Development of a simple high-throughput assay for directed evolution of enantioselective sulfoxide reductases

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (40) ◽  
pp. 5386-5388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Tarallo ◽  
Kasireddy Sudarshan ◽  
Vladimír Nosek ◽  
Jiří Míšek

We report on the development of high-throughput fluorogenic assay that can streamline directed evolution of enantioselective sulfoxide reductases.

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 845-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Koryakina ◽  
Jessica Neville ◽  
Koichi Nonaka ◽  
Steven G. Van Lanen ◽  
Gavin J. Williams

In this article, the authors describe a colorimetric, high-throughput assay suitable for optimizing the activity of the recently discovered sulfotransferase LipB, by directed evolution. Crucially, LipB uses para-nitrophenol sulfate as donor in the sulfation of the nucleoside antibiotic liposidomycin B-I and other acceptor surrogates. Thus, using a robotic liquid-handling device, crude cell extracts were prepared from an Escherichia coli strain that overproduced LipB in wells of a microplate, and production of para-nitrophenol at 405 nm was monitored spectrophotometrically. Enzyme activity could be detected only in the presence of both LipB substrates and overexpressed LipB. The screen displays a suitable standard deviation for directed evolution and importantly is not limited to the natural desulfo-liposidomycin acceptor. The authors plan to use the screen to identify LipB variants with altered acceptor specificity and promiscuity for use in sulfation of natural products and other small-molecule therapeutics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Begander ◽  
Anna Huber ◽  
Manuel Döring ◽  
Josef Sperl ◽  
Volker Sieber

Successful directed evolution examples span a broad range of improved enzyme properties. Nevertheless, the most challenging step for each single directed evolution approach is an efficient identification of improved variants from a large genetic library. Thus, the development and choice of a proper high-throughput screening is a central key for the optimization of enzymes. The detection of low enzymatic activities is especially complicated when they lead to products that are present in the metabolism of the utilized genetic host. Coupled enzymatic assays based on colorimetric products have enabled the optimization of many of such enzymes, but are susceptible to problems when applied on cell extract samples. The purpose of this study was the development of a high-throughput screening for D-glycerate dehydratase activity in cell lysates. With the aid of an automated liquid handling system, we developed a high-throughput assay that relied on a pre-treatment step of cell extract prior to performing the enzymatic and assay reactions. We could successfully apply our method, which should also be transferable to other cell extract-based peroxidase assays, to identify an improved enzyme for the dehydration of D-glycerate.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huifang Xu ◽  
Weinan Liang ◽  
Linlin Ning ◽  
Yuanyuan Jiang ◽  
Wenxia Yang ◽  
...  

P450 fatty acid decarboxylases (FADCs) have recently been attracting considerable attention owing to their one-step direct production of industrially important 1-alkenes from biologically abundant feedstock free fatty acids under mild conditions. However, attempts to improve the catalytic activity of FADCs have met with little success. Protein engineering has been limited to selected residues and small mutant libraries due to lack of an effective high-throughput screening (HTS) method. Here, we devise a catalase-deficient <i>Escherichia coli</i> host strain and report an HTS approach based on colorimetric detection of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>-consumption activity of FADCs. Directed evolution enabled by this method has led to effective identification for the first time of improved FADC variants for medium-chain 1-alkene production from both DNA shuffling and random mutagenesis libraries. Advantageously, this screening method can be extended to other enzymes that stoichiometrically utilize H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> as co-substrate.


2021 ◽  
pp. 247255522110006
Author(s):  
Lesley-Anne Pearson ◽  
Charlotte J. Green ◽  
De Lin ◽  
Alain-Pierre Petit ◽  
David W. Gray ◽  
...  

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) represents a significant threat to human health. Despite its similarity to related coronaviruses, there are currently no specific treatments for COVID-19 infection, and therefore there is an urgent need to develop therapies for this and future coronavirus outbreaks. Formation of the cap at the 5′ end of viral RNA has been shown to help coronaviruses evade host defenses. Nonstructural protein 14 (nsp14) is responsible for N7-methylation of the cap guanosine in coronaviruses. This enzyme is highly conserved among coronaviruses and is a bifunctional protein with both N7-methyltransferase and 3′-5′ exonuclease activities that distinguish nsp14 from its human equivalent. Mutational analysis of SARS-CoV nsp14 highlighted its role in viral replication and translation efficiency of the viral genome. In this paper, we describe the characterization and development of a high-throughput assay for nsp14 utilizing RapidFire technology. The assay has been used to screen a library of 1771 Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs. From this, we have validated nitazoxanide as a selective inhibitor of the methyltransferase activity of nsp14. Although modestly active, this compound could serve as a starting point for further optimization.


2021 ◽  
pp. 247255522110006
Author(s):  
Michael D. Scholle ◽  
Zachary A. Gurard-Levin

Arginase-1, an enzyme that catalyzes the reaction of L-arginine to L-ornithine, is implicated in the tumor immune response and represents an interesting therapeutic target in immuno-oncology. Initiating arginase drug discovery efforts remains a challenge due to a lack of suitable high-throughput assay methodologies. This report describes the combination of self-assembled monolayers and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry to enable the first label-free and high-throughput assay for arginase activity. The assay was optimized for kinetically balanced conditions and miniaturized, while achieving a robust assay (Z-factor > 0.8) and a significant assay window [signal-to-background ratio > 20] relative to fluorescent approaches. To validate the assay, the inhibition of the reference compound nor-NOHA (Nω-hydroxy-nor-L-arginine) was evaluated, and the IC50 measured to be in line with reported results (IC50 = 180 nM). The assay was then used to complete a screen of 175,000 compounds, demonstrating the high-throughput capacity of the approach. The label-free format also eliminates opportunities for false-positive results due to interference from library compounds and optical readouts. The assay methodology described here enables new opportunities for drug discovery for arginase and, due to the assay flexibility, can be more broadly applicable for measuring other amino acid–metabolizing enzymes.


2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (30) ◽  
pp. 10570-10577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangyu Yang ◽  
Jamie R. Rich ◽  
Michel Gilbert ◽  
Warren W. Wakarchuk ◽  
Yan Feng ◽  
...  

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