Stabilization of Bacillus subtilis Lipase A by increasing the residual packing

Introduction of well-packed residues to the interior of a protein structure could be considered as a stabilization strategy since the reduction of buried cavities might stabilize protein structure. In this study, the less-packed residues with no water-contact were selected as target sites for increasing residual packing. When Lipase A from Bacillus subtilis (179 amino acids) was used as a model system, 43 less-packed residues were initially considered by analyzing their residual packing value and residual exposure ratio. Among the 43 residues, small amino acids such as GLY and ALA were chosen as target sites. Packing increases of ALA to VAL and GLY to ALA were estimated, by molecular modeling, to give 0.5368∼0.7433 kcal mol^-1 stabilization. Mutants of Lipase A such as A38V, A75V, G80A, A105V A146V, and G172A were obtained via protein engineering. Thermostability assays revealed that A38V, G80A and G172V were the most stable mutants. This procedure for selecting the target residues for improved thermostability of Lipase A could be applied for improving the thermostability of other proteins and enzymes.     

Stabilization of Bacillus subtilis Lipase A by increasing the residual packing

Introduction of well-packed residues to the interior of a protein structure could be considered as a stabilization strategy since the reduction of buried cavities might stabilize protein structure. In this study, the less-packed residues with no water-contact were selected as target sites for increasing residual packing. When Lipase A from Bacillus subtilis (179 amino acids) was used as a model system, 43 less-packed residues were initially considered by analyzing their residual packing value and residual exposure ratio. Among the 43 residues, small amino acids such as GLY and ALA were chosen as target sites. Packing increases of ALA to VAL and GLY to ALA were estimated, by molecular modeling, to give 0.5368～0.7433?kcal mol^?1 stabilization. Mutants of Lipase A such as A38V, A75V, G80A, A105V A146V, and G172A were obtained via protein engineering. Thermostability assays revealed that A38V, G80A and G172V were the most stable mutants. This procedure for selecting the target residues for improved thermostability of Lipase A could be applied for improving the thermostability of other proteins and enzymes.     

Thermostabilization of Bacillus subtilis lipase A by minimizing the structural deformation caused by packing enhancement

Enzyme thermostabilization is a critical research topic due to potential industrial benefits. Among the various reasons to increase enzyme thermostability, enhancement of residual packing at the core of the enzyme structure has been commonly accepted as a successful strategy. However, structural changes that occur with residual packing enhancement may decrease enzyme activity. In this study, a strategy to minimize structural deformation by calculating the overlapping packing volume of a single-point mutation followed by applying a double-point mutation was suggested. Four double mutants, A38V_K23A, A75V_T83A, G80A_N106A, and G172A_V100A, were selected for the in vitro experiment; three of the four showed enhancements in both thermostability and catalytic activity. In particular, G80A_N106A showed 2.78 times higher catalytic activity compared with wild type.     

Directed Evolution of an Enantioselective Bacillus subtilis Lipase

Chiral compounds are of steadily increasing importance to the chemical industry, in particular for the production of pharmaceuticals. Where do these compounds come from? Apart from natural resources, two synthetic strategies are available: asymmetric chemical catalysis using transition metal catalysts and biocatalysis using enzymes. In the latter case, screening programs have identified a number of enzymes. However, their enantioselectivity is often not high enough for a desired reaction. This problem can be solved by applying directed evolution to create enantioselective enzymes as shown here for a lipase from Bacillus subtilis. The reaction studied was the asymmetric hydrolysis of meso-1,4-diacetoxy-2-cyclopentene with the formation of chiral alcohols which were detected by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Iterative cycles of random mutagenesis and screening allowed the identification of several variants with improved enantioselectivities. In parallel, we have started to use X-ray structural data to simulate the Bacillus subtilis lipase A-catalyzed substrate hydrolysis by using quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical calculations. This combined approach should finally enable us to devise more efficient strategies for the directed evolution of enantioselective enzymes.     

Directed Evolution of an Enantioselective Bacillus subtilis Lipase

Chiral compounds are of steadily increasing importance to the chemical industry, in particular for the production of pharmaceuticals. Where do these compounds come from? Apart from natural resources, two synthetic strategies are available: asymmetric chemical catalysis using transition metal catalysts and biocatalysis using enzymes. In the latter case, screening programs have identified a number of enzymes. However, their enantioselectivity is often not high enough for a desired reaction. This problem can be solved by applying directed evolution to create enantioselective enzymes as shown here for a lipase from Bacillus subtilis. The reaction studied was the asymmetric hydrolysis of meso-1,4-diacetoxy-Zcyclopentene with the formation of chiral alcohols which were detected by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Iterative cycles of random mutagenesis and screening allowed the identification of several variants with improved enantioselectivities. In parallel, we have started to use X-ray structural data to simulate the Bacillus subtilis lipase A-catalyzed substrate hydrolysis by using quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical calculations. This combined approach should finally enable us to devise more efficient strategies for the directed evolution of enantioselective enzymes.     

