Autotransporters with GDSL passenger domains: molecular physiology and biotechnological applications

Autotransporters are large proteins produced and secreted by Gram-negative bacteria. They consist of an N-terminal passenger domain, which typically harbours enzymatic activity and exerts a virulence function, and a C-terminal membrane anchor domain. Somehow, the membrane domain facilitates the transport of the passenger domain into the extracellular space. Several autotransporters possess hydrolase passenger domains that belong to the GDSL family of lipolytic enzymes. GDSL autotransporters represent a functionally distinct family and are characterized by several features of their passenger domains; these include 1) the absence of a conserved right-handed parallel β-helix, 2) lipolytic activity, and thus the capability to hydrolyse membranes, and 3) covalent attachment to the respective C-terminal β-domain, with the hydrolase domain exposed to the exterior. The esterase EstA of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a typical enzyme of this type. Its physiological role was studied, its potential biotechnological application has been demonstrated, and its crystal structure was solved recently. Furthermore, it is capable of displaying different classes of enzymes in a range of Gram-negative bacteria including Escherichia coli, and FACS-based high-throughput screening for enantioselective esterases could be achieved using EstA.     

Functional cell-surface display of a lipase-specific chaperone

Lipases are important enzymes in biotechnology. Extracellular bacterial lipases from Pseudomonads and related species require the assistance of specific chaperones, designated "Lif" proteins (lipase specific foldases). Lifs, a unique family of steric chaperones, are anchored to the periplasmic side of the inner membrane where they convert lipases into their active conformation. We have previously shown that the autotransporter protein EstA from P. aeruginosa can be used to direct a variety of proteins to the cell surface of Escherichia coli. Here we demonstrate for the first time the functional cell-surface display of the Lif chaperone and FACS (fluorescence-activated cell sorting)-based analysis of bacterial cells that carried foldase-lipase complexes. The model Lif protein, LipH from P. aeruginosa, was displayed at the surface of E. coli cells. Surface exposed LipH was functional and efficiently refolded chemically denatured lipase. The foldase autodisplay system reported here can be used for a variety of applications including the ultrahigh-throughput screening of large libraries of foldase variants generated by directed evolution.     

Catalytic promiscuity in the alpha/beta-hydrolase superfamily: hydroxamic acid formation, C--C bond formation, ester and thioester hydrolysis in the C--C hydrolase family

The haloperoxidase family of alpha/beta-hydrolases contains enzymes of several different catalytic activities, including esterases, C--C hydrolases and cofactor-independent haloperoxidases (perhydrolases), but the molecular basis of this catalytic promiscuity is not fully understood. The C--C hydrolase enzyme MhpC from E. coli is shown to possess esterase and thioesterase activity, and the ability to activate hydroxylamine as a nucleophile to form hydroxamic acid products. The ratio of these activities was examined for nine site-directed mutant enzymes that contained mutations at nonessential residues in the enzyme active site. Higher levels of esterase and thioesterase activity were found in mutants Phe173Gly and Trp264Gly; this might be due to increased amounts of space in the active site. Higher levels of hydroxamic acid formation activity were found in mutant Asn109His-a mutation found in many haloperoxidase enzymes. Wild-type and mutant MhpC enzymes were also capable of C--C bond formation in organic solvents, and the highest activity was observed in nonpolar solvents. The results provide experimental support for the catalytic promiscuity shown in this family of enzymes, and indicate that differences in catalytic function can be introduced by point mutations.     

Recombinant C-terminal domain of pancreatic lipase retains full ability to bind colipase

The organization of the pancreatic lipase in two well defineddomains has been correlated to a specific function for eachdomain, catalytic activity for the N-terminal domain and colipasebinding for the C-terminal domain. In order to see if such anorganization implies that the two domains can behave as separateentities, we expressed the N- and C-terminal domains in insectcells. The recombinant proteins secreted in the cell supernatantspresent the expected molecular properties. However, whereasthe C-terminal domain retains its function of colipase binding,the N-terminal domain appears to be unable to ensure catalysis.The lack of activity of the recombinant N-terminal domain couldresult either from a (partially) incorrect folding or from anincapacity to function by itself. These results suggest that,although both are structurally well defined, the two domainsof the pancreatic lipase behave differently when they are expressedas separate entities.     

