Characterization of the cellulose-binding domain of the Clostridium cellulovorans cellulose-binding protein A.

Cellulose-binding protein A (CbpA), a component of the cellulase complex of Clostridium cellulovorans, contains a unique sequence which has been demonstrated to be a cellulose-binding domain (CBD). The DNA coding for this putative CBD was subcloned into pET-8c, an Escherichia coli expression vector. The protein produced under the direction of the recombinant plasmid, pET-CBD, had a high affinity for crystalline cellulose. Affinity-purified CBD protein was used in equilibrium binding experiments to characterize the interaction of the protein with various polysaccharides. It was found that the binding capacity of highly crystalline cellulose samples (e.g., cotton) was greater than that of samples of low crystallinity (e.g., fibrous cellulose). At saturating CBD concentration, about 6.4 mumol of protein was bound by 1 g of cotton. Under the same conditions, fibrous cellulose bound only 0.2 mumol of CBD per g. The measured dissociation constant was in the 1 microM range for all cellulose samples. The results suggest that the CBD binds specifically to crystalline cellulose. Chitin, which has a crystal structure similar to that of cellulose, also was bound by the CBD. The presence of high levels of cellobiose or carboxymethyl cellulose in the assay mixture had no effect on the binding of CBD protein to crystalline cellulose. This result suggests that the CBD recognition site is larger than a simple cellobiose unit or more complex than a repeating cellobiose moiety. This CBD is of particular interest because it is the first CBD from a completely sequenced nonenzymatic protein shown to be an independently functional domain.     

Widely different off rates of two closely related cellulose-binding domains from Trichoderma reesei.

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei produces two cellobiohydrolases (CBHI and CBHII). These, like most other cellulose-degrading enzymes, have a modular structure consisting of a catalytic domain linked to a cellulose-binding domain (CBD). The isolated catalytic domains bind poorly to cellulose and have a much lower activity towards cellulose than the intact enzymes. For the CBDs, no function other than binding to cellulose has been found. We have previously described the reversibility and exchange rate for the binding of the CBD of CBHI to cellulose. In this work, we studied the binding of the CBD of CBHII and showed that it differs markedly from the behaviour of that of CBHI. The apparent binding affinities were similar, but the CBD of CBHII could not be dissociated from cellulose by buffer dilution and did not show a measurable exchange rate. However, desorption could be triggered by shifting the temperature. The CBD of CBHII bound reversibly to chitin. Two variants of the CBHII CBD were made, in which point mutations increased its similarity to the CBD of CBHI. Both variants were found to bind reversibly to cellulose.     

Investigation of the function of mutated cellulose-binding domains of Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I.

The function of the cellulose-binding domain (CBD) of the cellobiohydrolase I of Trichoderma reesei was studied by site-directed mutagenesis of two amino acid residues identified by analyzing the 3D structure of this domain. The mutant enzymes were produced in yeast and tested for binding and activity on crystalline cellulose. Mutagenesis of the tyrosine residue (Y492) located at the tip of the wedge-shaped domain to alanine or aspartate reduced the binding and activity on crystalline cellulose to the level of the core protein lacking the CBD. However, there was no effect on the activity toward small oligosaccharide (4-methylumbelliferyl beta-D-lactoside). The mutation tyrosine to histidine (Y492H) lowered but did not destroy the cellulose binding, suggesting that the interaction of the pyranose ring of the substrate with an aromatic side chain is important. However, the catalytic activity of this mutant on crystalline cellulose was identical to the other two mutants. The mutation P477R on the edge of the other face of the domain reduces both binding and activity of CBHI. These results support the hypothesis that both surfaces of the CBD are involved in the interaction of the binding domain with crystalline cellulose.     

Crystal structure of a bacterial family-III cellulose-binding domain: a general mechanism for attachment to cellulose.

