The tryptophan residue at the active site tunnel entrance of Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase Cel7A is important for initiation of degradation of crystalline cellulose.

BACKGROUND: Mutation of Trp-40 in the Cel7A cellobiohydrolase from Trichoderma reesei (TrCel7A) causes a loss of crystalline cellulose-degrading ability. RESULTS: Mutant W40A showed reduced specific activity for crystalline cellulose and diffused the cellulose chain from the entrance of the active site tunnel. CONCLUSION: Trp-40 is essential for chain end loading to initiate processive hydrolysis of TrCel7A. SIGNIFICANCE: The mechanisms of crystalline polysaccharide degradation are clarified. The glycoside hydrolase family 7 cellobiohydrolase Cel7A from Trichoderma reesei is one of the best studied cellulases with the ability to degrade highly crystalline cellulose. The catalytic domain and the cellulose-binding domain (CBD) are both necessary for full activity on crystalline substrates. Our previous high-speed atomic force microscopy studies showed that mutation of Trp-40 at the entrance of the catalytic tunnel drastically decreases the ability to degrade crystalline cellulose. Here, we examined the activities of the WT enzyme and mutant W40A (with and without the CBD) for various substrates. Evaluation and comparison of the specific activities of the enzymes (WT, W40A, and the corresponding catalytic subunits (WTcat and W40Acat)) adsorbed on crystalline cellulose indicated that Trp-40 is involved in recruiting individual substrate chains into the active site tunnel to initiate processive hydrolysis. This was supported by molecular dynamics simulation study, i.e. the reducing end glucose unit was effectively loaded into the active site of WTcat, but not into that of W40Acat, when the simulation was started from subsite -7. However, when similar simulations were carried out starting from subsite -5, both enzymes held the substrate for 50 ns, indicating that the major difference between WTcat and W40Acat is the length of the free chain end of the substrate required to allow initiation of processive movements; this also reflects the difference between crystalline and amorphous celluloses. The CBD is important for enhancing the enzyme population on crystalline substrate, but it also decreases the specific activity of the adsorbed enzyme, possibly by attaching the enzyme to non-optimal places on the cellulose surface and/or hindering processive hydrolysis.

Production of D-lactic acid in a continuous membrane integrated fermentation reactor by genetically modified Saccharomyces cerevisiae: enhancement in D-lactic acid carbon yield.

Poly d-lactic acid is an important polymer because it improves the thermostability of poly l-lactic acid by stereo complex formation. To demonstrate potency of continuous fermentation using a membrane-integrated fermentation reactor (MFR) system, continuous fermentation using genetically modified Saccharomyces cerevisiae which produces d-lactic acid was performed at the low pH and microaerobic conditions. d-Lactic acid continuous fermentation using the MFR system by genetically modified yeast increased production rate by 11-fold compared with batch fermentation. In addition, the carbon yield of d-lactic acid in continuous fermentation was improved to 74.6 ± 2.3% compared to 39.0 ± 1.7% with batch fermentation. This dramatic improvement in carbon yield could not be explained by a reduction in carbon consumption to form cells compared to batch fermentation. Further detailed analysis at batch fermentation revealed that the carbon yield increased to 76.8% at late stationary phase. S. cerevisiae, which exhibits the Crabtree-positive effect, demonstrated significant changes in metabolic activities at low sugar concentrations (Rossignol et al., Yeast, 20, 1369-1385, 2003). Moreover, lactate-producing S. cerevisiae requires ATP supplied not only from the glycolytic pathway but also from the TCA cycle (van Maris et al., Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 70, 2898-2905, 2004). Our finding was revealed that continuous fermentation, which can maintain the conditions of both a low sugar concentration and air supply, results in Crabtree-positive and lactate-producing S. cerevisiae for suitable conditions of d-lactic acid production with respect to redox balance and ATP generation because of releasing the yeast from the Crabtree effect.