Structure of EstA esterase from psychrotrophic Pseudoalteromonas sp. 643A covalently inhibited by monoethylphosphonate

Characterization of the Putative Acylated Cellulose Synthase Operon in Komagataeibacter xylinus E25

Bacterial cellulose is a natural polymer with an expanding array of applications. Because of this, the main cellulose producers of the Komagataeibacter genus have been extensively studied with the aim to increase its synthesis or to customize its physicochemical features. Up to now, the genetic studies in Komagataeibacter have focused on the first cellulose synthase operon (bcsI) encoding the main enzyme complex. However, the role of other accessory cellulose operons has been understudied. Here we aimed to fill this gap by performing a detailed analysis of the second cellulose synthase operon (bcsII), which is putatively linked with cellulose acylation. In this study we harnessed the genome sequence, gene expression and protein structure information of K. xylinus E25 and other Komagataeibacter species to discuss the probable features of bcsII and the biochemical function of its main protein products. The results of our study support the previous hypothesis that bcsII is involved in the synthesis of the acylated polymer and expand it by presenting the evidence that it may also function in the regulation of its attachment to the cell surface and to the crystalline cellulose fibers.

Sustainable Biosynthesis of Esterase Enzymes of Desired Characteristics of Catalysis for Pharmaceutical and Food Industry Employing Specific Strains of Microorganisms

Reactions catalysed by sustainably produced enzymes can contribute to the bioeconomy supporting several industries. Low-value compounds can be transformed into added-value products or high-resolution chemicals could be prepared in reactions catalysed by biocatalyst esterase enzymes. These enzymes can be synthesised by purposely isolated or genetically modified strains of microorganisms. Enzymes belonging to the hydrolase family catalyse the formation and hydrolysis of ester bonds to produce the desired esterified molecule. The synthesis of homo-chiral compounds can be accomplished either by chemical or biocatalytic processes, the latter being preferred with the use of microbial esterases. For varied applications, esterases with high stability and retained activity at lower and higher temperatures have been produced with strains isolated from extreme environments. For sustainable production of enzymes, higher productivity has been achieved by employing fast-growing Escherichia coli after incorporating plasmids of required characteristics from specific isolates. This is a review of the isolated and engineered strains used in the biosynthesis of esterase of the desired property, with the objective of a sustainable supply of enzymes, to produce products of industrial importance contributing to the economy.

Thioesterase enzyme families: Functions, structures, and mechanisms

Thioesterases are enzymes that hydrolyze thioester bonds in numerous biochemical pathways, for example in fatty acid synthesis. This work reports known functions, structures, and mechanisms of updated thioesterase enzyme families, which are classified into 35 families based on sequence similarity. Each thioesterase family is based on at least one experimentally characterized enzyme, and most families have enzymes that have been crystallized and their tertiary structure resolved. Classifying thioesterases into families allows to predict tertiary structures and infer catalytic residues and mechanisms of all sequences in a family, which is particularly useful because the majority of known protein sequence have no experimental characterization. Phylogenetic analysis of experimentally characterized thioesterases that have structures with the two main structural folds reveal convergent and divergent evolution. Based on tertiary structure superimposition, catalytic residues are predicted.

Structure, function, and regulation of thioesterases

Thioesterases are present in all living cells and perform a wide range of important biological functions by catalysing the cleavage of thioester bonds present in a diverse array of cellular substrates. Thioesterases are organised into 25 families based on their sequence conservation, tertiary and quaternary structure, active site configuration, and substrate specificity. Recent structural and functional characterisation of thioesterases has led to significant changes in our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms that govern enzyme activity and their respective cellular roles. The resulting dogma changes in thioesterase regulation include mechanistic insights into ATP and GDP-mediated regulation by oligomerisation, the role of new key regulatory regions, and new insights into a conserved quaternary structure within TE4 family members. Here we provide a current and comparative snapshot of our understanding of thioesterase structure, function, and regulation across the different thioesterase families.