The crystal structure of a family-III cellulose-binding domain (CBD) from the cellulosomal scaffoldin subunit of Clostridium thermocellum has been determined at 1.75 A resolution. The protein forms a nine-stranded beta sandwich with a jelly roll topology and binds a calcium ion. conserved, surface-exposed residues map into two defined surfaces located on opposite sides of the molecule. One of these faces is dominated by a planar linear strip of aromatic and polar residues which are proposed to interact with crystalline cellulose. The other conserved residues are contained in a shallow groove, the function of which is currently unknown, and which has not been observed previously in other families of CBDs. On the basis of modeling studies combined with comparisons of recently determined NMR structures for other CBDs, a general model for the binding of CBDs to cellulose is presented. Although the proposed binding of the CBD to cellulose is essentially a surface interaction, specific types and combinations of amino acids appear to interact selectively with glucose moieties positioned on three adjacent chains of the cellulose surface. The major interaction is characterized by the planar strip of aromatic residues, which align along one of the chains. In addition, polar amino acid residues are proposed to anchor the CBD molecule to two other adjacent chains of crystalline cellulose.     

Design of a pH-dependent cellulose-binding domain

Protein-carbohydrate interactions typically rely on aromatic stacking interactions of tyrosine, phenylalanine and tryptophan side chains with the sugar rings whereas histidine residues are rarely involved. The small cellulose-binding domain of the Cel7A cellobiohydrolase (formerly CBHI) from Trichoderma reesei binds to crystalline cellulose primarily using a planar strip of three tyrosine side chains. Binding of the wild-type Cel7A CBD is practically insensitive to pH. Here we have investigated how histidine residues mediate the binding interaction and whether the protonation of a histidine side chain makes the binding sensitive to pH. Protein engineering of the Cel7A CBD was thus used to replace the tyrosine residues in two different positions with histidine residues. All of the mutants exhibited a clear pH-dependency of the binding, in clear contrast to the wild-type. Although the binding of the mutants at optimal pH was less than for the wild-type, in one case, Y31H, this binding almost reached the wild-type level.     

Alteration of a single tryptophan residue of the cellulose-binding domain blocks secretion of the Erwinia chrysanthemi Cel5 cellulase (ex-EGZ) via the type II system

Cel5 (formerly known as endoglucanase Z) of Erwinia chrysanthemi is secreted by the Out type II pathway. Previous studies have shown that the catalytic domain (CD), linker region (LR) and cellulose-binding domain (CBD) each contain information needed for secretion. The aim of this work was to further investigate the secretion-related information present in the CBD(Cel5). Firstly(, )deleting a surface-exposed flexible loop had no effect on secretion. This indicated that some structural freedom is tolerated by the type II system. Secondly, mutation of a single tryptophan residue, previously shown to be important for binding to cellulose, i.e. Trp43, was found also to impair secretion. This indicated that the flat cellulose-binding surface of CBD(Cel5 )contains secretion-related information. Thirdly, CBD(Cel5) was substituted by the CBD(EGG) of Alteromonas haloplanctis endoglucanase G, yielding a hybrid protein CD(Cel5)-LR(Cel5)-CBD(EGG) that exhibited 90 % identity with Cel5, including the Trp43 residue. The hybrid protein was not secreted. This indicated that the Trp43 residue is necessary but not sufficient for secretion. Here we propose a model in which the secretion of Cel5 involves a transient intramolecular interaction between the cellulose-binding surface of CBD(Cel5) and a region close to the entry into the active site in CD(Cel5). Once secreted, the protein may then open out to allow the cellulose-binding surface of CBD(Cel5 )to interact with the surface of the cellulose substrate. An implication of this model is that protein molecules fold to a specific secretion-competent conformation prior to secretion that is different from the folding state of the secreted species.     

Cellulose affinity purification of fusion proteins tagged with fungal family 1 cellulose-binding domain

N- or C-terminal fusions of red-fluorescent protein (RFP) with various fungal cellulose-binding domains (CBDs) belonging to carbohydrate binding module (CBM) family 1 were expressed in a Pichia pastoris expression system, and the resulting fusion proteins were used to examine the feasibility of large-scale affinity purification of CBD-tagged proteins on cellulose columns. We found that RFP fused with CBD from Trichoderma reesei CBHI (CBD(Tr)(CBHI)) was expressed at up to 1.2g/l in the culture filtrate, which could be directly injected into the cellulose column. The fusion protein was tightly adsorbed on the cellulose column in the presence of a sufficient amount of ammonium sulfate and was efficiently eluted with pure water. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was not captured under these conditions, whereas both BSA and the fusion protein were adsorbed on a phenyl column, indicating that the cellulose column can be used for the purification of not only hydrophilic proteins but also for hydrophobic proteins. Recovery of various fusion proteins exceeded 80%. Our results indicate that protein purification by expression of a target protein as a fusion with a fungal family 1 CBD tag in a yeast expression system, followed by affinity purification on a cellulose column, is simple, effective and easily scalable.     