Identification of Chimeric αβγ Diterpene Synthases Possessing both Type II Terpene Cyclase and Prenyltransferase Activities

Two unusual diterpene synthases composed of three domains (α, β, and γ) were identified from fungal Penicillium species. They are the first enzymes found to possess both type II terpene cyclase (TC) and prenyltransferase (PT) activities. These enzymes were characterized by heterologous expression in Aspergillus oryzae and in vitro experiments with wild-type, mutated, and truncated enzymes. The results revealed that the α domain in the C-terminal region of these enzymes was responsible for the PT activity, whereas the βγ domains in the N-terminal region composed the type II TC, and formed copalyl diphosphate ( 2 ). Additionally, between the α and βγ domains, there is a characteristic linker region, in which minimal secondary structure is predicted. This linker does not exist in the characterized three-domain (αβγ) terpene synthases known as monofunctional type I or type II TCs, or bifunctional type I and type II TC enzymes. Therefore, both the catalytic activities and protein architecture substantially differentiate these new enzymes from the previously characterized terpene synthases.     

In vivo characterization of tandem C-terminal thioesterase domains in arthrofactin synthetase

Macrocyclization of a peptide or a lipopeptide occurs at the last step of synthesis and is usually catalyzed by a single C-terminal thioesterase (Te) domain. Arthrofactin synthetase (Arf) from Pseudomonas sp. MIS38 represents a novel type of nonribosomal peptide synthetase that contains unique tandem C-terminal Te domains, ArfC_Te1 and ArfC_Te2. In order to analyze their function in vivo, site-directed mutagenesis was introduced at the putative active-site residues in ArfC_Te1 and ArfC_Te2. It was found that both Te domains were functional. Peaks corresponding to arthrofactin and its derivatives were absent in ArfC_Te1:S89A, ArfC_Te1:S89T, and ArfC_Te1:E26G/F27A mutants, and the production of arthrofactin by ArfC_Te2:S92A, ArfC_Te2:S92A/D118A, and ArfCDeltaTe2 was reduced by 95 % without an alteration of the cyclic lipoundecapeptide structure. These results suggest that Ser89 in ArfC_Te1 is essential for the completion of macrocyclization and the release of product. Glu26 and Phe27 residues are also part of the active site of ArfC_Te1. ArfC_Te2 might have been added during the evolution of Arf in order to improve macrocyclization efficiency.     

Site-directed mutagenesis of a highly active Staphylococcus epidermidis lipase fragment identifies residues essential for catalysis

A fragment of Staphylococcus epidermidis lipase gene (Lys-303 to Lys-688) was inserted into plasmid pET-20b(+). The resulting C-terminal His-tagged recombinant protein (43 kDa) was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) as a highly active lipase and was purified with nickel-coupled resin. Putative catalytic sites were determined by site-directed mutagenesis. Mutant enzymes (S418C and H648K) lost enzyme activities, which strongly suggests that the proposed residues of Ser-418 and His-648 are involved in catalysis. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that in comparison with wild-type enzyme, the M419A and V649l enzymes showed a 2.0- and 4.0-fold increase in the k _cat/K _m′ respectively, but the M419l, M419Q, V649A, and V649L variants lost enzyme activities. The wild-type enzyme and the V649l mutant favored the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl esters of butyrate, but the M419A favored decanoate. The results suggested that the amino acid residues (Met-419 and Val-649), following the catalytic triad, could affect the substrate specificity and/or catalytic efficiency. This work was presented at the Biocatalysis Symposium in April 2000, held at the 91st Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society, San Diego, CA.     

Identification of the Catalytic Residues in the Cyclase Domain of the Class IV Lanthipeptide Synthetase SgbL

Lanthipeptides belong to the family of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) and are subdivided into different classes based on their processing enzymes. The three-domain class IV lanthipeptide synthetases (LanL enzymes) consist of N-terminal lyase, central kinase, and C-terminal cyclase domains. While the catalytic residues of the kinase domains (mediating ATP-dependent Ser/Thr phosphorylations) and the lyase domains (carrying out subsequent phosphoserine/phosphothreonine (pSer/pThr) eliminations to yield dehydroalanine/dehydrobutyrine (Dha/Dhb) residues) have been characterized previously, such studies are missing for LanL cyclase domains. To close this gap of knowledge, this study reports on the identification and validation of the catalytic residues in the cyclase domain of the class IV lanthipeptide synthetase SgbL, which facilitate the nucleophilic attacks by Cys thiols on Dha/Dhb residues for the formation of β-thioether crosslinks.     