Biodiesel and flavor compound production using a novel promiscuous cold-adapted SGNH-type lipase (HaSGNH1) from the psychrophilic bacterium Halocynthiibacter arcticus

BACKGROUND

Biodiesel and flavor compound production using enzymatic transesterification by microbial lipases provides mild reaction conditions and low energy cost compared to the chemical process. SGNH-type lipases are very effective catalysts for enzymatic transesterification due to their high reaction rate, great stability, relatively small size for convenient genetic manipulations, and ease of immobilization. Hence, it is highly important to identify novel SGNH-type lipases with high catalytic efficiencies and good stabilities.

RESULTS

A promiscuous cold-adapted SGNH-type lipase (HaSGNH1) from Halocynthiibacter arcticus was catalytically characterized and functionally explored. HaSGNH1 displayed broad substrate specificity that included tert-butyl acetate, glucose pentaacetate, and p-nitrophenyl esters with excellent stability and high efficiency. Important amino acids (N83, M86, R87, F131, and I173F) around the substrate-binding pocket were shown to be responsible for catalytic activity, substrate specificity, and reaction kinetics. Moreover, immobilized HaSGNH1 was used to produce high yields of butyl and oleic esters.

CONCLUSIONS

This work provides a molecular understanding of substrate specificities, catalytic regulation, immobilization, and industrial applications of a promiscuous cold-adapted SGNH-type lipase (HaSGNH1) from H. arcticus. This is the first analysis on biodiesel and flavor synthesis using a cold-adapted halophilic SGNH-type lipase from a Halocynthiibacter species.

Structure-guided protein engineering increases enzymatic activities of the SGNH family esterases

BACKGROUND

Esterases and lipases hydrolyze short-chain esters and long-chain triglycerides, respectively, and therefore play essential roles in the synthesis and decomposition of ester bonds in the pharmaceutical and food industries. Many SGNH family esterases share high similarity in sequences. However, they have distinct enzymatic activities toward the same substrates. Due to a lack of structural information, the detailed catalytic mechanisms of these esterases remain barely investigated.

RESULTS

In this study, we identified two SGNH family esterases, CrmE10 and AlinE4, from marine bacteria with significantly different preferences for pH, temperature, metal ion, and organic solvent tolerance despite high sequence similarity. The crystal structures of these two esterases, including wild type and mutants, were determined to high resolutions ranging from 1.18 Å to 2.24 Å. Both CrmE10 and AlinE4 were composed of five β-strands and nine α-helices, which formed one compact N-terminal α/β globular domain and one extended C-terminal domain. The aspartic residues (D178 in CrmE10/D162 in AlinE4) destabilized the conformations of the catalytic triad (Ser-Asp-His) in both esterases, and the metal ion Cd²⁺ might reduce enzymatic activity by blocking proton transfer or substrate binding. CrmE10 and AlinE4 showed distinctly different electrostatic surface potentials, despite the similar atomic architectures and a similar swap catalytic mechanism. When five negatively charged residues (Asp or Glu) were mutated to residue Lys, CrmE10 obtained elevated alkaline adaptability and significantly increased the enzymatic activity from 0 to 20% at pH 10.5. Also, CrmE10 mutants exhibited dramatic change for enzymatic properties when compared with the wide-type enzyme.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings offer a perspective for understanding the catalytic mechanism of different esterases and might facilitate the industrial biocatalytic applications.

Type V Secretion Systems: An Overview of Passenger Domain Functions

Bacteria secrete proteins for different purposes such as communication, virulence functions, adhesion to surfaces, nutrient acquisition, or growth inhibition of competing bacteria. For secretion of proteins, Gram-negative bacteria have evolved different secretion systems, classified as secretion systems I through IX to date. While some of these systems consist of multiple proteins building a complex spanning the cell envelope, the type V secretion system, the subject of this review, is rather minimal. Proteins of the Type V secretion system are often called autotransporters (ATs). In the simplest case, a type V secretion system consists of only one polypeptide chain with a β-barrel translocator domain in the membrane, and an extracellular passenger or effector region. Depending on the exact domain architecture of the protein, type V secretion systems can be further separated into sub-groups termed type Va through e, and possibly another recently identified subtype termed Vf. While this classification works well when it comes to the architecture of the proteins, this is not the case for the function(s) of the secreted passenger. In this review, we will give an overview of the functions of the passengers of the different AT classes, shedding more light on the variety of functions carried out by type V secretion systems.

