C-terminal His-tagging results in substrate specificity changes of the thioesterase I from Escherichia coli

The biochemical properties of Escherichia coli thioesterase I, His-tagged (HT) on the C-terminal, were systematically analyzed and compared with that without the His-tag (WT). These two types of enzymes exhibit similar optimal temperature and pH dependence, but subtle differences were detected. Kinetic studies revealed that the k _car/JK _m values of the HT enzyme for the substrates palmitoyl-CoA and p-nitrophenyl dodecanoate were 36- and 10-fold lower than those of the WT, respectively. In contrast, HT had a fivefold increased catalytic efficiency for p-nitrophenyl acetate, and up to fourfold increases toward phenylalanine- and tyrosine-derived ester substrates, l-NBPNPE (N-carbobenzoxy-l-phenylalanine p-nitrophenyl ester) and l-NBTNPE (N-carbobenzoxyl-l-tyrosine p-nitrophenyl ester), respectively. For l-NBPNPE and l-NBTNPE, the increases were attributed to the higher k _cat values with little changes in K _m, whereas the increase for p-nitrophenyl acetate was mainly attributed to the lower K _m value. It is concluded that addition of six hydrophilic histidine residues on the C-terminus resulted in a change in substrate specificity of E. coli thioesterase I toward more hydrophilic substrates.     

谷氨酸棒状杆菌硫酯酶基因表达对脂肪酸合成的影响

旨在为进一步构建脂肪酸高产菌株奠定基础,通过异源和同源表达,研究了谷氨酸棒状杆菌ATCC13032中硫酯酶的基因(NCgl2365和NCgl0090)对脂肪酸合成的影响。结果表明：硫酯酶的过表达对大肠杆菌和谷氨酸棒状杆菌中脂肪酸的种类和含量都产生了影响;基因NCgl2365在大肠杆菌中过表达后脂肪酸产量增加了37.86%,且促进了饱和脂肪酸C16∶0、C18∶0和不饱和脂肪酸C17∶1和C20∶3的生成,在谷氨酸棒状杆菌中同源表达后脂肪酸产量提高了33.43%,C17∶0相对含量增加了51.82%,而C6∶0、C8∶0、C12∶0、C17∶1、C18∶0、C18∶1和C18∶3的相对含量显著减少;基因NCgl0090在大肠杆菌中过表达后脂肪酸产量增加了58.15%,促进了饱和脂肪酸C14∶0、C16∶0、C18∶0和不饱和脂肪酸C17∶1的生成,而在谷氨酸棒状杆菌中同源表达后脂肪酸产量提高了59.12%,其中C16∶0相对含量增加了40.18%,促进了C10∶0、C14∶0、C14∶1、C15∶0、C16∶1、C18∶2、C20∶1和C21∶0 8种新脂肪酸的合成。综上,基因NCgl2...     

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.     

An Evolutionary Model Encompassing Substrate Specificity and Reactivity of Type I Polyketide Synthase Thioesterases

Bacterial polyketides are a rich source of chemical diversity and pharmaceutical agents. Understanding the biochemical basis for their biosynthesis and the evolutionary driving force leading to this diversity is essential to take advantage of the enzymes as biocatalysts and to access new chemical diversity for drug discovery. Biochemical characterization of the thioesterase (TE) responsible for 6‐deoxyerythronolide macrocyclization shows that a small, evolutionarily accessible change to the substrate can increase the chemical diversity of products, including macrodiolide formation. We propose an evolutionary model in which TEs are by nature non‐selective for the type of chemistry they catalyze, producing a range of metabolites. As one metabolite becomes essential for improving fitness in a particular environment, the TE evolves to enrich for that corresponding reactivity. This hypothesis is supported by our phylogenetic analysis, showing convergent evolution of macrodiolide‐forming TEs.     

Effects of metal ions on growth, β-oxidation system,and thioesterase activity of Lactococcus lactis

The effects of divalent metal ions (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺, and Cu²⁺) on the growth, β-oxidation system, and thioesterase activity of Lactococcus lactis were investigated. Different metal ions significantly influenced the growth of L. lactis: Ca²⁺ and Fe²⁺ accelerated growth, whereas Cu²⁺ inhibited growth. Furthermore, Mg²⁺ inhibited growth of L. lactis at a low concentration but stimulated growth of L. lactis at a high concentration. The divalent metal ions had significant effects on activity of the 4 key enzymes of the β-oxidation system (acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, enoyl-CoA hydratase, L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and thiolase) and thioesterase of L. lactis. The activity of acyl-CoA dehydrogenases increased markedly in the presence of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, whereas it decreased with 1 mmol/L Fe²⁺ or 12 mmol/L Mg²⁺. All the metal ions could induce activity of enoyl-CoA hydratase. In addition, 12 mmol/L Mg²⁺ significantly stimulated activity of L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and all metal ions could induce activity of thiolase, although thiolase activity decreased significantly when 0.05 mmol/L Cu²⁺ was added into M17 broth. Inhibition of thioesterase activity by all 4 metal ions could be reversed by 2 mmol/L Ca²⁺. These results help us understand the effect of metal ions on the β-oxidation system and thioesterase activity of Lactococcus lactis.     

高等植物的酰基-ACP硫酯酶研究进展

在高等植物质体游离脂肪酸的生物合成过程中,酰基-ACP硫酯酶能催化脂酰-ACP脱去ACP,产生游离的脂肪酸。因此,酰基-ACP硫酯酶对植物种子中贮存态的脂肪酸种类和含量,植株中从质体输出脂肪酸的链长和饱和性都起着关键的作用。本文就酰基-ACP硫酯酶结构、功能特征与分类的研究进展进行了简单的介绍,为油料作物的基因工程改造和研究提供指导,有利于植物油的工业化生产应用。     

Production of C6–C14 Medium-Chain Fatty Acids in Seeds and Leaves via Overexpression of Single Hotdog-Fold Acyl-Lipid Thioesterases

ACYL-LIPID THIOESTERASES (ALT) are a type of plant acyl–acyl carrier protein thioesterase that generate a wide range of medium-chain fatty acids and methylketone (MK) precursors when expressed heterologously in Escherichia coli. While this makes ALT-type thioesterases attractive as metabolic engineering targets to increase production of high-value medium-chain fatty acids and MKs in plant systems, the behavior of ALT enzymes in planta was not well understood before this study. To profile the substrate specificities of ALT-type thioesterases in different plant tissue types, AtALT1-4 from Arabidopsis thaliana, which have widely varied chain length and oxidation state preferences in E. coli, were overexpressed in Arabidopsis seeds, Camelina sativa seeds, and Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Seed-specific overexpression of ALT enzymes led to medium-chain fatty acid accumulation in Arabidopsis and Camelina seed triacylglycerols, and transient overexpression in N. benthamiana demonstrated that the substrate preferences of ALT-type thioesterases in planta generally agree with those previously determined in E. coli. AtALT1 and AtALT4 overexpression in leaves and seeds resulted in the accumulation of 12–14 carbon-length fatty acids and 6–8 carbon-length fatty acids, respectively. While it was difficult to completely profile the products of ALT-type thioesterases that generate MK precursors (i.e. β-keto fatty acids), our results nonetheless demonstrate that ALT enzymes are catalytically diverse in planta. The knowledge gained from this study is a significant step towards being able to use ALT-type thioesterases as metabolic engineering tools to modify the fatty acid profiles of oilseed crops, other plants, and microorganisms.