Whole-cell immobilization using cell surface-exposed cellulose-binding domain

Specific adhesion of Eshcherichia coli with surface-exposed cellulose-binding domain (CBD) to cellulosic materials was investigated. Whole-cell immobilization was very specific, forming essentially a monolayer of cells onto the different supports. Cells with surface-exposed CBD bound specifically and tightly to cellulose supports at a wide range of pH. In contrast to CBD, which shows the highest binding to cellulose at 4 degrees C, highest cell loading was observed at 37 degrees C. The extent of immobilization was dependent on the amount of surface-exposed CBD. Cells binding increased with increasing amount of CBD until binding was saturated. Even induction of very low level of CBD (0.05 mM IPTG) was sufficient to provide specific and tight binding to cellulose support. Because optimal binding can be obtained under physiological conditions such as pH 7 and 37 degrees C, the results demonstrate the general utility of surface-exposed CBD as an efficient means of whole-cell immobilization.     

Properties and mutation analysis of the CelK cellulose-binding domain from the Clostridium thermocellum cellulosome

The family IV cellulose-binding domain of Clostridium thermocellum CelK (CBD(CelK)) was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. It binds to acid-swollen cellulose (ASC) and bacterial microcrystalline cellulose (BMCC) with capacities of 16.03 and 3.95 micromol/g of cellulose and relative affinities (K(r)) of 2.33 and 9.87 liters/g, respectively. The CBD(CelK) is the first representative of family IV CBDs to exhibit an affinity for BMCC. The CBD(CelK) also binds to the soluble polysaccharides lichenin, glucomannan, and barley beta-glucan, which are substrates for CelK. It does not bind to xylan, galactomannan, and carboxymethyl cellulose. The CBD(CelK) contains 1 mol of calcium per mol. The CBD(CelK) has three thiol groups and one disulfide, reduction of which results in total loss of cellulose-binding ability. To reveal amino acid residues important for biological function of the domain and to investigate the role of calcium in the CBD(CelK) four highly conserved aromatic residues (Trp(56), Trp(94), Tyr(111), and Tyr(136)) and Asp(192) were mutated into alanines, giving the mutants W56A, W94A, Y111A, Y136A, and D192A. In addition 14 N-terminal amino acids were deleted, giving the CBD-N(CelK). The CBD-N(CelK) and D192A retained binding parameters close to that of the intact CBD(CelK), W56A and W94A totally lost the ability to bind to cellulose, Y136A bound to both ASC and BMCC but with significantly reduced binding capacity and K(r) and Y111A bound weakly to ASC and did not bind to BMCC. Mutations of the aromatic residues in the CBD(CelK) led to structural changes revealed by studying solubility, circular-dichroism spectra, dimer formation, and aggregation. Calcium content was drastically decreased in D192A. The results suggest that Asp192 is in the calcium-binding site of the CBD(CelK) and that calcium does not affect binding to cellulose. The 14 amino acids from the N terminus of the CBD(CelK) are not important for binding. Tyr136, corresponding to Cellulomonas fimi CenC CBD(N1) Y85, located near the binding cleft, might be involved in the formation of the binding surface, while Y111, W56A, and W94A are essential for the binding process by keeping the CBD(CelK) correctly folded.     

Immobilization of recombinant heparinase I fused to cellulose-binding domain.

