A multi-tolerant low molecular weight mannanase from Bacillus sp. CSB39 and its compatibility as an industrial biocatalyst

Bacillus sp. CSB39, isolated from popular traditional Korean food (Kimchi), produced a low molecular weight, thermostable mannanase (MnCSB39); 571.14 U/mL using locust bean gum galactomannan as a major substrate. It was purified to homogeneity using a simple and effective two-step purification strategy, Sepharose CL-6B and DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow, which resulted in 25.47% yield and 19.32-fold purity. The surfactant-, NaCl-, urea-, and protease-tolerant monomeric protein had a mass of ∼30 kDa as analyzed by SDS-PAGE and galactomannan zymography. MnCSB39 was found to have optimal activity at pH 7.5 and temperature of 70 °C. The enzyme showed ˃55% activity at 5.0–15% (w/v) NaCl, and ˃93% of the initial activity after incubation at 37 °C for 60 min. Trypsin and proteinase K had no effect on MnCBS39. The enzyme showed ˃80% activity in up to 3 M urea. The N-terminal amino acid sequence, ALKGDGX, did not show identity with reported mannanases, which suggests the novelty of our enzyme. Activation energy for galactomannan hydrolysis was 26.85 kJmol⁻¹ with a K_cat of 142.58 × 10⁴ s⁻¹. MnCSB39 had K_m and V_max values of 0.082 mg/mL and 1099 ± 1.0 Umg⁻¹, respectively. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔH, ΔG, ΔS, Q₁₀, ΔG_E-S, and ΔG_E-T supported the spontaneous formation of products and the high hydrolytic efficiency and feasibility of the enzymatic reaction, which strengthen its novelty. MnCSB39 activity was affected by metal ions, modulators, chelators, and detergents. Mannobiose was the principal end-product of hydrolysis. Bacillus subtilis CSB39 produced a maximum of 1524.44 U mannanase from solid state fermentation of 1 g wheat bran. MnCSB39 was simple to purify, was active at a wide pH and temperature range, multi-stress tolerant and catalyzes a thermodynamically possible reaction, characteristics that suggests its suitability for application as an industrial biocatalyst.     

Optimal biocatalyst loading in a fixed bed

The optimal distribution of biocatalyst in a fixed bed operating at steady state was determined to minimize the length of the bed for a fixed conversion of 95%. The distribution in terms of the biocatalyst loading on an inert support depends upon the axial distance from the bed entrance (continuous solution) as well as a set of dimensionless parameters that reflect the bed geometry, the bulk flow, reaction kinetics and diffusional characteristics. A mathematical model of the system with the following features was used to obtain the results: (1) convective mass transfer and dispersion in the bulk phase; (2) mass transfer from the bulk phase to the surface of the catalyst particle; and (3) simultaneous diffusion and chemical reaction in the catalyst particle with Michaelis–Menton kinetics and a reliable diffusion model (Zhao and DeLancey in Biotechnol Bioeng 64:434–441, 1999, 2000). The solution to the mathematical model was obtained with Mathematica utilizing the Runge Kutta 4–5 method. The dimensionless length resulting from the continuous solution was compared with the optimal length restricted to a uniform or constant cell loading across the entire bed. The maximum difference in the dimensionless length between the continuous and uniform solutions was determined to be 6.5%. The model was applied to published conversion data for the continuous production of ethanol that included cell loading (Taylor et al. in Biotechnol Prog 15:740–751, 2002). The data indicated a minimum production cost at a catalyst loading within 10% of the optimum predicted by the mathematical model. The production rate versus cell loading in most cases displayed a sufficiently broad optimum that the same (non-optimal) rate could be obtained at a significantly smaller loading such as a rate at 80% loading being equal to the rate at 20% loading. These results are particularly important because of the renewed interest in ethanol production (Novozymes and BBI International, Fuel ethanol: a technological evolution, 2004).     

Scalable preparation of silCoat‐biocatalysts by use of a fluidized‐bed reactor

SilCoat‐biocatalysts are immobilized enzyme preparations with an outstanding robustness against leaching and mechanical stress and therefore promising tools for technical synthesis. They consist of a composite material made from a solid enzyme carrier and silicone. In this study, a method has been found to enable provision of these catalysts in large scale. It makes use of easily scalable fluidized‐bed technology and, in contrast to the original method, works in almost complete absence of organic solvent. Thus, it is both a fast and safe method. When the Pt‐catalyst required for silicone formation is cast on the solid enzyme carrier before coating, resulting composites resemble the original preparations in morphology, catalytic activity, and stability against leaching and mechanical forces. Only the maximum total content of silicone in the composites lies about 10% w/w lower resulting in an overall leaching stability below the theoretical maximum. When the Pt‐catalyst is mixed with cooled siloxane solution before coating, surficial coating of the enzyme carriers is achieved, which provides maximum leaching stability at very low silicone consumption. Thus, the technology offers the possibility to produce both composite and for the first time also core‐shell silCoat‐particles, and optimize leaching stability over mechanical strength according to process requirements.     