Directed evolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipase for improved amide-hydrolyzing activity

A lipase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa was subjected to directed molecular evolution for increased amide-hydrolyzing (amidase) activity. A single round of random mutagenesis followed by screening for hydrolytic activity for oleoyl 2-naphthylamide as compared with that for oleoyl 2-naphthyl ester identified five mutants with 1.7-2.0-fold increased relative amidase activities. Three mutational sites (F207S, A213D and F265L) were found to affect the amidase/esterase activity ratios. The combination of these mutations further improved the amidase activity. Active-site titration using a fluorescent phosphonic acid ester allowed the molecular activities for the amide and the ester to be determined for each mutant without purification of the lipase. A double mutant F207S/A213D gave the highest molecular activity of 1.1 min(-1) for the amide, corresponding to a 2-fold increase compared with that of the wild-type lipase. A structural model of the lipase indicated that the mutations occurred at the sites near the surface and remote from the catalytic triad, but close to the calcium binding site. This study is a first step towards understanding why lipases do not hydrolyze amides despite the similarities to serine proteases in the active site structure and the reaction mechanism and towards the preparation of a general acyl transfer catalyst for the biotransformation of amides.     

Pancreatic lipase-related protein type I: a specialized lipase or an inactive enzyme

The existence of pancreatic lipase-related protein 1 (PLRP1) in vertebrates has been postulated based on the screening of pancreatic cDNA libraries from different species. In this paper, we report the presence of variable amounts of PLRP1 relative to colipase-dependent lipase (PL) in adults from several species. Only a very low lipase activity could be detected for native or recombinant PLRP1 using a large variety of substrates and conditions. Interestingly, this activity is dependent on the presence of bile salts and colipase and PLRP1 is shown to possess the same affinity as PL for colipase. Modelling investigations revealed some interesting differences between PLRP1 and PL, notably concerning substitutions in the C-terminal domain which might affect the bending motion of this domain relative to the N- terminal domain in PLRP1. The potential impact of these differences on the lack of lipase activity of PLRP1 was investigated using chimeric proteins designed by C-terminal domain exchange between dog PLRP1 and horse PL. Analysis of the catalytic properties of the chimera clearly indicated that the C-terminal domain exchange neither inactivates the horse enzyme nor results in an active dog PLRP1. From these findings, it can be concluded that the PLRP1 C-terminal domain is fully functional with respect to colipase binding. The lack of lipase activity or the still undetermined function of PLRP1 is likely to result mainly from particular features of the N-terminal domain.      

Ultrahigh-throughput screening to identify E. coli cells expressing functionally active enzymes on their surface

We show here that E. coli bacteria that display esterases or lipases on their cell surface together with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) are capable of hydrolysing carboxylic acid esters of biotin tyramide. The tyramide radicals generated by the coupled lipase-peroxidase reaction were short-lived and therefore became covalently attached to reactive tyrosine residues that were located in close vicinity on the surface of a bacterial cell that displayed lipase activity. Up to 120 000 biotinylated tyramide derivatives could be covalently coupled through HRP activation to the surface of a single living E. coli cell. Differences in cellular esterase activity were found to correlate with the amount of biotin tyramide deposited on the cell surface. Selective biotin tyramide labelling of cells that had lipase activity allowed their isolation by magnetic cell sorting from a 1:10(6) mixture of control cells. This strategy of covalently attaching a biotin label to esterase-proficient bacteria might open new avenues to ultrahigh-throughput screening of enzyme libraries for hydrolytic enzymes with enhanced activities or enantioselectivities.     

Uncoupling of catalysis and colipase binding in pancreatic lipase by limited proteolysis

In the intestine, the hydrolysis of triglycerides by pancreaticlipase is performed only in the presence of colipase, whosefunction is to anchor lipase to the bile-salt-coated lipid interface.Biochemical and crystallographk data on porcine and human Upaseshave shown that the molecule is made of two well-delimited domains.In order to get more information on the role of the domainsin catalysis and colipase binding, we performed limited proteolysison lipase from various species and obtained different patternsof cleavage. In the case of porcine and human Upases, only theC-terminal domain (12 kDa) could be obtained after chymotrypticattack, whereas in the horse enzyme the cleavage of the Leu410-Thr411bond gave rise to a large N-terminal (45 kDa) and a small C-terminal(4 kDa) fragment. The isolated porcine and human C-terminaldomains were completely inactive towards emulsified tributyrin,though were able to bind colipase. Conversely, the horse 45kDa fragment retained the lipase activity but failed to correctlybind colipase. This work definitely proves that catalysis andcoUpase binding are separate events involving topographicallydistinct regions of the molecule and focuses attention on therole of the C-terminal domain in colipase binding     

