High-throughput functional metagenomics for the discovery of glycan metabolizing pathways

Glycans are widely distributed in nature. Produced by almost all organisms, they are involved in numerous cellular processes, such as energy supply and storage, cell structuration, protein maturation and signalling, and cell recognition. Glycans are thus key elements mediating the interactions between mammals, plants, bacteria, fungi and even viruses. They also represent a reliable source of carbon for microbes, which have developed complex strategies to face their structural diversity and to harvest them. However between 70 and 99% of these microorganisms are still uncultured, while they represent a goldmine for the discovery of new enzymes. In order to boost their identification and characterization, a functional metagenomic approach was developed, based on the design of various high-throughput, robust and sensitive screening strategies. The functional potential of Gbp of metagenomic DNA from various origins was explored, revealing dozens of novel enzyme families and functions. Integration of biochemical, structural, meta-omic and omic data allowed us to decipher, from the molecular to the ecosystemic scale, novel mechanisms of plant, microbial and mammal glycan metabolization. These new metabolic pathways involve batteries of glycoside-hydrolases, glycoside-phosphorylases and sugar transporters. These fascinating proteins appear as new targets to control host-microbe interactions. They also constitute very efficient biotechnological tools for biorefineries and synthetic biology

Structural bases for N-glycan processing by mannoside phosphorylase

The first crystal structure of Uhgb_MP, a β-1,4-mannopyranosyl-chitobiose phosphorylase belonging to the GH130 family which is involved in N-glycan degradation by human gut bacteria, was solved at 1.85 Å resolution in the apo form and in complex with mannose and N-acetylglucosamine. SAXS and crystal structure analysis revealed a hexameric structure, a specific feature of GH130 enzymes among other glycoside phosphorylases. Mapping of the -1 and +1 subsites in the presence of phosphate confirmed the conserved Asp104 as the general acid/base catalytic residue, which is in agreement with a single-step reaction mechanism involving Man O3 assistance for proton transfer. Analysis of this structure, the first to be solved for a member of the GH130_2 subfamily, revealed Met67, Phe203 and the Gly121-Pro125 loop as the main determinants of the specificity of Uhgb_MP and its homologues towards the N-glycan core oligosaccharides and mannan, and the molecular bases of the key role played by GH130 enzymes in the catabolism of dietary fibre and host glycans

Mannoside recognition and degradation by bacteria

Mannosides constitute a vast group of glycans widely distributed in nature. Produced by almost all organisms,these carbohydrates are involved in numerous cellular processes, such as cell structuration, protein maturation andsignalling, mediation of protein – protein interactions and cell recognition. The ubiquitous presence of mannosides inthe environment means they are a reliable source of carbon and energy for bacteria, which have developed complexstrategies to harvest them. This review focuses on the various mannosides that can be found in nature and details theirstructure. It underlines their involvement in cellular interactions and finally describes the latest discoveries regardingthe catalytic machinery and metabolic pathways that bacteria have developed to metabolize them

Use of specific glycoside phosphorylases for the implementation of phosphorolysis or reverse phosphorolysis reactions

Use of specific glycoside phosphorylases for the implementation of phosphorolysis or reverse phosphorolysis reaction

Versatile Product Detection via Coupled Assays for Ultrahigh-Throughput Screening of Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes in Microfluidic Droplets.

Enzyme discovery and directed evolution are the two major contemporary approaches for the improvement of industrial processes by biocatalysis in various fields. Customization of catalysts for improvement of single enzyme reactions or de novo reaction development is often complex and tedious. The success of screening campaigns relies on the fraction of sequence space that can be sampled, whether for evolving a particular enzyme or screening metagenomes. Ultrahigh-throughput screening (uHTS) based on in vitro compartmentalization in water-in-oil emulsion of picoliter droplets generated in microfluidic systems allows screening rates >1 kHz (or >107 per day). Screening for carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) catalyzing biotechnologically valuable reactions in this format presents an additional challenge because the released carbohydrates are difficult to monitor in high throughput. Activated substrates with large optically active hydrophobic leaving groups provide a generic optical readout, but the molecular recognition properties of sugars will be altered by the incorporation of such fluoro- or chromophores and their typically higher reactivity, as leaving groups with lowered pKa values compared to native substrates make the observation of promiscuous reactions more likely. To overcome these issues, we designed microdroplet assays in which optically inactive carbohydrate products are made visible by specific cascades: the primary reaction of an unlabeled substrate leads to an optical signal downstream. Successfully implementing such assays at the picoliter droplet scale allowed us to detect glucose, xylose, glucuronic acid, and arabinose as final products of complex oligosaccharide degradation by glycoside hydrolases by absorbance measurements. Enabling the use of uHTS for screening CAZyme reactions that have been thus far elusive will chart a route toward faster and easier development of specific and efficient biocatalysts for biovalorization, directing enzyme discovery by challenging catalysts for reaction with natural rather than model substrates

Use of specific glycoside phosphorylases for the implementation of phosphorolysis or reverse phosphorolysis reactions

Use of specific glycoside phosphorylases for the implementation of phosphorolysis or reverse phosphorolysis reaction

