scholarly journals Biotransformation of Lignin by an Artificial Heme Enzyme Designed in Myoglobin With a Covalently Linked Heme Group

Author(s):  
Wen-Jie Guo ◽  
Jia-Kun Xu ◽  
Jing-Jing Liu ◽  
Jia-Jia Lang ◽  
Shu-Qin Gao ◽  
...  

The conversion of Kraft lignin in plant biomass into renewable chemicals, aiming at harvesting aromatic compounds, is a challenge process in biorefinery. Comparing to the traditional chemical methods, enzymatic catalysis provides a gentle way for the degradation of lignin. Alternative to natural enzymes, artificial enzymes have been received much attention for potential applications. We herein achieved the biodegradation of Kraft lignin using an artificial peroxidase rationally designed in myoglobin (Mb), F43Y/T67R Mb, with a covalently linked heme cofactor. The artificial enzyme of F43Y/T67R Mb has improved catalytic efficiencies at mild acidic pH for phenolic and aromatic amine substrates, including Kraft lignin and the model lignin dimer guaiacylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether (GGE). We proposed a possible catalytic mechanism for the biotransformation of lignin catalyzed by the enzyme, based on the results of kinetic UV-Vis studies and UPLC-ESI-MS analysis, as well as molecular modeling studies. With the advantages of F43Y/T67R Mb, such as the high-yield by overexpression in E. coli cells and the enhanced protein stability, this study suggests that the artificial enzyme has potential applications in the biodegradation of lignin to provide sustainable bioresource.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5781
Author(s):  
Janarthanan Supramaniam ◽  
Darren Yi Sern Low ◽  
See Kiat Wong ◽  
Loh Teng Hern Tan ◽  
Bey Fen Leo ◽  
...  

Cellulose nanofibers (CNF) isolated from plant biomass have attracted considerable interests in polymer engineering. The limitations associated with CNF-based nanocomposites are often linked to the time-consuming preparation methods and lack of desired surface functionalities. Herein, we demonstrate the feasibility of preparing a multifunctional CNF-zinc oxide (CNF-ZnO) nanocomposite with dual antibacterial and reinforcing properties via a facile and efficient ultrasound route. We characterized and examined the antibacterial and mechanical reinforcement performances of our ultrasonically induced nanocomposite. Based on our electron microscopy analyses, the ZnO deposited onto the nanofibrous network had a flake-like morphology with particle sizes ranging between 21 to 34 nm. pH levels between 8–10 led to the formation of ultrafine ZnO particles with a uniform size distribution. The resultant CNF-ZnO composite showed improved thermal stability compared to pure CNF. The composite showed potent inhibitory activities against Gram-positive (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)) and Gram-negative Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) bacteria. A CNF-ZnO-reinforced natural rubber (NR/CNF-ZnO) composite film, which was produced via latex mixing and casting methods, exhibited up to 42% improvement in tensile strength compared with the neat NR. The findings of this study suggest that ultrasonically-synthesized palm CNF-ZnO nanocomposites could find potential applications in the biomedical field and in the development of high strength rubber composites.


Molecules ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 2653 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Cheel ◽  
Jan Hájek ◽  
Marek Kuzma ◽  
Kumar Saurav ◽  
Iva Smýkalová ◽  
...  

Muscotoxins are cyanobacterial cyclic lipopeptides with potential applications in biomedicine and biotechnology. In this study, Desmonostoc muscorum CCALA125 strain extracts were enriched by polymeric resin treatment, and subjected to HPCCC affording three cyclic lipopeptides (1–3), which were further repurified by semi-preparative HPLC, affording 1, 2, and 3, with a purity of 86%, 92%, and 90%, respectively. The chemical identities of 2–3 were determined as muscotoxins A and B, respectively, by comparison with previously reported ESI-HRMS/MS data, whereas 1 was determined as a novel muscotoxin variant (muscotoxin C) using NMR and ESI-HRMS/MS data. Owing to the high yield (50 mg), compound 2 was broadly screened for its antimicrobial potential exhibiting a strong antifungal activity against Alternaria alternata, Monographella cucumerina, and Aspergillus fumigatus, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 0.58, 2.34, and 2.34 µg/mL; respectively, and weak antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis with a MIC value of 37.5 µg/mL. Compounds 1 and 3 were tested only against the plant pathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum due to their low yield, displaying a moderate antifungal activity. The developed chromatographic method proved to be an efficient tool for obtaining muscotoxins with potent antifungal properties.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (17) ◽  
pp. 4186-4186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi-Chao Qi ◽  
Jun-ichiro Hayashi ◽  
Shinji Kudo ◽  
Lu Zhang

Correction for ‘Catalytic hydrogenolysis of kraft lignin to monomers at high yield in alkaline water’ by Shi-Chao Qi et al., Green Chem., 2017, 19, 2636–2645.


