Background:The recently discovered lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are important in enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass. Results: We describe structural and functional studies of NcLPMO9C, which cleaves both cellulose and certain hemicelluloses. Conclusion: NcLPMO9C has structural and functional features that correlate with the enzyme's catalytic capabilities. Significance: This study shows how LPMO active sites are tailored to varying functionalities and adds to a growing LPMO knowledge base.

Background Enzyme-aided valorization of lignocellulose represents a green and sustainable alternative to the traditional chemical industry. The recently discovered lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are important components of the state-of-the art enzyme cocktails for cellulose conversion. Yet, these monocopper enzymes are poorly characterized in terms of their kinetics, as exemplified by the growing evidence for that H2O2 may be a more efficient co-substrate for LPMOs than O2. LPMOs need external electron donors and one key question of relevance for bioprocess development is whether the required reducing power may be provided by the lignocellulosic substrate. Results Here, we show that the liquid fraction (LF) resulting from hydrothermal pretreatment of wheat straw supports LPMO activity on both chitin and cellulose. The initial, transient activity burst of the LPMO reaction was caused by the H2O2 present in the LF before addition of LPMO, while the steady-state rate of LPMO reaction was limited by the LPMO-independent production of H2O2 in the LF. H2O2 is an intermediate of LF oxidation as evidenced by a slow H2O2 accumulation in LF, despite high H2O2 production rates. This H2O2 scavenging ability of LF is important since high concentrations of H2O2 may lead to irreversible inactivation of LPMOs. Conclusions Our results support the growing understanding that fine-tuned control over the rates of H2O2 production and consumption in different, enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactions is essential for harnessing the full catalytic potential of LPMOs in lignocellulose valorization.

The ascomycete Geotrichum candidum is a versatile and efficient decay fungus that is involved, for example, in biodeterioration of compact discs; notably, the 3C strain was previously shown to degrade filter paper and cotton more efficiently than several industrial enzyme preparations. Glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 7 cellobiohydrolases (CBHs) are the primary constituents of industrial cellulase cocktails employed in biomass conversion, and feature tunnel-enclosed active sites that enable processive hydrolytic cleavage of cellulose chains. Understanding the structure-function relationships defining the activity and stability of GH7 CBHs is thus of keen interest. Accordingly, we report the comprehensive characterization of the GH7 CBH secreted by G. candidum (GcaCel7A). The bimodular cellulase consists of a family 1 cellulosebinding module (CBM) and linker connected to a GH7 catalytic domain that shares 64% sequence identity with the archetypal industrial GH7 CBH of Hypocrea jecorina (HjeCel7A). GcaCel7A shows activity on Avicel cellulose similar to HjeCel7A, with less product inhibition, but has a lower temperature optimum (50°C versus 60-65°C, respectively). Five crystal structures, with and without bound thio-oligosaccharides, show conformational diversity of tunnel-enclosing loops, including a form with partial tunnel collapse at subsite -4 not reported previously in GH7. Also, the first O-glycosylation site in a GH7 crystal structure is reported -on a loop where the glycan probably influences loop contacts across the active site and interactions with the cellulose surface. The GcaCel7A structures indicate higher loop flexibility than HjeCel7A, in accordance with sequence modifications. However, GcaCel7A retains small fluctuations in molecular simulations, suggesting high processivity and low endo-initiation probability, similar to HjeCel7A.

