A cold-active 1,4-α-glucan branching enzyme from Bifidobacterium longum reduces the retrogradation and enhances the slow digestibility of wheat starch.

To develop a 1,4-α-glucan branching enzyme (BE) without homology to known allergens, the glgB gene from Bifidobacterium longum was overexpressed under the control of BLMA promoter in Escherichia coli. B. longum BE (BlBE) had a molecular weight of 86.1 kDa and a specific activity of more than 18.5U/mg protein at 25-35 °C and pH 5.5-7.0, and exhibited 30% of the maximum activity at 10 °C. The cold-active BlBE preferred to transfer maltohexaose and introduced DP 4-36 branches into amylose. BlBE also increased the proportion of DP 2-10 branches in amylopectin and decreased its Mw from 1.39 × 106 to 1.16 × 105 g/mol. As the BlBE concentration increased from 0.0 to 0.5U/mg substrate, the retrogradation enthalpy of BlBE-modified wheat starch decreased from 4.50 to 1.83 J/g (p < 0.05) at day 14 and the slowly digestible starch content increased from 2.10% to 17.39% (p < 0.05).

The defective effect of starch branching enzyme IIb from weak to strong induces the formation of biphasic starch granules in amylose-extender maize endosperm.

KEYMESSAGE: Biphasic starch granules in maize ae mutant underwent the weak to strong SBEIIb-defective effect during endosperm development, leading to no birefringence in their exterior due to extended long branch-chains of amylopectin. Biphasic starch granules are usually detected regionally in cereal endosperm lacking starch branching enzyme (SBE). However, their molecular structure, formation mechanism, and regional distribution are unclear. In this research, biphasic starch granules were observed in the inner region of crown endosperm of maize ae mutant, and had poorly oriented structure with comb-like profiles in their exterior. The inner endosperm (IE) rich in biphasic starch granules and outer endosperm (OE) without biphasic starch granules were investigated. The starch had lower amylose content and higher proportion of long branch-chains of amylopectin in IE than in OE, and the exterior of biphasic starch granules had less amylose and more long branch-chains of amylopectin than the interior. Compared with OE, the expression pattern of starch synthesis related enzymes changed significantly in IE. The granule-bound starch synthase I activity within biphasic starch granules decreased slightly. The IE experienced more severe hypoxic stress than OE, and the up-regulated anaerobic respiration pathway indicated an increase in carbon consumption. The starch in IE underwent the SBEIIb-defective effect from weak to strong due to the lack of sufficient carbon inflow, leading to the formation of biphasic starch granules and their regional distribution in endosperm. The results provided information for understanding the biphasic starch granules.

α-Glucan pathway as a novel Mtb drug target: structural insights and cues for polypharmcological targeting of GlgB and GlgE.

Tuberculosis continues to be a deadly infectious disease, mainly due to the existence of persistent bacterial populations that survive drug treatment and obstruct complete eradication of infection. The enzymes GlgE and GlgB, which are involved in the glycan pathway, have recently been identified as promising drug targets for combating persistent bacillus strains. In the glycan pathway, enzymes GlgE, GlgA, and Tre-xyz produce linear α-glucans, which are then converted to essential branched α-glucan by GlgB. This α-glucan is a vital cell-wall and storage polysaccharide, critical for Mtb virulence and persistence. We highlight recent insights into the significance of both GlgE and GlgB in the glycan pathway and also discuss drug strategies for tuberculosis such as polypharmcological targeting of GlgB and GlgE. Small molecule-based modulation of GlgB and GlgE to boost the design and development of novel and improved drugs for more selective and efficient targeting of tuberculosis are also discussed.

Effect of high temperature on fine structure of amylopectin in rice endosperm by reducing the activity of the starch branching enzyme.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain quality is affected by the environmental temperature it experiences. To investigate the physiological molecular mechanisms of the effect of high temperatures on rice grain, a non-waxy indica rice was grown under two temperature conditions, (29/35 degrees C) and (22/28 degrees C), during the ripening stage in two phytotrons. The activities and gene expression of key enzymes for the biosynthesis of amylose and amylopectin were examined. The activity and expression levels of soluble endosperm starch synthase I were higher at 29/35 degrees C than that at 22/28 degrees C. In contrast, the activities and expression levels of the rice branching enzyme1, the branching enzyme3 and the granule bound starch synthase of the endosperm were lower at 29/35 degrees C than those at 22/28 degrees C. These results suggest that the decreased activity of starch branching enzyme reduces the branching frequency of the branches of amylopectin, which results in the increased amount of long chains of amylopectin of endosperm in rice grain at high temperature.