The beta-galactosidase (Escherichia coli) reaction is partly facilitated by interactions of His-540 with the C6 hydroxyl of galactose

Genetic Code Expansion History and Modern Innovations

The genetic code is the foundation for all life. With few exceptions, the translation of nucleic acid messages into proteins follows conserved rules, which are defined by codons that specify each of the 20 proteinogenic amino acids. For decades, leading research groups have developed a catalogue of innovative approaches to extend nature's amino acid repertoire to include one or more noncanonical building blocks in a single protein. In this review, we summarize advances in the history of in vitro and in vivo genetic code expansion, and highlight recent innovations that increase the scope of biochemically accessible monomers and codons. We further summarize state-of-the-art knowledge in engineered cellular translation, as well as alterations to regulatory mechanisms that improve overall genetic code expansion. Finally, we distill existing limitations of these technologies into must-have improvements for the next generation of technologies, and speculate on future strategies that may be capable of overcoming current gaps in knowledge.

The functional mutational landscape of the lacZ gene

The lacZ gene of Escherichia coli encodes β-galactosidase (β-gal), a lactose metabolism enzyme of the lactose operon. Previous chemical modification or site-directed mutagenesis experiments have identified 21 amino acids that are essential for β-gal catalytic activity. We have assembled over 10,000 lacZ mutations from published studies that were collected using a positive selection assay to identify mutations in lacZ that disrupted β-gal function. We analyzed 6,465 independent lacZ mutations that resulted in 2,732 missense mutations that impaired β-gal function. Those mutations affected 492 of the 1,023 lacZ codons, including most of the 21 previously known residues critical for catalytic activity. Most missense mutations occurred near the catalytic site and in regions important for subunit tetramerization. Overall, our work provides a comprehensive and detailed map of the amino acid residues affecting the structure and catalytic activity of the β-gal enzyme.

Multiplex suppression of four quadruplet codons via tRNA directed evolution

Genetic code expansion technologies supplement the natural codon repertoire with assignable variants in vivo, but are often limited by heterologous translational components and low suppression efficiencies. Here, we explore engineered Escherichia coli tRNAs supporting quadruplet codon translation by first developing a library-cross-library selection to nominate quadruplet codon-anticodon pairs. We extend our findings using a phage-assisted continuous evolution strategy for quadruplet-decoding tRNA evolution (qtRNA-PACE) that improved quadruplet codon translation efficiencies up to 80-fold. Evolved qtRNAs appear to maintain codon-anticodon base pairing, are typically aminoacylated by their cognate tRNA synthetases, and enable processive translation of adjacent quadruplet codons. Using these components, we showcase the multiplexed decoding of up to four unique quadruplet codons by their corresponding qtRNAs in a single reporter. Cumulatively, our findings highlight how E. coli tRNAs can be engineered, evolved, and combined to decode quadruplet codons, portending future developments towards an exclusively quadruplet codon translation system.

Characterization of two β-galactosidases LacZ and WspA1 from Nostoc flagelliforme with focus on the latter's central active region

The identification and characterization of new β-galactosidases will provide diverse candidate enzymes for use in food processing industry. In this study, two β-galactosidases, Nf-LacZ and WspA1, from the terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc flagelliforme were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, followed by purification and biochemical characterization. Nf-LacZ was characterized to have an optimum activity at 40 °C and pH 6.5, different from that (45 °C and pH 8.0) of WspA1. Two enzymes had a similar Michaelis constant (Km = 0.5 mmol/liter) against the substrate o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside. Their activities could be inhibited by galactostatin bisulfite, with IC50 values of 0.59 µM for Nf-LacZ and 1.18 µM for WspA1, respectively. Gel filtration analysis suggested that the active form of WspA1 was a dimer, while Nf-LacZ was functional as a larger multimer. WspA1 was further characterized by the truncation test, and its minimum central region was found to be from residues 188 to 301, having both the glycosyl hydrolytic and transgalactosylation activities. Finally, transgenic analysis with the GFP reporter protein found that the N-terminus of WspA1 (35 aa) might play a special role in the export of WspA1 from cells. In summary, this study characterized two cyanobacterial β-galactosidases for potential applications in food industry.

