Engineering analysis of multienzyme cascade reactions for 3'-sialyllactose synthesis.

Sialo-oligosaccharides are important products of emerging biotechnology for complex carbohydrates as nutritional ingredients. Cascade bio-catalysis is central to the development of sialo-oligosaccharide production systems, based on isolated enzymes or whole cells. Multienzyme transformations have been established for sialo-oligosaccharide synthesis from expedient substrates, but systematic engineering analysis for the optimization of such transformations is lacking. Here, we show a mathematical modeling-guided approach to 3'-sialyllactose (3SL) synthesis from N-acetyl- d-neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and lactose in the presence of cytidine 5'-triphosphate, via the reactions of cytidine 5'-monophosphate-Neu5Ac synthetase and α2,3-sialyltransferase. The Neu5Ac was synthesized in situ from N-acetyl- d-mannosamine using the reversible reaction with pyruvate by Neu5Ac lyase or the effectively irreversible reaction with phosphoenolpyruvate by Neu5Ac synthase. We show through comprehensive time-course study by experiment and modeling that, due to kinetic rather than thermodynamic advantages of the synthase reaction, the 3SL yield was increased (up to 75%; 10.4 g/L) and the initial productivity doubled (15 g/L/h), compared with synthesis based on the lyase reaction. We further show model-based optimization to minimize the total loading of protein (saving: up to 43%) while maintaining a suitable ratio of the individual enzyme activities to achieve 3SL target yield (61%-75%; 7-10 g/L) and overall productivity (3-5 g/L/h). Collectively, our results reveal the principal factors of enzyme cascade efficiency for 3SL synthesis and highlight the important role of engineering analysis to make multienzyme-catalyzed transformations fit for oligosaccharide production.

Bacterial sialyltransferases and their use in biocatalytic cascades for sialo-oligosaccharide production.

Sialic acids are important recognition sites in protein- and lipid-linked glycans of higher organisms and of select bacteria and protozoa. They are also prominent in human milk oligosaccharides. Defined sialo-oligosaccharides have interesting applications in chemical glycobiology and represent emerging ingredients for health-related nutrition. The growing demand for sialo-oligosaccharides has promoted developments in multidisciplinary carbohydrate synthesis, with approaches by cascade bio-catalysis having a leading role. The key synthetic step involves catalysis by sialyltransferases (EC 2.4.99.-) and consists in attaching sialic acid from a cytidine 5'-monophosphate-activated donor (CMP-sialic acid) to the nascent oligosaccharide acceptor. Sialyltransferases from bacteria, in general, show convenient properties for application (e.g., relative ease of recombinant production; high specific activity and operational stability). Here, we review salient characteristics of the bacterial sialyltransferases active on d-galactose- and N-acetyl-d-galactosamine-containing acceptors and highlight advances of their development into efficient biocatalysts. We also show integration of these sialyltransferases into multistep enzymatic cascades for sialo-oligosaccharide (e.g., sialyllactose) production from expedient substrates, using in situ formation of the CMP-sialic acid donor. We summarize functional parameters of the enzymes for CMP-sialic acid supply and analyze multi-enzymatic synthesis of sialo-oligosaccharides from a reaction engineering point of view. We discuss opportunities of sialyltransferase cascades for efficient sialo-oligosaccharide production in vitro and in vivo.

Biotechnological production of fucosylated human milk oligosaccharides: Prokaryotic fucosyltransferases and their use in biocatalytic cascades or whole cell conversion systems.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) constitute a class of complex carbohydrates unique to mother's milk and are strongly correlated to the health benefits of breastfeeding in infants. HMOs are important as functional ingredients of advanced infant formula and have attracted broad interest for use in health-related human nutrition. About 50% of the HMOs structures contain l-fucosyl residues, which are introduced into nascent oligosaccharides by enzymatic transfer from GDP-l-fucose. To overcome limitation in the current availability of fucosylated HMOs, biotechnological approaches for their production have been developed. Functional expression of the fucosyltransferase(s) and effective supply of GDP-l-fucose, respectively, are both bottlenecks of the biocatalytic routes of synthesis. Strategies of in vitro and in vivo production of fucosylated HMOs are reviewed here. Besides metabolic engineering for enhanced HMO production in whole cells, the focus is on the characteristics and the heterologous overexpression of prokaryotic α1,2- and α1,3/4-fucosyltransferases. Up to 20g/L of fucosylated HMOs were obtained in optimized production systems. Optimized expression enabled recovery of purified fucosyltransferases in a yield of up to 45mg/L culture for α1,2-fucosyltransferases and of up to 200mg protein/L culture for α1,3/4-fucosyltransferases.

Cofactor Specificity Engineering of Streptococcus mutans NADH Oxidase 2 for NAD(P)(+) Regeneration in Biocatalytic Oxidations.