Engineering of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipase by directed evolution for enhanced amidase activity: mechanistic implication for amide hydrolysis by serine hydrolases

A lipase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa was subjected to directed evolution for increased amidase activity to probe the catalytic mechanism of serine hydrolases for the hydrolysis of amides. Random mutagenesis combined with saturation mutagenesis for all the amino acid residues at the substrate-binding site successfully identified the mutation at the residue 252 next to the catalytic H251 as a hot spot for selectively increasing the amidase activity of the lipase. The saturation mutagenesis targeted for the oxyanion hole (M16 and H83) gave no positive results. The substitutions of Met or Phe for Leu252 significantly increased the amidase activity toward N-(2-naphthyl)oleamide (2), whereas the esterase activity toward structurally similar 2-naphthyl oleate (1) was not affected by the substitution. The triple mutant F207S/A213D/M252F (Sat252) exhibited amidase activity (k(cat)/K(m)) 28-fold higher than that of the wild-type lipase. Kinetic analysis of Sat252 and its parental clone 10F12 revealed that the amidase activity was increased by the increase in the catalytic efficiency (k(cat)). The increase in k(cat) suggested the importance of the leaving group protonation by the catalytic His during the break down of the tetrahedral intermediate in the hydrolysis of amides.     

Structure and function of animal fatty acid synthase

Fatty acid synthase (FAS; EC 2.3.1.85) of animal tissues is a complex multifunctional enzyme consisting of two identical monomers. The FAS monomer (approximately 270 kDa) contains six catalytic activities and from the N-terminus the order is beta-ketoacyl synthase (KS), acetyl/malonyl transacylase (AT/MT), beta-hydroxyacyl dehydratase (DH), enoyl reductase (ER), beta-ketoacyl reductase (KR), acyl carrier protein (ACP), and thioesterase (TE). Although the FAS monomer contains all the activities needed for palmitate synthesis, only the dimer form of the synthase is functional. Both the biochemical analyses and the small-angle neutron-scattering analysis determined that in the dimer form of the enzyme the monomers are arranged in a head-to-tail manner generating two centers for palmitate synthesis. Further, these analyses also suggested that the component activities of the monomer are organized in three domains. Domain I contains KS, AT/MT, and DH, domain II contains ER, KR, and ACP, and domain III contains TE. Approximately one fourth of the monomer protein located between domains I and II contains no catalytic activities and is called the interdomain/core region. This region plays an important role in the dimer formation. Electron cryomicrographic analyses of FAS revealed a quaternary structure at approximately 19 A resolution, containing two monomers (180 x 130 x 75 A) that are separated by about 19 A, and arranged in an antiparallel fashion, which is consistent with biochemical and neutron-scattering data. The monomers are connected at the middle by a hinge generating two clefts that may be the two active centers of fatty acid synthesis. Normal mode analysis predicted that the intersubunit hinge region and the intrasubunit hinge located between domains II and III are highly flexible. Analysis of FAS particle images by using a simultaneous multiple model single particle refinement method confirmed that FAS structure exists in various conformational states. Attempts to get higher resolution of the structure are under way.     

The Ketosynthase Domain Controls Chain Length in Mushroom Oligocyclic Polyketide Synthases

The nonreducing iterative type I polyketide synthases (NR-PKSs) CoPKS1 and CoPKS4 of the webcap mushroom Cortinarius odorifer share 88 % identical amino acids. CoPKS1 almost exclusively produces a tricyclic octaketide product, atrochrysone carboxylic acid, whereas CoPKS4 shows simultaneous hepta- and octaketide synthase activity and also produces the bicyclic heptaketide 6-hydroxymusizin. To identify the region(s) controlling chain length, four chimeric enzyme variants were constructed and assayed for activity in Aspergillus niger as heterologous expression platform. We provide evidence that the β-ketoacyl synthase (KS) domain determines chain length in these mushroom NR-PKSs, even though their KS domains differ in only ten amino acids. A unique proline-rich linker connecting the acyl carrier protein with the thioesterase domain varies most between these two enzymes but is not involved in chain length control.     

