Chitosanases from Family 46 of Glycoside Hydrolases: From Proteins to Phenotypes

Chitosanases, enzymes that catalyze the endo-hydrolysis of glycolytic links in chitosan, are the subject of numerous studies as biotechnological tools to generate low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC) or chitosan oligosaccharides (CHOS) from native, high molecular weight chitosan. Glycoside hydrolases belonging to family GH46 are among the best-studied chitosanases, with four crystallography-derived structures available and more than forty enzymes studied at the biochemical level. They were also subjected to numerous site-directed mutagenesis studies, unraveling the molecular mechanisms of hydrolysis. This review is focused on the taxonomic distribution of GH46 proteins, their multi-modular character, the structure-function relationships and their biological functions in the host organisms.

Identification of a Chlorovirus PBCV-1 Protein Involved in Degrading the Host Cell Wall during Virus Infection

Chloroviruses are unusual among viruses infecting eukaryotic organisms in that they must, like bacteriophages, penetrate a rigid cell wall to initiate infection. Chlorovirus PBCV-1 infects its host, Chlorella variabilis NC64A by specifically binding to and degrading the cell wall of the host at the point of contact by a virus-packaged enzyme(s). However, PBCV-1 does not use any of the five previously characterized virus-encoded polysaccharide degrading enzymes to digest the Chlorella host cell wall during virus entry because none of the enzymes are packaged in the virion. A search for another PBCV-1-encoded and virion-associated protein identified protein A561L. The fourth domain of A561L is a 242 amino acid C-terminal domain, named A561L^D4, with cell wall degrading activity. An A561L^D4 homolog was present in all 52 genomically sequenced chloroviruses, infecting four different algal hosts. A561L^D4 degraded the cell walls of all four chlorovirus hosts, as well as several non-host Chlorella spp. Thus, A561L^D4 was not cell-type specific. Finally, we discovered that exposure of highly purified PBCV-1 virions to A561L^D4 increased the specific infectivity of PBCV-1 from about 25–30% of the particles forming plaques to almost 50%. We attribute this increase to removal of residual host receptor that attached to newly replicated viruses in the cell lysates.

Chloroviruses Lure Hosts through Long-Distance Chemical Signaling

Chloroviruses exist in aquatic systems around the planet and they infect certain eukaryotic green algae that are mutualistic endosymbionts in a variety of protists and metazoans. Natural chlorovirus populations are seasonally dynamic, but the precise temporal changes in these populations and the mechanisms that underlie them have heretofore been unclear. We recently reported the novel concept that predator/prey-mediated virus activation regulates chlorovirus population dynamics, and in the current study, we demonstrate virus-packaged chemotactic modulation of prey behavior.IMPORTANCE Viruses have not previously been reported to act as chemotactic/chemoattractive agents. Rather, viruses as extracellular entities are generally viewed as non-metabolically active spore-like agents that await further infection events upon collision with appropriate host cells. That a virus might actively contribute to its fate via chemotaxis and change the behavior of an organism independent of infection is unprecedented.

Lessons from Chloroviruses: the Complex and Diverse Roles of Viruses in Food Webs

Viruses can have large effects on the ecological communities in which they occur. Much of this impact comes from the mortality of host cells, which simultaneously alters microbial community composition and causes the release of matter that can be used by other organisms. However, recent studies indicate that viruses may be even more deeply integrated into the functioning of ecological communities than their effect on nutrient cycling suggests. In particular, chloroviruses, which infect chlorella-like green algae that typically occur as endosymbionts, participate in three types of interactions with other species. Chlororviruses (i) can lure ciliates from a distance, using them as a vector; (ii) depend on predators for access to their hosts; and (iii) get consumed as a food source by, at least, a variety of protists. Therefore, chloroviruses both depend on and influence the spatial structures of communities as well as the flows of energy through those communities, driven by predator-prey interactions. The emergence of these interactions are an eco-evolutionary puzzle, given the interdependence of these species and the many costs and benefits that these interactions generate.