Trehalose has important applications in the food industry and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The thermostable enzyme trehalose synthase from Thermobaculum terrenum (TtTS) catalyzes the reversible interconversion of maltose and trehalose. Here, we investigated the structural characteristics of TtTS in complex with the inhibitor TriS. TtTS exhibits the typical three domain glycoside hydrolase family 13 structure. The catalytic cleft consists of Asp202-Glu244-Asp310 and various conserved substrate-binding residues. However, among trehalose synthases, TtTS demonstrates obvious thermal stability. TtTS has more polar (charged) amino acids distributed on its protein structure surface and more aromatic amino acids buried within than other mesophilic trehalose synthases. Furthermore, TtTS structural analysis revealed four potential metal ion-binding sites rather than the two in a homologous structure. These factors may render TtTS relatively more thermostable among mesophilic trehalose synthases. The detailed thermophilic enzyme structure provided herein may provide guidance for further protein engineering in the design of stabilized enzymes.
The interaction of transresveratrol (TRES) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been investigated by ultraviolet-visible, fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic methods and molecular modeling techniques. The fluorescence results show that the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA is quenched by TRES through a static quenching procedure. The binding constants of TRES with BSA at 292, 297 and 302 K are calculated as10.22×104,8.71×104, and7.59×104 L mol−1, respectively, and corresponding numbers of binding sites are approximately equal to unity. The thermodynamic parameters ΔHand ΔSare estimated to be −21.82 kJ mol−1and +21.15 J mol−1 K−1, which indicates that the interaction of TRES with BSA is driven mainly by hydrophobic forces and there are also hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions. The competitive experiments suggest that the binding site of TRES to BSA is probably located on site II. The results of infrared spectra show that the binding of TRES with BSA leads to conformational changes of BSA, and the binding stabilizes theα-helix andβ-sheet at the cost of a corresponding loss in theβ-turn structure of BSA. The results of molecular modeling calculation clarify the binding mode and the binding sites which are in good accordance with the experiment results.
Trehalose synthase (TreS) catalyzes the reversible interconversion of maltose to trehalose, and is therefore essential for trehalose production. Consequently, dissecting the catalytic mechanism of TreS is important for enzyme optimization and industrial applications. TreS from Thermobaculum terrenum (TtTreS) is a thermostable enzyme. Here, we studied the composition of the TtTreS active site through computer calculation and enzyme analysis. The results were consistent with a two-step double-displacement mechanism, similar to that of glycoside hydrolase 13 family enzymes. However, our data suggested that glucose rotation, following breakage of the α-1,4 glycosidic bond, is a key factor determining the reaction direction and conversion rate. The N246 residue plays an important role in glucose rotation. Moreover, we established a saturated mutation model for the nonconserved amino acids around the substrate gateway domain. Finally, four TtTreS mutants (K136T, Y137D, K138N, and D139S) resulted in improved trehalose yield compared to that of the wild-type enzyme.
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