[A comparative study of the thermal stability of formate dehydrogenases from microorganisms and plants].

A comparative study of the thermostability of NAD+-dependent formate dehydrogenases (FDHs; EC 1.2.1.2) from both methylotrophic bacteria Pseudomonas sp. 101 and Moraxella sp. Cl, the methane-utilizing yeast Candida boidinii, and plants Arabidopsis thaliana and Glycine max (soybean) was performed. All the enzymes studied were produced by expression in E. coli cells. The enzymes were irreversibly inactivated in one stage according to first-order reaction kinetics. The FDH from Pseudomonas sp. 101 appeared as the most thermostable enzyme; its counterpart from G. max exhibited the lowest stability. The enzymes from Moraxella sp. Cl, C. boidinii, and A. thaliana showed similar thermostability profiles. The temperature dependence of the inactivation rate constant of A. thaliana FDH was studied. The data of differential scanning calorimetry was complied with the experimental results on the inactivation kinetics of these enzymes. Values of the melting heat were determined for all the enzymes studied.

Use of Ramachandran plot for increasing thermal stability of bacterial formate dehydrogenase.

From analysis of Ramachandran plot for NAD+-dependent formate dehydrogenase from the methylotrophic bacterium Pseudomonas sp. 101 (FDH, EC 1.2.1.2), five amino acid residues with non-optimal values phi and psi have been located in beta- and pi-turns of the FDH polypeptide chain, e.g., Asn136, Ala191, Tyr144, Asn234, and His263. To clarify their role in the enzyme stability, the residues were replaced with Gly by means of site-directed mutagenesis. The His263Gly mutation caused FDH destabilization and a 1.3-fold increase in the monomolecular inactivation rate constant. The replacements Ala191Gly and Asn234Gly had no significant effect on the stability. The mutations Asn136Gly and Tyr144Gly resulted in higher thermal stability and decreased the inactivation rate by 1.2- and 1.4-fold, respectively. The stabilizing effect of the Tyr144Gly mutation was shown to be additive when introduced into the previously obtained mutant FDH with enhanced thermal stability.

Bacterial formate dehydrogenase. Increasing the enzyme thermal stability by hydrophobization of alpha-helices.

NAD+-dependent formate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.2, FDH) from methylotrophic bacterium Pseudomonas sp.101 exhibits the highest stability among the similar type enzymes studied. To obtain further increase in the thermal stability of FDH we used one of general approaches based on hydrophobization of protein alpha-helices. Five serine residues in positions 131, 160, 168, 184 and 228 were selected for mutagenesis on the basis of (i) comparative studies of nine FDH amino acid sequences from different sources and (ii) with the analysis of the ternary structure of the enzyme from Pseudomonas sp.101. Residues Ser-131 and Ser-160 were replaced by Ala, Val and Leu. Residues Ser-168, Ser-184 and Ser-228 were changed into Ala. Only Ser/Ala mutations in positions 131, 160, 184 and 228 resulted in an increase of the FDH stability. Mutant S168A was 1.7 times less stable than the wild-type FDH. Double mutants S(131,160)A and S(184,228)A and the four-point mutant S(131,160,184,228)A were also prepared and studied. All FDH mutants with a positive stabilization effect had the same kinetic parameters as wild-type enzyme. Depending on the position of the replaced residue, the single point mutation Ser/Ala increased the FDH stability by 5-24%. Combination of mutations shows near additive effect of each mutation to the total FDH stabilization. Four-point mutant S(131,160,184,228)A FDH had 1.5 times higher thermal stability compared to the wild-type enzyme.