Ground-State Destabilization by Active-Site Hydrophobicity Controls the Selectivity of a Cofactor-Free Decarboxylase

Bacterial arylmalonate decarboxylase (AMDase) and evolved variants have become a valuable tool with which to access both enantiomers of a broad range of chiral arylaliphatic acids with high optical purity. Yet, the molecular principles responsible for the substrate scope, activity, and selectivity of this enzyme are only poorly understood to date, greatly hampering the predictability and design of improved enzyme variants for specific applications. In this work, empirical valence bond and metadynamics simulations were performed on wild-type AMDase and variants thereof to obtain a better understanding of the underlying molecular processes determining reaction outcome. Our results clearly reproduce the experimentally observed substrate scope and support a mechanism driven by ground-state destabilization of the carboxylate group being cleaved by the enzyme. In addition, our results indicate that, in the case of the nonconverted or poorly converted substrates studied in this work, increased solvent exposure of the active site upon binding of these substrates can disturb the vulnerable network of interactions responsible for facilitating the AMDase-catalyzed cleavage of CO2. Finally, our results indicate a switch from preferential cleavage of the pro-(R) to the pro-(S) carboxylate group in the CLG-IPL variant of AMDase for all substrates studied. This appears to be due to the emergence of a new hydrophobic pocket generated by the insertion of the six amino acid substitutions, into which the pro-(S) carboxylate binds. Our results allow insight into the tight interaction network determining AMDase selectivity, which in turn provides guidance for the identification of target residues for future enzyme engineering.

Sequence-Based Screening for Rare Enzymes: New Insights into the World of AMDases Reveal a Conserved Motif and 58 Novel Enzymes Clustering in Eight Distinct Families

Arylmalonate Decarboxylases (AMDases, EC 4.1.1.76) are very rare and mostly underexplored enzymes. Currently only four known and biochemically characterized representatives exist. However, their ability to decarboxylate α-disubstituted malonic acid derivatives to optically pure products without cofactors makes them attractive and promising candidates for the use as biocatalysts in industrial processes. Until now, AMDases could not be separated from other members of the aspartate/glutamate racemase superfamily based on their gene sequences. Within this work, a search algorithm was developed that enables a reliable prediction of AMDase activity for potential candidates. Based on specific sequence patterns and screening methods 58 novel AMDase candidate genes could be identified in this work. Thereby, AMDases with the conserved sequence pattern of Bordetella bronchiseptica’s prototype appeared to be limited to the classes of Alpha-, Beta-, and Gamma-proteobacteria. Amino acid homologies and comparison of gene surrounding sequences enabled the classification of eight enzyme clusters. Particularly striking is the accumulation of genes coding for different transporters of the tripartite tricarboxylate transporters family, TRAP transporters and ABC transporters as well as genes coding for mandelate racemases/muconate lactonizing enzymes that might be involved in substrate uptake or degradation of AMDase products. Further, three novel AMDases were characterized which showed a high enantiomeric excess (>99%) of the (R)-enantiomer of flurbiprofen. These are the recombinant AmdA and AmdV from Variovorax sp. strains HH01 and HH02, originated from soil, and AmdP from Polymorphum gilvum found by a data base search. Altogether our findings give new insights into the class of AMDases and reveal many previously unknown enzyme candidates with high potential for bioindustrial processes.