Identification, biochemical characterization, and in-vivo expression of the intracellular invertase BfrA from the pathogenic parasite Leishmania major

Identification of an Invertase With High Specific Activity for Raffinose Hydrolysis and Its Application in Soymilk Treatment

The hydrolyzation of raffinose into melibiose by using invertases under mild conditions improves the nutritional value of soybean products. However, this strategy has received little attention because a suitable invertase remains lacking. In this study, a novel invertase named InvDz13 was screened and purified from Microbacterium trichothecenolyticum and characterized. InvDz13 was one of the invertases with the highest specific activity toward raffinose. Specifically, it had a specific activity of 229 U/mg toward raffinose at pH 6.5 and 35°C. InvDz13 retained more than 80% of its maximum activity at pH 5.5–7.5 and 25–40°C and was resistant to or stimulated by most cations that presented in soymilk. In soymilk treated with InvDz13 under mild conditions, melibiose concentration increased from 3.1 ± 0.2 to 6.1 ± 0.1 mM due to raffinose hydrolyzation by InvDz13. Furthermore, the prebiotic property of InvDz13-treated soymilk was investigated via in vitro fermentation by human gut microbiota. Results showed that InvDz13 treatment increased the proportion of the beneficial bacteria Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus by 1.6- and 3.7-fold, respectively. By contrast, the populations of Escherichia and Collinsella decreased by 1.8- and 11.7-fold, respectively. Thus, our results proved that the enzymatic hydrolysis of raffinose in soymilk with InvDz13 was practicable and might be an alternative approach to improving the nutritional value of soymilk.

Crystal structure of Dictyoglomus thermophilum β-d-xylosidase DtXyl unravels the structural determinants for efficient notoginsenoside R1 hydrolysis

Dictyoglomus thermophilum β-d-xylosidase DtXyl is attractive as a potential thermostable biocatalyst able to produce biologically active ginsenosides intermediates from β-(1,2)-D-xylosylated compounds, including Notoginsenoside-R1. DtXyl was expressed as an active N-terminal His-tagged protein, and its crystal structure was solved in presence or absence of d-xylose product. Modelling of notoginsenoside R1 in DtXyl active site led to the identification of several hydrophobic residues interacting in close contact to the substrate hydrophobic core. Unlike other residues involved in substrate binding, these residues are not conserved among GH39 xylosidase family, and their physico-chemical properties can be correlated to the efficient binding and subsequent hydrolysis of Notoginsenoside R1.

Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of 3-O- (β-d-glycopyranosyl)-sn-glycerols and their evaluation as preservative in cosmetics

d-Glycopyranosyl glycerols are common natural products and exhibit strong biological properties, notably as moisturizing agents in cosmetics. Their chemical synthesis remains tedious thus decreasing their potential industrial and economic development, as well as the study of their structure-function relationships. In this work, the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of three enantiopure 3-O-(β-d-glycopyranosyl)-sn-glycerols was efficiently performed using an original glycosidase from Dictyoglomus thermophilum and their preservatives properties were assessed using a challenge test method. Amongst them, the 3-O-(β-d-glucopyranosyl)-sn-glycerol exhibited a specific anti-fungus activity.

Purification and Characterization of a Novel Intracellular Sucrase Enzyme of Leishmania donovani Promastigotes

The promastigote stage of Leishmania resides in the sand fly gut, enriched with sugar molecules. Recently we reported that Leishmania donovani possesses a sucrose uptake system and a stable pool of intracellular sucrose metabolizing enzyme. In the present study, we purified the intracellular sucrase nearly to its homogeneity and compared it with the purified extracellular sucrase. The estimated size of intracellular sucrase is ~112 kDa by gel filtration chromatography, native PAGE, and substrate staining. However, in SDS-PAGE, the protein is resolved at ~56 kDa, indicating the possibility of a homodimer in its native state. The kinetics of purified intracellular sucrase shows its higher substrate affinity with a K m of 1.61 mM than the extracellular form having a K m of 4.4 mM. The highly specific activity of intracellular sucrase towards sucrose is optimal at pH 6.0 and at 30°C. In this report the purification and characterization of intracellular sucrase provide evidence that sucrase enzyme exists at least in two different forms in Leishmania donovani promastigotes. This intracellular sucrase may support further intracellular utilization of transported sucrose.