1985 ◽  
Vol 232 (3) ◽  
pp. 643-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
V N Aiyar ◽  
M S Hershfield

S-Adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase (AdoHcyase) has previously been identified as a cytoplasmic adenosine and cyclic AMP binding protein. In order to examine the relationship between the adenosine and cyclic AMP binding sites on this enzyme we have explored the use of 8-azido analogues of adenosine and cyclic AMP as photoaffinity reagents for covalently labelling AdoHcyase purified from human placenta. 8-Azidoadenosine (8-N3-Ado), like adenosine, inactivated AdoHcyase, and the rate of inactivation was greatly increased by periodate oxidation. In addition, 8-N3-Ado was found to participate in the first step in the catalytic mechanism for AdoHcyase, resulting in conversion of enzyme-bound NAD+ to NADH, although it was not a substrate for the full enzyme-catalysed reaction. Radioactively labelled 8-N3-Ado, its periodate-oxidized derivative and 8-azidoadenosine 3′, 5′-phosphate (8-N3-cAMP) bound specifically to adenosine binding sites on AdoHcyase and, after irradiation, became covalently linked to the enzyme. Photoaffinity-labelled enzyme could be precipitated by monoclonal antibody to human AdoHcyase. Two observations suggested that cyclic AMP and adenosine bind to the same sites on AdoHcyase. First cyclic AMP and adenosine each blocked binding of both radioactively labelled 8-N3-Ado and 8-N3-cAMP, and second, digestion with V8 proteinase generated identical patterns of peptides from AdoHcyase that had been photolabelled with [32P]8-N3-cAMP and [3H]8-N3-Ado. Binding sites for cyclic AMP on AdoHcyase were found to differ functionally and structurally from cyclic AMP binding sites on the R1 regulatory subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.


RSC Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (16) ◽  
pp. 13554-13561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taeksu Lee ◽  
Doyeon Bang ◽  
Yong Wook Chang ◽  
Yuna Choi ◽  
Kwang Yeol Park ◽  
...  

Here, we introduce the facile synthesis of scalable, mono-disperse, mesoporous gold nanoparticles (MPGNs) with an acidic emulsification method, which exhibit many attractive nanoplasmonic features for potential applications in many fields.


2013 ◽  
Vol 450 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debajyoti Dutta ◽  
Sudipta Bhattacharyya ◽  
Amlan Roychowdhury ◽  
Rupam Biswas ◽  
Amit Kumar Das

FabGs, or β-oxoacyl reductases, are involved in fatty acid synthesis. The reaction entails NADPH/NADH-mediated conversion of β-oxoacyl-ACP (acyl-carrier protein) into β-hydroxyacyl-ACP. HMwFabGs (high-molecular-weight FabG) form a phylogenetically separate group of FabG enzymes. FabG4, an HMwFabG from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, contains two distinct domains, an N-terminal ‘flavodoxintype’ domain and a C-terminal oxoreductase domain. The catalytically active C-terminal domain utilizes NADH to reduce β-oxoacyl-CoA to β-hydroxyacyl-CoA. In the present study the crystal structures of the FabG4–NADH binary complex and the FabG4–NAD+–hexanoyl-CoA ternary complex have been determined to understand the substrate specificity and catalytic mechanism of FabG4. This is the first report to demonstrate how FabG4 interacts with its coenzyme NADH and hexanoyl-CoA that mimics an elongating fattyacyl chain covalently linked with CoA. Structural analysis shows that the binding of hexanoyl-CoA within the active site cavity of FabG significantly differs from that of the C16 fattyacyl substrate bound to mycobacterial FabI [InhA (enoyl-ACP reductase)]. The ternary complex reveals that both loop I and loop II interact with the phosphopantetheine moiety of CoA or ACP to align the covalently linked fattyacyl substrate near the active site. Structural data ACP inhibition studies indicate that FabG4 can accept both CoA- and ACP-based fattyacyl substrates. We have also shown that in the FabG4 dimer Arg146 and Arg445 of one monomer interact with the C-terminus of the second monomer to play pivotal role in substrate association and catalysis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (16) ◽  
pp. 4964-4969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Rollin ◽  
Julia Martin del Campo ◽  
Suwan Myung ◽  
Fangfang Sun ◽  
Chun You ◽  
...  