Exploiting distant homologues for phasing through the generation of compact fragments, local fold refinement and partial solution combination

Macromolecular structures can be solved by molecular replacement provided that suitable search models are available. Models from distant homologues may deviate too much from the target structure to succeed, notwithstanding an overall similar fold or even their featuring areas of very close geometry. Successful methods to make the most of such templates usually rely on the degree of conservation to select and improve search models. ARCIMBOLDO_SHREDDER uses fragments derived from distant homologues in a brute-force approach driven by the experimental data, instead of by sequence similarity. The new algorithms implemented in ARCIMBOLDO_SHREDDER are described in detail, illustrating its characteristic aspects in the solution of new and test structures. In an advance from the previously published algorithm, which was based on omitting or extracting contiguous polypeptide spans, model generation now uses three-dimensional volumes respecting structural units. The optimal fragment size is estimated from the expected log-likelihood gain (LLG) values computed assuming that a substructure can be found with a level of accuracy near that required for successful extension of the structure, typically below 0.6 Å root-mean-square deviation (r.m.s.d.) from the target. Better sampling is attempted through model trimming or decomposition into rigid groups and optimization through Phaser's gyre refinement. Also, after model translation, packing filtering and refinement, models are either disassembled into predetermined rigid groups and refined (gimble refinement) or Phaser's LLG-guided pruning is used to trim the model of residues that are not contributing signal to the LLG at the target r.m.s.d. value. Phase combination among consistent partial solutions is performed in reciprocal space with ALIXE. Finally, density modification and main-chain autotracing in SHELXE serve to expand to the full structure and identify successful solutions. The performance on test data and the solution of new structures are described.

Plant pectin acetylesterase structure and function: new insights from bioinformatic analysis

Background

Pectins are plant cell wall polysaccharides that can be acetylated on C2 and/or C3 of galacturonic acid residues. The degree of acetylation of pectin can be modulated by pectin acetylesterase (EC 3.1.1.6, PAE). The function and structure of plant PAEs remain poorly understood and the role of the fine-tuning of pectin acetylation on cell wall properties has not yet been elucidated.

Results

In the present study, a bioinformatic approach was used on 72 plant PAEs from 16 species among 611 plant PAEs available in plant genomic databases. An overview of plant PAE proteins, particularly Arabidopsis thaliana PAEs, based on phylogeny analysis, protein motif identification and modeled 3D structure is presented. A phylogenetic tree analysis using protein sequences clustered the plant PAEs into five clades. AtPAEs clustered in four clades in the plant kingdom PAE tree while they formed three clades when a phylogenetic tree was performed only on Arabidopsis proteins, due to isoform AtPAE9. Primitive plants that display a smaller number of PAEs clustered into two clades, while in higher plants, the presence of multiple members of PAE genes indicated a diversification of AtPAEs. 3D homology modeling of AtPAE8 from clade 2 with a human Notum protein showed an α/β hydrolase structure with the hallmark Ser-His-Asp of the active site. A 3D model of AtPAE4 from clade 1 and AtPAE10 from clade 3 showed a similar shape suggesting that the diversification of AtPAEs is unlikely to arise from the shape of the protein. Primary structure prediction analysis of AtPAEs showed a specific motif characteristic of each clade and identified one major group of AtPAEs with a signal peptide and one group without a signal peptide. A multiple sequence alignment of the putative plant PAEs revealed consensus sequences with important putative catalytic residues: Ser, Asp, His and a pectin binding site. Data mining of gene expression profiles of AtPAE revealed that genes from clade 2 including AtPAE7, AtPAE8 and AtPAE11, which are duplicated genes, are highly expressed during plant growth and development while AtPAEs without a signal peptide, including AtPAE2 and AtPAE4, are more regulated in response to plant environmental conditions.

