Crystal structure of pullulanase: evidence for parallel binding of oligosaccharides in the active site

Carbohydrate binding modules: Compact yet potent accessories in the specific substrate binding and performance evolution of carbohydrate-active enzymes

Carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) are independent non-catalytic domains widely found in carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), and they play an essential role in the substrate binding process of CAZymes by guiding the appended catalytic modules to the target substrates. Owing to their precise recognition and selective affinity for different substrates, CBMs have received increasing research attention over the past few decades. To date, CBMs from different origins have formed a large number of families that show a variety of substrate types, structural features, and ligand recognition mechanisms. Moreover, through the modification of specific sites of CBMs and the fusion of heterologous CBMs with catalytic domains, improved enzymatic properties and catalytic patterns of numerous CAZymes have been achieved. Based on cutting-edge technologies in computational biology, gene editing, and protein engineering, CBMs as auxiliary components have become portable and efficient tools for the evolution and application of CAZymes. With the aim to provide a theoretical reference for the functional research, rational design, and targeted utilization of novel CBMs in the future, we systematically reviewed the function-related characteristics and potentials of CAZyme-derived CBMs in this review, including substrate recognition and binding mechanisms, non-catalytic contributions to enzyme performances, module modifications, and innovative applications in various fields.

Isolation, characterization, and cloning of thermostable pullulanase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus ADM-11

This study aimed to identify thermo-stable pullulanase-producing bacteria in soil samples of potato fields and food-producing companies. Pullulan agar medium was used to screen 17 bacterial strains, which were incubated at 65 °C. The isolate with the maximum activity (375U/ml) was selected and recognized as Geobacillus stearothermophilus ADM-11 by morphological, biochemical characterization, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The pullulanase production required optimum pH of 7 and temperature of 75 °C, respectively. The electrophoresis of purified pullulanase on SDS-polyacrylamide gel revealed 83 kDa of a molecular weight that is active at 70 °C and pH 7.0. It was also stable at 90 °C but its activity was decreased by 10 % at 100 °C. The action of pullulanase was increased and stabilized by Ca+2 among the metal ions. Beta and gamma-cyclodextrins inhibited enzyme activity while ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) have no significant effect on pullulanase activity. A full-length pullulanase gene was amplified from G. stearothermophilus ADM-11 using genomic DNA 2.1 kb of PCR product which was then purified and ligated in the cloning vector pTZ57R using the TA cloning technique. Colony PCR confirmed cloning on the positive clones after the pullulanase gene had been ligated and subjected to restriction digestion. It revealed 74 % similarity with the reported pullulanase gene from Geobacillus sp. 44C. The thermostability of pullulanase and its ability to degrade raw pullulan may therefore have wide-scale applications in starch processing, the detergent business, and new biotechnological applications.

Cassava pullulanase and its synergistic debranching action with isoamylase 3 in starch catabolism

Pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41, PUL), a debranching enzyme belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 13 subfamily 13, catalyses the cleavage of α-1,6 linkages of pullulan and β-limit dextrin. The present work studied PUL from cassava Manihot esculenta Crantz (MePUL) tubers, an important economic crop. The Mepul gene was successfully cloned and expressed in E. coli and rMePUL was biochemically characterised. MePUL was present as monomer and homodimer, as judged by apparent mass of ~ 84 - 197 kDa by gel permeation chromatography analysis. Optimal pH and temperature were at pH 6.0 and 50 °C, and enzyme activity was enhanced by the addition of Ca²⁺ ions. Pullulan is the most favourable substrate for rMePUL, followed by β-limit dextrin. Additionally, maltooligosaccharides were potential allosteric modulators of rMePUL. Interestingly, short-chain maltooligosaccharides (DP 2 - 4) were significantly revealed at a higher level when rMePUL was mixed with cassava isoamylase 3 (rMeISA3), compared to that of each single enzyme reaction. This suggests that MePUL and MeISA3 debranch β-limit dextrin in a synergistic manner, which represents a major starch catabolising process in dicots. Additionally, subcellular localisation suggested the involvement of MePUL in starch catabolism, which normally takes place in plastids.

