Enzymes currently known as lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) play an important role in the conversion of recalcitrant polysaccharides, but their mode of action has remained largely enigmatic. It is generally believed that catalysis by LPMOs requires molecular oxygen and a reductant that delivers two electrons per catalytic cycle. Using enzyme assays, mass spectrometry and experiments with labeled oxygen atoms, we show here that HO, rather than O, is the preferred co-substrate of LPMOs. By controlling HO supply, stable reaction kinetics are achieved, the LPMOs work in the absence of O, and the reductant is consumed in priming rather than in stoichiometric amounts. The use of HO by a monocopper enzyme that is otherwise cofactor-free offers new perspectives regarding the mode of action of copper enzymes. Furthermore, these findings have implications for the enzymatic conversion of biomass in Nature and in industrial biorefining.

Bacterial proteins categorized as family 33 carbohydrate-binding modules (CBM33) were recently shown to cleave crystalline chitin, using a mechanism that involves hydrolysis and oxidation. We show here that some members of the CBM33 family cleave crystalline cellulose as demonstrated by chromatographic and mass spectrometric analyses of soluble products released from Avicel or filter paper on incubation with CelS2, a CBM33-containing protein from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). These enzymes act synergistically with cellulases and may thus become important tools for efficient conversion of lignocellulosic biomass. Fungal proteins classified as glycoside hydrolase family 61 that are known to act synergistically with cellulases are likely to use a similar mechanism.

For decades, the enzymatic conversion of cellulose was thought to rely on the synergistic action of hydrolytic enzymes, but recent work has shown that lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are important contributors to this process. We describe the structural and functional characterization of two functionally coupled celluloseactive LPMOs belonging to auxiliary activity family 10 (AA10) that commonly occur in cellulolytic bacteria. One of these LPMOs cleaves glycosidic bonds by oxidation of the C1 carbon, whereas the other can oxidize both C1 and C4. We thus demonstrate that C4 oxidation is not confined to fungal AA9-type LPMOs. X-ray crystallographic structures were obtained for the enzyme pair from Streptomyces coelicolor, solved at 1.3 Å (ScLPMO10B) and 1.5 Å (CelS2 or ScLPMO10C) resolution. Structural comparisons revealed differences in active site architecture that could relate to the ability to oxidize C4 (and that also seem to apply to AA9-type LPMOs). Despite variation in active site architecture, the two enzymes exhibited similar affinities for Cu 2+ (12-31 nM), redox potentials (242 and 251 mV), and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra, with only the latter clearly different from those of chitin-active AA10-type LPMOs. We conclude that substrate specificity depends not on copper site architecture, but rather on variation in substrate binding and orientation. During cellulose degradation, the members of this LPMO pair act in synergy, indicating different functional roles and providing a rationale for the abundance of these enzymes in biomass-degrading organisms.GH61 | CBM33

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) catalyze the oxidative cleavage of glycosidic bonds in recalcitrant polysaccharides, such as cellulose and chitin, and are of interest in biotechnological utilization of these abundant biomaterials. It has recently been shown that LPMOs can use HO, instead of O, as a cosubstrate. This peroxygenase-like reaction by a monocopper enzyme is unprecedented in nature and opens new avenues in chemistry and enzymology. Here, we provide the first detailed kinetic characterization of chitin degradation by the bacterial LPMO chitin-binding protein CBP21 using HO as cosubstrate. The use of C-labeled chitin provided convenient and sensitive detection of the released soluble products, which enabled detailed kinetic measurements. The for chitin oxidation found here (5.6 s) is more than an order of magnitude higher than previously reported (apparent) rate constants for reactions containing O but no added HO The / for HO-driven degradation of chitin was on the order of 10 m s, indicating that LPMOs have catalytic efficiencies similar to those of peroxygenases. Of note, HO also inactivated CBP21, but the second-order rate constant for inactivation was about 3 orders of magnitude lower than that for catalysis. In light of the observed CBP21 inactivation at higher HO levels, we conclude that controlled generation of HO seems most optimal for fueling LPMO-catalyzed oxidation of polysaccharides.

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