Maximizing the stability of metabolic engineering‐derived whole‐cell biocatalysts

A systematic and powerful knowledge‐based framework exists for improving the activity and stability of chemical catalysts and for empowering the commercialization of respective processes. In contrast, corresponding biotechnological processes are still scarce and characterized by case‐by‐case development strategies. A systematic understanding of parameters affecting biocatalyst efficiency, that is, biocatalyst activity and stability, is essential for a rational generation of improved biocatalysts. Today, systematic approaches only exist for increasing the activity of whole‐cell biocatalysts. They are still largely missing for whole‐cell biocatalyst stability. In this review, we structure factors affecting biocatalyst stability and summarize existing, yet not completely exploited strategies to overcome respective limitations. The factors and mechanisms related to biocatalyst destabilization are discussed and demonstrated inter alia based on two case studies. The factors are similar for processes with different objectives regarding target molecule or metabolic pathway complexity and process scale, but are in turn highly interdependent. This review provides a systematic for the stabilization of whole‐cell biocatalysts. In combination with our knowledge on strategies to improve biocatalyst activity, this paves the way for the rational design of superior recombinant whole‐cell biocatalysts, which can then be employed in economically and ecologically competitive and sustainable bioprocesses.     

新生物催化剂的筛选与开发

生物催化剂是具有催化作用的游离或固定化细胞和游离或固定化酶的统称.目前,筛选新生物催化剂的方法有两种:一是从环境样品中筛选全新的生物催化剂;二是探索现有生物催化剂的非天然新活力.本文详细综述了筛选新生物催化剂的方法及策略,并着重介绍了从微生物源开发新生物催化剂的方法.     

Recent advances in biocatalyst discovery,development and applications

Enzymes catalyze a wide range of biotransformations and have a great potential as environmentally friendly alternatives to classical chemical catalysts in various industrial applications. Recently, advanced techniques and strategies in enzyme discovery and engineering have led to the significant expansion of the quantity and functional diversity of biocatalysts, which has further allowed broader uses of biocatalysts in new processes, especially those traditionally enabled only by chemical catalysts. Here we highlight some of these recent advances with the focus on new approaches in biocatalyst discovery and development, and discuss new applications of selected biocatalysts including transaminases, cytochrome P450s, and Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases.     

MOFs固定5-羟甲基糠醛氧化酶及其催化活性的研究

固定化酶作为一种绿色高效的生物催化剂,其性能远超游离酶。目前酶的固定化技术适用范围仍然较小,酶的研究范围多停留在模型酶阶段,扩大固定化酶的研究范围具有十分重要的意义。金属有机骨架材料(MOFs)作为酶固定化的载体在近些年得到了广泛的探索,但是具有生物功能的酶-MOFs复合材料的许多特性仍有待挖掘。采用仿生矿化的合成方法将5-羟甲基糠醛氧化酶(HMFO)固定到以沸石咪唑酯(ZIF-8)为代表的MOFs材料中,制备得到一种新的生物催化剂HMFO@ZIF-8,扫描电子显微镜表征其形态区别于经典的菱形十二面体。采用考马斯亮蓝法测定蛋白质浓度,计算得到酶的固定化效率达到89. 0%。HMFO@ZIF-8催化5-羟甲基糠醛的转化率达到84. 3%,收率和选择性均高于游离酶。拓展了MOFs固定化酶的研究范围,为研究其他生物大分子复合材料的生物催化剂提供一定的借鉴意义。     

Expanding the applicability of cytochrome P450s and other haemoproteins

Cytochrome P450BM3 has long been regarded as a promising candidate for use as a biocatalyst, owing to its excellent efficiency for the hydroxylation of unactivated C–H bonds. However, because of its high substrate specificity, its possible applications have been severely limited. Consequently, various approaches have been proposed to overcome the enzyme's natural limitations, thereby expanding its substrate scope to encompass non-native substrates, evoking chemoselectivity, regioselectivity and stereoselectivity and enabling previously inaccessible chemical conversions. Herein, these approaches will be classified into three categories: (1) mutagenesis including directed evolution, (2) haem substitution with artificial cofactors and (3) use of substrate mimics, ‘decoy molecules’. Herein, we highlight the representative work that has been conducted in above three categories for discussion of the future outlook of P450BM3 in green chemistry.     

Study of the deactivation of β-galactosidase entrapped in alginate-carrageenan gels

The stability of β-galactosidase entrapped in Ca-alginate–K-κ-carrageenan gels under operation conditions was studied. The thermal deactivation of the immobilised enzyme and the biocatalyst protein loss due to gel swelling were taken into account in the mass balance of the enzymatic reaction rate expression.

Time-temperature effect was the most important factor in the biocatalyst deactivation reaction. However, results showed that the enzyme entrapped in gels was partially lost by gel swelling, which was a source of error in predicting results in continuous processes. The enzyme loss determined in this work showed a non-linear behaviour and it depended on mixing conditions of the reactor.

Values of protein loss were used in the modelling of a fixed-bed reactor with similar flow conditions to reduce the error in predicting the operation conditions to maintain a constant conversion.

For reaction conditions similar to those analysed in this work, the β-galactosidase was well entrapped in alginate-carrageenan matrices.