Modulation of Flexible Loops in Catalytic Cavities Reveals the Thermal Activation Mechanism of a Glycogen-Debranching Enzyme

Some thermophilic enzymes not only exhibit high thermostability at high temperatures but also have an activation effect by thermal incubation. However, the correlations between temperature-induced structural modulation and thermal activation are still unclear. In this study, we selected a thermophilic glycogen-debranching enzyme from Saccharolobus solfataricus STB09 (SsGDE), which was a promising starch-debranching enzyme with a thermal activation property at temperatures ranging from 50 to 70 °C, to explore the thermal activation mechanism. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed for SsGDE at 30, 50, or 70 °C to reveal the temperature dependence of structure modulation and catalytic function. The results revealed that four loops (loop1 313-337, loop2 399-418, loop3 481-513, and loop4 540-574) in SsGDE were reshaped, which made the catalytic cavity more open. The internal residues, including the catalytic triad Asp3631, Glu399, and Asp471, could be exposed, due to the structural modulation, to exert catalytic functions. We proposed that the thermal activation effect of SsGDE was closely associated with the temperature-induced modulation of the catalytic cavity, which paved the way for further engineering enzymes to achieve higher catalytic performance and stability.

Integrative structure determination reveals functional global flexibility for an ultra-multimodular arabinanase

AbnA is an extracellular GH43 α-L-arabinanase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus, a key bacterial enzyme in the degradation and utilization of arabinan. We present herein its full-length crystal structure, revealing the only ultra-multimodular architecture and the largest structure to be reported so far within the GH43 family. Additionally, the structure of AbnA appears to contain two domains belonging to new uncharacterized carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) families. Three crystallographic conformational states are determined for AbnA, and this conformational flexibility is thoroughly investigated further using the "integrative structure determination" approach, integrating molecular dynamics, metadynamics, normal mode analysis, small angle X-ray scattering, dynamic light scattering, cross-linking, and kinetic experiments to reveal large functional conformational changes for AbnA, involving up to ~100 Å movement in the relative positions of its domains. The integrative structure determination approach demonstrated here may apply also to the conformational study of other ultra-multimodular proteins of diverse functions and structures.

A structural explanation for the mechanism and specificity of plant branching enzymes I and IIb

Branching enzymes (BEs) are essential in the biosynthesis of starch and glycogen and play critical roles in determining the fine structure of these polymers. The substrates of these BEs are long carbohydrate chains that interact with these enzymes via multiple binding sites on the enzyme’s surface. By controlling the branched-chain length distribution, BEs can mediate the physiological properties of starch and glycogen moieties; however, the mechanism and structural determinants of this specificity remain mysterious. In this study, we identify a large dodecaose binding surface on rice BE I (BEI) that reaches from the outside of the active site to the active site of the enzyme. Mutagenesis activity assays confirm the importance of this binding site in enzyme catalysis, from which we conclude that it is likely the acceptor chain binding site. Comparison of the structures of BE from Cyanothece and BE1 from rice allowed us to model the location of the donor-binding site. We also identified two loops that likely interact with the donor chain and whose sequences diverge between plant BE1, which tends to transfer longer chains, and BEIIb, which transfers exclusively much shorter chains. When the sequences of these loops were swapped with the BEIIb sequence, rice BE1 also became a short-chain transferring enzyme, demonstrating the key role these loops play in specificity. Taken together, these results provide a more complete picture of the structure, selectivity, and activity of BEs.

Structure and substrate recognition by the Ruminococcus bromii amylosome pullulanases

Pullulanases are glycoside hydrolase family 13 (GH13) enzymes that target α1,6 glucosidic linkages within starch and aid in the degradation of the α1,4- and α1,6- linked glucans pullulan, glycogen and amylopectin. The human gut bacterium Ruminococcus bromii synthesizes two extracellular pullulanases, Amy10 and Amy12, that are incorporated into the multiprotein amylosome complex that enables the digestion of granular resistant starch from the diet. Here we provide a comparative biochemical analysis of these pullulanases and the x-ray crystal structures of the wild type and the nucleophile mutant D392A of Amy12 complexed with maltoheptaose and 6³-α-D glucosyl-maltotriose. While Amy10 displays higher catalytic efficiency on pullulan and cleaves only α1,6 linkages, Amy12 has some activity on α1,4 linkages suggesting that these enzymes are not redundant within the amylosome. Our structures of Amy12 include a mucin-binding protein (MucBP) domain that follows the C-domain of the GH13 fold, an atypical feature of these enzymes. The wild type Amy12 structure with maltoheptaose captured two oligosaccharides in the active site arranged as expected following catalysis of an α1,6 branch point in amylopectin. The nucleophile mutant D392A complexed with maltoheptaose or 6³-α-D glucosyl-maltotriose captured β-glucose at the reducing end in the -1 subsite, facilitated by the truncation of the active site aspartate and stabilized by stacking with Y279. The core interface between the co-crystallized ligands and Amy12 occurs within the -2 through + 1 subsites, which may allow for flexible recognition of α1,6 linkages within a variety of starch structures.

