Evaluation of substrate promiscuity of an L-carbamoyl amino acid amidohydrolase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus CECT43.

N-carbamoyl-amino-acid amidohydrolase (also known as N-carbamoylase) is the stereospecific enzyme responsible for the chirality of the D- or L-amino acid obtained in the "Hydantoinase Process." This process is based on the dynamic kinetic resolution of D,L-5-monosubstituted hydantoins. In this work, we have demonstrated the capability of a recombinant L-N-carbamoylase from the thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus stearothermophilus CECT43 (BsLcar) to hydrolyze N-acetyl and N-formyl-L-amino acids as well as the known N-carbamoyl-L-amino acids, thus proving its substrate promiscuity. BsLcar showed faster hydrolysis for N-formyl-L-amino acids than for N-carbamoyl and N-acetyl-L-derivatives, with a catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)) of 8.58 x 10(5), 1.83 x 10(4), and 1.78 x 10(3) (s(-1) M(-1)), respectively, for the three precursors of L-methionine. Optimum reaction conditions for BsLcar, using the three N-substituted-L-methionine substrates, were 65 degrees C and pH 7.5. In all three cases, the metal ions Co(2+), Mn(2+), and Ni(2+) greatly enhanced BsLcar activity, whereas metal-chelating agents inhibited it, showing that BsLcar is a metalloenzyme. The Co(2+)-dependent activity profile of the enzyme showed no detectable inhibition at high metal ion concentrations.

Structure and conformational stability of a tetrameric thermostable N-succinylamino acid racemase.

The N-succinylamino acid racemases (NSAAR) belong to the enolase superfamily and they are large homooctameric/hexameric species that require a divalent metal ion for activity. We describe the structure and stability of NSAAR from Geobacillus kaustophilus (GkNSAAR) in the absence and in the presence of Co(2+) by using hydrodynamic and spectroscopic techniques. The Co(2+), among other assayed divalent ions, provides the maximal enzymatic activity at physiological pH. The protein seems to be a tetramer with a rather elongated shape, as shown by AU experiments; this is further supported by the modeled structure, which keeps intact the largest tetrameric oligomerization interfaces observed in other homooctameric members of the family, but it does not maintain the octameric oligomerization interfaces. The native functional structure is mainly formed by alpha-helix, as suggested by FTIR and CD deconvoluted spectra, with similar percentages of structure to those observed in other protomers of the enolase superfamily. At low pH, the protein populates a molten-globule-like conformation. The GdmCl denaturation occurs through a monomeric intermediate, and thermal denaturation experiments indicate a high thermostability. The presence of the cofactor Co(2+) did alter slightly the secondary structure, but it did not modify substantially the stability of the protein. Thus, GkNSAAR is one of the few members of the enolase family whose conformational propensities and stability have been extensively characterized.

Potential application of N-carbamoyl-beta-alanine amidohydrolase from Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 for beta-amino acid production.

An N-carbamoyl-beta-alanine amidohydrolase of industrial interest from Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58 (beta car(At)) has been characterized. Beta car(At) is most active at 30 degrees C and pH 8.0 with N-carbamoyl-beta-alanine as a substrate. The purified enzyme is completely inactivated by the metal-chelating agent 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid (HQSA), and activity is restored by the addition of divalent metal ions, such as Mn(2+), Ni(2+), and Co(2+). The native enzyme is a homodimer with a molecular mass of 90 kDa from pH 5.5 to 9.0. The enzyme has a broad substrate spectrum and hydrolyzes nonsubstituted N-carbamoyl-alpha-, -beta-, -gamma-, and -delta-amino acids, with the greatest catalytic efficiency for N-carbamoyl-beta-alanine. Beta car(At) also recognizes substrate analogues substituted with sulfonic and phosphonic acid groups to produce the beta-amino acids taurine and ciliatine, respectively. Beta car(At) is able to produce monosubstituted beta(2)- and beta(3)-amino acids, showing better catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)) for the production of the former. For both types of monosubstituted substrates, the enzyme hydrolyzes N-carbamoyl-beta-amino acids with a short aliphatic side chain better than those with aromatic rings. These properties make beta car(At) an outstanding candidate for application in the biotechnology industry.

Recombinant polycistronic structure of hydantoinase process genes in Escherichia coli for the production of optically pure D-amino acids.

Two recombinant reaction systems for the production of optically pure D-amino acids from different D,L-5-monosubstituted hydantoins were constructed. Each system contained three enzymes, two of which were D-hydantoinase and D-carbamoylase from Agrobacterium tumefaciens BQL9. The third enzyme was hydantoin racemase 1 for the first system and hydantoin racemase 2 for the second system, both from A. tumefaciens C58. Each system was formed by using a recombinant Escherichia coli strain with one plasmid harboring three genes coexpressed with one promoter in a polycistronic structure. The D-carbamoylase gene was cloned closest to the promoter in order to obtain the highest level of synthesis of the enzyme, thus avoiding intermediate accumulation, which decreases the reaction rate. Both systems were able to produce 100% conversion and 100% optically pure D-methionine, D-leucine, D-norleucine, D-norvaline, D-aminobutyric acid, D-valine, D-phenylalanine, D-tyrosine, and D-tryptophan from the corresponding hydantoin racemic mixture. For the production of almost all D-amino acids studied in this work, system 1 hydrolyzed the 5-monosubstituted hydantoins faster than system 2.