Structural bases for N-glycan processing by mannoside phosphorylase

The first crystal structure of Uhgb_MP, a β-1,4-mannopyranosyl-chitobiose phosphorylase belonging to the GH130 family which is involved in N-glycan degradation by human gut bacteria, was solved at 1.85 Å resolution in the apo form and in complex with mannose and N-acetylglucosamine. SAXS and crystal structure analysis revealed a hexameric structure, a specific feature of GH130 enzymes among other glycoside phosphorylases. Mapping of the -1 and +1 subsites in the presence of phosphate confirmed the conserved Asp104 as the general acid/base catalytic residue, which is in agreement with a single-step reaction mechanism involving Man O3 assistance for proton transfer. Analysis of this structure, the first to be solved for a member of the GH130_2 subfamily, revealed Met67, Phe203 and the Gly121-Pro125 loop as the main determinants of the specificity of Uhgb_MP and its homologues towards the N-glycan core oligosaccharides and mannan, and the molecular bases of the key role played by GH130 enzymes in the catabolism of dietary fibre and host glycans

The GH130 family of mannoside phosphorylases contains glycoside hydrolases that target beta-1,2 mannosidic linkages in Candida mannan

In pressThe depolymerization of complex glycans is an important biological process that is of considerable interest to environmentally relevant industries. Bêta-mannose is a major component of plant structural polysaccharides and eukaryotic N-glycans. These linkages are primarily cleaved by glycoside hydrolases, although a family of glycoside phosphorylases, GH130, have also been shown to target Bêta-1,2 and Bêta-1,4 mannosidic linkages. In these phosphorylases bond cleavage was mediated by a single displacement reaction in which phosphate functions as the catalytic nucleophile. A cohort of GH130 enzymes, however, lack the conserved basic residues that bind the phosphate nucleophile, and it was proposed that these enzymes function as glycoside hydrolases. Here we show that two Bacteroides enzymes, BT3780 and BACOVA_03624, which lack the phosphate binding residues are indeed Bêta-mannosidases that hydrolyse Bêta-1,2-mannosidic linkages through an inverting mechanism. As the genes encoding these enzymes are located in genetic loci that orchestrate the depolymerisation of yeast α-mannans, it is likely that the two enzymes target the Bêta-1,2- mannose residues that cap the glycan produced by Candida albicans. The crystal structure of BT3780 in complex with mannose bound in the -1 and +1 subsites showed a pair of glutamates, Glu227 and Glu268 hydrogen bond to O1 of Bêta-mannose, and either of these residues may function as the catalytic base. The candidate catalytic acid and the other residues that interact with the active site mannose are conserved in both GH130 mannoside phosphorylases and Bêta- 1,2-mannosidases. Functional phylogeny identified a conserved lysine, Lys199 in BT3780, as a key specificity determinant for Bêta-1,2-mannosidic linkages

Discovery and Biotechnological Exploitation of Glycoside-Phosphorylases

International audienceAmong carbohydrate active enzymes, glycoside phosphorylases (GPs) are valuable catalysts for white biotechnologies, due to their exquisite capacity to efficiently re-modulate oligo- and poly-saccharides, without the need for costly activated sugars as substrates. The reversibility of the phosphorolysis reaction, indeed, makes them attractive tools for glycodiversification. However, discovery of new GP functions is hindered by the difficulty in identifying them in sequence databases, and, rather, relies on extensive and tedious biochemical characterization studies. Nevertheless, recent advances in automated tools have led to major improvements in GP mining, activity predictions, and functional screening. Implementation of GPs into innovative in vitro and in cellulo bioproduction strategies has also made substantial advances. Herein, we propose to discuss the latest developments in the strategies employed to efficiently discover GPs and make the best use of their exceptional catalytic properties for glycoside bioproduction

The yeast Geotrichum candidum encodes functional lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases

Background: Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are a class of powerful oxidative enzymes that have revolutionized our understanding of lignocellulose degradation. Fungal LPMOs of the AA9 family target cellulose and hemicelluloses. AA9 LPMO-coding genes have been identified across a wide range of fungal saprotrophs (Ascomycotina, Basidiomycotina, etc.), but so far they have not been found in more basal lineages. Recent genome analysis of the yeast Geotrichum candidum (Saccharomycotina) revealed the presence of several LPMO genes, which belong to the AA9 family. Results: In this study, three AA9 LPMOs from G. candidum were successfully produced and biochemically characterized. The use of native signal peptides was well suited to ensure correct processing and high recombinant production of GcLPMO9A, GcLPMO9B, and GcLPMO9C in Pichia pastoris. We show that GcLPMO9A and GcLPMO9B were both active on cellulose and xyloglucan, releasing a mixture of soluble C1- and C4-oxidized oligosaccharides from cellulose. All three enzymes disrupted cellulose fibers and significantly improved the saccharification of pretreated lignocellulosic biomass upon addition to a commercial cellulase cocktail. Conclusions: The unique enzymatic arsenal of G. candidum compared to other yeasts could be beneficial for plant cell wall decomposition in a saprophytic or pathogenic context. From a biotechnological point of view, G. candidum LPMOs are promising candidates to further enhance enzyme cocktails used in biorefineries such as consolidated bioprocessing