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D Kluepfel

Publications and source records attributed to D Kluepfel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Substrate-binding domains of glycanases from Streptomyces lividans: characterization of a new family of xylan-binding domains.

The substrate-binding domains of six glycanases from Streptomyces lividans were investigated to determine their specificity towards cellulose and xylan. Based upon amino acid sequence similarities, four of the six domains could be assigned to existing cellulose-binding domain families. However, the binding domains of xylanase A and arabinofuranosidase B could not be classified in any of the known families and should therefore be classified as members of a new family. Evidence is also presented that this new family is one of true xylan-binding domains.

Amino Acid Sequence

Site-directed mutagenesis study of a conserved residue in family 10 glycanases: histidine 86 of xylanase A from Streptomyces lividans.

Xylanases from family 10 glycanases contain three conserved histidine residues in their active site. The role of H86 in the structure-function of xylanase A from Streptomyces lividans (XlnA) was studied by site-directed mutagenesis. Six mutant proteins (H86A/E/F/K/Q/W) were produced, purified and characterized. The six mutations reduced the affinity of XlnA towards xylan without having any major effect on the catalytic constant. All these mutations also lowered the pKa of the acid-base catalyst by 0.46-1.94 pH units. The mutations decreased the enzyme stability at 60 degrees C by up to 95% and the transition temperature by 2.2-5.8 degrees C. Unfolding of the protein with guanidine hydrochloride (GdnxHCl) showed that five out of six mutations decreased the concentration required to denature 50% of the XlnA, confirming the importance of H86 for the stability of the enzyme. The increase in m value ¿m=d(deltaG)/d[GdnxHCl]¿ also suggested the involvement of residue H86 in the structure of the denatured state of XlnA. It can be concluded from this study that this active site residue was conserved in family 10 glycanases for its function in maintaining the elevated pKa of the acid-base catalyst and in the stability of the protein, while being of little importance for the activity.

Binding Sites

Endo-beta-1,4-xylanase families: differences in catalytic properties.

Microbial endo-beta-1,4-xylanases (EXs, EC 3.2.1.8) belonging to glycanase families 10 (formerly F) and 11 (formerly G) differ in their action on 4-O-methyl-D-glucurono-D-xylan and rhodymenan, a beta-1,3-beta-1,4-xylan. Two high molecular mass EXs (family 10), the Cryptococcus albidus EX and XlnA of Streptomyces lividans, liberate from glucuronoxylan aldotetrauronic acid as the shortest acidic fragment, and from rhodymenan an isomeric xylotriose of the structure Xyl beta 1-3Xyl beta 1-4Xyl as the shortest fragment containing a beta-1,3-linkage. Low molecular mass EXs (family 11), such as the Trichoderma reesei enzymes and XlnB and XlnC of S. lividans, liberate from glucuronoxylan an aldopentauronic acid as the shortest fragment, and from rhodymenan an isomeric xylotetraose as the shortest fragment containing a beta-1,3-linkage. The structure of the oligosaccharides was established by: NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry of per-O-methylated compounds and enzymic hydrolysis by beta-xylosidase and EX, followed by analysis of products by chromatography. The structures of the fragments define in the polysaccharides the linkages attacked and non-attacked by the enzymes. EXs of family 10 require a lower number of unsubstituted consecutive beta-1,4-xylopyranosyl units in the main chain and a lower number of consecutive beta-1,4-xylopyranosyl linkages in rhodymenan than EXs of family 11. These results, together with a greater catalytic versatility of EXs of family 10, suggest that EXs of family 10 have substrate binding sites smaller than those of EXs of family 11. This suggestion is in agreement with the finding that EXs of family 10 show higher affinity for shorter linear beta-1,4-xylooligosaccharides than EXs of family 11. The results are discussed with relevant literature data to understand better the structure-function relationship in this group of glycanases.

Endo-1,4-beta Xylanases

Characterization of two important histidine residues in the active site of xylanase A from Streptomyces lividans, a family 10 glycanase.