枯草芽孢杆菌(Bacillus subtilis)碱性脂肪酶基因在毕赤酵母中的表达

将来自枯草芽孢杆菌的碱性脂肪酶基因经密码子优化,全基因合成后克隆到pPICZαA载体,构建了pPICZαA-bsl分泌型重组质粒,该重组质粒经限制性内切酶PmeI线性化后使用LiCl法转化到毕赤酵母X-33,经过筛选获得分泌表达碱性脂肪酶的重组毕赤酵母X-33/pPICZαA-bsl。摇瓶发酵液上清酶活最高可达4.78 U/mL,初步研究了该脂肪酶的酶学性质,其最适作用温度为40-60℃,最适pH9.0,且具有高度耐碱的特性。该重组脂肪酶对旧新闻纸具备较明显的脱墨能力。     

少根根霉脂肪酶基因在枯草芽孢杆菌中的诱导表达

利用PCR技术从少根根霉基因组中扩增出脂肪酶成熟肽基因ral,并从枯草芽孢杆菌基因组中扩增出sacB基因的启动子-信号序列(SacB);通过搭桥PCR将SacB序列与ral基因融合,并将该基因表达盒连接到枯草杆菌分泌表达载体pGJ103中构建了脂肪酶基因的诱导表达载体pGJ103-SacB-ral。将重组载体转化至枯草芽孢杆菌后,少根根霉脂肪酶成熟肽基因在SacB启动子-信号序列的调控和蔗糖的诱导下获得表达,产物分泌至胞外。     

Engineering of baker's yeasts, E. coli and Bacillus hosts for the production of Bacillus subtilis Lipase A

Lipases are versatile biocatalists showing multiple applications in a wide range of biotechnological processes. The gene lipA coding for Lipase A from Bacillus subtilis was isolated by PCR amplification, cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Bacillus subtilis strains, using pBR322, YEplac112 and pUB110-derived vectors, respectively. Lipase activity analysis of the recombinant strains showed that the gene can be properly expressed in all hosts assayed, this being the first time a lipase from bacterial origin can be expressed in baker's S. cerevisiae strains. An important increase of lipase production was obtained in heterologous hosts with respect to that of parental strains, indicating that the described systems can represent a useful tool to enhance productivity of the enzyme for biotechnological applications, including the use of the lipase in bread making, or as a technological additive.     

A manganese-stimulated endonuclease from Bacillus subtilis

An endonuclease activity has been identified in extracts of $\text{Bacillus subtilis}$. This activity is stimulated by Mn⁺⁺ or Ca⁺⁺ ions but not by Mg⁺⁺ ions. The enzyme catalyzes the breakdown of native DNA of high molecular weight to fragments of molecular weights ranging from 3 × 10⁶ to 20 × 10⁶. A variety of DNA's from sources such as $\text{B. subtilis, Salmonella}$ and T7 phage are attacked. About 61% of the activity of the cells is released into the medium during protoplast formation under conditions where 98% of the glucose 6-P dehydrogenase activity is retained by the cells.     

Thermostability of In Vitro Evolved Bacillus subtilis Lipase A: A Network and Dynamics Perspective

Proteins in thermophilic organisms remain stable and function optimally at high temperatures. Owing to their important applicability in many industrial processes, such thermostable proteins have been studied extensively, and several structural factors attributed to their enhanced stability. How these factors render the emergent property of thermostability to proteins, even in situations where no significant changes occur in their three-dimensional structures in comparison to their mesophilic counter-parts, has remained an intriguing question. In this study we treat Lipase A from Bacillus subtilis and its six thermostable mutants in a unified manner and address the problem with a combined complex network-based analysis and molecular dynamic studies to find commonality in their properties. The Protein Contact Networks (PCN) of the wild-type and six mutant Lipase A structures developed at a mesoscopic scale were analyzed at global network and local node (residue) level using network parameters and community structure analysis. The comparative PCN analysis of all proteins pointed towards important role of specific residues in the enhanced thermostability. Network analysis results were corroborated with finer-scale molecular dynamics simulations at both room and high temperatures. Our results show that this combined approach at two scales can uncover small but important changes in the local conformations that add up to stabilize the protein structure in thermostable mutants, even when overall conformation differences among them are negligible. Our analysis not only supports the experimentally determined stabilizing factors, but also unveils the important role of contacts, distributed throughout the protein, that lead to thermostability. We propose that this combined mesoscopic-network and fine-grained molecular dynamics approach is a convenient and useful scheme not only to study allosteric changes leading to protein stability in the face of negligible over-all conformational changes due to mutations, but also in other molecular networks where change in function does not accompany significant change in the network structure.     

