Characterization of a Novel Metal-Dependent D-Psicose 3-Epimerase from Clostridium scindens 35704

The noncharacterized protein CLOSCI_02528 from Clostridium scindens ATCC 35704 was characterized as D-psicose 3-epimerase. The enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 7.5 and 60°C. The half-life of the enzyme at 50°C was 108 min, suggesting the enzyme was relatively thermostable. It was strictly metal-dependent and required Mn²⁺ as optimum cofactor for activity. In addition, Mn²⁺ improved the structural stability during both heat- and urea-induced unfolding. Using circular dichroism measurements, the apparent melting temperature (T _m) and the urea midtransition concentration (C _m) of metal-free enzyme were 64.4°C and 2.68 M. By comparison, the Mn²⁺-bound enzyme showed higher T _m and C _m with 67.3°C and 5.09 M. The Michaelis-Menten constant (K _m), turnover number (k _cat), and catalytic efficiency (k _cat/K _m) values for substrate D-psicose were estimated to be 28.3 mM, 1826.8 s⁻¹, and 64.5 mM⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively. The enzyme could effectively produce D-psicose from D-fructose with the turnover ratio of 28%.     

Recent advances on biological difructose anhydride III production using inulase II from inulin

Difructose anhydride III (DFA III), the smallest cyclic disaccharide, consists of two fructose residues. DFA III is a hydrolysate of inulin and is rarely found in nature. Industrial interest in DFA III as a low-calorie sugar substitute is increasing. The present review describes the properties and physiological functions of DFA III as well as its commercial importance. Focus is also given on the biological production of DFA III from inulin, which contains enzyme resources, inulase II properties, and the capacity for mass DFA III production. Inulase II as an industrial enzyme and its molecular evolution are discussed as well. The aim is to better understand commercial-scale DFA III production as a food product.     

3-Phenyllactic acid production by substrate feeding and pH-control in fed-batch fermentation of Lactobacillus sp. SK007

3-Phenyllactic acid (PLA), which is produced by some strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), is a known antimicrobial agent with a broad spectrum. Batch and fed-batch fermentation by the strain Lactobacillus sp. SK007 for PLA production have been reported. With batch fermentation without pH-control, PLA production yield was 2.42 g L⁻¹. When fed-batch fermentation by Lactobacillus sp. SK007 was conducted in 3 L initial volume with pH-control at 6.0 and intermittent feeding, which was developed after fermentation for 12 h and every 2 h with 120 mL 100 g L⁻¹ PPA phenylpyruvic acid (PPA) and 50 mL 500 g L⁻¹ glucose each time, PLA production yield reached 17.38 g L⁻¹. The final conversion ratio of PPA to PLA was 51.1%, and the PLA production rate was 0.241 g L⁻¹ h⁻¹. This indicated that PPA was the ideal substrate for PLA fermentation production, and fed-batch fermentation with intermittent PPA feeding and pH-control was an effective approach to improve PLA production yield.     

生物信息大分子结构修饰对其功能的影响——酵母甘露聚糖硫酸酯化衍生物的制备及其对HIV-1细胞生长抑制效应的初步研究

研究由安徽大学ADF实验室以拟规模化环保型循环工艺生产流程分离、提取、纯化制得的生物多糖-酵母甘露聚糖(Yeast Mannan,简称Man),在对其结构、性质和生物活性研究的基础上,进一步对其结构进行硫酸酯化修饰,制得新产品硫酸酯化酵母甘露聚糖(Man-Sulfated),并探索Man、Man-Sulfated对HIV-1病毒细胞生长的抑制作用。研究结果表明:1)Man对宿主细胞C8166无毒性;2)实验用HIV-1病毒细胞对宿主细胞C8166有毒性,TCID50为1.1×10~6Cells/m L;3)用氯磺酸∶吡啶(2∶1)甲酰胺法制得的Man-Sulfated对宿主细胞C8166也无毒性,并具有抑制HIV-1病毒细胞生长的功能,而Man则无此新功能;4)Man-Sulfated具有抑制HIV-1生长的效能,其与硫酸酯化修饰Man结构时使用的硫酸酯化试剂类别、方法及反应条件的不同,而引起对Man结构、构象的修饰变化程度不同密切相关。浓硫酸酯化法对Man结构修饰太强烈,构象变化过大,影响其生物功能。     

Characterization of a d-psicose-producing enzyme, d-psicose 3-epimerase, from Clostridium sp.