Conclusion

Bioinformatic analysis of plant, and particularly Arabidopsis, AtPAEs provides novel insights, including new motifs that could play a role in pectin binding and catalytic sites. The diversification of AtPAEs is likely to be related to neofunctionalization of some AtPAE genes.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-017-3833-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Discovery, Molecular Mechanisms, and Industrial Applications of Cold-Active Enzymes

Cold-active enzymes constitute an attractive resource for biotechnological applications. Their high catalytic activity at temperatures below 25°C makes them excellent biocatalysts that eliminate the need of heating processes hampering the quality, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness of industrial production. Here we provide a review of the isolation and characterization of novel cold-active enzymes from microorganisms inhabiting different environments, including a revision of the latest techniques that have been used for accomplishing these paramount tasks. We address the progress made in the overexpression and purification of cold-adapted enzymes, the evolutionary and molecular basis of their high activity at low temperatures and the experimental and computational techniques used for their identification, along with protein engineering endeavors based on these observations to improve some of the properties of cold-adapted enzymes to better suit specific applications. We finally focus on examples of the evaluation of their potential use as biocatalysts under conditions that reproduce the challenges imposed by the use of solvents and additives in industrial processes and of the successful use of cold-adapted enzymes in biotechnological and industrial applications.

An effective approach for annotation of protein families with low sequence similarity and conserved motifs: identifying GDSL hydrolases across the plant kingdom

Background

The massive accumulation of protein sequences arising from the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing, coupled with automatic annotation, results in high levels of incorrect annotations. In this study, we describe an approach to decrease annotation errors of protein families characterized by low overall sequence similarity. The GDSL lipolytic family comprises proteins with multifunctional properties and high potential for pharmaceutical and industrial applications. The number of proteins assigned to this family has increased rapidly over the last few years. In particular, the natural abundance of GDSL enzymes reported recently in plants indicates that they could be a good source of novel GDSL enzymes. We noticed that a significant proportion of annotated sequences lack specific GDSL motif(s) or catalytic residue(s). Here, we applied motif-based sequence analyses to identify enzymes possessing conserved GDSL motifs in selected proteomes across the plant kingdom.

Results

Motif-based HMM scanning (Viterbi decoding-VD and posterior decoding-PD) and the here described PD/VD protocol were successfully applied on 12 selected plant proteomes to identify sequences with GDSL motifs. A significant number of identified GDSL sequences were novel. Moreover, our scanning approach successfully detected protein sequences lacking at least one of the essential motifs (171/820) annotated by Pfam profile search (PfamA) as GDSL. Based on these analyses we provide a curated list of GDSL enzymes from the selected plants. CLANS clustering and phylogenetic analysis helped us to gain a better insight into the evolutionary relationship of all identified GDSL sequences. Three novel GDSL subfamilies as well as unreported variations in GDSL motifs were discovered in this study. In addition, analyses of selected proteomes showed a remarkable expansion of GDSL enzymes in the lycophyte, Selaginella moellendorffii. Finally, we provide a general motif-HMM scanner which is easily accessible through the graphical user interface (http://compbio.math.hr/).

Conclusions

Our results show that scanning with a carefully parameterized motif-HMM is an effective approach for annotation of protein families with low sequence similarity and conserved motifs. The results of this study expand current knowledge and provide new insights into the evolution of the large GDSL-lipase family in land plants.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12859-016-0919-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Thermodynamic and structural investigation of the specific SDS binding of Humicola insolens cutinase

The interaction of lipolytic enzymes with anionic surfactants is of great interest with respect to industrially produced detergents. Here, we report the interaction of cutinase from the thermophilic fungus Humicola insolens with the anionic surfactant SDS, and show the enzyme specifically binds a single SDS molecule under nondenaturing concentrations. Protein interaction with SDS was investigated by NMR, ITC and molecular dynamics simulations. The NMR resonances of the protein were assigned, with large stretches of the protein molecule not showing any detectable resonances. SDS is shown to specifically interact with the loops surrounding the catalytic triad with medium affinity (Ka ≈ 10(5) M(-1) ). The mode of binding is closely similar to that seen previously for binding of amphiphilic molecules and substrate analogues to cutinases, and hence SDS acts as a substrate mimic. In addition, the structure of the enzyme has been solved by X-ray crystallography in its apo form and after cocrystallization with diethyl p-nitrophenyl phosphate (DNPP) leading to a complex with monoethylphosphate (MEP) esterified to the catalytically active serine. The enzyme has the same fold as reported for other cutinases but, unexpectedly, esterification of the active site serine is accompanied by the ethylation of the active site histidine which flips out from its usual position in the triad.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of a highly stable novel SGNH hydrolase (Est24) from Sinorhizobium meliloti