响应面法优化枯草芽孢杆菌产脂肪酶的合成培养基

对枯草芽孢杆菌(Bacillus subtilis)CICC20034利用合成培养基液体发酵产脂肪酶的条件进行了优化。首先采用单因子实验筛选出最适诱导剂为三丁酸甘油酯,氮源为尿素,碳源为葡萄糖,无机盐为MgSO4。在此基础上,利用Plackett-Burman设计对影响产酶因素的效应进行评价,筛选出具有显著效应的三丁酸甘油酯、尿素、KH2PO4和培养基起始pH值4个最显著的因素。用最陡爬坡路径逼近最大产酶区域后,利用响应面中心组合设计对显著因素进行优化,获得最适合成培养基组分为:葡萄糖8g/L,尿素8.57g/L,三丁酸甘油酯2.62%,KH2PO42.59g/L,MgSO4.7H2O0.5g/L,TritonX-1000.5g/L,pH9.47。优化后的B.subtilis CICC 20034胞外脂肪酶活力达0.483U/ml,比初始酶活力0.072U/ml提高了6.7倍。     

A DNA-dependent ATPase from Bacillus subtilis.

A DNA-dependent ATPase (molecular weight 68000) has been purified from extracts of $\text{B. subtilis}$. The enzyme shows specificity for single-stranded DNA and for hydrolysis of ATP (Km 0.4 mM). Similarities with the $\text{rep}$ gene product from $\text{E.coli}$ are discussed.     

Cloning in Bacillus subtilis of temperature-dependent promoter fragments from Bacillus stearothermophilus and Bacillus subtilis

Abstract Using promoter-probe plasmids, more than 200 promoter-containing fragments from Bacillus stearothermophilus and Bacillus subtilis were cloned in B. subtilis . Among these, 15 promoter fragments were highly temperature-dependent in activity compared to the promoter sequence (TTGAAA for the −35 region, TATAAT for the −10 region) of the amylase gene, amyT , from B. stearothermophilus . Some fragments exhibited higher promoter activities at elevated temperature (48°C), others showed higher activities at lower temperature (30°C). Active promoter fragments at higher and lower temperatures were obtained mainly from the thermophile ( B. stearothermophilus ) and the mesophile ( B. subtilis ), respectively. A promoter fragment active at high temperature was sequenced, and the feature of the putative promoter region was discussed.     

Thermostabilization of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase by chemical cross-linking

Chemical cross-linking of a mesophilic alpha-amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (BAA) was carried out. Intra-molecular cross-links between lysine residues upon treatment of the enzyme with ethylene glycol bis(succinic acid N-hydroxy succinimide ester) resulted in enhancement of thermostability as indicated by irreversible thermoinactivation experiments. Enhancement of thermostability coincided with a dramatic protection against aggregation, combined with a decrease in surface hydrophobicity. Deamidation, another important mechanism of irreversible thermoinactivation, was also diminished upon modification. While no significant changes in the kinetic parameters are evident, rigidification of the protein structure is suggested by circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence studies.     

The phage display of Bacillus subtilis Lipase A significantly enhances catalytic activity due to altered nanoscale distribution in colloidal solution

Screening libraries of mutant proteins by phage display is now relatively common. However, one unknown factor is how the bacteriophage scaffold itself influences the properties of the displayed protein. This communication evaluates the effect of solution parameters on the catalytic activity of phage displayed Bacillus subtilis Lipase A (BSLA), compared to the free enzyme in solution. While the pH- and temperature-activity profiles of BSLA were not intrinsically affected by phage display, the nanoscale distribution of BSLA within the micellar assay buffer was. This lead to a pronounced increase of activity of phage–BSLA relative to the free enzyme, owing to the accumulation of phage–BSLA at the substrate-rich micelles. Considering this result obtained for BSLA, caution is warranted and similar effects should be considered when selecting other enzymes/proteins by phage display, as the activity of the displayed protein may differ from that of the free protein.     

Calmodulin-like protein from Bacillus subtilis

The first example of a calmodulin-like activity in a Gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, is reported. A calcium ion-dependent, 3', 5' cyclic-AMP phosphodiesterase-stimulating activity was found in the soluble fraction of cell-free extracts of cells sporulating in a chemically-defined medium; activation was reversed by trifluoperazine. The activity was heat stable, bound to phenothiazine-agarose in a calcium ion-dependent manner and was eluted therefrom with buffer containing EGTA, and displaced authentic beef brain calmodulin from its antibody in a radioimmunoassay.     

Crystal structure of thymidylate synthase A from Bacillus subtilis

Thymidylate synthase (TS) converts dUMP to dTMP by reductive methylation, where 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate is the source of both the methylene group and reducing equivalents. The mechanism of this reaction has been extensively studied, mainly using the enzyme from Escherichia coli. Bacillus subtilis contains two genes for TSs, ThyA and ThyB. The ThyB enzyme is very similar to other bacterial TSs, but the ThyA enzyme is quite different, both in sequence and activity. In ThyA TS, the active site histidine is replaced by valine. In addition, the B. subtilis enzyme has a 2.4-fold greater k(cat) than the E. coli enzyme. The structure of B. subtilis thymidylate synthase in a ternary complex with 5-fluoro-dUMP and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate has been determined to 2.5 A resolution. Overall, the structure of B. subtilis TS (ThyA) is similar to that of the E. coli enzyme. However, there are significant differences in the structures of two loops, the dimer interface and the details of the active site. The effects of the replacement of histidine by valine and a serine to glutamine substitution in the active site area, and the addition of a loop over the carboxy terminus may account for the differences in k(cat) found between the two enzymes.