Sucrose Synthetase from Phaseolus aureus Seedlings

Sucrose synthase: A unique glycosyltransferase for biocatalytic glycosylation process development

Sucrose synthase (SuSy, EC 2.4.1.13) is a glycosyltransferase (GT) long known from plants and more recently discovered in bacteria. The enzyme catalyzes the reversible transfer of a glucosyl moiety between fructose and a nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) (sucrose+NDP↔NDP-glucose+fructose). The equilibrium for sucrose conversion is pH dependent, and pH values between 5.5 and 7.5 promote NDP-glucose formation. The conversion of a bulk chemical to high-priced NDP-glucose in a one-step reaction provides the key aspect for industrial interest. NDP-sugars are important as such and as key intermediates for glycosylation reactions by highly selective Leloir GTs. SuSy has gained renewed interest as industrially attractive biocatalyst, due to substantial scientific progresses achieved in the last few years. These include biochemical characterization of bacterial SuSys, overproduction of recombinant SuSys, structural information useful for design of tailor-made catalysts, and development of one-pot SuSy-GT cascade reactions for production of several relevant glycosides. These advances could pave the way for the application of Leloir GTs to be used in cost-effective processes. This review provides a framework for application requirements, focusing on catalytic properties, heterologous enzyme production and reaction engineering. The potential of SuSy biocatalysis will be presented based on various biotechnological applications: NDP-sugar synthesis; sucrose analog synthesis; glycoside synthesis by SuSy-GT cascade reactions.

The Crystal Structure of Nitrosomonas europaea Sucrose Synthase Reveals Critical Conformational Changes and Insights into Sucrose Metabolism in Prokaryotes

In this paper we report the first crystal structure of a prokaryotic sucrose synthase from the nonphotosynthetic bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea. The obtained structure was in an open form, whereas the only other available structure, from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, was in a closed conformation. Comparative structural analysis revealed a "hinge-latch" combination, which is critical to transition between the open and closed forms of the enzyme. The N. europaea sucrose synthase shares the same fold as the GT-B family of the retaining glycosyltransferases. In addition, a triad of conserved homologous catalytic residues in the family was shown to be functionally critical in the N. europaea sucrose synthase (Arg567, Lys572, and Glu663). This implies that sucrose synthase shares not only a common origin with the GT-B family but also a similar catalytic mechanism. The enzyme preferred transferring glucose from ADP-glucose rather than UDP-glucose like the eukaryotic counterparts. This predicts that these prokaryotic organisms have a different sucrose metabolic scenario from plants. Nucleotide preference determines where the glucose moiety is targeted after sucrose is degraded.

IMPORTANCE

We obtained biochemical and structural evidence of sucrose metabolism in nonphotosynthetic bacteria. Until now, only sucrose synthases from photosynthetic organisms have been characterized. Here, we provide the crystal structure of the sucrose synthase from the chemolithoautotroph N. europaea. The structure supported that the enzyme functions with an open/close induced fit mechanism. The enzyme prefers as the substrate adenine-based nucleotides rather than uridine-based like the eukaryotic counterparts, implying a strong connection between sucrose and glycogen metabolism in these bacteria. Mutagenesis data showed that the catalytic mechanism must be conserved not only in sucrose synthases but also in all other retaining GT-B glycosyltransferases.

Enhancing sucrose synthase activity results in increased levels of starch and ADP-glucose in maize (Zea mays L.) seed endosperms

Sucrose synthase (SuSy) is a highly regulated cytosolic enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of sucrose and a nucleoside diphosphate into the corresponding nucleoside diphosphate glucose and fructose. In cereal endosperms, it is widely assumed that the stepwise reactions of SuSy, UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase and ADPglucose (ADPG) pyrophosphorylase (AGP) take place in the cytosol to convert sucrose into ADPG necessary for starch biosynthesis, although it has also been suggested that SuSy may participate in the direct conversion of sucrose into ADPG. In this study, the levels of the major primary carbon metabolites, and the activities of starch metabolism-related enzymes were assessed in endosperms of transgenic maize plants ectopically expressing StSUS4, which encodes a potato SuSy isoform. A total of 29 fertile lines transformed with StSUS4 were obtained, five of them containing a single copy of the transgene that was still functional after five generations. The number of seeds per ear of the five transgenic lines containing a single StSUS4 copy was comparable with that of wild-type (WT) control seeds. However, transgenic seeds accumulated 10-15% more starch at the mature stage, and contained a higher amylose/amylopectin balance than WT seeds. Endosperms of developing StSUS4-expressing seeds exhibited a significant increase in SuSy activity, and in starch and ADPG contents when compared with WT endosperms. No significant changes could be detected in the transgenic seeds in the content of soluble sugars, and in activities of starch metabolism-related enzymes when compared with WT seeds. A suggested metabolic model is presented wherein both AGP and SuSy are involved in the production of ADPG linked to starch biosynthesis in maize endosperm cells.