The gene coding for d-psicose 3-epimerase (DPEase) from Clostridium sp. BNL1100 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant enzyme was purified by Ni-affinity chromatography. It was a metal-dependent enzyme and required Co²⁺ as optimum cofactor. It displayed catalytic activity maximally at pH 8.0 and 65 °C (as measured over 5 min). The optimum substrate was d-psicose, and the K _m, turnover number (k _cat), and catalytic efficiency (k _cat/K _m) for d-psicose were 227 mM, 32,185 min^?1, and 141 min^?1 mM^?1, respectively. At pH 8.0 and 55 °C, 120 g d-psicose l^?1 was produced from 500 g d-fructose l^?1 after 5 h.     

Current studies on physiological functions and biological production of lactosucrose

Lactosucrose (O-β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1,4)-O-α-d-glucopyranosyl-(1,2)-β-d-fructofuranoside) is a trisaccharide formed from lactose and sucrose by enzymatic transglycosylation. This rare trisaccharide is a kind of indigestible carbohydrate, has good prebiotic effect, and promotes intestinal mineral absorption. It has been used as a functional ingredient in a range of food products which are approved as foods for specified health uses in Japan. Using lactose and sucrose as substrates, lactosucrose can be produced through transfructosylation by β-fructofuranosidase from Arthrobacter sp. K-1 or a range of levansucrases, or through transgalactosylation by β-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans. This article presented a review of recent studies on the physiological functions of lactosucrose and the biological production from lactose and sucrose by different enzymes.     

Enzymatic production of d-3-phenyllactic acid by Pediococcus pentosaceus d-lactate dehydrogenase with NADH regeneration by Ogataea parapolymorpha formate dehydrogenase

3-Phenyllactic acid (PLA) is an antimicrobial compound with broad and effective antimicrobial activity against both bacteria and fungi. Enzymatic production of PLA can be carried out from phenylpyruvic acid by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH); however, the enzymatic reaction is accompanied by NADH oxidation that inhibits PLA biotransformation. Here, NADH regeneration was achieved using the formate dehydrogenase from Ogataea parapolymorpha and introduced into the d-PLA production process using the d-LDH from Pediococcus pentosaceus. Optimum PLA production by dual enzyme treatment was at pH 6.0 and 50 °C with both enzymes at 0.4 μM. Using 0.2 mM NADH, d-PLA production by NADH regeneration system reached 5.5 mM, which was significantly higher than that by a single-enzyme reaction.     

Efficient secretion of inulin fructotransferase in Pichia pastoris using the formaldehyde dehydrogenase 1 promoter

Inulin fructotransferase (IFTase) has received considerable attention due to its ability to catalyse inulin hydrolysis to difructose anhydride (DFA III), a natural low-calorie functional sweetener. In the present study, for the first time, we describe the expression of IFTase in Pichia pastoris under the control of the formaldehyde dehydrogenase 1 promoter (PFLD1). Using this system, we achieved efficient secretion with four substrate fed-batch strategies in a 3-L fermenter. The co-feeding induction strategy with methylamine hydrochloride and methanol achieved the maximum extracellular IFTase activity of 62.72 U mL^?1, which was 3.2-fold higher than that obtained with the wild-type strain. In addition to methanol, carbon sources such as glucose and glycerol could also be utilised by PFLD1-controlled P. pastoris for IFTase production using methylamine hydrochloride induction. However, we found that glycerol and glucose should be strictly controlled at low concentrations of 0.5–1.5 % (v/v) and 1–1.5 % (w/v), respectively. The use of glycerol and glucose demonstrated that P. pastoris was also attractive for IFTase production via methanol-free cultivation strategies. This study may provide the basis for the industrial use of this recombinant IFTase for the production of DFA III.     

Purification and characterization of inulin fructotransferase (DFA III-forming) from Arthrobacter aurescens SK 8.001

The soil bacterium Arthrobacter aurescens SK 8.001 produces inulin fructotransferase (IFTase), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR) analysis demonstrated that the main product of the enzyme was difructose anhydride III (DFA III). The IFTase was purified by ethanol precipitation, DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow, and Superdex 200 10/300 GL gel chromatography. Its molecular mass was estimated to be 40 kDa by SDS-PAGE and 35 kDa by gel filtration. The enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 5.5 and 60-70 °C, and retained 86.5% of its initial activity after incubation at 60 °C for 4 h. Chemical modification results suggested that a tryptophan residue is essential to enzyme activity. The N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined as AEGAKASPLNSPNVYDVT. The kinetic values, Km and Vmax, were estimated to be 0.52 mM and 0.3 μmol/ml min. Nystose was observed to be the smallest substrate for the produced IFTase. This IFTase provides a promising way to utilize inulin for the production of DFA III.