Increase in the solubility of uvsY using a site saturation mutagenesis library for application in a lyophilized reagent for recombinase polymerase amplification.

BACKGROUND: Recombinase uvsY from bacteriophage T4, along with uvsX, is a key enzyme for recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), which is used to amplify a target DNA sequence at a constant temperature. uvsY, though essential, poses solubility challenges, complicating the lyophilization of RPA reagents. This study aimed to enhance uvsY solubility. METHODS: Our hypothesis centered on the C-terminal region of uvsY influencing solubility. To test this, we generated a site-saturation mutagenesis library for amino acid residues Lys91-Glu134 of the N-terminal (His)6-tagged uvsY. RESULTS: Screening 480 clones identified A116H as the variant with superior solubility. Lyophilized RPA reagents featuring the uvsY variant A116H demonstrated enhanced performance compared to those with wild-type uvsY. CONCLUSIONS: The uvsY variant A116H emerges as an appealing choice for RPA applications, offering improved solubility and heightened lyophilization feasibility.

Increase in the thermostability of Bacillus sp. strain TAR-1 xylanase using a site saturation mutagenesis library.

Site saturation mutagenesis library is a recently developed technique, in which any one out of all amino acid residues in a target region is substituted into other 19 amino acid residues. In this study, we used this technique to increase the thermostability of a GH10 xylanase, XynR, from Bacillus sp. strain TAR-1. We hypothesized that the substrate binding region of XynR is flexible, and that the thermostability of XynR will increase if the flexibility of the substrate binding region is decreased without impairing the substrate binding ability. Site saturation mutagenesis libraries of amino acid residues Tyr43-Lys115 and Ala300-Asn325 of XynR were constructed. By screening 480 clones, S92E was selected as the most thermostable one, exhibiting the residual activity of 80% after heat treatment at 80°C for 15 min in the hydrolysis of Remazol Brilliant Blue-xylan. Our results suggest that this strategy is effective for stabilization of GH10 xylanase. ABBREVIATIONS: DNS: 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid; RBB-xylan: Remazol Brilliant Blue-xylan.

Generation of thermostable Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase variants using site saturation mutagenesis library and cell-free protein expression system.

We attempted to increase the thermostability of Moloney murine leukemia virus (MMLV) reverse transcriptase (RT). The eight-site saturation mutagenesis libraries corresponding to Ala70-Arg469 in the whole MMLV RT (Thr24-Leu671), in each of which 1 out of 50 amino acid residues was replaced with other amino acid residue, were constructed. Seven-hundred and sixty eight MMLV RT clones were expressed using a cell-free protein expression system, and their thermostabilities were assessed by the temperature of thermal treatment at which they retained cDNA synthesis activity. One clone D200C was selected as the most thermostable variant. The highest temperature of thermal treatment at which D200C exhibited cDNA synthesis activity was 57ºC, which was higher than for WT (53ºC). Our results suggest that a combination of site saturation mutagenesis library and cell-free protein expression system might be useful for generation of thermostable MMLV RT in a short period of time for expression and selection.

Increase in the thermostability of GH11 xylanase XynJ from Bacillus sp. strain 41M-1 using site saturation mutagenesis.

GH11 xylanase XynJ from Bacillus sp. strain 41M-1 has a ß-jellyroll fold composed of eight ß strands with a deep active-site cleft. We hypothesized that the thermostability of XynJ will increase if the flexibility of the ß strands in the jellyroll structure is decreased without impairing activity. To verify this hypothesis, we introduced random mutations into Tyr13-Arg104 and Gly169-Tyr194, both of which are located in the ß-jellyroll fold of XynJ, to construct a site saturation mutagenesis library. By screening 576 clones followed by site saturation mutation analysis of Thr82, T82A was selected as the most thermostable variant. In the hydrolysis of beechwood xylan at pH 7.8, the temperatures required to reduce initial activity by 50% in 15 min were 61 °C for the wild-type XynJ (WT) and 65 °C for T82A. The optimum hydrolysis temperatures were 60 °C for WT and 65 °C for T82A. There was little difference in the kcat and Km values and the pH dependence of activity between WT and T82A. Crystallographic analysis of WT and T82A revealed that thermostabilization by the T82A mutation might result from the removal of unfavorable van der Waals interactions. Thus, a highly thermostable XynJ variant was generated without impairing activity using this mutation strategy.