The Critical Role of Partially Exposed N-Terminal Valine Residue in Stabilizing GH10 Xylanase from Bacillus sp.NG-27 under Poly-Extreme Conditions

BACKGROUND: Understanding the mechanisms that govern protein stability under poly-extreme conditions continues to be a major challenge. Xylanase (BSX) from Bacillus sp. NG-27, which has a TIM-barrel structure, shows optimum activity at high temperature and alkaline pH, and is resistant to denaturation by SDS and degradation by proteinase K. A comparative circular dichroism analysis was performed on native BSX and a recombinant BSX (R-BSX) with just one additional methionine resulting from the start codon. The results of this analysis revealed the role of the partially exposed N-terminus in the unfolding of BSX in response to an increase in temperature. METHODOLOGY: We investigated the poly-extremophilicity of BSX to deduce the structural features responsible for its stability under one set of conditions, in order to gain information about its stability in other extreme conditions. To systematically address the role of the partially exposed N-terminus in BSX stability, a series of mutants was generated in which the first hydrophobic residue, valine (Val1), was either deleted or substituted with various amino acids. Each mutant was subsequently analyzed for its thermal, SDS and proteinase K stability in comparison to native BSX. CONCLUSIONS: A single conversion of Val1 to glycine (Gly) changed R-BSX from being thermo- and alkali- stable and proteinase K and SDS resistant, to being thermolabile and proteinase K-, alkali- and SDS- sensitive. This result provided insight into the structure-function relationships of BSX under poly-extreme conditions. Molecular, biochemical and structural data revealed that the poly-extremophilicity of BSX is governed by a partially exposed N-terminus through hydrophobic interactions. Such hitherto unidentified N-terminal hydrophobic interactions may play a similar role in other proteins, especially those with TIM-barrel structures. The results of the present study are therefore of major significance for protein folding and protein engineering

The Critical Role of N- and C-Terminal Contact in Protein Stability and Folding of a Family 10 Xylanase under Extreme Conditions

Stabilization strategies adopted by proteins under extreme conditions are very complex and involve various kinds of interactions. Recent studies have shown that a large proportion of proteins have their N- and C-terminal elements in close contact and suggested they play a role in protein folding and stability. However, the biological significance of this contact remains elusive.In the present study, we investigate the role of N- and C-terminal residue interaction using a family 10 xylanase (BSX) with a TIM-barrel structure that shows stability under high temperature, alkali pH, and protease and SDS treatment. Based on crystal structure, an aromatic cluster was identified that involves Phe4, Trp6 and Tyr343 holding the N- and C-terminus together; this is a unique and important feature of this protein that might be crucial for folding and stability under poly-extreme conditions. folding and activity. Alanine substitution with Phe4, Trp6 and Tyr343 drastically decreased stability under all parameters studied. Importantly, substitution of Phe4 with Trp increased stability in SDS treatment. Mass spectrometry results of limited proteolysis further demonstrated that the Arg344 residue is highly susceptible to trypsin digestion in sensitive mutants such as ΔF4, W6A and Y343A, suggesting again that disruption of the Phe4-Trp6-Tyr343 (F-W-Y) cluster destabilizes the N- and C-terminal interaction. Our results underscore the importance of N- and C-terminal contact through aromatic interactions in protein folding and stability under extreme conditions, and these results may be useful to improve the stability of other proteins under suboptimal conditions

Production by Tobacco Transplastomic Plants of Recombinant Fungal and Bacterial Cell-Wall Degrading Enzymes to Be Used for Cellulosic Biomass Saccharification

Biofuels from renewable plant biomass are gaining momentum due to climate change related to atmospheric CO2 increase. However, the production cost of enzymes required for cellulosic biomass saccharification is a major limiting step in this process. Low-cost production of large amounts of recombinant enzymes by transgenic plants was proposed as an alternative to the conventional microbial based fermentation. A number of studies have shown that chloroplast-based gene expression offers several advantages over nuclear transformation due to efficient transcription and translation systems and high copy number of the transgene. In this study, we expressed in tobacco chloroplasts microbial genes encoding five cellulases and a polygalacturonase. Leaf extracts containing the recombinant enzymes showed the ability to degrade various cell-wall components under different conditions, singly and in combinations. In addition, our group also tested a previously described thermostable xylanase in combination with a cellulase and a polygalacturonase to study the cumulative effect on the depolymerization of a complex plant substrate. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using transplastomic tobacco leaf extracts to convert cell-wall polysaccharides into reducing sugars, fulfilling a major prerequisite of large scale availability of a variety of cell-wall degrading enzymes for biofuel industry

Emerging role of N- and C-terminal interactions in stabilizing (β/α)8 fold with special emphasis on Family 10 xylanases

Xylanases belong to an important class of industrial enzymes. Various xylanases have been purified and characterized from a plethora of organisms including bacteria, marine algae, plants, protozoans, insects, snails and crustaceans. Depending on the source, the enzymatic activity of xylanases varies considerably under various physico-chemical conditions such as temperature, pH, high salt and in the presence of proteases. Family 10 or glycosyl hydrolase 10 (GH10) xylanases are one of the well characterized and thoroughly studied classes of industrial enzymes. The TIM-barrel fold structure which is ubiquitous in nature is one of the characteristics of family 10 xylanases. Family 10 xylanases have been used as a “model system” due to their TIM-barrel fold to dissect and understand protein stability under various conditions. A better understanding of structure-stability-function relationships of family 10 xylanases allows one to apply these governing molecular rules to engineer other TIM-barrel fold proteins to improve their stability and retain function(s) under adverse conditions. In this review, we discuss the implications of N-and C-terminal interactions, observed in family 10 xylanases on protein stability under extreme conditions. The role of metal binding and aromatic clusters in protein stability is also discussed. Studying and understanding family 10 xylanase structure and function, can contribute to our protein engineering knowledge