The active site of xylanase A (XlnA) from Streptomyces lividans contains three histidine residues, two of which (H81 and H207) are almost completely conserved in family 10 glycanases. The structural analysis of the enzyme shows that H81 and H207 are part of an important hydrogen bond network in the vicinity of the two catalytic residues (E128 and E236). In order to investigate the role of these two histidine residues for the structure/function of XlnA, three mutant enzymes were produced at each position, namely, H81R/S/Y and H207E/K/R. The specific activity of these mutant enzymes is reduced by more than 95%, revealing the importance of these two residues for the catalytic function of XlnA. The kinetic parameters of the three more active enzymes were determined, of which mutation H207K increased the K(M) 3-fold. The k(cat) of the mutant enzymes is reduced proportionally to the specific activity. Furthermore, the pKa values of the two catalytic residues are decreased in all six mutations, demonstrating a role for H81 and H207 in the hydrogen bond network responsible for maintaining the ionization state of the two catalytic residues. In most cases, the unfolding of mutated XlnA in guanidine hydrochloride (Gdn-HCl) showed that the concentration required to denature 50% of the XlnA decreased, thus demonstrating the importance of those two residues for the stability of the enzyme. Moreover, the m value [m = d(deltaG)/d[Gdn-HCl]] for the unfolding of XlnA in Gdn-HCl is increased for each of the six mutations, suggesting that the mutant proteins have less residual structure in the denatured state than does the wild-type enzyme.

Amino Acid Sequence

New alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase produced by Streptomyces lividans: cloning and DNA sequence of the abfB gene and characterization of the enzyme.

A fully secreted alpha-l-arabinofuranosidase was cloned from the homologous expression system of Streptomyces lividans. The gene, located upstream adjacent to the previously described xylanase A gene, was sequenced. It is divergently transcribed from the xlnA gene and the two genes are separated by an intercistronic region of 391nt which contains a palindromic AT-rich sequence. The deduced amino acid sequence of the protein shows that the enzyme contains a distinct catalytic domain which is linked to a specific xylan-binding domain by a linker region. The purified enzyme has a specific arabinofuranose-debranching activity on xylan from Gramineae, acts synergistically with the S. lividans xylanases and binds specifically to xylan. From small arabinoxylo-oligosides, it liberates arabinose and, after prolonged incubation, the purified enzyme exhibits some xylanolytic activity as well.

Amino Acid Sequence

Protein secretion in streptomycetes.

Some aspects of the current knowledge on protein secretion in streptomycetes are presented including recent data on the identification of genes in the general secretory pathway, on the importance of the signal peptide structure and on the number of ribosome-binding sites inside signal peptides which can influence the production level of a gene product.

Amino Acid Sequence

Asparagine-127 of xylanase A from Streptomyces lividans, a key residue in glycosyl hydrolases of superfamily 4/7: kinetic evidence for its involvement in stabilization of the catalytic intermediate.

Site-directed mutagenesis of asparagine-127 (N127) of xylanase A (XlnA) from Streptomyces lividans, belonging to family 10 and superfamily 4/7 of glycosyl hydrolases, was chosen to study the role of this conserved residue. The isosteric mutation N127D introduced did not affect the fold of XlnA as revealed by circular dichroism. Comparison of the kinetic constants of N127D and wild-type XlnA revealed a 70-fold decrease in the specificity constant (kcat/K(M)) towards birchwood xylan, which is attributed solely to the difference in the kcat value and indicates a role of N127 in stabilization of the catalytic intermediate. N127 also plays a role in maintaining the ionization states of the two catalytic residues, as shown by the modified pH profile of XlnA-N127D. Characterization of XlnA-N127D and the analysis of the three-dimensional structure of XlnA converge towards a stabilization role for N127 in the catalytic site of XlnA.

Asparagine

Substrate specificity and mode of action of acetylxylan esterase from Streptomyces lividans.

The substrate specificity of purified acetylxylan esterase (AcXE) from Streptomyces lividans was investigated on partially and fully acetylated methyl glycopyranosides. The enzyme exhibited deacetylation regioselectivity on model compounds which provided insights pertaining to its function in acetylxylan degradation. The enzyme catalyzed double deacetylation of methyl 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-beta-D-xylopyranoside and methyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside at positions 2 and 3. Two methyl xylopyranoside diacetates, which had a free hydroxyl group at position 2 or 3, i.e. the derivatives that most closely mimic monoacetylated xylopyranosyl residues in acetylxylan, were deacetylated 1 to 2 orders of magnitude faster than methyl 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-beta-D-xylopyranoside and methyl 2,3-di-O-acetyl-beta-D-xylopyranoside. These observations explain the double deacetylation. The second acetyl group is released immediately after the first one is removed from the fully acetylated methyl beta-D-xylo- and -glucopyranoside. The results suggest that in acetylxylan degradation the enzyme rapidly deacetylates monoacetylated xylopyranosyl residues, but attacks doubly acetylated residues much more slowly. Evidence is also presented that the St. lividans enzyme could be the first real substrate-specific AcXE.

Acetylation

Purification and characterization of an acetyl xylan esterase produced by Streptomyces lividans.

