Homogalacturonan and xylogalacturonan region specificity of self-cloning vector-expressed pectin methylesterases (AoPME1-3) in Aspergillus oryzae.

Aspergillus oryzae is a safe microorganism that is commonly used in food production. We constructed a self-cloning vector capable of high expression in A. oryzae. Using the vector, three putative pectin methylesterase (PME) genes belonging to Carbohydrate Esterase family 8 derived from A. oryzae were expressed, and several characteristics of the gene products were examined. The effects of temperature and pH on the three enzymes (AoPME1, 2, and 3) were similar, with optimal reaction temperatures of 50 - 60 °C and optimal reaction pH range of 5 - 6. The specific activities of AoPME1, 2, and 3 for apple pectin were significantly different (34, 7,601, and 2 U/mg, respectively). When the substrate specificity was examined, AoPME1 showed high activity towards pectin derived from soybean and pea. Although AoPME2 showed little activity towards these pectins, it showed very high activity towards apple- and citrus-derived pectins. AoPME3 showed low specific activity towards all substrates tested. Sugar composition analysis revealed that apple- and citrus-derived pectins were rich in homogalacturonan, while soybean- and pea-derived pectins were rich in xylogalacturonan. When pea pectin was treated with endo-polygalacturonase or endo-xylogalacturonase in the presence of each PME, specific synergistic actions were observed (endo-polygalacturonase with AoPME1 or AoPME2 and endo-xylogalacturonase with AoPME1 or AoPME3). Thus, AoPME1 and AoPME3 hydrolyzed the methoxy group in xylogalacturonan. This is the first report of this activity in microbial enzymes. Our findings on the substrate specificity of PMEs should lead to the determination of the distribution of methoxy groups in pectin and the development of new applications in the field of food manufacturing.

Identification and characterization of GH62 bacterial α-l-arabinofuranosidase from thermotolerant Streptomyces sp. SWU10 that preferentially degrades branched l-arabinofuranoses in wheat arabinoxylan.

We previously described thermotolerant Streptomyces sp. SWU10, which produced four endo-xylanases and one xylosidase able to digest xylan backbones. To achieve arabinoxylan degradation, the swu62A gene was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant enzyme, termed SWUAbf62A, was characterized. The 438 amino acids of SWUAbf62A revealed Glyco_hydro_62 and closely related with putative α-l-arabinofuranosidases belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 62. SWUAbf62A was purified in two steps, Ni-affinity and size-exclusion column chromatographies, and its molecular mass without signal peptide was determined to be 49 kDa. SWUAbf62A showed optimum activity at pH 5.0 and 50 °C, and more than 70% of its initial enzymatic activity remained after incubation at pH 4.1-10.5, while SWUAbf62A lost all activity after 1 h at 60 °C. SWUAbf62A activity was stimulated by Ba2+, Ca2+, and Mn2+ and decreased by Ag+, Cu2+, Fe2+, and EDTA. SWUAbf62A had no activity towards p-nitrophenyl-α-l-arabinofuranoside or p-nitrophenyl-ß-d-xylopyranoside synthetic substrates. On the other hand, SWUAbf62A had the highest activity against wheat arabinoxylan, with a specific activity of 1.29 U/mg, and was also active against sugar beet arabinan, with a specific activity of 0.14 U/mg; these results indicated that SWUAbf62A is an arabinoxylan arabinofuranohydrolase. Using 1H-NMR analysis, SWUAbf62A was found to release l-arabinofuranoses singly linked to O-3 of wheat arabinoxylan. In addition, SWUAbf62A acted synergistically with endo-xylanase (XynSW3) and α-l-arabinofuranosidase, which releases arabinose linked to O-3 of double-substituted xylose residues on arabinoxylan, to digest the wheat arabinoxylan. SWUAbf62A is an important debranching enzyme for hydrolysis of hemicelluloses to monosaccharides and can be applied in various industrial biotechnologies.

Crystal structure of exo-rhamnogalacturonan lyase from Penicillium chrysogenum as a member of polysaccharide lyase family 26.

Exo-rhamnogalacturonan lyase from Penicillium chrysogenum 31B (PcRGLX) was recently classified as a member of polysaccharide lyase (PL) family 26 along with hypothetical proteins derived from various organisms. In this study, we determined the crystal structure of PcRGLX as the first structure of a member of this family. Based on the substrate-binding orientation and substrate specificity, PcRGLX is an exo-type PL that cleaves rhamnogalacturonan from the reducing end. Analysis of PcRGLX-complex structures with reaction products indicate that the active site possesses an L-shaped cleft that can accommodate galactosyl side chains, suggesting side-chain-bypassing activity in PcRGLX. Furthermore, we determined the residues critical for catalysis by analyzing the enzyme activities of inactive variants.

Identification of a novel Penicillium chrysogenum rhamnogalacturonan rhamnohydrolase and the first report of a rhamnogalacturonan rhamnohydrolase gene.

Rhamnogalacturonan (RG) I is one of the main components of pectins in the plant cell wall. We recently reported two RG I-degrading enzymes, endo-RG and exo-RG lyases, secreted by Penicillium chrysogenum 31B. Here, our aims were to purify a RG rhamnohydrolase (PcRGRH78A) from the culture filtrate of this strain and to characterize this enzyme. On the basis of the internal amino acid sequences, the encoding gene, Pcrgrh78A, was cloned and overexpressed in Aspergillus oryzae. The deduced amino acid sequence of PcRGRH78A is highly similar to an uncharacterized protein belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 78. Pfam analysis revealed that PcRGRH78A contains a bacterial α-l-rhamnosidase (PF05592) domain. PcRGRH78A shows optimal activity at 45°C and pH 5. The specificity of PcRGRH78A toward rhamnose (Rha)-containing substrates was compared with that of a P. chrysogenum α-l-rhamnosidase (PcRHA78B) belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 78. PcRGRH78A specifically hydrolyzes RG oligosaccharides that contain Rha at their nonreducing ends, releasing the Rha, but has no activity toward naringin, hesperidin, or rutin. In contrast, PcRHA78B effectively degrades p-nitrophenyl α-l-rhamnopyranoside and the three flavonoids, but not RG oligosaccharides. When galactosyl RG oligosaccharides were used as the substrate, PcRGRH78A released Rha in 3.5-fold greater amounts in the presence of ß-galactosidase than in its absence, indicating that PcRGRH78A preferentially acts on Rha residues without the galactose moiety at nonreducing ends. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a gene encoding a RG rhamnohydrolase.