Glycoside hydrolase family 7 (GH7) cellobiohydrolases (CBHs) are enzymes commonly employed in plant cell wall degradation across eukaryotic kingdoms of life, as they provide significant hydrolytic potential in cellulose turnover. To date, many fungal GH7 CBHs have been examined, yet many questions regarding structure-activity relationships in these important natural and commercial enzymes remain. Here, we present the crystal structures and a biochemical analysis of two GH7 CBHs from social amoeba: Dictyostelium discoideum Cel7A (DdiCel7A) and Dictyostelium purpureum Cel7A (DpuCel7A). DdiCel7A and DpuCel7A natively consist of a catalytic domain and do not exhibit a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM). The structures of DdiCel7A and DpuCel7A, resolved to 2.1 Å and 2.7 Å, respectively, are homologous to those of other GH7 CBHs with an enclosed active-site tunnel. Two primary differences between the Dictyostelium CBHs and the archetypal model GH7 CBH, Trichoderma reesei Cel7A (TreCel7A), occur near the hydrolytic active site and the product-binding sites. To compare the activities of these enzymes with the activity of TreCel7A, the family 1 TreCel7A CBM and linker were added to the C terminus of each of the Dictyostelium enzymes, creating DdiCel7A CBM and DpuCel7A CBM , which were recombinantly expressed in T. reesei. DdiCel7A CBM and DpuCel7A CBM hydrolyzed Avicel, pretreated corn stover, and phosphoric acid-swollen cellulose as efficiently as TreCel7A when hydrolysis was compared at their temperature optima. The K i of cellobiose was significantly higher for DdiCel7A CBM and DpuCel7A CBM than for TreCel7A: 205, 130, and 29 M, respectively. Taken together, the present study highlights the remarkable degree of conservation of the activity of these key natural and industrial enzymes across quite distant phylogenetic trees of life. IMPORTANCE GH7CBHs are among the most important cellulolytic enzymes both in nature and for emerging industrial applications for cellulose breakdown. Understanding the diversity of these key industrial enzymes is critical to engineering them for higher levels of activity and greater stability. The present work demonstrates that two GH7 CBHs from social amoeba are surprisingly quite similar in structure and activity to the canonical GH7 CBH from the model biomass-degrading fungus T. reesei when tested under equivalent conditions (with added CBM-linker domains) on an industrially relevant substrate. Dictyostelia are a class of social amoebae (historically known as slime molds) containing four different groups of terrestrial bacterivores from the kingdom Amoebozoa. During vegetative growth, dictyostelia exist as single-celled organisms; upon starvation, a lack of nutrients becomes preventive for vegetative growth and the cells aggregate into a multicellular slug. Slugs have a defined posterior and anterior, have the ability to migrate, are sensitive to light and temperature, and exhibit an innate immune system. When conditions are sufficiently severe, the slug can form a fruiting body, w...

BackgroundThe ascomycete fungus Trichoderma reesei is the predominant source of enzymes for industrial conversion of lignocellulose. Its glycoside hydrolase family 7 cellobiohydrolase (GH7 CBH) TreCel7A constitutes nearly half of the enzyme cocktail by weight and is the major workhorse in the cellulose hydrolysis process. The orthologs from Trichoderma atroviride (TatCel7A) and Trichoderma harzianum (ThaCel7A) show high sequence identity with TreCel7A, ~ 80%, and represent naturally evolved combinations of cellulose-binding tunnel-enclosing loop motifs, which have been suggested to influence intrinsic cellobiohydrolase properties, such as endo-initiation, processivity, and off-rate.ResultsThe TatCel7A, ThaCel7A, and TreCel7A enzymes were characterized for comparison of function. The catalytic domain of TatCel7A was crystallized, and two structures were determined: without ligand and with thio-cellotriose in the active site. Initial hydrolysis of bacterial cellulose was faster with TatCel7A than either ThaCel7A or TreCel7A. In synergistic saccharification of pretreated corn stover, both TatCel7A and ThaCel7A were more efficient than TreCel7A, although TatCel7A was more sensitive to thermal inactivation. Structural analyses and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to elucidate important structure/function correlations. Moreover, reverse conservation analysis (RCA) of sequence diversity revealed divergent regions of interest located outside the cellulose-binding tunnel of Trichoderma spp. GH7 CBHs.ConclusionsWe hypothesize that the combination of loop motifs is the main determinant for the observed differences in Cel7A activity on cellulosic substrates. Fine-tuning of the loop flexibility appears to be an important evolutionary target in Trichoderma spp., a conclusion supported by the RCA data. Our results indicate that, for industrial use, it would be beneficial to combine loop motifs from TatCel7A with the thermostability features of TreCel7A. Furthermore, one region implicated in thermal unfolding is suggested as a primary target for protein engineering.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-017-1006-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

At high concentrations of p-nitrophenyl-α-D-galactopyranoside (pNPGal) as a substrate, its hydrolysis catalyzed by α-galactosidase from Thermotoga maritima (TmGalA) is accompanied by transglycosylation resulting in production of a mixture of (α1,2)-, (α1,3)-, and (α1,6)-p-nitrophenyl (pNP)-digalactosides. Molecular modeling of the reaction stage preceding the formation of the pNP-digalactosides within the active site of the enzyme revealed amino acid residues which modification was expected to increase the efficiency of transglycosylation. Upon the site-directed mutagenesis to the predicted substitutions of the amino acid residues, genes encoding the wild type TmGalA and its mutants were expressed in E. coli, and the corresponding enzymes were isolated and tested for the presence of the transglycosylating activity in synthesis of different pNP-digalactosides. Three mutants, F328A, P402D, and G385L, were shown to markedly increase the total transglycosylation as compared to the wild type enzyme. Moreover, the F328A mutant displayed an ability to produce a regio-isomer with the (α1,2)-bond at yield 16-times higher than the wild type TmGalA.

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