Microbial starch debranching enzymes: Developments and applications

Starch debranching enzymes (SDBEs) hydrolyze the α-1,6 glycosidic bonds in polysaccharides such as starch, amylopectin, pullulan and glycogen. SDBEs are also important enzymes for the preparation of sugar syrup, resistant starch and cyclodextrin. As the synergistic catalysis of SDBEs and other starch-acting hydrolases can effectively improve the raw material utilization and production efficiency during starch processing steps such as saccharification and modification, they have attracted substantial research interest in the past decades. The substrate specificities of the two major members of SDBEs, pullulanases and isoamylases, are quite different. Pullulanases generally require at least two α-1,4 linked glucose units existing on both sugar chains linked by the α-1,6 bond, while isoamylases require at least three units of α-1,4 linked glucose. SDBEs mainly belong to glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 13 and 57. Except for GH57 type II pullulanse, GH13 pullulanases and isoamylases share plenty of similarities in sequence and structure of the core catalytic domains. However, the N-terminal domains, which might be one of the determinants contributing to the substrate binding of SDBEs, are distinct in different enzymes. In order to overcome the current defects of SDBEs in catalytic efficiency, thermostability and expression level, great efforts have been made to develop effective enzyme engineering and fermentation strategies. Herein, the diverse biochemical properties and distinct features in the sequence and structure of pullulanase and isoamylase from different sources are summarized. Up-to-date developments in the enzyme engineering, heterologous production and industrial applications of SDBEs is also reviewed. Finally, research perspective which could help understanding and broadening the applications of SDBEs are provided.

Development of pullulanase mutants to enhance starch substrate utilization for efficient production of β-CD

The inhibitory effect of β-CD on pullulanase which hydrolyzes α-1,6 glycosidic bond in starch to release more available linear substrates, limited substrate utilization thus influencing the yield of β-CD. Here, an aspartic acid residue (D465) which interacted with cyclodextrin ligand by hydrogen bond, was mutated to explore its contribution to bind inhibitors and obtain mutants with lower affinity to β-CD. Enzyme activity results showed that mutants D465E and D465N retained higher activity than wild-type pullulanase in presence of 10 mM β-CD. Circular dichroism spectra and fluorescence spectra results showed that D465 was related to structure stability. Chain length distribution results confirmed the improvement of substrate utilization by the addition of D465E. The conversion rate from potato starch, cassava starch, and corn starch into β-CD, increased to 56.9%, 55.4% and 54.7%, respectively, when synchronous using β-CGTase and D465E in the production process.

Structural analysis and reaction mechanism of the disproportionating enzyme (D-enzyme) from potato

Starch produced by plants is a stored form of energy and is an important dietary source of calories for humans and domestic animals. Disproportionating enzyme (D-enzyme) catalyzes intramolecular and intermolecular transglycosylation reactions of α-1, 4-glucan. D-enzyme is essential in starch metabolism in the potato. We present the crystal structures of potato D-enzyme, including two different types of complex structures: a primary Michaelis complex (substrate binding mode) for 26-meric cycloamylose (CA26) and a covalent intermediate for acarbose. Our study revealed that the acarbose and CA26 reactions catalyzed by potato D-enzyme involve the formation of a covalent intermediate with the donor substrate. HPAEC of reaction substrates and products revealed the activity of the potato D-enzyme on acarbose and CA26 as donor substrates. The structural and chromatography analyses provide insight into the mechanism of the coupling reaction of CA and glucose catalyzed by the potato D-enzyme. The enzymatic reaction mechanism does not involve residual hydrolysis. This could be particularly useful in preventing unnecessary starch degradation leading to reduced crop productivity. Optimization of this mechanism would be important for improvements of starch storage and productivity in crops.

