Altering the Chain Length Specificity of a Lipase from Pleurotus citrinopileatus for the Application in Cheese Making.

In traditional cheese making, pregastric lipolytic enzymes of animal origin are used for the acceleration of ripening and the formation of spicy flavor compounds. Especially for cheese specialities, such as Pecorino, Provolone, or Feta, pregastric esterases (PGE) play an important role. A lipase from Pleurotus citrinopileatus could serve as a substitute for these animal-derived enzymes, thus offering vegetarian, kosher, and halal alternatives. However, the hydrolytic activity of this enzyme towards long-chain fatty acids is slightly too high, which may lead to off-flavors during long-term ripening. Therefore, an optimization via protein engineering (PE) was performed by changing the specificity towards medium-chain fatty acids. With a semi-rational design, possible mutants at eight different positions were created and analyzed in silico. Heterologous expression was performed for 24 predicted mutants, of which 18 caused a change in the hydrolysis profile. Three mutants (F91L, L302G, and L305A) were used in application tests to produce Feta-type brine cheese. The sensory analyses showed promising results for cheeses prepared with the L305A mutant, and SPME-GC-MS analysis of volatile free fatty acids supported these findings. Therefore, altering the chain length specificity via PE becomes a powerful tool for the replacement of PGEs in cheese making.

Replacement of Pregastric Lipases in Cheese Production: Identification and Heterologous Expression of a Lipase from Pleurotus citrinopileatus.

Traditionally produced piquant cheeses such as Feta or Provolone rely on pregastric lipolytic enzymes of animal origin to intensify flavor formation during ripening. Herein, we report a novel fungal lipase, derived from the phylum Basidiomycota to replace animal-derived products. A screening of 31 strains for the desired hydrolytic activities was performed, which revealed a promising fungal species. The secretome of an edible golden oyster mushroom, Pleurotus citrinopileatus, provided suitable enzymatic activity, and the coding sequence of the corresponding enzyme was identified by combining transcriptome and liquid chromatography high-resolution electrospray tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-HR-ESI-MS/MS) data. Recombinant expression in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) using chaperones GroES-GroEL and DnaK-DnaJ-GrpE was established. The recombinant lipolytic enzyme was purified and biochemically characterized in terms of thermal and pH stability, optimal reaction conditions, and kinetic data toward p-nitrophenyl esters. An application in the microscale production of Feta-type brine cheese revealed promising sensory properties, which were confirmed by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) analyses in comparison with the reference enzyme opti-zym z10uc from goat origin. Supplementation with 2.3 U of the heterologously expressed fungal lipase produced the most comparable free fatty acid profile after 30 days of ripening. The flavor and texture formed during the application of the new lipase from P. citrinopileatus proved to be competitive to the use of pregastric lipases and could therefore replace the products of animal origin.

Bacillus anthracis ω-amino acid:pyruvate transaminase employs a different mechanism for dual substrate recognition than other amine transaminases.

Understanding the metabolic potential of organisms or a bacterial community based on their (meta) genome requires the reliable prediction of an enzyme's function from its amino acid sequence. Besides a remarkable development in prediction algorithms, the substrate scope of sequences with low identity to well-characterized enzymes remains often very elusive. From a recently conducted structure function analysis study of PLP-dependent enzymes, we identified a putative transaminase from Bacillus anthracis (Ban-TA) with the crystal structure 3N5M (deposited in the protein data bank in 2011, but not yet published). The active site residues of Ban-TA differ from those in related (class III) transaminases, which thereby have prevented function predictions. By investigating 50 substrate combinations its amine and ω-amino acid:pyruvate transaminase activity was revealed. Even though Ban-TA showed a relatively narrow amine substrate scope within the tested substrates, it accepts 2-propylamine, which is a prerequisite for industrial asymmetric amine synthesis. Structural information implied that the so-called dual substrate recognition of chemically different substrates (i.e. amines and amino acids) differs from that in formerly known enzymes. It lacks the normally conserved 'flipping' arginine, which enables dual substrate recognition by its side chain flexibility in other ω-amino acid:pyruvate transaminases. Molecular dynamics studies suggested that another arginine (R162) binds ω-amino acids in Ban-TA, but no side chain movements are required for amine and amino acid binding. These results, supported by mutagenesis studies, provide functional insights for the B. anthracis enzyme, enable function predictions of related proteins, and broadened the knowledge regarding ω-amino acid and amine converting transaminases.

Enhancing the Acyltransferase Activity of Candida antarctica Lipase A by Rational Design.

A few lipases, such as Candida antarctica lipase A (CAL-A), are known to possess acyltransferase activity. This enables the enzyme to synthesize fatty acid esters from natural oils and alcohols even in the presence of bulk water. Unfortunately, fatty acids are still formed in these reactions as undesired side-products. To reduce the amount of fatty acids, several CAL-A variants were rationally designed based on its crystal structure. These variants were expressed in Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris, purified, and their acyltransferase/hydrolase activities were investigated by various biocatalytic approaches. Among the investigated variants, mutant Asp122Leu showed a significant decrease in the hydrolytic activity, thus reducing the side-product yield during acylation. As desired, this variant retained wild-type process-relevant features like pH profile and thermostability.