Biochemical characterization of a novel β-galactosidase from Paenibacillus barengoltzii suitable for lactose hydrolysis and galactooligosaccharides synthesis

A β-galactosidase gene (PbBGal2A) was cloned from Paenibacillus barengoltzii and expressed in Escherichia coli. The in silico analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences revealed that PbBGal2A shared the highest identity of 40% with the characterized glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 2 β-galactosidase from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. The recombinant β-galactosidase (PbBGal2A) was purified with a molecular mass of 124.2kDa on SDS-PAGE. The optimal pH and temperature of PbBGal2A were determined to be pH 7.5 and 45°C, respectively. PbBGal2A was stable within pH 6.0-8.0 and up to 45°C. It completely hydrolyzed the lactose in milk and whey powder solution. In addition, PbBGal2A exhibited high transglycosylation activity and a maximum yield of 47.9% (w/w) for galactooligosaccharides (GOS) production was obtained in 8h at a lactose concentration of 350g/L. These properties make PbBGal2A an ideal candidate for commercial use in the production of lactose-free milk and GOS.

Analysis of Domain Architecture and Phylogenetics of Family 2 Glycoside Hydrolases (GH2)

In this work we report a detailed analysis of the topology and phylogenetics of family 2 glycoside hydrolases (GH2). We distinguish five topologies or domain architectures based on the presence and distribution of protein domains defined in Pfam and Interpro databases. All of them share a central TIM barrel (catalytic module) with two β-sandwich domains (non-catalytic) at the N-terminal end, but differ in the occurrence and nature of additional non-catalytic modules at the C-terminal region. Phylogenetic analysis was based on the sequence of the Pfam Glyco_hydro_2_C catalytic module present in most GH2 proteins. Our results led us to propose a model in which evolutionary diversity of GH2 enzymes is driven by the addition of different non-catalytic domains at the C-terminal region. This model accounts for the divergence of β-galactosidases from β-glucuronidases, the diversification of β-galactosidases with different transglycosylation specificities, and the emergence of bicistronic β-galactosidases. This study also allows the identification of groups of functionally uncharacterized protein sequences with potential biotechnological interest.

Structural Dissection of the Active Site of Thermotoga maritima β-Galactosidase Identifies Key Residues for Transglycosylating Activity

Glycoside hydrolases, specifically β-galactosidases, can be used to synthesize galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) due to the transglycosylating (secondary) activity of these enzymes. Site-directed mutagenesis of a thermoresistant β-galactosidase from Thermotoga maritima has been carried out to study the structural basis of transgalactosylation and to obtain enzymatic variants with better performance for GOS biosynthesis. Rational design of mutations was based on homologous sequence analysis and structural modeling. Analysis of mutant enzymes indicated that residue W959, or an alternative aromatic residue at this position, is critical for the synthesis of β-3'-galactosyl-lactose, the major GOS obtained with the wild-type enzyme. Mutants W959A and W959C, but not W959F, showed an 80% reduced synthesis of this GOS. Other substitutions, N574S, N574A, and F571L, increased the synthesis of β-3'-galactosyl-lactose about 40%. Double mutants F571L/N574S and F571L/N574A showed an increase of about 2-fold.

