ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Glutamic peptidases, from the MEROPS family G1, are a distinct group of peptidases characterized by a catalytic dyad consisting of a glutamate and a glutamine residue, optimal activity at acidic pH and insensitivity towards the microbial derived protease inhibitor, pepstatin. Previously, only glutamic peptidases derived from filamentous fungi have been characterized. RESULTS: We report the first characterization of a bacterial glutamic peptidase (pepG1), derived from the thermoacidophilic bacteria Alicyclobacillus sp. DSM 15716. The amino acid sequence identity between pepG1 and known fungal glutamic peptidases is only 24-30% but homology modeling, the presence of the glutamate/glutamine catalytic dyad and a number of highly conserved motifs strongly support the inclusion of pepG1 as a glutamic peptidase. Phylogenetic analysis places pepG1 and other putative bacterial and archaeal glutamic peptidases in a cluster separate from the fungal glutamic peptidases, indicating a divergent and independent evolution of bacterial and fungal glutamic peptidases. Purification of pepG1, heterologously expressed in Bacillus subtilis, was performed using hydrophobic interaction chromatography and ion exchange chromatography. The purified peptidase was characterized with respect to its physical properties. Temperature and pH optimums were found to be 60°C and pH 3-4, in agreement with the values observed for the fungal members of family G1. In addition, pepG1 was found to be pepstatin-insensitive, a characteristic signature of glutamic peptidases. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the obtained results, we suggest that pepG1 can be added to the MEROPS family G1 as the first characterized bacterial member.
Subject(s)
Alicyclobacillus/enzymology , Glutamic Acid/metabolism , Peptide Hydrolases/chemistry , Peptide Hydrolases/metabolism , Amino Acid Sequence , Bacillus subtilis/genetics , Biocatalysis , Copper/pharmacology , DNA, Bacterial/genetics , Genome, Bacterial/genetics , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Manganese/pharmacology , Models, Molecular , Molecular Sequence Data , Pepstatins/pharmacology , Peptide Hydrolases/genetics , Peptide Hydrolases/isolation & purification , Phylogeny , Protease Inhibitors/pharmacology , Protein Structure, Secondary , TemperatureABSTRACT
Asparaginase, an enzyme that hydrolyzes asparagine to aspartic acid, presents a potentially very effective means for reducing acrylamide formation in foods via removal of the precursor, asparagine, from the primary ingredients. An extracellular asparaginase amenable to industrial production was cloned and expressed in Aspergillus oryzae . This asparaginase was tested in a range of food products, including semisweet biscuits, ginger biscuits, crisp bread, French fries, and sliced potato chips. In dough-based applications, addition of asparaginase resulted in reduction of acrylamide content in the final products of 34-92%. Enzyme dose, dough resting time, and water content were identified as critical parameters. Treating French fries and sliced potato chips was more challenging as the solid nature of these whole-cut products limits enzyme-substrate contact. However, by treating potato pieces with asparaginase after blanching, the acrylamide levels in French fries could be lowered by 60-85% and that in potato chips by up to 60%.
Subject(s)
Acrylamide/antagonists & inhibitors , Asparaginase/administration & dosage , Aspergillus oryzae/enzymology , Food Analysis , Food Handling/methods , Acrylamide/analysis , Asparaginase/metabolism , Bread/analysis , Food Contamination/prevention & control , Plant Tubers/chemistry , Recombinant Proteins/administration & dosage , Solanum tuberosum/chemistryABSTRACT
The best of both worlds. Long molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) confirmed the function of helix alpha5 as a lid structure. Replacement of the helix with corresponding lid regions from CALB homologues from Neurospora crassa and Gibberella zeae resulted in new CALB chimeras with novel biocatalytic properties. The figure shows a snapshot from the MD simulation. The Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) has found very extensive use in biocatalysis reactions. Long molecular dynamics simulations of CALB in explicit aqueous solvent confirmed the high mobility of the regions lining the channel that leads into the active site, in particular, of helices alpha5 and alpha10. The simulation also confirmed the function of helix alpha5 as a lid of the lipase. Replacing it with corresponding lid regions from the CALB homologues from Neurospora crassa and Gibberella zeae resulted in two new CALB mutants. Characterization of these revealed several interesting properties, including increased hydrolytic activity on simple esters, specifically substrates with C(alpha) branching on the carboxylic side, and much increased enantioselectivity in hydrolysis of racemic ethyl 2-phenylpropanoate (E>50), which is a common structure of the profen drug family.
