Crystal structure of thermophilic dextranase from Thermoanaerobacter pseudethanolicus

Biochemical properties of a Flavobacterium johnsoniae dextranase and its biotechnological potential for Streptococcus mutans biofilm degradation

Cariogenic biofilms have a matrix rich in exopolysaccharides (EPS), mutans and dextrans, that contribute to caries development. Although several physical and chemical treatments can be employed to remove oral biofilms, those are only partly efficient and use of biofilm-degrading enzymes represents an exciting opportunity to improve the performance of oral hygiene products. In the present study, a member of a glycosyl hydrolase family 66 from Flavobacterium johnsoniae (FjGH66) was heterologously expressed and biochemically characterized. The recombinant FjGH66 showed a hydrolytic activity against an early EPS-containing S. mutans biofilm, and, when associated with a α-(1,3)-glucosyl hydrolase (mutanase) from GH87 family, displayed outstanding performance, removing more than 80% of the plate-adhered biofilm. The mixture containing FjGH66 and Prevotella melaninogenica GH87 α-1,3-mutanase was added to a commercial mouthwash liquid to synergistically remove the biofilm. Dental floss and polyethylene disks coated with biofilm-degrading enzymes also degraded plate-adhered biofilm with a high efficiency. The results presented in this study might be valuable for future development of novel oral hygiene products.

Recombinant Prevotella melaninogenica α-1,3 glucanase and Capnocytophaga ochracea α-1,6 glucanase as enzymatic tools for in vitro degradation of S. mutans biofilms

Dental biofilms represent a serious oral health problem playing a key role in the development of caries and other oral diseases. In the present work, we cloned and expressed in E. coli two glucanases, Prevotella melaninogenica mutanase (PmGH87) and Capnocytophaga ochracea dextranase (CoGH66), and characterized them biochemically and biophysically. Their three-dimensional structures were elucidated and discussed. Furthermore, we tested the capacity of the enzymes to hydrolyze mutan and dextran to prevent formation of Streptococcus mutans biofilms, as well as to degrade pre- formed biofilms in low and abundant sugar conditions. The percentage of residual biofilm was calculated for each treatment group in relation to the control, as well as the degree of synergism. Our results suggest that both PmGH87 and CoGH66 are capable of inhibiting biofilm formation grown under limited or abundant sucrose conditions. Degradation of pre-formed biofilms experiments reveal a time-dependent effect for the treatment with each enzyme alone. In addition, a synergistic and dose-dependent effects of the combined enzymatic treatment with the enzymes were observed. For instance, the highest biomass degradation was 95.5% after 30 min treatment for the biofilm grown in low sucrose concentration, and 93.8% after 2 h treatment for the biofilm grown in sugar abundant condition. Strong synergistic effects were observed, with calculated degree of synergism of 5.54 and 3.18, respectively and their structural basis was discussed. Jointly, these data can pave the ground for the development of biomedical applications of the enzymes for controlling growth and promoting degradation of established oral biofilms.

Glycoside hydrolases active on microbial exopolysaccharide α-glucans: structures and function

Glucose is the most abundant monosaccharide in nature and is an important energy source for living organisms. Glucose exists primarily as oligomers or polymers and organisms break it down and consume it. Starch is an important plant-derived α-glucan in the human diet. The enzymes that degrade this α-glucan have been well studied as they are ubiquitous throughout nature. Some bacteria and fungi produce α-glucans with different glucosidic linkages compared with that of starch, and their structures are quite complex and not fully understood. Compared with enzymes that degrade the α-(1→4) and α-(1→6) linkages in starch, biochemical and structural studies of the enzymes that catabolize α-glucans from these microorganisms are limited. This review focuses on glycoside hydrolases that act on microbial exopolysaccharide α-glucans containing α-(1→6), α-(1→3), and α-(1→2) linkages. Recently acquired information regarding microbial genomes has contributed to the discovery of enzymes with new substrate specificities compared with that of previously studied enzymes. The discovery of new microbial α-glucan-hydrolyzing enzymes suggests previously unknown carbohydrate utilization pathways and reveals strategies for microorganisms to obtain energy from external sources. In addition, structural analysis of α-glucan degrading enzymes has revealed their substrate recognition mechanisms and expanded their potential use as tools for understanding complex carbohydrate structures. In this review, the author summarizes the recent progress in the structural biology of microbial α-glucan degrading enzymes, touching on previous studies of microbial α-glucan degrading enzymes.