Carbohydrate Binding Modules: Diversity of Domain Architecture in Amylases and Cellulases From Filamentous Microorganisms

Enzymatic degradation of abundant renewable polysaccharides such as cellulose and starch is a field that has the attention of both the industrial and scientific community. Most of the polysaccharide degrading enzymes are classified into several glycoside hydrolase families. They are often organized in a modular manner which includes a catalytic domain connected to one or more carbohydrate-binding modules. The carbohydrate-binding modules (CBM) have been shown to increase the proximity of the enzyme to its substrate, especially for insoluble substrates. Therefore, these modules are considered to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis. These properties have played an important role in many biotechnological applications with the aim to improve the efficiency of polysaccharide degradation. The domain organization of glycoside hydrolases (GHs) equipped with one or more CBM does vary within organisms. This review comprehensively highlights the presence of CBM as ancillary modules and explores the diversity of GHs carrying one or more of these modules that actively act either on cellulose or starch. Special emphasis is given to the cellulase and amylase distribution within the filamentous microorganisms from the genera of Streptomyces and Aspergillus that are well known to have a great capacity for secreting a wide range of these polysaccharide degrading enzyme. The potential of the CBM and other ancillary domains for the design of improved polysaccharide decomposing enzymes is discussed.

Structural basis of carbohydrate binding in domain C of a type I pullulanase fromPaenibacillus barengoltzii

Pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41) is a well known starch-debranching enzyme that catalyzes the cleavage of α-1,6-glycosidic linkages in α-glucans such as starch and pullulan. Crystal structures of a type I pullulanase fromPaenibacillus barengoltzii(PbPulA) and ofPbPulA in complex with maltopentaose (G5), maltohexaose (G6)/α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) were determined in order to better understand substrate binding to this enzyme.PbPulA belongs to glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 13 subfamily 14 and is composed of three domains (CBM48, A and C). Three carbohydrate-binding sites identified inPbPulA were located in CBM48, near the active site and in domain C, respectively. The binding site in CBM48 was specific for β-CD, while that in domain C has not been reported for other pullulanases. The domain C binding site had higher affinity for α-CD than for G6; a small motif (FGGEH) seemed to be one of the major determinants for carbohydrate binding in this domain. Structure-based mutations of several surface-exposed aromatic residues in CBM48 and domain C had a debilitating effect on the activity of the enzyme. These results suggest that both CBM48 and domain C play a role in binding substrates. The crystal forms described contribute to the understanding of pullulanase domain–carbohydrate interactions.

Understanding Thermostability Factors of Barley Limit Dextrinase by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Limit dextrinase (LD) is the only endogenous starch-debranching enzyme in barley (Hordeum vulgare, Hv), which is the key factor affecting the production of a high degree of fermentation. Free LD will lose its activity in the mashing process at high temperature in beer production. However, there remains a lack of understanding on the factor affecting the themostability of HvLD at the atomic level. In this work, the molecular dynamics simulations were carried out for HvLD to explore the key factors affecting the thermal stability of LD. The higher value of root mean square deviation (RMSD), radius of gyration (R_g), and surface accessibility (SASA) suggests the instability of HvLD at high temperatures. Intra-protein hydrogen bonds and hydrogen bonds between protein and water decrease at high temperature. Long-lived hydrogen bonds, salt bridges, and hydrophobic contacts are lost at high temperature. The salt bridge interaction analysis suggests that these salt bridges are important for the thermostability of HvLD, including E568–R875, D317–R378, D803–R884, D457–R214, D468–R395, D456–R452, D399–R471, and D541–R542. Root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) analysis identified the thermal-sensitive regions of HvLD, which will facilitate enzyme engineering of HvLD for enhanced themostability.

Starch-binding domains as CBM families-history, occurrence, structure, function and evolution

The term "starch-binding domain" (SBD) has been applied to a domain within an amylolytic enzyme that gave the enzyme the ability to bind onto raw, i.e. thermally untreated, granular starch. An SBD is a special case of a carbohydrate-binding domain, which in general, is a structurally and functionally independent protein module exhibiting no enzymatic activity but possessing potential to target the catalytic domain to the carbohydrate substrate to accommodate it and process it at the active site. As so-called families, SBDs together with other carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) have become an integral part of the CAZy database (http://www.cazy.org/). The first two well-described SBDs, i.e. the C-terminal Aspergillus-type and the N-terminal Rhizopus-type have been assigned the families CBM20 and CBM21, respectively. Currently, among the 85 established CBM families in CAZy, fifteen can be considered as families having SBD functional characteristics: CBM20, 21, 25, 26, 34, 41, 45, 48, 53, 58, 68, 69, 74, 82 and 83. All known SBDs, with the exception of the extra long CBM74, were recognized as a module consisting of approximately 100 residues, adopting a β-sandwich fold and possessing at least one carbohydrate-binding site. The present review aims to deliver and describe: (i) the SBD identification in different amylolytic and related enzymes (e.g., CAZy GH families) as well as in other relevant enzymes and proteins (e.g., laforin, the β-subunit of AMPK, and others); (ii) information on the position in the polypeptide chain and the number of SBD copies and their CBM family affiliation (if appropriate); (iii) structure/function studies of SBDs with a special focus on solved tertiary structures, in particular, as complexes with α-glucan ligands; and (iv) the evolutionary relationships of SBDs in a tree common to all SBD CBM families (except for the extra long CBM74). Finally, some special cases and novel potential SBDs are also introduced.