The unique nucleotide specificity of the sucrose synthase from Thermosynechococcus elongatus

Sucrose synthase catalyzes the reversible conversion of sucrose and UDP into fructose and UDP-glucose. In filamentous cyanobacteria, the sucrose cleavage direction plays a key physiological function in carbon metabolism, nitrogen fixation, and stress tolerance. In unicellular strains, the function of sucrose synthase has not been elucidated. We report a detailed biochemical characterization of sucrose synthase from Thermosynechococcus elongatus after the gene was artificially synthesized for optimal expression in Escherichia coli. The homogeneous recombinant sucrose synthase was highly specific for ADP as substrate, constituting the first one with this unique characteristic, and strongly suggesting an interaction between sucrose and glycogen metabolism.

No evidence for the occurrence of substrate inhibition of Arabidopsis thaliana sucrose synthase-1 (AtSUS1) by fructose and UDP-glucose

Sucrose synthase (SuSy) catalyzes the reversible conversion of sucrose and NDP into the corresponding nucleotide-sugars and fructose. The Arabidopsis genome possesses six SUS genes (AtSUS1-6) that code for proteins with SuSy activity. As a first step to investigate optimum fructose and UDP-glucose (UDPG) concentrations necessary to measure maximum sucrose-producing SuSy activity in crude extracts of Arabidopsis, in this work we performed kinetic analyses of recombinant AtSUS1 in two steps: (1) SuSy reaction at pH 7.5, and (2) chromatographic measurement of sucrose produced in step 1. These analyses revealed a typical Michaelis-Menten behavior with respect to both UDPG and fructose, with Km values of 50 μM and 25 mM, respectively. Unlike earlier studies showing the occurrence of substrate inhibition of UDP-producing AtSUS1 by fructose and UDP-glucose, these analyses also revealed no substrate inhibition of AtSUS1 at any UDPG and fructose concentration. By including 200 mM fructose and 1 mM UDPG in the SuSy reaction assay mixture, we found that sucrose-producing SuSy activity in leaves and stems of Arabidopsis were exceedingly higher than previously reported activities. Furthermore, we found that SuSy activities in organs of the sus1/sus2/sus3/sus4 mutant were ca. 80-90% of those found in WT plants.

ADPG formation by the ADP-specific cleavage of sucrose-reassessment of sucrose synthase

The standardized enzyme coupling method for assaying sucrose synthase activities in the direction of sucrose cleavage was reexamined using enzyme preparations from cultured cells of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) and spinach leaves (Spinacea oleracea). Both ATP and Tris, commonly utilized in assay systems to measure sucrose synthase, were found to inhibit non-competitively the ADPG-synthesizing activities of the enzyme. Upon substituting ATP by either GTP or UTP, and Tris by HEPES, we found that the sucrose synthase is capable of producing ADPG effectively, recognizing ADP as the principal substrate (Km = 5.3 microM (sycamore) and 16.8 microM (spinach]. The Vmax value for the synthesis of ADPG clearly surpasses the Vmax observed for the synthesis of UDPG by the enzyme. It was found that UDP is not inhibitory on the synthesis of ADPG by SS, which behaves allosterically with respect to the concentration level of sucrose.

Uridine diphosphate-sugar metabolism by sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) cambial tissue

Extracts of sycamore cambial tissue convert UDP-glucose into UDP-glucuronic acid, and the latter into UDP-xylose and UDP-rhamnose. None of the corresponding galactose series of monosaccharides was formed indicating the absence of epimerases, postulated as an important feature of differentiation. UDP-glucose is formed in greater quantities than any of its nucleoside analogues and it is suggested that UDP-glucose plays a more important role in carbohydrate metabolism in this tissue.