An allolactose trapped at the lacZ β-galactosidase active site with its galactosyl moiety in a (4)H3 conformation provides insights into the formation, conformation, and stabilization of the transition state

When lactose was incubated with G794A-β-galactosidase (a variant with a "closed" active site loop that binds transition state analogs well) an allolactose was trapped with its Gal moiety in a (4)H3 conformation, similar to the oxocarbenium ion-like conformation expected of the transition state. The numerous interactions formed between the (4)H3 structure and β-galactosidase indicate that this structure is representative of the transition state. This conformation is also very similar to that of d-galactono-1,5-lactone, a good transition state analog. Evidence indicates that substrates take up the (4)H3 conformation during migration from the shallow to the deep mode. Steric forces utilizing His418 and other residues are important for positioning the O1 leaving group into a quasi-axial position. An electrostatic interaction between the O5 of the distorted Gal and Tyr503 as well as C-H-π bonds with Trp568 are also significant. Computational studies of the energy of sugar ring distortion show that the β-galactosidase reaction itinerary is driven by energetic considerations in utilization of a (4)H3 transition state with a novel (4)C1-(4)H3-(4)C1 conformation itinerary. To our knowledge, this is the first X-ray crystallographic structural demonstration that the transition state of a natural substrate of a glycosidase has a (4)H3 conformation.

LacZ β-galactosidase: structure and function of an enzyme of historical and molecular biological importance

This review provides an overview of the structure, function, and catalytic mechanism of lacZ β-galactosidase. The protein played a central role in Jacob and Monod's development of the operon model for the regulation of gene expression. Determination of the crystal structure made it possible to understand why deletion of certain residues toward the amino-terminus not only caused the full enzyme tetramer to dissociate into dimers but also abolished activity. It was also possible to rationalize α-complementation, in which addition to the inactive dimers of peptides containing the "missing" N-terminal residues restored catalytic activity. The enzyme is well known to signal its presence by hydrolyzing X-gal to produce a blue product. That this reaction takes place in crystals of the protein confirms that the X-ray structure represents an active conformation. Individual tetramers of β-galactosidase have been measured to catalyze 38,500 ± 900 reactions per minute. Extensive kinetic, biochemical, mutagenic, and crystallographic analyses have made it possible to develop a presumed mechanism of action. Substrate initially binds near the top of the active site but then moves deeper for reaction. The first catalytic step (called galactosylation) is a nucleophilic displacement by Glu537 to form a covalent bond with galactose. This is initiated by proton donation by Glu461. The second displacement (degalactosylation) by water or an acceptor is initiated by proton abstraction by Glu461. Both of these displacements occur via planar oxocarbenium ion-like transition states. The acceptor reaction with glucose is important for the formation of allolactose, the natural inducer of the lac operon.

Ser-796 of β-galactosidase (Escherichia coli) plays a key role in maintaining a balance between the opened and closed conformations of the catalytically important active site loop

A loop (residues 794-803) at the active site of β-galactosidase (Escherichia coli) opens and closes during catalysis. The α and β carbons of Ser-796 form a hydrophobic connection to Phe-601 when the loop is closed while a connection via two H-bonds with the Ser hydroxyl occurs with the loop open. β-Galactosidases with substitutions for Ser-796 were investigated. Replacement by Ala strongly stabilizes the closed conformation because of greater hydrophobicity and loss of H-bonding ability while replacement with Thr stabilizes the open form through hydrophobic interactions with its methyl group. Upon substitution with Asp much of the defined loop structure is lost. The different open-closed equilibria cause differences in the stabilities of the enzyme·substrate and enzyme·transition state complexes and of the covalent intermediate that affect the activation thermodynamics. With Ala, large changes of both the galactosylation (k(2)) and degalactosylation (k(3)) rates occur. With Thr and Asp, the k(2) and k(3) were not changed as much but large ΔH(‡) and TΔS(‡) changes showed that the substitutions caused mechanistic changes. Overall, the hydrophobic and H-bonding properties of Ser-796 result in interactions strong enough to stabilize the open or closed conformations of the loop but weak enough to allow loop movement during the reaction.