Improving the thermostability of GH49 dextranase AoDex by site-directed mutagenesis

As an indispensable enzyme for the hydrolysis of dextran, dextranase has been widely used in the fields of food and medicine. It should be noted that the weak thermostability of dextranase has become a restricted factor for industrial applications. This study aims to improve the thermostability of dextranase AoDex in glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 49 that derived from Arthrobacter oxydans KQ11. Some mutants were predicted and constructed based on B-factor analysis, PoPMuSiC and HotMuSiC algorithms, and four mutants exhibited higher heat resistance. Compared with the wild-type, mutant S357P showed the best improved thermostability with a 5.4-fold increase of half-life at 60 °C, and a 2.1-fold increase of half-life at 65 °C. Furthermore, S357V displayed the most obvious increase in enzymatic activity and thermostability simultaneously. Structural modeling analysis indicated that the improved thermostability of mutants might be attributed to the introduction of proline and hydrophobic effects, which generated the rigid optimization of the structural conformation. These results illustrated that it was effective to improve the thermostability of dextranase AoDex by rational design and site-directed mutagenesis. The thermostable mutant of dextranase AoDex has potential application value, and it can also provide references for engineering other thermostable dextranases of the GH49 family.

Improving enzyme activity of glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase by semi-rational design strategy and computer analysis

OBJECTIVE

To improve enzyme activity of Glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase (Glms) of Bacillus subtilis by site saturation mutagenesis at Leu₅₉₃, Ala₅₉₄, Lys₅₉₅, Ser₅₉₆ and Val₅₉₇ based on computer-aided semi-rational design.

RESULTS

The results indicated that L₅₉₃S had the greatest effect on the activity of BsGlms and the enzyme activity increased from 5 to 48 U/mL. The mutation of L₅₉₃S increased the yield of glucosamine by 1.6 times that of the original strain. The binding energy of the mutant with substrate was reduced from - 743.864 to - 768.246 kcal/mol. Molecular dynamics simulation results showed that Ser₅₉₃ enhanced the flexibility of the protein, which ultimately led to increased enzyme activity.

CONCLUSION

We successfully improved BsGlms activity through computer simulation and site saturation mutagenesis. This combination of methodologies may fit into an efficient workflow for improving Glms and other proteins activity.

Crystal Structure of GH49 Dextranase from Arthrobacter oxidans KQ11: Identification of Catalytic Base and Improvement of Thermostability Using Semirational Design Based on B-Factors

The crystal structure of Dextranase from the marine bacterium Arthrobacter oxidans KQ11 (Aodex) was determined at a resolution of 1.4 Å. The crystal structure of the conserved Aodex fragment (Ala52-Thr638) consisted of an N-terminal domain N and a C-terminal domain C. The N-terminal domain N was identified as a β-sandwich, connected to a right-handed parallel β-helix at the C-terminus. Sequence comparisons, cavity regions, and key residues of the catalytic domain analysis all suggested that the Aodex was an inverting enzyme, and the catalytic acid and base were Asp439 and Asp420, respectively. Asp440 was not a general base in the Aodex catalytic domain, and Asp396 in Dex49A may not be a general base in the catalytic domain. The thermostability of the S357F mutant using semirational design based on B-factors was clearly better than that of wild-type Aodex. This process may promote the aromatic-aromatic interactions that increase the thermostability of mutant Phe357.

Isomaltooligosaccharide-binding structure of Paenibacillus sp. 598K cycloisomaltooligosaccharide glucanotransferase

Paenibacillus sp. 598K cycloisomaltooligosaccharide glucanotransferase (CITase), a member of glycoside hydrolase family 66 (GH66), catalyses the intramolecular transglucosylation of dextran to produce CIs with seven or more degrees of polymerization. To clarify the cyclization reaction and product specificity of the enzyme, we determined the crystal structure of PsCITase. The core structure of PsCITase consists of four structural domains: a catalytic (β/α)₈-domain and three β-domains. A family 35 carbohydrate-binding module (first CBM35 region of Paenibacillus sp. 598K CITase, (PsCBM35-1)) is inserted into and protrudes from the catalytic domain. The ligand complex structure of PsCITase prepared by soaking the crystal with cycloisomaltoheptaose yielded bound sugars at three sites: in the catalytic cleft, at the joint of the PsCBM35-1 domain and at the loop region of PsCBM35-1. In the catalytic site, soaked cycloisomaltoheptaose was observed as a linear isomaltoheptaose, presumably a hydrolysed product from cycloisomaltoheptaose by the enzyme and occupied subsites -7 to -1. Beyond subsite -7, three glucose moieties of another isomaltooiligosaccharide were observed, and these positions are considered to be distal subsites -13 to -11. The third binding site is the canonical sugar-binding site at the loop region of PsCBM35-1, where the soaked cycloisomaltoheptaose is bound. The structure indicated that the concave surface between the catalytic domain and PsCBM35-1 plays a guiding route for the long-chained substrate at the cyclization reaction.