Correction to: Molecular, biochemical and kinetic analysis of a novel, thermostable lipase (LipSm) from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Psi­1, the first member of a new bacterial lipase family (XIX).

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40709-018-0074-6.].

Molecular, biochemical and kinetic analysis of a novel, thermostable lipase (LipSm) from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Psi-1, the first member of a new bacterial lipase family (XVIII).

BACKGROUND: Microbial lipases catalyze a broad spectrum of reactions and are enzymes of considerable biotechnological interest. The focus of this study was the isolation of new lipase genes, intending to discover novel lipases whose products bear interesting biochemical and structural features and may have a potential to act as valuable biocatalysts in industrial applications. RESULTS: A novel lipase gene (lipSm), from a new environmental Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain, Psi-1, originating from a sludge sample from Psittaleia (Greece), was cloned and sequenced. lipSm was further overexpressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) and the overproduced enzyme LipSm was purified and analyzed in respect to its biochemical and kinetic properties. In silico analysis of LipSm revealed that it is taxonomically related to several uncharacterized lipases from different genera, which constitute a unique clade, markedly different from all other previously described bacterial lipase families. All members of this clade displayed identical, conserved consensus sequence motifs, i.e. the catalytic triad (S, D, H), and an unusual, amongst bacterial lipases, Y-type oxyanion hole. 3D-modeling revealed the presence of a lid domain structure, which allows LipSm to act on small ester substrates without interfacial activation. In addition, the high percentage of alanine residues along with the occurrence of the AXXXA motif nine times in LipSm suggest that it is a thermostable lipase, a feature verified experimentally, since LipSm was still active after heating at 70 °C for 30 min. CONCLUSIONS: The phylogenetic analysis of LipSm suggests the establishment of a new bacterial lipase family (XVIII) with LipSm being its first characterized member. Furthermore, LipSm is alkaliphilic, thermostable and lacks the requirement for interfacial activation, when small substrates are used. These properties make LipSm a potential advantageous biocatalyst in industry and biotechnology.

Advances in lipase-catalyzed esterification reactions.

Lipase-catalyzed esterification reactions are among the most significant chemical and biochemical processes of industrial relevance. Lipases catalyze hydrolysis as well as esterification reactions. Enzyme-catalyzed esterification has acquired increasing attention in many applications, due to the significance of the derived products. More specifically, the lipase-catalyzed esterification reactions attracted research interest during the past decade, due to an increased use of organic esters in biotechnology and the chemical industry. Lipases, as hydrolyzing agents are active in environments, which contain a minimum of two distinct phases, where all reactants are partitioned between these phases, although their distribution is not fixed and changes as the reaction proceeds. The kinetics of the lipase-catalyzed reactions is governed by a number of factors. This article presents a thorough and descriptive evaluation of the applied trends and perspectives concerning the enzymatic esterification, mainly for biofuel production; an emphasis is given on essential factors, which affect the lipase-catalyzed esterification reaction. Moreover, the art of using bacterial and/or fungal strains for whole cell biocatalysis purposes, as well as carrying out catalysis by various forms of purified lipases from bacterial and fungal sources is also reviewed.