The kinetics of p-nitrophenyl-β-D-cellobioside hydrolysis and transglycosylation by Thermobifida fusca Cel5Acd

Supercharging carbohydrate-binding module alone enhances endocellulase thermostability, binding, and activity on cellulosic biomass

Lignocellulosic biomass recalcitrance to enzymatic degradation necessitates high enzyme loadings incurring large processing costs for industrial-scale biofuels or biochemicals production. Manipulating surface charge interactions to minimize non-productive interactions between cellulolytic enzymes and plant cell wall components (e.g., lignin or cellulose) via protein supercharging has been hypothesized to improve biomass biodegradability, but with limited demonstrated success to date. Here we characterize the effect of introducing non-natural enzyme surface mutations and net charge on cellulosic biomass hydrolysis activity by designing a library of supercharged family-5 endoglucanase Cel5A and its native family-2a carbohydrate binding module (CBM) originally belonging to an industrially relevant thermophilic microbe Thermobifida fusca . A combinatorial library of 33 mutant constructs containing different CBM and Cel5A designs spanning a net charge range of -52 to 37 was computationally designed using Rosetta macromolecular modelling software. Activity for all mutants was rapidly characterized as soluble cell lysates and promising mutants (containing mutations either on the CBM, Cel5A catalytic domain, or both CBM and Cel5A domains) were then purified and systematically characterized. Surprisingly, often endocellulases with mutations on the CBM domain alone resulted in improved activity on cellulosic biomass, with three top-performing supercharged CBM mutants exhibiting between 2-5-fold increase in activity, compared to native enzyme, on both pretreated biomass enriched in lignin (i.e., corn stover) and isolated crystalline/amorphous cellulose. Furthermore, we were able to clearly demonstrate that endocellulase net charge can be selectively fine-tuned using protein supercharging protocol for targeting distinct substrates and maximizing biocatalytic activity. Additionally, several supercharged CBM containing endocellulases exhibited a 5-10 °C increase in optimal hydrolysis temperature, compared to native enzyme, which enabled further increase in hydrolytic yield at higher operational reaction temperatures. This study demonstrates the first successful implementation of enzyme supercharging of cellulolytic enzymes to increase hydrolytic activity towards complex lignocellulosic biomass derived substrates.

Crystal structure determination of Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501 endoglucanase Cel5A: the search for a molecular basis for glycosynthesis in GH5_5 enzymes

The discovery of new glycoside hydrolases that can be utilized in the chemoenzymatic synthesis of carbohydrates has emerged as a promising approach for various biotechnological processes. In this study, recombinant Ps_Cel5A from Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501, a novel member of the GH5_5 subfamily, was expressed, purified and crystallized. Preliminary experiments confirmed the ability of Ps_Cel5A to catalyze transglycosylation with cellotriose as a substrate. The crystal structure revealed several structural determinants in and around the positive subsites, providing a molecular basis for a better understanding of the mechanisms that promote and favour synthesis rather than hydrolysis. In the positive subsites, two nonconserved positively charged residues (Arg178 and Lys216) were found to interact with cellobiose. This adaptation has also been reported for transglycosylating β-mannanases of the GH5_7 subfamily.