Soluble water-forming NAD(P)H oxidases constitute a promising NAD(P)(+) regeneration method as they only need oxygen as cosubstrate and produce water as sole byproduct. Moreover, the thermodynamic equilibrium of O2 reduction is a valuable driving force for mostly energetically unfavorable biocatalytic oxidations. Here, we present the generation of an NAD(P)H oxidase with high activity for both cofactors, NADH and NADPH. Starting from the strictly NADH specific water-forming Streptococcus mutans NADH oxidase 2 several rationally designed cofactor binding site mutants were created and kinetic values for NADH and NADPH conversion were determined. Double mutant 193R194H showed comparable high rates and low K m values for NADPH (k cat 20 s(-1), K m 6 µM) and NADH (k cat 25 s(-1), K m 9 µM) with retention of 70% of wild type activity towards NADH. Moreover, by screening of a SeSaM library S. mutans NADH oxidase 2 variants showing predominantly NADPH activity were found, giving further insight into cofactor binding site architecture. Applicability for cofactor regeneration is shown for coupling with alcohol dehydrogenase from Sphyngobium yanoikuyae for 2-heptanone production.

Targeting the substrate binding site of E. coli nitrile reductase QueF by modeling, substrate and enzyme engineering.

Nitrile reductase QueF catalyzes the reduction of 2-amino-5-cyanopyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-one (preQ0) to 2-amino-5-aminomethylpyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-one (preQ1) in the biosynthetic pathway of the hypermodified nucleoside queuosine. It is the only enzyme known to catalyze a reduction of a nitrile to its corresponding primary amine and could therefore expand the toolbox of biocatalytic reactions of nitriles. To evaluate this new oxidoreductase for application in biocatalytic reactions, investigation of its substrate scope is prerequisite. We report here an investigation of the active site binding properties and the substrate scope of nitrile reductase QueF from Escherichia coli. Screenings with simple nitrile structures revealed high substrate specificity. Consequently, binding interactions of the substrate to the active site were identified based on a new homology model of E. coli QueF and modeled complex structures of the natural and non-natural substrates. Various structural analogues of the natural substrate preQ0 were synthesized and screened with wild-type QueF from E. coli and several active site mutants. Two amino acid residues Cys190 and Asp197 were shown to play an essential role in the catalytic mechanism. Three non-natural substrates were identified and compared to the natural substrate regarding their specific activities by using wild-type and mutant nitrile reductase.

Fermentation of mixed glucose-xylose substrates by engineered strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: role of the coenzyme specificity of xylose reductase, and effect of glucose on xylose utilization.

BACKGROUND: In spite of the substantial metabolic engineering effort previously devoted to the development of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains capable of fermenting both the hexose and pentose sugars present in lignocellulose hydrolysates, the productivity of reported strains for conversion of the naturally most abundant pentose, xylose, is still a major issue of process efficiency. Protein engineering for targeted alteration of the nicotinamide cofactor specificity of enzymes catalyzing the first steps in the metabolic pathway for xylose was a successful approach of reducing xylitol by-product formation and improving ethanol yield from xylose. The previously reported yeast strain BP10001, which expresses heterologous xylose reductase from Candida tenuis in mutated (NADH-preferring) form, stands for a series of other yeast strains designed with similar rational. Using 20 g/L xylose as sole source of carbon, BP10001 displayed a low specific uptake rate qxylose (g xylose/g dry cell weight/h) of 0.08. The study presented herein was performed with the aim of analysing (external) factors that limit qxylose of BP10001 under xylose-only and mixed glucose-xylose substrate conditions. We also carried out a comprehensive investigation on the currently unclear role of coenzyme utilization, NADPH compared to NADH, for xylose reduction during co-fermentation of glucose and xylose. RESULTS: BP10001 and BP000, expressing C. tenuis xylose reductase in NADPH-preferring wild-type form, were used. Glucose and xylose (each at 10 g/L) were converted sequentially, the corresponding qsubstrate values being similar for each strain (glucose: 3.0; xylose: 0.05). The distribution of fermentation products from glucose was identical for both strains whereas when using xylose, BP10001 showed enhanced ethanol yield (BP10001 0.30 g/g; BP000 0.23 g/g) and decreased yields of xylitol (BP10001 0.26 g/g; BP000 0.36 g/g) and glycerol (BP10001 0.023 g/g; BP000 0.072 g/g) as compared to BP000. Increase in xylose concentration from 10 to 50 g/L resulted in acceleration of substrate uptake by BP10001 (0.05 - 0.14 g/g CDW/h) and reduction of the xylitol yield (0.28 g/g - 0.15 g/g). In mixed substrate batches, xylose was taken up at low glucose concentrations (< 4 g/L) and up to fivefold enhanced xylose uptake rate was found towards glucose depletion. A fed-batch process designed to maintain a "stimulating" level of glucose throughout the course of xylose conversion provided a qxylose that had an initial value of 0.30 +/- 0.04 g/g CDW/h and decreased gradually with time. It gave product yields of 0.38 g ethanol/g total sugar and 0.19 g xylitol/g xylose. The effect of glucose on xylose utilization appears to result from the enhanced flux of carbon through glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway under low-glucose reaction conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Relative improvements in the distribution of fermentation products from xylose that can be directly related to a change in the coenzyme preference of xylose reductase from NADPH in BP000 to NADH in BP10001 increase in response to an increase in the initial concentration of the pentose substrate from 10 to 50 g/L. An inverse relationship between xylose uptake rate and xylitol yield for BP10001 implies that xylitol by-product formation is controlled not only by coenzyme regeneration during two-step oxidoreductive conversion of xylose into xylulose. Although xylose is not detectably utilized at glucose concentrations greater than 4 g/L, the presence of a low residual glucose concentration (< 2 g/L) promotes the uptake of xylose and its conversion into ethanol with only moderate xylitol by-product formation. A fed-batch reaction that maintains glucose in the useful concentration range and provides a constant qglucose may be useful for optimizing qxylose in processes designed for co-fermentation of glucose and xylose.

