Construction of the trifunctional enzyme associating the Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus xylosidase-arabinosidase with the Thermomyces lanuginosus xylanase for degradation of arabinoxylan

A comprehensive method for the sequential separation of extracellular xylanases and β-xylosidases/arabinofuranosidases from a new Fusarium species

Several fungal species produce diverse carbohydrate-active enzymes useful for the xylooligosaccharide biorefinery. These enzymes can be isolated by different purification methods, but fungi usually produce other several compounds which interfere in the purification process. So, the present work has three interconnected aims: (i) compare β-xylosidase production by Fusarium pernambucanum MUM 18.62 with other crop pathogens; (ii) optimise F. pernambucanum xylanolytic enzymes expression focusing on the pre-inoculum media composition; and (iii) design a downstream strategy to eliminate interfering substances and sequentially isolate β-xylosidases, arabinofuranosidases and endo-xylanases from the extracellular media. F. pernambucanum showed the highest β-xylosidase activity among all the evaluated species. It also produced endo-xylanase and arabinofuranosidase. The growth and β-xylosidase expression were not influenced by the pre-inoculum source, contrary to endo-xylanase activity, which was higher with xylan-enriched agar. Using a sequential strategy involving ammonium sulfate precipitation of the extracellular interferences, and several chromatographic steps of the supernatant (hydrophobic chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, and anion exchange chromatography), we were able to isolate different enzyme pools: four partially purified β-xylosidase/arabinofuranoside; FpXylEAB trifunctional GH10 endo-xylanase/β-xylosidase/arabinofuranoside enzyme (39.8 kDa) and FpXynE GH11 endo-xylanase with molecular mass (18.0 kDa). FpXylEAB and FpXynE enzymes were highly active at pH 5-6 and 60-50 °C.

Multidomain chimeric enzymes as a promising alternative for biocatalysts improvement: a minireview

Searching for new and better biocatalysts is an area of study in constant development. In nature, mechanisms generally occurring in evolution, such as genetic duplication, recombination, and natural selection processes, produce various enzymes with different architectures and properties. The recombination of genes that code proteins produces multidomain chimeric enzymes that contain two or more domains that sometimes enhance their catalytic properties. Protein engineering has mimicked this process to enhance catalytic activity and the global stability of enzymes, searching for new and better biocatalysts. Here, we present and discuss examples from both natural and synthetic multidomain chimeric enzymes and how additional domains heighten their stability and catalytic activity. Moreover, we also describe progress in developing new biocatalysts using synthetic fusion enzymes and revise some methodological strategies to improve their biological fitness.

Colombian Andean thermal springs: reservoir of thermophilic anaerobic bacteria producing hydrolytic enzymes

Anaerobic cultivable microbial communities in thermal springs producing hydrolytic enzymes were studied. Thermal water samples from seven thermal springs located in the Andean volcanic belt, in the eastern and central mountain ranges of the Colombian Andes were used as inocula for the growth and isolation of thermophilic microorganisms using substrates such as starch, gelatin, xylan, cellulose, Tween 80, olive oil, peptone and casamino acids. These springs differed in temperature (50-70 °C) and pH (6.5-7.5). The predominant ion in eastern mountain range thermal springs was sulphate, whereas that in central mountain range springs was bicarbonate. A total of 40 anaerobic thermophilic bacterial strains that belonged to the genera Thermoanaerobacter, Caloramator, Anoxybacillus, Caloranaerobacter, Desulfomicrobium, Geotoga, Hydrogenophilus, Desulfacinum and Thermoanaerobacterium were isolated. To investigate the metabolic potential of these isolates, selected strains were analysed for enzymatic activities to identify strains than can produce hydrolytic enzymes. We demonstrated that these thermal springs contained diverse microbial populations of anaerobic thermophilic comprising different metabolic groups of bacteria including strains belonging to the genera Thermoanaerobacter, Caloramator, Anoxybacillus, Caloranaerobacter, Desulfomicrobium, Geotoga, Hydrogenophilus, Desulfacinum and Thermoanaerobacterium with amylases, proteases, lipases, esterases, xylanases and pectinases; therefore, the strains represent a promising source of enzymes with biotechnological potential.

A review on chimeric xylanases: methods and conditions

Multi-functional enzymes are one of the nature's solutions to facilitate metabolic pathways, thus several reactions are regulated and performed simultaneously on one polypeptide chain. Inspired by nature, artificial chimeric proteins have been designed to reduce the production costs and improve the performance. One of the interesting applications of this method is in the plant-based industries such as feed additive, waste treatment, biofuel production, and pulp and paper bleaching. In fact, the heterogeneous texture of plants needs using a combination of different enzymes to achieve an optimal quality in the manufacturing process. Given that xylans are the most abundant non-cellulosic polysaccharides in nature, xylanases are widely utilized in the mentioned industries. In this regard, several studies have been conducted to develop the relevant chimeric enzymes. Despite the successes that have been attained in this field, misfolding, functional or structural interference, and linker breakage have been reported in some cases. The present paper reviews the research to introduce the prerequisites to design an appropriate chimeric xylanase.

