Evolving stability and pH-dependent activity of the high redox potential Botrytis aclada laccase for enzymatic fuel cells.

Fungal high redox potential laccases are proposed as cathodic biocatalysts in implantable enzymatic fuel cells to generate high cell voltages. Their application is limited mainly through their acidic pH optimum and chloride inhibition. This work investigates evolutionary and engineering strategies to increase the pH optimum of a chloride-tolerant, high redox potential laccase from the ascomycete Botrytis aclada. The laccase was subjected to two rounds of directed evolution and the clones screened for increased stability and activity at pH 6.5. Beneficial mutation sites were investigated by semi-rational and combinatorial mutagenesis. Fourteen variants were characterised in detail to evaluate changes of the kinetic constants. Mutations increasing thermostability were distributed over the entire structure. Among them, T383I showed a 2.6-fold increased half-life by preventing the loss of the T2 copper through unfolding of a loop. Mutations affecting the pH-dependence cluster around the T1 copper and categorise in three types of altered pH profiles: pH-type I changes the monotonic decreasing pH profile into a bell-shaped profile, pH-type II describes increased specific activity below pH 6.5, and pH-type III increased specific activity above pH 6.5. Specific activities of the best variants were up to 5-fold higher (13 U mg-1) than BaL WT at pH 7.5.

Expression, purification, and characterization of galactose oxidase of Fusarium sambucinum in E. coli.

A gene encoding a galactose oxidase (GalOx) was isolated from Fusarium sambucinum cultures and overexpressed in Escherichia coli yielding 4.4mg enzyme per L of growth culture with a specific activity of 159Umg(-1). By adding a C-terminal His-tag the enzyme could be easily purified with a single affinity chromatography step with high recovery rate (90%). The enzyme showed a single band on SDS-PAGE with an apparent molecular mass of 68.5kDa. The pH optimum for the oxidation of galactose was in the range of pH 6-7.5. Optimum temperature for the enzyme activity was 35°C, with a half-life of 11.2min, 5.3min, and 2.7min for incubation at 40°C, 50°C, and 60°C, respectively. From all tested substrates, the highest relative activity was found for 1-methyl-ß-galactopyranoside (226Umg(-1)) and the highest catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) for melibiose (2700mM(-1)s(-1)). The enzyme was highly specific for molecular oxygen as an electron acceptor, and showed no appreciable activity with a range of alternative acceptors investigated. Different chemicals were tested for their effect on GalOx activity. The activity was significantly reduced by EDTA, NaN3, and KCN.

Agaricus meleagris pyranose dehydrogenase: influence of covalent FAD linkage on catalysis and stability.

Pyranose dehydrogenase (PDH) is a monomeric flavoprotein belonging to the glucose-methanol-choline (GMC) family of oxidoreductases. It catalyzes the oxidation of free, non-phosphorylated sugars to the corresponding keto sugars. The enzyme harbors an FAD cofactor that is covalently attached to histidine 103 via an 8α-N(3) histidyl linkage. Our previous work showed that variant H103Y was still able to bind FAD (non-covalently) and perform catalysis but steady-state kinetic parameters for several substrates were negatively affected. In order to investigate the impact of the covalent FAD attachment in Agaricus meleagris PDH in more detail, pre-steady-state kinetics, reduction potential and stability of the variant H103Y in comparison to the wild-type enzyme were probed. Stopped-flow analysis revealed that the mutation slowed down the reductive half-reaction by around three orders of magnitude whereas the oxidative half-reaction was affected only to a minor degree. This was reflected by a decrease in the standard reduction potential of variant H103Y compared to the wild-type protein. The existence of an anionic semiquinone radical in the resting state of both the wild-type and variant H103Y was demonstrated using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and suggested a higher mobility of the cofactor in the variant H103Y. Unfolding studies showed significant negative effects of the disruption of the covalent bond on thermal and conformational stability. The results are discussed with respect to the role of covalently bound FAD in catalysis and stability.

Galactose oxidase from Fusarium oxysporum--expression in E. coli and P. pastoris and biochemical characterization.

A gene coding for galactose 6-oxidase from Fusarium oxysporum G12 was cloned together with its native preprosequence and a C-terminal His-tag, and successfully expressed both in Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris. The enzyme was subsequently purified and characterized. Among all tested substrates, the highest catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) was found with 1-methyl-ß-D-galactopyranoside (2.2 mM(-1) s(-1)). The Michaelis constant (Km) for D-galactose was determined to be 47 mM. Optimal pH and temperature for the enzyme activity were 7.0 and 40°C, respectively, and the enzyme was thermoinactivated at temperatures above 50°C. GalOx contains a unique metalloradical complex consisting of a copper atom and a tyrosine residue covalently attached to the sulphur of a cysteine. The correct formation of this thioether bond during the heterologous expression in E. coli and P. pastoris could be unequivocally confirmed by MALDI mass spectrometry, which offers a convenient alternative to prove this Tyr-Cys crosslink, which is essential for the catalytic activity of GalOx.

Recombinantly produced cellobiose dehydrogenase from Corynascus thermophilus for glucose biosensors and biofuel cells.

Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is an emerging enzyme in the field of bioelectrocatalysis. Due to its flexible cytochrome domain, which acts as a built-in redox mediator, CDH is capable of direct electron transfer (DET) to electrode surfaces. This rare property is employed in mediatorless "third generation" biosensors. The ability of Corynascus thermophilus CDH to oxidize glucose under physiological conditions makes it a promising candidate for miniaturized glucose biosensors or glucose powered biofuel cell anodes. We report for the first time the electrochemical application and characterization of a recombinantly produced CDH in a glucose biosensor. Recombinant CDH from C. thermophilus (rCtCDH) was expressed by the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris (376 U L(-1) , 132 mg L(-1) ). A comparative characterization of rCtCDH and CtCDH shows identical pH optima, K(M) values and heme b midpoint potentials. In contrast, the specific activity of rCtCDH (2.84 U mg(-1) ) and consequently the turnover numbers were ~five-times lower than for CtCDH, which was caused by a sub-stoichiometric occupation of catalytic sites with flavin-adenin-dinukleotid (FAD). The performance of rCtCDH-modified electrodes demonstrates the suitability for electrochemical studies. This opens the possibility to engineer the substrate specificity of C. thermophilus CDH for specific carbohydrates by rational engineering or directed evolution.

Enhanced production of recombinant galactose oxidase from Fusarium graminearum in E. coli.

The gene gaoA encoding the copper-dependent enzyme galactose oxidase (GAO) from Fusarium graminearum PH-1 was cloned and successfully overexpressed in E. coli. Culture conditions for cultivations in shaken flasks were optimized, and optimal conditions were found to be double-strength LB medium, 0.5% lactose as inducer, and induction at the reduced temperature of 25°C. When using these cultivation conditions ~24 mg of active GAO could be produced in shaken flasks per litre medium. Addition of copper to the fermentation medium decreased the enzyme production significantly. The His-tagged recombinant enzyme could be purified conveniently with a single affinity chromatography step. The purified enzyme showed a single band on SDS-PAGE with an apparent molecular mass of 66 kDa and had kinetic properties similar to those of the fungal wild-type enzyme.