The use of hydrogen (H2) as a fuel offers enhanced energy conversion efficiency and tremendous potential to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, but producing it in a distributed, carbon-neutral, low-cost manner requires new technologies. Herein we demonstrate the complete conversion of glucose and xylose from plant biomass to H2 and CO2 based on an in vitro synthetic enzymatic pathway. Glucose and xylose were simultaneously converted to H2 with a yield of two H2 per carbon, the maximum possible yield. Parameters of a nonlinear kinetic model were fitted with experimental data using a genetic algorithm, and a global sensitivity analysis was used to identify the enzymes that have the greatest impact on reaction rate and yield. After optimizing enzyme loadings using this model, volumetric H2 productivity was increased 3-fold to 32 mmol H2⋅L−1⋅h−1. The productivity was further enhanced to 54 mmol H2⋅L−1⋅h−1 by increasing reaction temperature, substrate, and enzyme concentrations—an increase of 67-fold compared with the initial studies using this method. The production of hydrogen from locally produced biomass is a promising means to achieve global green energy production.


2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xian Jun Song ◽  
Takeshi Kuroha ◽  
Madoka Ayano ◽  
Tomoyuki Furuta ◽  
Keisuke Nagai ◽  
...  

Grain weight is an important crop yield component; however, its underlying regulatory mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, we identify a grain-weight quantitative trait locus (QTL) encoding a new-type GNAT-like protein that harbors intrinsic histone acetyltransferase activity (OsglHAT1). Our genetic and molecular evidences pinpointed the QTL-OsglHAT1’s allelic variations to a 1.2-kb region upstream of the gene body, which is consistent with its function as a positive regulator of the traits. Elevated OsglHAT1 expression enhances grain weight and yield by enlarging spikelet hulls via increasing cell number and accelerating grain filling, and increases global acetylation levels of histone H4. OsglHAT1 localizes to the nucleus, where it likely functions through the regulation of transcription. Despite its positive agronomical effects on grain weight, yield, and plant biomass, the rare allele elevating OsglHAT1 expression has so far escaped human selection. Our findings reveal the first example, to our knowledge, of a QTL for a yield component trait being due to a chromatin modifier that has the potential to improve crop high-yield breeding.


2001 ◽  
Vol 276 (15) ◽  
pp. 11698-11704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pär L. Pettersson ◽  
Bengt Mannervik

Human glutathione transferase (GST) A1-1 efficiently catalyzes the isomerization of Δ5-androstene-3,17-dione (AD) into Δ4-androstene-3,17-dione. High activity requires glutathione, but enzymatic catalysis occurs also in the absence of this cofactor. Glutathione alone shows a limited catalytic effect.S-Alkylglutathione derivatives do not promote the reaction, and the pH dependence of the isomerization indicates that the glutathione thiolate serves as a base in the catalytic mechanism. Mutation of the active-site Tyr9into Phe significantly decreases the steady-state kinetic parameters, alters their pH dependence, and increases the pKavalue of the enzyme-bound glutathione thiol. Thus, Tyr9promotes the reaction via its phenolic hydroxyl group in protonated form. GST A2-2 has a catalytic efficiency with AD 100-fold lower than the homologous GST A1-1. Another Alpha class enzyme, GST A4-4, is 1000-fold less active than GST A1-1. The Y9F mutant of GST A1-1 is more efficient than GST A2-2 and GST A4-4, both having a glutathione cofactor and an active-site Tyr9residue. The active sites of GST A2-2 and GST A1-1 differ by only four amino acid residues, suggesting that proper orientation of AD in relation to the thiolate of glutathione is crucial for high catalytic efficiency in the isomerization reaction. The GST A1-1-catalyzed steroid isomerization provides a complement to the previously described isomerase activity of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document