Characterization of a novel thermostable chitin-binding domain and its application in immobilization of a multifunctional hemicellulase

A novel thermostable chitin-binding domain (Tt-ChBD) of chitinase A1 from Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum DSM571 was cloned, characterized, and compared for its binding activity with another mesophilic chitin-binding domain (Bc-ChBD). Recombinant protein with Tt-ChBD exhibits stronger affinity to chitin than those with Bc-ChBD at temperatures from 65 °C to at least 75 °C, but not to other polysaccharides including xylan, chitosan, cellulose, and agarose. For repeated production of xylose from arabinoxylan-containing feedstocks, a best-characterized trifunctional chimeric enzyme Xar-L1-Xyn (XX) constructed in our previous work was attempted to be immobilized on chitin efficiently by genetically fusing Tt-ChBD to the N-terminal region of XX (named CXX) and the C-terminal region of XX (named XXC), respectively. The fusing position of Tt-CBD affected the affinity-binding activity to chitin. Recombinant XX, XXC, and CXX were purified to homogeneity and characterized. According to the xylosidase activities, the optimum temperature and pH profiles of the CXX and XXC both in free and immobilized form were the same as those of XX. However, the thermal and pH stabilities of the immobilized XXC and CXX were both greatly improved in the range from 70 to 90 °C and pH 4.2-8.2. The immobilized multifunctional hemicellulase exhibited high stability to producing xylose for at least 19 or 30 times in continuous operation with the achievement of 60% or 80% conversion yield at temperatures up to 65 °C. These results indicate the usefulness of Tt-ChBD as an affinity tag for the simultaneous purification and immobilization of the enzyme on chitin and the great potential applications for thermophilic enzyme immobilization at higher temperatures.

Purification and preliminary characterization of a xylanase from Thermomyces lanuginosus strain SS-8

Thermomyces lanuginosus SS-8 was isolated from soil samples that had been collected from near self-heating plant material and its extracellular cellulase-free xylanase purified approximately 160-fold using ion exchange chromatography and continuous elution electrophoresis. This xylanase was thermoactive (optimum temperature 60 °C) at pH 6.0 and had a molecular weight of 23.79 kDa as indicated by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. The xylanase rapidly hydrolyzed xylan directly to xylose without the production of intermediary xylo-oligosaccharides within 15 min of incubation under optimum conditions. This trait of rapidly degrading xylan to xylose as a sole end-product could have biotechnological potential in degradation of agro-wastes for bioethanol manufacturing industry.

Molecular cloning and characterization of the novel acidic xylanase XYLD from Bispora sp. MEY-1 that is homologous to family 30 glycosyl hydrolases

We cloned and sequenced a xylanase gene named xylD from the acidophilic fungus Bispora sp. MEY-1 and expressed the gene in Pichia pastoris. The 1,422-bp full-length complementary DNA fragment encoded a 457-amino acid xylanase with a calculated molecular mass of 49.8 kDa. The mature protein of XYLD showed high sequence similarity to both glycosyl hydrolase (GH) families 5 and 30 but was more homologous to members of GH 30 based on phylogenetic analysis. XYLD shared the highest identity (49.9%) with a putative endo-1,6-beta-D-glucanase from Talaromyces stipitatus and exhibited 21.1% identity and 34.3% similarity to the well-characterized GH family 5 xylanase from Erwinia chrysanthemi. Purified recombinant XYLD showed maximal activity at pH 3.0 and 60 degrees C, maintained more than 60% of maximal activity when assayed at pH 1.5-4.0, and had good thermal stability at 60 degrees C and remained stable at pH 1.0-6.0. The enzyme activity was enhanced in the presence of Ni(2+) and beta-mercaptoethanol and inhibited by some metal irons (Hg(2+), Cu(2+), Pb(2+), Mn(2+), Li(+), and Fe(3+)) and sodium dodecyl sulfate. The specific activity of XYLD for beechwood xylan, birchwood xylan, 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronoxylan, and oat spelt xylan was 2,463, 2,144, 2,020, and 1,429 U mg(-1), respectively. The apparent K (m) and V (max) values for beechwood xylan were 5.6 mg ml(-1) and 3,622 micromol min(-1) mg(-1), respectively. The hydrolysis products of different xylans were mainly xylose and xylobiose.