Acceptor-dependent regioselectivity of glycosynthase reactions by Streptomyces E383A β-glucosidase

The nonnucleophilic mutant E383A beta-glucosidase from Streptomyces sp. has proven to be an efficient glycosynthase enzyme, catalyzing the condensation of alpha-glucosyl and alpha-galactosyl fluoride donors to a variety of acceptors. The enzyme has maximal activity at 45 degrees C, and a pH-dependence reflecting general base catalysis with an apparent kinetic pKa of 7.2. The regioselectivity of the new glycosidic linkage depends unexpectedly on the acceptor substrate. With aryl monosaccharide acceptors, beta-(1-->3) disaccharides are obtained in good to excellent yields, thus expanding the synthetic products available with current exo-glycosynthases. With xylopyranosyl acceptor, regioselectivity is poorer and results in the formation of a mixture of beta-(1-->3) and beta-(1-->4) linkages. In contrast, disaccharide acceptors produce exclusively beta-(1-->4) linkages. Therefore, the presence of a glycosyl unit in subsite +II redirects regioselectivity from beta-(1-->3) to beta-(1-->4). To improve operational performance, the E383A mutant was immobilized on a Ni2+-chelating Sepharose resin. Immobilization did not increase stability to pH and organic solvents, but the operational stability and storage stability were clearly enhanced for recycling and scaling-up.

Site-saturation mutagenesis is more efficient than DNA shuffling for the directed evolution of beta-fucosidase from beta-galactosidase

Protein engineers use a variety of mutagenic strategies to adapt enzymes to novel substrates. Directed evolution techniques (random mutagenesis and high-throughput screening) offer a systematic approach to the management of protein complexity. This sub-discipline was galvanized by the invention of DNA shuffling, a procedure that randomly recombines point mutations in vitro. In one influential study, Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase (BGAL) variants with enhanced beta-fucosidase activity (tenfold increase in k(cat)/K(M) in reactions with the novel para-nitrophenyl-beta-d-fucopyranoside substrate; 39-fold decrease in reactivity with the "native"para-nitrophenyl-beta-d-galactopyranoside substrate) were evolved in seven rounds of DNA shuffling and screening. Here, we show that a single round of site-saturation mutagenesis and screening enabled the identification of beta-fucosidases that are significantly more active (180-fold increase in k(cat)/K(M) in reactions with the novel substrate) and specific (700,000-fold inversion of specificity) than the best variants in the previous study. Site-saturation mutagenesis thus proved faster, less resource-intensive and more effective than DNA shuffling for this particular evolutionary pathway.

Biochemical characterization of a beta-galactosidase with a low temperature optimum obtained from an Antarctic arthrobacter isolate

A psychrophilic gram-positive isolate was obtained from Antarctic Dry Valley soil. It utilized lactose, had a rod-coccus cycle, and contained lysine as the diamino acid in its cell wall. Consistent with these physiological traits, the 16S ribosomal DNA sequence showed that it was phylogenetically related to other Arthrobacter species. A gene (bgaS) encoding a family 2 beta-galactosidase was cloned from this organism into an Escherichia coli host. Preliminary results showed that the enzyme was cold active (optimal activity at 18 degrees C and 50% activity remaining at 0 degrees C) and heat labile (inactivated within 10 min at 37 degrees C). To enable rapid purification, vectors were constructed adding histidine residues to the BgaS enzyme and its E. coli LacZ counterpart, which was purified for comparison. The His tag additions reduced the specific activities of both beta-galactosidases but did not alter the other characteristics of the enzymes. Kinetic studies using o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside showed that BgaS with and without a His tag had greater catalytic activity at and below 20 degrees C than the comparable LacZ beta-galactosidases. The BgaS heat lability was investigated by ultracentrifugation, where the active enzyme was a homotetramer at 4 degrees C but dissociated into inactive monomers at 25 degrees C. Comparisons of family 2 beta-galactosidase amino acid compositions and modeling studies with the LacZ structure did not mimic suggested trends for conferring enzyme flexibility at low temperatures, consistent with the changes affecting thermal adaptation being localized and subtle. Mutation studies of the BgaS enzyme should aid our understanding of such specific, localized changes affecting enzyme thermal properties.