Relationship between the induced-fit loop and the activity of Klebsiella pneumoniae pullulanase

Klebsiella pneumoniae pullulanase (KPP) belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 13 subfamily 13 (GH13_13) and is the only enzyme that is reported to perform an induced-fit motion of the active-site loop (residues 706–710). Comparison of pullulanase structures indicated that only KPP has Leu680 present behind the loop, in contrast to the glycine found in other GH13_13 members. Analysis of the structure and activity of recombinant pullulanase from K. pneumoniae ATCC 9621 (rKPP) and its mutant (rKPP-G680L) indicated that the side chain of residue 680 is important for the induced-fit motion of the loop 706–710 and alters the binding affinity of the substrate.

Unraveling the structural landscape of intra-chain domain interfaces: Implication in the evolution of domain-domain interactions

Intra-chain domain interactions are known to play a significant role in the function and stability of multidomain proteins. These interactions are mediated through a physical interaction at domain-domain interfaces (DDIs). With a motivation to understand evolution of interfaces, we have investigated similarities among DDIs. Even though interfaces of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) have been previously studied by structurally aligning interfaces, similar analyses have not yet been performed on DDIs of either multidomain proteins or PPIs. For studying the structural landscape of DDIs, we have used iAlign to structurally align intra-chain domain interfaces of domains. The interface alignment of spatially constrained domains (due to inter-domain linkers) showed that ~88% of these could identify a structural matching interface having similar C-alpha geometry and contact pattern despite that aligned domain pairs are not structurally related. Moreover, the mean interface similarity score (IS-score) is 0.307, which is higher compared to the average random IS-score (0.207) suggesting domain interfaces are not random. The structural space of DDIs is highly connected as ~84% of all possible directed edges among interfaces are found to have at most path length of 8 when 0.26 is IS-score threshold. At this threshold, ~83% of interfaces form the largest strongly connected component. Thus, suggesting that structural space of intra-chain domain interfaces is degenerate and highly connected, as has been found in PPI interfaces. Interestingly, searching for structural neighbors of inter-chain interfaces among intra-chain interfaces showed that ~86% could find a statistically significant match to intra-chain interface with a mean IS-score of 0.311. This implies that domain interfaces are degenerate whether formed within a protein or between proteins. The interface degeneracy is most likely due to limited possible ways of packing secondary structures. In principle, interface similarities can be exploited to accurately model domain interfaces in structure prediction of multidomain proteins.

Structural basis of glycogen metabolism in bacteria

The evolution of metabolic pathways is a major force behind natural selection. In the spotlight of such process lies the structural evolution of the enzymatic machinery responsible for the central energy metabolism. Specifically, glycogen metabolism has emerged to allow organisms to save available environmental surplus of carbon and energy, using dedicated glucose polymers as a storage compartment that can be mobilized at future demand. The origins of such adaptive advantage rely on the acquisition of an enzymatic system for the biosynthesis and degradation of glycogen, along with mechanisms to balance the assembly and disassembly rate of this polysaccharide, in order to store and recover glucose according to cell energy needs. The first step in the classical bacterial glycogen biosynthetic pathway is carried out by the adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP)-glucose pyrophosphorylase. This allosteric enzyme synthesizes ADP-glucose and acts as a point of regulation. The second step is carried out by the glycogen synthase, an enzyme that generates linear α-(1→4)-linked glucose chains, whereas the third step catalyzed by the branching enzyme produces α-(1→6)-linked glucan branches in the polymer. Two enzymes facilitate glycogen degradation: glycogen phosphorylase, which functions as an α-(1→4)-depolymerizing enzyme, and the debranching enzyme that catalyzes the removal of α-(1→6)-linked ramifications. In this work, we rationalize the structural basis of glycogen metabolism in bacteria to the light of the current knowledge. We describe and discuss the remarkable progress made in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of substrate recognition and product release, allosteric regulation and catalysis of all those enzymes.