Immobilization of biologically active proteins is of great importance to research and industry. Cellulose is an attractive matrix and cellulose-binding domain (CBD) an excellent affinity tag protein for the purification and immobilization of many of these proteins. We constructed two vectors to enable the cloning and expression of proteins fused to the N- or C-terminus of CBD. Their usefulness was demonstrated by fusing the heparin-degrading protein heparinase I to CBD (CBD-HepI and HepI-CBD). The fusion proteins were over-expressed in Escherichia coli under the control of a T7 promoter and found to accumulate in inclusion bodies. The inclusion bodies were recovered by centrifugation, the proteins were refolded and recovered on a cellulose column. The bifunctional fusion protein retained its abilities to bind to cellulose and degrade heparin. C-terminal fusion of heparinase I to CBD was somewhat superior to N-terminal fusion: Although specific activities in solution were comparable, the latter exhibited impaired binding capacity to cellulose. CBD-HepI-cellulose bioreactor was operated continuously and degraded heparin for over 40 h without any significant loss of activity. By varying the flow rate, the mean molecular weight of the heparin oligosaccharide produced could be controlled. The molecular weight distribution profiles, obtained from heparin depolymerization by free heparinase I, free CBD-HepI, and cellulose-immobilized CBD-HepI, were compared. The profiles obtained by free heparinase I and CBD-HepI were indistinguishable, however, immobilized CBD-HepI produced much lower molecular weight fragments at the same percentage of depolymerization. Thus, CBD can be used for the efficient production of bioreactors, combining purification and immobilization into essentially a single step.     

Correlation between cellulose binding and activity of cellulose-binding domain mutants of Humicola grisea cellobiohydrolase 1

The cellulose-binding domains (CBDs) of fungal cellulases interact with crystalline cellulose through their hydrophobic flat surface formed by three conserved aromatic amino acid residues. To analyze the functional importance of these residues, we constructed CBD mutants of cellobiohydrolase 1 (CBH1) of the thermophilic fungus Humicola grisea, and examined their cellulose-binding ability and enzymatic activities. High activity on crystalline cellulose correlated with high cellulose-binding ability and was dependent on the combination and configuration of the three aromatic residues. Tyrosine works best in the middle of the flat surface, while tryptophan is the best residue in the two outer positions.     

Identification of the cellulose-binding domain of the cellulosome subunit S1 from Clostridium thermocellum YS

The 3' region of a gene designated cipB, which shows strong homology with cipA that encodes the cellulosome SL subunit of Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405, was isolated from a gene library of C. thermocellum strain YS. The truncated S1 protein encoded by the cipB derivative bound tightly to cellulose. The cellulose-binding domain in this polypeptide consisted of a C-terminal proximal 167 residue sequence which showed complete identity with residues 337-503 of mature SL from C. thermocellum strain ATCC 27405. The cellulose-binding domain interacted with both crystalline and amorphous cellulose, but not with xylan.     

Comparison of a fungal (family I) and bacterial (family II) cellulose-binding domain.

A family II cellulose-binding domain (CBD) of an exoglucanase/xylanase (Cex) from the bacterium Cellulomonas fimi was replaced with the family I CBD of cellobiohydrolase I (CbhI) from the fungus Trichoderma reesei. Expression of the hybrid gene in Escherichia coli yielded up to 50 mg of the hybrid protein, CexCBDCbhI, per liter of culture supernatant. The hybrid was purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography on cellulose. The relative association constants (Kr) for the binding of Cex, CexCBDCbhI, the catalytic domain of Cex (p33), and CbhI to bacterial microcrystalline cellulose (BMCC) were 14.9, 7.8, 0.8, and 10.6 liters g-1, respectively. Cex and CexCBDCbhI had similar substrate specificities and similar activities on crystalline and amorphous cellulose. Both released predominantly cellobiose and cellotriose from amorphous cellulose. CexCBDCbhI was two to three times less active than Cex on BMCC, but significantly more active than Cex on soluble cellulose and on xylan. Unlike Cex, the hybrid protein neither bound to alpha-chitin nor released small particles from dewaxed cotton fibers.     