The acetyl xylan esterase cloned homologously from Streptomyces lividans [Shareck, Biely, Morosoli and Kluepfel (1995) Gene 153, 105-109] was purified from culture filtrate of the overproducing strain S. lividans IAF43. The secreted enzyme had a molecular mass of 34 kDa and a pI of 9.0. Under the assay conditions with chemically acetylated birchwood xylan the kinetic constants of the enzyme were: specific activity, 715 units/mg, Km 7.94 mg/ml and Vmax 1977 units/mg. Optimal enzyme activity was obtained at 70 degrees C and pH 7.5. Hydrolysis assays with different acetylated substrates showed that the enzyme is specific for deacetylating the O-acetyl group of polysaccharides and is devoid of N-deacetylation activity. Sequential hydrolysis shows that its action is essential for the complete degradation of acetylated xylan by the xylanases of S. lividans.

Acetylesterase

Cloning and sequencing of the secY homolog from Streptomyces lividans 1326.

Two conserved regions of SecY proteins from six Gram+ bacteria were exploited in a PCR-based strategy for isolating a secY homolog from Streptomyces lividans (Sl). The nucleotide sequence of part of a 3.8-kb fragment showed that the secY homolog is flanked, at the 5' end, by the gene encoding ribosomal protein L15 and, at the 3' end, by an adenylate kinase-encoding gene. The deduced gene product of secY would have 437 amino acids (aa) and an M(r) of 47,200. Sl SecY shows 89.5, 56.1, 42 and 40% identity to its homologs from Streptomyces scabies, Brevibacterium flavum, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli, respectively. Promoterprobe analyses indicated that the secY gene probably contains its own promoter.

Amino Acid Sequence

Cloning of a secA homolog from Streptomyces lividans 1326 and overexpression in both S. lividans and Escherichia coli.

We cloned a gene encoding a SecA homolog from Streptomyces lividans 1326, a Gram-positive bacterium known to produce large amounts of extracellular proteins. A protein sequence alignment with the other bacterial SecA homologs revealed that S. lividans SecA shares from 39.5 to 44% identity with them, while it shares 34.2 to 37.2% identity with SecA homologs from plastids of algae and plants. We overexpressed the secA gene in S. lividans 1326 and Escherichia coli MM52 and in both cases we observed the production of a protein with an apparent molecular mass of 117.4 kDa. Although S. lividans SecA is similar to E. coli SecA, it does not complement a thermosensitive mutation in the E. coli secA gene. However, a hybrid polypeptide consisting of the N-terminal portion (first 242 amino acids) of the S. lividans SecA and the C-terminal portion (657 a.a.) of the wild-type E. coli SecA was able to complement this mutant.

Adenosine Triphosphatases

Evidence for lysozyme-type mechanism of hydrolysis in xylanases.

In the last year several new xylanase three-dimensional structures were solved. Examination of these new structures in combination with recently obtained data from site-directed mutagenesis and kinetic analysis provided insights into the catalytic mechanism of xylanases. It is now possible to determine the type of mechanism by which xylanases hydrolyse a complex substrate such as xylan.

Amino Acid Sequence

Expression and secretion of beta-glucuronidase and Pertussis toxin S1 by Streptomyces lividans.

Streptomyces lividans IAF18, obtained by homologous cloning, is capable of over-producing XlnA. To investigate the possibility of the expression of foreign genes, various coding regions of the xylanase A gene (xlnA) were analysed. Expression/secretion vectors were constructed containing the regulatory elements of xlnA with the coding region of the leader peptide with or without the truncated structural gene encoding the first 310 amino acids of the XlnA. The genes coding for the Escherichia coli beta-glucuronidase and subunit 1 of the Bordetella pertussis toxin (S1) were used and their expression analysed. S. lividans transformants where the beta-glucuronidase gene was fused with the leader sequence produced up to 30 mg beta-glucuronidase/culture filtrate whereas only fused XlnA/S1 was detected and its yield was estimated to be 1 mg/1. The disappearance of the B. pertussis toxin S1 and beta-glucuronidase from the culture medium was due to the concomitant appearence of secreted proteases from S. lividans.

Bordetella pertussis

Increased xylanase yield in Streptomyces lividans: dependence on number of ribosome-binding sites.