Industrially produced pullulanases with thermostability: Discovery, engineering, and heterologous expression

Pullulanases (EC 3.2.1.41) are well-known starch-debranching enzymes widely used to hydrolyze α-1,6-glucosidic linkages in starch, pullulan, amylopectin, and other oligosaccharides, with application potentials in food, brewing, and pharmaceutical industries. Although extensive studies are done to discover and express pullulanases, only few are available with desirable characteristics for industrial applications. This raises the challenge to mine new enzyme sources, engineer proteins based on sequence/structure, and regulate expressions. We review here the identification of extremophilic and mesophilic microbes as sources of industrial pullulanases with desirable characteristics, including acid-resistance, thermostability, and psychrotrophism. We present current advances in site-directed mutagenesis and sequence/structure-guided protein engineering of pullulanases. In addition, we discuss heterologous expression of pullulanases in prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial systems, and address the effectiveness of the expression elements and their regulation of enzyme production. Finally, we indicate future research needs to develop desired industrial pullulanases.

Improvement of the Activity and Stability of Starch-Debranching Pullulanase from Bacillus naganoensis via Tailoring of the Active Sites Lining the Catalytic Pocket

Pullulanases are well-known debranching enzymes that hydrolyze α-1,6-glycosidic linkages in starch and oligosaccharides. However, most of the pullulanases exhibit limited activity for practical applications. Here, two sites (787 and 621) lining the catalytic pocket of Bacillus naganoensis pullulanase were identified as being critical for enzymatic activity by triple-code saturation mutagenesis. Subsequently, both sites were subjected to NNK-based saturation mutagenesis to obtain positive variants. Among the variants showing enhanced activity, the enzymatic activity and specific activity of D787C were 1.5-fold higher than those of the wild-type (WT). D787C also showed a 1.8-fold increase in k_cat and a 1.7-fold increase in k_cat/ K_m. In addition, D787C maintained higher activity compared with that of WT at temperatures over 60 °C. All the positive variants showed higher acid resistance, with D787C maintaining 90% residual activity at pH 4.0. Thus, enzymes with improved properties were obtained by saturation mutagenesis at the active site.

Functional Roles of Starch Binding Domains and Surface Binding Sites in Enzymes Involved in Starch Biosynthesis

Biosynthesis of starch is catalyzed by a cascade of enzymes. The activity of a large number of these enzymes depends on interaction with polymeric substrates via carbohydrate binding sites, which are situated outside of the catalytic site and its immediate surroundings including the substrate-binding crevice. Such secondary binding sites can belong to distinct starch binding domains (SBDs), classified as carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs), or be surface binding sites (SBSs) exposed on the surface of catalytic domains. Currently in the Carbohydrate-Active enZYmes (CAZy) database SBDs are found in 13 CBM families. Four of these families; CBM20, CBM45, CBM48, and CBM53 are represented in enzymes involved in starch biosynthesis, namely starch synthases, branching enzymes, isoamylases, glucan, water dikinases, and α-glucan phosphatases. A critical role of the SBD in activity has not been demonstrated for any of these enzymes. Among the well-characterized SBDs important for starch biosynthesis are three CBM53s of Arabidopsis thaliana starch synthase III, which have modest affinity. SBSs, which are overall less widespread than SBDs, have been reported in some branching enzymes, isoamylases, synthases, phosphatases, and phosphorylases active in starch biosynthesis. SBSs appear to exert roles similar to CBMs. SBSs, however, have also been shown to modulate specificity for example by discriminating the length of chains transferred by branching enzymes. Notably, the difference in rate of occurrence between SBDs and SBSs may be due to lack of awareness of SBSs. Thus, SBSs as opposed to CBMs are not recognized at the protein sequence level, which hampers their identification. Moreover, only a few SBSs in enzymes involved in starch biosynthesis have been functionally characterized, typically by structure-guided site-directed mutagenesis. The glucan phosphatase Like SEX4 2 from A. thaliana has two SBSs with weak affinity for β-cyclodextrin, amylose and amylopectin, which were indicated by mutational analysis to be more important than the active site for initial substrate recognition. The present review provides an update on occurrence of functional SBDs and SBSs in enzymes involved in starch biosynthesis.