铜绿假单胞菌脂肪酶无溶剂催化棕榈油甘油解Ⅱ.进一步提高单甘酯产率的研究

以自产铜绿假单胞菌脂肪酶为催化剂 ,通过无溶剂法棕榈油甘油解反应催化合成了单脂肪酸甘油酯。考察了反应温度程序以及加酶方式对最终产物中单甘酯质量分数的影响。结果表明程序降温和批次加酶更有利于反应 ,产物中单甘酯质量分数可增大 1 0 %～ 2 0 % ,实验条件下反应 48h后单甘酯质量分数可达 65 % ,脱酶后达 77%。     

Novel fluorescent phosphonic acid esters for discrimination of lipases and esterases

Lipases and esterases are responsible for carboxylester hydrolysis inside and outside cells and are useful biocatalysts for (stereo)selective modification of synthetic substrates. Here we describe novel fluorescent suicide inhibitors that differ in structure and polarity for screening and discrimination of lipolytic enzymes in enzyme preparations. The inhibitors covalently react with the enzymes to form fluorescent lipid-protein complexes that can be resolved by gel electrophoresis. The selectivities of the inhibitors were determined by using different (phospho)lipase, esterase and cholesterol esterase preparations. The results indicate that formation of an inhibitor-enzyme complex is highly dependent on the chemical structure of the inhibitor. We identified inhibitors with very low specificity, and other derivatives that were highly specific for certain subgroups of lipolytic enzymes such as lipases and cholesterol esterases. A combination of these substrate-analogous activity probes represents a useful toolbox for rapid identification and classification of serine hydrolase enzymes.     

Characterization of the Suillus grevillei Quinone Synthetase GreA Supports a Nonribosomal Code for Aromatic α-Keto Acids

The gene greA was cloned from the genome of the basidiomycete Suillus grevillei. It encodes a monomodular natural product biosynthesis protein composed of three domains for adenylation, thiolation, and thioesterase and, hence, is reminiscent of a nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS). GreA was biochemically characterized in vitro. It was identified as atromentin synthetase and therefore represents one of only a limited number of biochemically characterized NRPS-like enzymes which accept an aromatic α-keto acid. Specificity-conferring amino acid residues-collectively referred to as the nonribosomal code-were predicted for the primary sequence of the GreA adenylation domain and were an unprecedented combination for aromatic α-keto acids. Plausible support for this new code came from in silico simulation of the adenylation domain structure. According to the model, the predicted residues line the active site and, therefore, very likely contribute to substrate specificity.     

Characterization of Lipases and Esterases from Metagenomes for Lipid Modification

Three hundred and fifty novel lipases and esterases discovered from environmental DNA samples were characterized for their fatty acid profile using GC-analysis. Enzymes were selected for further study based on activity and fatty acid chain length specificity. Additional characterization was based on enzyme activity towards tributyrin and 4-methylumbelliferyl butyrate, and enzyme heat stability. Several lipases were identified, which show high specificity towards short-chain fatty acids similar to pregastric lipases from kid and calf and a lipase from Mucor javanicus. Additionally, the metagenome-derived enzymes were thermostable. Selected metagenomic lipases were immobilized on Celite and used for the synthesis of structured triglycerides.     

Pheromone hydrolysis by cuticular and interior esterases of the antennae,legs, and wings of the cabbage looper moth,Trichoplusia ni (Hübner)

Examination was made of the hydrolytic activities of esterases obtained from the antennae, legs, and wings of 3-day-old cabbage looper moths,Trichoplusia ni (Hübner), by elution and by homogenation of those appendages. Pheromone hydrolysis in 1-min assays was monitored by use of tritium-labeled (Z)-7-dodecen-1-ol acetate and thin-layer chromatography to separate the reaction products. Listed according to the activities of the esterases obtained by homogenation, the organs were antennae > legs > wings. In contrast, the order according to the activities of the eluted esterases was wings > legs > antennae. Also, the eluted enzymes were less active than the esterases obtained by homogenization. The relatively high pheromone-hydrolyzing activity present in homogenized antennae suggests that the esterases originated inside the antennae and lends support to the hypothesis proposed in earlier investigations that pheromone-inactivating enzymes may play an important role in the olfactory process, possibly by clearing pheromone from the vicinity of the olfactory receptors. The esterases detected on the cuticle, on the other hand, may function by preventing surface accumulation of pheromone. The higher measured esterase activity in homogenates of prothoracic legs than of mesothoracic or metathoracic legs suggests that the prothoracic legs, which are used to clean the antennae of debris, may function by removing and degrading pheromone from the surface of antennae.Mention of a commercial or proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement by the USDA.