Altering the coenzyme preference of xylose reductase to favor utilization of NADH enhances ethanol yield from xylose in a metabolically engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for xylose fermentation into fuel ethanol has oftentimes relied on insertion of a heterologous pathway that consists of xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) and brings about isomerization of xylose into xylulose via xylitol. Incomplete recycling of redox cosubstrates in the catalytic steps of the NADPH-preferring XR and the NAD+-dependent XDH results in formation of xylitol by-product and hence in lowering of the overall yield of ethanol on xylose. Structure-guided site-directed mutagenesis was previously employed to change the coenzyme preference of Candida tenuis XR about 170-fold from NADPH in the wild-type to NADH in a Lys274-->Arg Asn276-->Asp double mutant which in spite of the structural modifications introduced had retained the original catalytic efficiency for reduction of xylose by NADH. This work was carried out to assess physiological consequences in xylose-fermenting S. cerevisiae resulting from a well defined alteration of XR cosubstrate specificity. RESULTS: An isogenic pair of yeast strains was derived from S. cerevisiae Cen.PK 113-7D through chromosomal integration of a three-gene cassette that carried a single copy for C. tenuis XR in wild-type or double mutant form, XDH from Galactocandida mastotermitis, and the endogenous xylulose kinase (XK). Overexpression of each gene was under control of the constitutive TDH3 promoter. Measurement of intracellular levels of XR, XDH, and XK activities confirmed the expected phenotypes. The strain harboring the XR double mutant showed 42% enhanced ethanol yield (0.34 g/g) compared to the reference strain harboring wild-type XR during anaerobic bioreactor conversions of xylose (20 g/L). Likewise, the yields of xylitol (0.19 g/g) and glycerol (0.02 g/g) were decreased 52% and 57% respectively in the XR mutant strain. The xylose uptake rate per gram of cell dry weight was identical (0.07 +/- 0.02 h-1) in both strains. CONCLUSION: Integration of enzyme and strain engineering to enhance utilization of NADH in the XR-catalyzed conversion of xylose results in notably improved fermentation capabilities of recombinant S. cerevisiae.

Structural and kinetic studies of induced fit in xylulose kinase from Escherichia coli.

The primary metabolic route for D-xylose, the second most abundant sugar in nature, is via the pentose phosphate pathway after a two-step or three-step conversion to xylulose-5-phosphate. Xylulose kinase (XK; EC 2.7.1.17) phosphorylates D-xylulose, the last step in this conversion. The apo and D-xylulose-bound crystal structures of Escherichia coli XK have been determined and show a dimer composed of two domains separated by an open cleft. XK dimerization was observed directly by a cryo-EM reconstruction at 36 A resolution. Kinetic studies reveal that XK has a weak substrate-independent MgATP-hydrolyzing activity, and phosphorylates several sugars and polyols with low catalytic efficiency. Binding of pentulose and MgATP to form the reactive ternary complex is strongly synergistic. Although the steady-state kinetic mechanism of XK is formally random, a path is preferred in which D-xylulose binds before MgATP. Modelling of MgATP binding to XK and the accompanying conformational change suggests that sugar binding is accompanied by a dramatic hinge-bending movement that enhances interactions with MgATP, explaining the observed synergism. A catalytic mechanism is proposed and supported by relevant site-directed mutants.