The Streptomyces lividans xylanase A (XlnA) signal peptide (sp) was replaced with the signal peptides of either mannanase A (ManA) or cellulase A (CelA), two enzymes secreted by S. lividans. Depending on the location of the ribosome binding sites (RBS) with respect to a potential initiation codon, the length of the putative sps of ManA and CelA is either 34 or 43 amino acids and 27 or 46 amino acids, respectively. The sequence encoding these sps were fused to the xylanase A gene (xlnA). Clones harboring the short sps of ManA and CelA produced as much xylanase as the clone with the control wild-type sp sequence of XlnA. In clones containing the long sps of ManA and CelA, the XlnA production was enhanced 1.5- and 2.5-fold, respectively. These XlnA yields are reduced by half and one third respectively when the internal initiation codons of the long sp sequences of ManA and CelA are mutated. Since these clones exhibited the same transcription levels, the results indicate that both RBSs are used concomitantly in S. lividans to increase the enzyme production at the translational level. However, when the short and long sps of ManA were fused to the long CelA sp sequence, giving constructs containing respectively 3 and 4 RBSs, a decrease in xylanase production was observed.

Amino Acid Sequence

Effect of signal peptide alterations and replacement on export of xylanase A in Streptomyces lividans.

Starting from its translation initiation site, the Streptomyces lividans xylanase A signal peptide consists of 41 amino acids. This signal peptide was deleted and successively replaced with one of six signal peptides from other enzymes secreted by S. lividans and by a signal peptide from the outer membrane protein (LamB) of Escherichia coli. Deletion of the xylanase A signal peptide or modification of its cleavage site abolished secretion of the enzyme. Replacement with the signal peptides of either xylanase B, cellulase A, mannanase, or acetylxylan esterase produced equivalent amounts of xylanase A, while the signal peptides of cellulase B, xylanase C, and LamB secreted less enzyme than did the wild type. All the clones exhibited the same transcription levels, which indicated that the variations in xylanase production were due to the natures of the signal sequences.

Amino Acid Sequence

Analysis of DNA flanking the xlnB locus of Streptomyces lividans reveals genes encoding acetyl xylan esterase and the RNA component of ribonuclease P.

Nucleotide sequencing revealed the gene (axeA) encoding acetyl xylan esterase (AxeA) downstream from xlnB in the Streptomyces lividans DNA insert of plasmid pIAF42. AxeA consists of a catalytic- and a substrate-binding domain separated by a Gly-rich linker. The N terminus showed no significant homology with published esterases and acetyl xylan esterases, but some homology was found with the xylanases XylA and XylD and the NodB protein of Rhizobium species which is involved in the biosynthesis of root nodulation factors. The C terminus of AxeA is highly homologous to the C-termini of xylanases XlnB and TFXA, corresponding to the xylan-binding domain of these enzymes. Furthermore, the RNaseP RNA component was found immediately upstream from xlnB gene.

Acetylesterase

A cellulase/xylanase-negative mutant of Streptomyces lividans 1326 defective in cellobiose and xylobiose uptake is mutated in a gene encoding a protein homologous to ATP-binding proteins.

The uptake of monosaccharides (glucose and xylose) and disaccharides (cellobiose and xylobiose) was evaluated in the Streptomyces lividans mutant strain 10-164. The pleiotropic mutation had no effect on glucose uptake; however, the Vmax of xylose uptake was decreased 10-fold as compared to the wild-type strain, S. lividans 1326, and the transport system of cellobiose and xylobiose, the putative inducers of the cellulase and xylanase genes, was completely abolished resulting in a cellulase/xylanase-negative mutant. An accumulation of xylose and glucose in culture media was observed when the mutant was grown on xylobiose and cellobiose, respectively. Cell-associated beta-glucosidase and low levels of extracellular beta-glucosidase were detected in both strains. When gluconolactone, a beta-glucosidase inhibitor, was added to the medium there was no uptake of cellobiose or release of glucose by the mutant strain, whereas the uptake of cellobiose by the wild-type strain was not significantly affected. It is thus proposed that the active transport system for cellobiose and xylobiose is affected in mutant strain 10-164. Glucose and xylose production from disaccharide hydrolysis are due to beta-glucosidase and beta-xylosidase activities, which sustain the growth of the mutant strain. Clones complementing the mutation were isolated from a gene bank constructed using mutant strain 10-164. The msiK gene codes for MsiK, a 40 kDa multiple sugar import protein, which belongs to the family of ATP-binding proteins. The mutation is located in the B site which is responsible for ATP binding. This protein probably provides energy to the xylose and disaccharide transport system as a result of the hydrolysis of ATP.

Adenosine Triphosphatases

Production and secretion of proteins by streptomycetes.

Streptomycetes produce a large number of extracellular enzymes as part of their saprophytic mode of life. Their ability to synthesize enzymes as products of their primary metabolism could lead to the production of many proteins of industrial importance. The development of high-yielding expression systems for both homologous and heterologous gene products is of considerable interest. In this article, we review the current knowledge on the various factors that affect the production and secretion of proteins by streptomycetes and try to evaluate the suitability of these bacteria for the large-scale production of proteins of industrial importance.

Amino Acid Sequence