木脂素的生物合成及其微生物法生产的研究进展

木脂素是一类分布于植物中的次级代谢产物,由两分子苯丙素衍生物聚合而成。木脂素具有抗细菌、抗病毒和抗真菌活性,被广泛用于药物和食品中。目前,木脂素的生产主要依赖于植物提取。植物生长周期长、木脂素含量低等问题,限制了木脂素的商业应用。随着木脂素合成路径和关键酶的不断解析,木脂素的生物催化合成过程受到了越来越多的关注。本文总结了典型木脂素的生物活性、生物合成路径和微生物法生产的研究进展,可以为深入研究木脂素的微生物合成提供参考。     

Artificial Light Regulation of an Allosteric Bienzyme Complex by a Photosensitive Ligand

The artificial regulation of proteins by light is an emerging subdiscipline of synthetic biology. Here, we used this concept to photocontrol both catalysis and allostery within the heterodimeric enzyme complex imidazole glycerol phosphate synthase (ImGP‐S). ImGP‐S consists of the cyclase subunit HisF and the glutaminase subunit HisH, which is allosterically stimulated by substrate binding to HisF. We show that a light‐sensitive diarylethene (1,2‐dithienylethene, DTE)‐based competitive inhibitor in its ring‐open state binds with low micromolar affinity to the cyclase subunit and displaces its substrate from the active site. As a consequence, catalysis by HisF and allosteric stimulation of HisH are impaired. Following UV‐light irradiation, the DTE ligand adopts its ring‐closed state and loses affinity for HisF, restoring activity and allostery. Our approach allows for the switching of ImGP‐S activity and allostery during catalysis and appears to be generally applicable for the light regulation of other multienzyme complexes.     

影响多步脱氢酶CrtI功能的关键结构特征探索

在生物体内存在可催化多步连续反应的通用酶,对生物代谢过程具有重要作用。八氢番茄红素脱氢酶（CrtI）作为典型代表,可以催化多步连续脱氢反应,生成番茄红素等具有重要价值的产物。本文以酿酒酵母为底盘研究CrtI的催化功能特征。首先通过组合设计与筛选番茄红素合成路径中的三种外源酶CrtE、CrtB和CrtI,发现CrtI是主要的限制因素,且三孢布拉氏霉菌来源的CrtI(BtCrtI)表现出优异的催化功能。通过生物信息学与蛋白结构分析发现BtCrtI的S311残基是连接和稳定活性中心结构的关键。随后通过分析该位点的饱和突变结果,揭示了该位点的氨基酸残基类型对活性中心结构和功能的显著作用,为酶的设计和改造提供了新的思路。同时发现CrtI的活性差异未对合成路径中的类胡萝卜素的代谢流造成扰动,表明CrtI是番茄红素的产量和纯度的决定因素。     

Tuning and Switching Enantioselectivity of Asymmetric Carboligation in an Enzyme through Mutational Analysis of a Single Hot Spot

Enantioselective bond making and breaking is a hallmark of enzyme action, yet switching the enantioselectivity of the reaction is a difficult undertaking, and typically requires extensive screening of mutant libraries and multiple mutations. Here, we demonstrate that mutational diversification of a single catalytic hot spot in the enzyme pyruvate decarboxylase gives access to both enantiomers of acyloins acetoin and phenylacetylcarbinol, important pharmaceutical precursors, in the case of acetoin even starting from the unselective wild‐type protein. Protein crystallography was used to rationalize these findings and to propose a mechanistic model of how enantioselectivity is controlled. In a broader context, our studies highlight the efficiency of mechanism‐inspired and structure‐guided rational protein design for enhancing and switching enantioselectivity of enzymatic reactions, by systematically exploring the biocatalytic potential of a single hot spot.     

Tackling Achilles’ Heel in Synthetic Biology: Pairing Intracellular Synthesis of Noncanonical Amino Acids with Genetic-Code Expansion to Foster Biotechnological Applications

For the last two decades, synthetic biologists have been able to unlock and expand the genetic code, generating proteins with unique properties through the incorporation of noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs). These evolved biomaterials have shown great potential for applications in industrial biocatalysis, therapeutics, bioremediation, bioconjugation, and other areas. Our ability to continue developing such technologies depends on having relatively easy access to ncAAs. However, the synthesis of enantiomerically pure ncAAs in practical quantitates for large-scale processes remains a challenge. Biocatalytic ncAA production has emerged as an excellent alternative to traditional organic synthesis in terms of cost, enantioselectivity, and sustainability. Moreover, biocatalytic synthesis offers the opportunity of coupling the intracellular generation of ncAAs with genetic-code expansion to overcome the limitations of an external supply of amino acid. In this minireview, we examine some of the most relevant achievements of this approach and its implications for improving technological applications derived from synthetic biology.     

基于系统生物学和合成生物学的重要平台化学品生物制造的研究进展

基于生物质资源的平台化学品制造,是解决目前石化资源枯竭和环境问题的重要措施,对经济社会的可持续发展具有重要意义。本文主要介绍了系统生物学和合成生物学在有机酸(琥珀酸、富马酸、L-苹果酸、葡萄糖二酸、丙酮酸、苯丙酮酸、α-酮戊二酸)以及其他平台化学品(2,5-呋喃二甲酸)生物制造中的应用,并展望了生物制造在平台化学品生产中的未来发展方向。     

Investigation of a New Type I Baeyer–Villiger Monooxygenase from Amycolatopsis thermoflava Revealed High Thermodynamic but Limited Kinetic Stability

Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs) are remarkable biocatalysts, but, due to their low stability, their application in industry is hampered. Thus, there is a high demand to expand on the diversity and increase the stability of this class of enzyme. Starting from a known thermostable BVMO sequence from Thermocrispum municipale (TmCHMO), a novel BVMO from Amycolaptosis thermoflava (BVMO_Flava), which was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3), was identified. The activity and stability of the purified enzyme was investigated and the substrate profile for structurally different cyclohexanones and cyclobutanones was assigned. The enzyme showed a lower activity than that of cyclohexanone monooxygenase (CHMO_Acineto) from Acinetobacter sp., as the prototype BVMO, but indicated higher kinetic stability by showing a twofold longer half-life at 30 °C. The thermodynamic stability, as represented by the melting temperature, resulted in a T_m value of 53.1 °C for BVMO_Flava, which was comparable to the T_m of TmCHMO (ΔT_m=1 °C) and significantly higher than the T_m value for CHMO_Acineto ((ΔT_m=14.6 °C)). A strong deviation between the thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities of BVMO_Flava was observed; this might have a major impact on future enzyme discovery for BVMOs and their synthetic applications.