A structural view of the action of Escherichia coli (lacZ) beta-galactosidase

The structures of a series of complexes designed to mimic intermediates along the reaction coordinate for beta-galactosidase are presented. These complexes clarify and enhance previous proposals regarding the catalytic mechanism. The nucleophile, Glu537, is seen to covalently bind to the galactosyl moiety. Of the two potential acids, Mg(2+) and Glu461, the latter is in better position to directly assist in leaving group departure, suggesting that the metal ion acts in a secondary role. A sodium ion plays a part in substrate binding by directly ligating the galactosyl 6-hydroxyl. The proposed reaction coordinate involves the movement of the galactosyl moiety deep into the active site pocket. For those ligands that do bind deeply there is an associated conformational change in which residues within loop 794-804 move up to 10 A closer to the site of binding. In some cases this can be inhibited by the binding of additional ligands. The resulting restricted access to the intermediate helps to explain why allolactose, the natural inducer for the lac operon, is the preferred product of transglycosylation.

Engineering regulable Escherichia coli beta-galactosidases as biosensors for anti-HIV antibody detection in human sera

The activity of engineered, peptide-displaying enzymes is modulated by binding to specific anti-peptide antibodies. This new concept of a quantitative antibody detection system allows test kits to be set up for fast diagnosis of infectious diseases. To develop a quick and homogeneous assay for the detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, we have explored two acceptor sites of the bacterial Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase for the accommodation of HIV antigenic peptides. Two overlapping epitopes (namely P1 and P2) from the gp41 envelope glycoprotein, contained in different sized peptides, were inserted in the vicinity of the enzyme active site to generate a set of hybrid, enzymatically active beta-galactosidases. Regulable enzymes of different responsiveness to monoclonal antibody binding were generated with both acceptor sites tested. These biosensors were also sensitive to immune sera from HIV-infected patients. Modeling data provide insight into the structural modifications in the vicinity of the active site induced by peptide insertion that strongly affect the responsiveness of the engineered proteins through different parameters of their catalytic properties.

Improving the quality of industrially important enzymes by directed evolution

Directed evolution is a new process for developing industrially viable biocatalysts. This technique does not require a comprehensive knowledge of the relationships between sequence structure and function of proteins as required by protein engineering. It mimics the process of Darwinian evolution in a test tube combining random mutagenesis and recombination with screening or selection for enzyme variants that have the desired properties. Directed evolution helps in enhancing the enzyme performance both in natural and synthetic environments. This article reviews the process of directed evolution and its application to improve substrate specificity, activity, enantioselectivity and thermal stability.

Directed evolution of a fucosidase from a galactosidase by DNA shuffling and screening

An efficient beta-fucosidase was evolved by DNA shuffling from the Escherichia coli lacZ beta-galactosidase. Seven rounds of DNA shuffling and colony screening on chromogenic fucose substrates were performed, using 10,000 colonies per round. Compared with native beta-galactosidase, the evolved enzyme purified from cells from the final round showed a 1,000-fold increased substrate specificity for o-nitrophenyl fucopyranoside versus o-nitrophenyl galactopyranoside and a 300-fold increased substrate specificity for p-nitrophenyl fucopyranoside versus p-nitrophenyl galactopyranoside. The evolved cell line showed a 66-fold increase in p-nitrophenyl fucosidase specific activity. The evolved fucosidase has a 10- to 20-fold increased kcat/Km for the fucose substrates compared with the native enzyme. The DNA sequence of the evolved fucosidase gene showed 13 base changes, resulting in six amino acid changes from the native enzyme. This effort shows that the library size that is required to obtain significant enhancements in specificity and activity by reiterative DNA shuffling and screening, even for an enzyme of 109 kDa, is within range of existing high-throughput technology. Reiterative generation of libraries and stepwise accumulation of improvements based on addition of beneficial mutations appears to be a promising alternative to rational design.