic synthesis of glycosyl cyclic tetrasaccharide with 6-α-glucosyltransferase and 3-α-isomaltosyltransferase

Transglycosylation reactions to cyclic tetrasaccharide (CTS, cyclo[-->6)-alpha-D-Glcp-(1-->3)-alpha-D-Glcp-(1-->6)-alpha-D-Glcp-(1-->3)-alpha-D-Glcp-(1-->]) and its derivatives were investigated. An enzyme, 6-alpha-glucosyltransferase, which is involved in CTS synthesis from starch, from Bacillus globisporus C11 produced 4-O-alpha-glucosyl-CTS (4G-CTS) from a mixture containing CTS and maltopentaose. Another enzyme, 3-alpha-isomaltosyltransferase, synthesized 3-O-alpha-isomaltosyl-CTS (3IM-CTS) from CTS and panose. Two novel branched CTSs, 3-O-alpha-isomaltosyl-4-O-alpha-glucosyl-CTS (3IM-4G-CTS) and 3-O-alpha-isomaltosyl-(4-O-alpha-glucosyl)-CTS [3IM-(4G)-CTS], were synthesized by the isomaltosyl transfer of IMT into 4G-CTS. IMT also produced a novel saccharide, 3-O-alpha-isomaltosyl-3-O-alpha-isomaltosyl-CTS (3IM-3IM-CTS) from 3IM-CTS. It was confirmed that the oligosaccharides, including 4G-CTS, 3IM-CTS, 3IM-4G-CTS, 3IM-(4G)-CTS and 3IM-3IM-CTS, remaining in the reaction mixture during the production of CTS from starch were the transfer products of 6GT and IMT into CTS.