The SGNH hydrolase family includes enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of a broad range of substrates. Here, the crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic studies of a novel SGNH hydrolase (Est24) from Sinorhizobium meliloti were performed. Recombinant Est24 protein containing an N-terminal His tag was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Est24 was then crystallized using a solution consisting of 0.2 M ammonium phosphate pH 4.6, 20% polyethylene glycol 3350. X-ray diffraction data were collected to a resolution of 1.45 Å with an R(merge) of 9.4%. The Est24 crystals belonged to space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a = 129.09, b = 88.63, c = 86.15 Å, α = 90.00, β = 114.30, γ = 90.00°. A molecular-replacement solution was obtained using the crystal structure of Mycobacterium smegmatis arylesterase as a template and structure refinement of Est24 is in progress.

Structural and functional characterisation of TesA - a novel lysophospholipase A from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

TesA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa belongs to the GDSL hydrolase family of serine esterases and lipases that possess a broad substrate- and regiospecificity. It shows high sequence homology to TAP, a multifunctional enzyme from Escherichia coli exhibiting thioesterase, lysophospholipase A, protease and arylesterase activities. Recently, we demonstrated high arylesterase activity for TesA, but only minor thioesterase and no protease activity. Here, we present a comparative analysis of TesA and TAP at the structural, biochemical and physiological levels. The crystal structure of TesA was determined at 1.9 Å and structural differences were identified, providing a possible explanation for the differences in substrate specificities. The comparison of TesA with other GDSL-hydrolase structures revealed that the flexibility of active-site loops significantly affects their substrate specificity. This assumption was tested using a rational approach: we have engineered the putative coenzyme A thioester binding site of E. coli TAP into TesA of P. aeruginosa by introducing mutations D17S and L162R. This TesA variant showed increased thioesterase activity comparable to that of TAP. TesA is the first lysophospholipase A described for the opportunistic human pathogen P. aeruginosa. The enzyme is localized in the periplasm and may exert important functions in the homeostasis of phospholipids or detoxification of lysophospholipids.

Psychrophily and catalysis

Polar and other low temperature environments are characterized by a low content in energy and this factor has a strong incidence on living organisms which populate these rather common habitats. Indeed, low temperatures have a negative effect on ectothermic populations since they can affect their growth, reaction rates of biochemical reactions, membrane permeability, diffusion rates, action potentials, protein folding, nucleic acids dynamics and other temperature-dependent biochemical processes. Since the discovery that these ecosystems, contrary to what was initially expected, sustain a rather high density and broad diversity of living organisms, increasing efforts have been dedicated to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in their successful adaptation to apparently unfavorable physical conditions. The first question that comes to mind is: How do these organisms compensate for the exponential decrease of reaction rate when temperature is lowered? As most of the chemical reactions that occur in living organisms are catalyzed by enzymes, the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of cold-adapted enzymes have been investigated. Presently, many crystallographic structures of these enzymes have been elucidated and allowed for a rather clear view of their adaptation to cold. They are characterized by a high specific activity at low and moderate temperatures and a rather low thermal stability, which induces a high flexibility that prevents the freezing effect of low temperatures on structure dynamics. These enzymes also display a low activation enthalpy that renders them less dependent on temperature fluctuations. This is accompanied by a larger negative value of the activation entropy, thus giving evidence of a more disordered ground state. Appropriate folding kinetics is apparently secured through a large expression of trigger factors and peptidyl–prolyl cis/trans-isomerases.