Engineering Candida tenuis Xylose reductase for improved utilization of NADH: antagonistic effects of multiple side chain replacements and performance of site-directed mutants under simulated in vivo conditions.

Six single- and multiple-site variants of Candida tenuis xylose reductase that were engineered to have side chain replacements in the coenzyme 2'-phosphate binding pocket were tested for NADPH versus NADH selectivity (R(sel)) in the presence of physiological reactant concentrations. The experimental R(sel) values agreed well with predictions from a kinetic mechanism describing mixed alternative coenzyme utilization. The Lys-274-->Arg and Arg-280-->His substitutions, which individually improved wild-type R(sel) 50- and 20-fold, respectively, had opposing structural effects when they were combined in a double mutant.

Fine tuning of coenzyme specificity in family 2 aldo-keto reductases revealed by crystal structures of the Lys-274-->Arg mutant of Candida tenuis xylose reductase (AKR2B5) bound to NAD+ and NADP+.

Aldo-keto reductases of family 2 employ single site replacement Lys-->Arg to switch their cosubstrate preference from NADPH to NADH. X-ray crystal structures of Lys-274-->Arg mutant of Candida tenuis xylose reductase (AKR2B5) bound to NAD+ and NADP+ were determined at a resolution of 2.4 and 2.3A, respectively. Due to steric conflicts in the NADP+-bound form, the arginine side chain must rotate away from the position of the original lysine side chain, thereby disrupting a network of direct and water-mediated interactions between Glu-227, Lys-274 and the cofactor 2'-phosphate and 3'-hydroxy groups. Because anchoring contacts of its Glu-227 are lost, the coenzyme-enfolding loop that becomes ordered upon binding of NAD(P)+ in the wild-type remains partly disordered in the NADP+-bound mutant. The results delineate a catalytic reaction profile for the mutant in comparison to wild-type.

The coenzyme specificity of Candida tenuis xylose reductase (AKR2B5) explored by site-directed mutagenesis and X-ray crystallography.

CtXR (xylose reductase from the yeast Candida tenuis; AKR2B5) can utilize NADPH or NADH as co-substrate for the reduction of D-xylose into xylitol, NADPH being preferred approx. 33-fold. X-ray structures of CtXR bound to NADP+ and NAD+ have revealed two different protein conformations capable of accommodating the presence or absence of the coenzyme 2'-phosphate group. Here we have used site-directed mutagenesis to replace interactions specific to the enzyme-NADP+ complex with the aim of engineering the co-substrate-dependent conformational switch towards improved NADH selectivity. Purified single-site mutants K274R (Lys274-->Arg), K274M, K274G, S275A, N276D, R280H and the double mutant K274R-N276D were characterized by steady-state kinetic analysis of enzymic D-xylose reductions with NADH and NADPH at 25 degrees C (pH 7.0). The results reveal between 2- and 193-fold increases in NADH versus NADPH selectivity in the mutants, compared with the wild-type, with only modest alterations of the original NADH-linked xylose specificity and catalytic-centre activity. Catalytic reaction profile analysis demonstrated that all mutations produced parallel effects of similar magnitude on ground-state binding of coenzyme and transition state stabilization. The crystal structure of the double mutant showing the best improvement of coenzyme selectivity versus wild-type and exhibiting a 5-fold preference for NADH over NADPH was determined in a binary complex with NAD+ at 2.2 A resolution.

Xylose reductase from the Basidiomycete fungus Cryptococcus flavus: purification, steady-state kinetic characterization, and detailed analysis of the substrate binding pocket using structure-activity relationships.

Xylose reductase has been purified to apparent homogeneity from cell extracts of the fungus Cryptococcus flavus grown on D-xylose as carbon source. The enzyme, the first of its kind from the phylum Basidiomycota, is a functional dimer composed of identical subunits of 35.3 kDa mass and requires NADP(H) for activity. Steady-state kinetic parameters for the reaction, D-xylose + NADPH + H(+)<--> xylitol + NADP(+), have been obtained at pH 7.0 and 25 degrees C. The catalytic efficiency for reduction of D-xylose is 150 times that for oxidation of xylitol. This and the 3-fold tighter binding of NADPH than NADP(+) indicate that the enzyme is primed for unidirectional metabolic function in microbial physiology. Kinetic analysis of enzymic reduction of aldehyde substrates differing in hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding capabilities with binary enzyme-NADPH complex has been used to characterize the substrate-binding pocket of xylose reductase. Total transition state stabilization energy derived from bonding with non-reacting sugar hydroxyls is approximately 15 kJ/mol, with a major contribution of 5-8 kJ/mol made by interactions with the C-2(R) hydroxy group. The aldehyde binding site is approximately 1.2 times more hydrophobic than n-octanol and can accommodate linear alkyl chains of