Elucidation of the mechanism of interaction between Klebsiella pneumoniae pullulanase and cyclodextrin

Crystal structures of Klebsiella pneumoniae pullulanase (KPP) in complex with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD), β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) were refined at around 1.98–2.59 Å resolution from data collected at SPring-8. In the structures of the complexes obtained with 1 mM α-CD or γ-CD, one molecule of CD was found at carbohydrate-binding module 41 only (CBM41). In the structures of the complexes obtained with 1 mM β-CD or with 10 mM α-CD or γ-CD, two molecules of CD were found at CBM41 and in the active-site cleft, where the hydrophobic residue of Phe746 occupies the inside cavity of the CD rings. In contrast to α-CD and γ-CD, one β-CD molecule was found at the active site only in the presence of 0.1 mM β-CD. These results were coincident with the solution experiments, which showed that β-CD inhibits this enzyme more than a thousand times more potently than α-CD and γ-CD. The strong inhibition of β-CD is caused by the optimized interaction between β-CD and the side chain of Phe746. The increased K i values of the F746A mutant for β-CD supported the importance of Phe746 in the strong interaction of pullulanase with β-CD.

Evolutionary, structural and expression analysis of core genes involved in starch synthesis

Starch is the main storage carbohydrate in plants and an important natural resource for food, feed and industrial raw materials. However, the details regarding the pathway for starch biosynthesis and the diversity of biosynthetic enzymes involved in this process are poorly understood. This study uses a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of 74 sequenced plant genomes to revisit the evolutionary history of the genes encoding ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), starch synthase (SS), starch branching enzyme (SBE) and starch de-branching enzyme (DBE). Additionally, the protein structures and expression patterns of these four core genes in starch biosynthesis were studied to determine their functional differences. The results showed that AGPase, SS, SBE and DBE have undergone complicated evolutionary processes in plants and that gene/genome duplications are responsible for the observed differences in isoform numbers. A structure analysis of these proteins suggested that the deletion/mutation of amino acids in some active sites resulted in not only structural variation but also sub-functionalization or neo-functionalization. Expression profiling indicated that AGPase-, SS-, SBE- and DBE-encoding genes exhibit spatio-temporally divergent expression patterns related to the composition of functional complexes in starch biosynthesis. This study provides a comprehensive atlas of the starch biosynthetic pathway, and these data should support future studies aimed at increasing understanding of starch biosynthesis and the functional evolutionary divergence of AGPase, SS, SBE, and DBE in plants.

Structure and function of the type III pullulan hydrolase from Thermococcus kodakarensis

Pullulan-hydrolysing enzymes, more commonly known as debranching enzymes for starch and other polysaccharides, are of great interest and have been widely used in the starch-saccharification industry. Type III pullulan hydrolase from Thermococcus kodakarensis (TK-PUL) possesses both pullulanase and α-amylase activities. Until now, only two enzymes in this class, which are capable of hydrolysing both α-1,4- and α-1,6-glycosidic bonds in pullulan to produce a mixture of maltose, panose and maltotriose, have been described. TK-PUL shows highest activity in the temperature range 95-100°C and has a pH optimum in the range 3.5-4.2. Its unique ability to hydrolyse maltotriose into maltose and glucose has not been reported for other homologous enzymes. The crystal structure of TK-PUL has been determined at a resolution of 2.8 Å and represents the first analysis of a type III pullulan hydrolyse. The structure reveals that the last part of the N-terminal domain and the C-terminal domain are significantly different from homologous structures. In addition, the loop regions at the active-site end of the central catalytic domain are quite different. The enzyme has a well defined calcium-binding site and possesses a rare vicinal disulfide bridge. The thermostability of TK-PUL and its homologues may be attributable to several factors, including the increased content of salt bridges, helical segments, Pro, Arg and Tyr residues and the decreased content of serine.