Evaluation of cellulose-binding domain fused to a lipase for the lipase immobilization

A cellulose-binding domain (CBD) fragment of a cellulase gene of Trichoderma hazianum was fused to a lipase gene of Bacillus stearothermophilus L1 to make a gene cluster for CBD-BSL lipase. The specific activity of CBD-BSL lipase for oil hydrolysis increased by 33% after being immobilized on Avicel (microcrystalline cellulose), whereas those of CBD-BSL lipase and BSL lipase decreased by 16% and 54%, respectively, after being immobilized on silica gel. Although the loss of activity of an enzyme immobilized by adsorption has been reported previously, the loss of activity of the CBD-BSL lipase immobilized on Avicel was less than 3% after 12 h due to the irreversible binding of CBD to Avicel.     

Xylanase XynA from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima: structure and stability of the recombinant enzyme and its isolated cellulose-binding domain.

The hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima is capable of gaining metabolic energy utilizing xylan. XynA, one of the corresponding hydrolases required for its degradation, is a 120-kDa endo-1,4-D-xylanase exhibiting high intrinsic stability and a temperature optimum approximately 90 degrees C. Sequence alignments with other xylanases suggest the enzyme to consist of five domains. The C-terminal part of XynA was previously shown to be responsible for cellulose binding (Winterhalter C, Heinrich P, Candussio A, Wich G, Liebl W. 1995. Identification of a novel cellulose-binding domain within the multi-domain 120 kDa Xylanase XynA of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima. Mol Microbiol 15:431-444). In order to characterize the domain organization and the stability of XynA and its C-terminal cellulose-binding domain (CBD), the two separate proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli. CBD, because of its instability in its ligand-free form, was expressed as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein with a specific thrombin cleavage site as linker. XynA and CBD were compared regarding their hydrodynamic and spectral properties. As taken from analytical ultracentrifugation and gel permeation chromatography, both are monomers with 116 and 22 kDa molecular masses, respectively. In the presence of glucose as a ligand, CBD shows high intrinsic stability. Denaturation/renaturation experiments with isolated CBD yield > 80% renaturation, indicating that the domain folds independently. Making use of fluorescence emission and far-UV circular dichroism in order to characterize protein stability, guanidine-induced unfolding of XynA leads to biphasic transitions, with half-concentrations c1/2 (GdmCl) approximately 4 M and > 5 M, in accordance with the extreme thermal stability. At acid pH, XynA exhibits increased stability, indicated by a shift of the second guanidine-transition from 5 to 7 M GdmCl. This can be tentatively attributed to the cellulose-binding domain. Differences in the transition profiles monitored by fluorescence emission and dichroic absorption indicate multi-state behavior of XynA. In the case of CBD, a temperature-induced increase in negative ellipticity at 217 nm is caused by alterations in the environment of aromatic residues that contribute to the far-UV CD in the native state.     

Description of a cellulose-binding domain and a linker sequence from Aspergillus fungi

A family I cellulose-binding domain (CBD) and a serine- and threonine-rich linker peptide were cloned from the fungi Aspergillus japonicus and Aspergillus aculeatus. A glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein comprising GST and a peptide linker with the CBD fused to its C-terminus, was expressed in Escherichia coli. The renatured GST-CBD recovered from inclusion bodies had a molecular mass of 36.5 kDa which agrees with the 29 kDa of the GST plus the calculated 7.5 kDa of the linker with the CBD. The isolated GST-CBD protein adsorbed to both bacterial microcrystalline cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose. Deletion of the linker peptide caused a decrease in cellulose adsorbance and a higher sensitivity to protease digestion.     

Structure and binding specificity of the second N-terminal cellulose-binding domain from Cellulomonas fimi endoglucanase C