Advances in molecular engineering of carbohydrate-binding modules

Carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) are non-catalytic domains that are generally appended to carbohydrate-active enzymes. CBMs have a broadly conserved structure that allows recognition of a notable variety of carbohydrates, in both their soluble and insoluble forms, as well as in their alpha and beta conformations and with different types of bonds or substitutions. This versatility suggests a high functional plasticity that is not yet clearly understood, in spite of the important number of studies relating protein structure and function. Several studies have explored the flexibility of these systems by changing or improving their specificity toward substrates of interest. In this review, we examine the molecular strategies used to identify CBMs with novel or improved characteristics. The impact of the spatial arrangement of the functional amino acids of CBMs is discussed in terms of unexpected new functions that are not related to the original biological roles of the enzymes. Proteins 2017; 85:1602-1617. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Broad Analysis of Vicinal Disulfides: Occurrences, Conformations with Cis or with Trans Peptides, and Functional Roles Including Sugar Binding

Vicinal disulfides between sequence-adjacent cysteine residues are very rare and rather startling structural features which play a variety of functional roles. Typically discussed as an isolated curiosity, they have never received a general treatment covering both cis and trans forms. Enabled by the growing database of high-resolution structures, required deposition of diffraction data, and improved methods for discriminating reliable from dubious cases, we identify and describe distinct protein families with reliably genuine examples of cis or trans vicinal disulfides and discuss their conformations, conservation, and functions. No cis-trans interconversions and only one case of catalytic redox function are seen. Some vicinal disulfides are essential to large, functionally coupled motions, whereas most form the centers of tightly packed internal regions. Their most widespread biological role is providing a rigid hydrophobic contact surface under the undecorated side of a sugar or multiring ligand, contributing an important aspect of binding specificity.

Probing the Complex Architecture of Multimodular Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes Using a Combination of Small Angle X-Ray Scattering and X-Ray Crystallography

The various modules in multimodular carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) may function in catalysis, carbohydrate binding, protein-protein interactions or as linkers. Here, we describe how combining the biophysical techniques of Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and macromolecular X-ray crystallography (XRC) provides a powerful tool for examination into questions related to overall structural organization of ultra multimodular CAZymes.

Let the Powers Combine

Lipoproteins play a variety of roles in bacterial physiology and virulence. Correct localization is essential for lipoprotein function, yet the mechanisms by which this occurs are not yet fully understood. In this issue of Structure, East et al. (2016) describe the factors that govern secretion of the PulA lipoprotein.

Structure and function of α-glucan debranching enzymes

α-Glucan debranching enzymes hydrolyse α-1,6-linkages in starch/glycogen, thereby, playing a central role in energy metabolism in all living organisms. They belong to glycoside hydrolase families GH13 and GH57 and several of these enzymes are industrially important. Nine GH13 subfamilies include α-glucan debranching enzymes; isoamylase and glycogen debranching enzymes (GH13_11); pullulanase type I/limit dextrinase (GH13_12-14); pullulan hydrolase (GH13_20); bifunctional glycogen debranching enzyme (GH13_25); oligo-1 and glucan-1,6-α-glucosidases (GH13_31); pullulanase type II (GH13_39); and α-amylase domains (GH13_41) in two-domain amylase-pullulanases. GH57 harbours type II pullulanases. Specificity differences, domain organisation, carbohydrate binding modules, sequence motifs, three-dimensional structures and specificity determinants are discussed. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that GH13_39 enzymes could represent a "missing link" between the strictly α-1,6-specific debranching enzymes and the enzymes with dual specificity and α-1,4-linkage preference.

Disorder prediction-based construct optimization improves activity and catalytic efficiency of Bacillus naganoensis pullulanase

Pullulanase is a well-known starch-debranching enzyme. However, the production level of pullulanase is yet low in both wide-type strains and heterologous expression systems. We predicted the disorder propensities of Bacillus naganoensis pullulanase (PUL) using the bioinformatics tool, Disorder Prediction Meta-Server. On the basis of disorder prediction, eight constructs, including PULΔN5, PULΔN22, PULΔN45, PULΔN64, PULΔN78 and PULΔN106 by deleting the first 5, 22, 45, 64, 78 and 106 residues from the N-terminus, and PULΔC9 and PULΔC36 by deleting the last 9 and 36 residues from the C-terminus, were cloned into the recombinant expression vector pET-28a-PelB and auto-induced in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells. All constructs were evaluated in production level, specific activities and kinetic parameters. Both PULΔN5 and PULΔN106 gave higher production levels of protein than the wide type and displayed increased specific activities. Kinetic studies showed that substrate affinities of the mutants were improved in various degrees and the catalytic efficiency of PULΔN5, PULΔN45, PULΔN78, PULΔN106 and PULΔC9 were enhanced. However, the truncated mutations did not change the advantageous properties of the enzyme involving optimum temperature and pH for further application. Therefore, Disorder prediction-based truncation would be helpful to efficiently improve the enzyme activity and catalytic efficiency.