The 1,4-beta-glucanase CenC from Cellulomonas fimi contains two cellulose-binding domains, CBD(N1) and CBD(N2), arranged in tandem at its N-terminus. These homologous CBDs are distinct in their selectivity for binding amorphous and not crystalline cellulose. Multidimensional heteronuclear nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to determine the tertiary structure of CBD(N2) in the presence of saturating amounts of cellopentaose. A total of 1996 experimental restraints were used to calculate an ensemble of 21 final structures for the protein. CBD(Nu2) is composed of 11 beta-strands, folded into two antiparallel beta-sheets, with a topology of a jellyroll beta-sandwich. On the basis of patterns of chemical shift perturbations accompanying the addition of cellooligosaccharides, as well as the observation of intermolecular protein-sugar NOE interactions, the cellulose-binding site of CBD(N2) was identified as a cleft that lies across one face of the beta-sandwich. The thermodynamic basis for the binding of cellooligosaccharides was investigated using isothermal titration calorimetry and NMR spectroscopy. Binding is enthalpically driven and consistent with a structural model involving hydrogen bonding between the equatorial hydroxyls of the glucopyranosyl rings and polar amino acid side chains lining the CBD(N2) cleft. Affinity electrophoresis was used to determine that CBD(N2) also binds soluble beta-1,4-linked polymers of glucose, including hydroxyethylcellulose and beta-1,3-1,4-glucans. This study complements a previous analysis of CBD(N1) [Johnson, P. E., Joshi, M. D., Tomme, P., Kilburn, D. G., and McIntosh, L. P. (1996) Biochemistry 35, 14381-14394] and demonstrates that the homologous CBDs from CenC share very similar structures and sugar binding properties.     

Expression, purification, and characterization of the cellulose-binding domain of the scaffoldin subunit from the cellulosome of Clostridium thermocellum.

The major cellulose-binding domain (CBD) from the cellulosome of Clostridium thermocellum YS was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The expressed protein was purified efficiently by a modification of a novel procedure termed affinity digestion. The properties of the purified polypeptide were compared with those of a related CBD derived from a cellulosome-like complex of a similar (but mesophilic) clostridial species, Clostridium cellulovorans. The binding properties of the two proteins with their common substrate were found to be very similar. Despite the similarity in the amino acid sequences of the two CBDs, polyclonal antibodies raised against the CBD from C. thermocellum failed to interact with the protein from C. cellulovorans. Chemical modification of the single cysteine of the CBD had little effect on the binding to cellulose. Biotinylation of this cysteine allowed the efficient binding of avidin to cellulose, and the resultant matrix is appropriate for use as a universal affinity system.     

The effect of the cellulose-binding domain from Clostridium cellulovorans on the supramolecular structure of cellulose fibers

The cellulose-binding domain (CBD) is the second important and the most wide-spread element of cellulase structure involved in cellulose transformation with a great structural diversity and a range of adsorption behavior toward different types of cellulosic materials. The effect of the CBD from Clostridium cellulovorans on the supramolecular structure of three different sources of cellulose (cotton cellulose, spruce dissolving pulp, and cellulose linters) was studied. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to record amides I and II absorption bands of cotton cellulose treated with CBD. Structural changes as weakening and splitting of the hydrogen bonds within the cellulose chains after CBD adsorption were observed. The decrease of relative crystallinity index of the treated celluloses was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to confirm the binding of the CBD on the cellulose surface and the changing of the cellulose morphology.     

Enhancement of cellulase activity by clones selected from the combinatorial library of the cellulose-binding domain by cell surface engineering

To improve the cellulolytic activity of a yeast strain displaying endoglucanase IotaIota (EG II) from Trichoderma reesei, a combinatorial library of the cellulose-binding domain (CBD) of EG II was constructed by using cell surface engineering. When EG II degrades celluloses, CBD binds to cellulose, and its catalytic domain cleaves the glycosidic bonds of cellulose. CBD had a flat face, composed of five amino acids for binding. It was supposed that the three hydrophobic amino acid residues of the five amino acid residues were essential for binding to cellulose. Therefore, by improving the two remaining amino acid residues, construction of mutants with a combinatorial library of the two amino acids in CBD was carried out and binding ability and hydrolysis activity were measured. In the first screening by halo assay using the Congo Red staining method, about 200 of the 2000 colonies formed clear halos, and then five colonies with the clearest halos were finally selected. In the second screening, the binding ability of the five mutants to phosphoric acid-swollen Avicel was measured. In addition, the measurement of hydrolysis activity toward carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) using the screened mutants was carried out. As a result, the mutated EG II exhibiting higher binding ability (1.5-fold) had higher hydrolysis activity (1.3-fold) compared to the parent EG II-displaying yeast cell, demonstrating that CBD has confirmatively some effect on the cellulase activity through its binding ability of the enzyme to cellulose.