Escherichia coli expression and characterization of α-amylase from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans DSM-465

Alpha amylase, catalyzing the hydrolysis of starch is a ubiquitous enzyme with tremendous industrial applications. A 1698 bp gene coding for 565 amino acid amylase was PCR amplified from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans DSM-465, cloned in pET21a (+) plasmid, expressed in BL21 (DE3) strain of E. coli and characterized. The recombinant enzyme exhibited molecular weight of 63 kDa, optimum pH 8, optimum temperature 70°C, and KM value of 157.7µM. On pilot scale, the purified enzyme efficiently removed up to 95% starch from the cotton fabric indicating its desizing ability at high temperature. 3D model of enzyme built by Raptor-X and validated by Ramachandran plot appeared as a monomer having 31% α-helices, 15% β-sheets, and 52% loops. Docking studies have shown the best binding affinity of enzyme with amylopectin (∆G -10.59). According to our results, Asp 232, Glu274, Arg448, Glu385, Asp34, Asn276, and Arg175 constitute the potential active site of enzyme.

Cardiolipin enhances the enzymatic activity of cytochrome bd and cytochrome bo3 solubilized in dodecyl-maltoside

Cardiolipin (CL) is a lipid that is found in the membranes of bacteria and the inner membranes of mitochondria. CL can increase the activity of integral membrane proteins, in particular components of respiratory pathways. We here report that CL activated detergent-solubilized cytochrome bd, a terminal oxidase from Escherichia coli. CL enhanced the oxygen consumption activity ~ twofold and decreased the apparent KM value for ubiquinol-1 as substrate from 95 µM to 35 µM. Activation by CL was also observed for cytochrome bd from two Gram-positive species, Geobacillus thermodenitrificans and Corynebacterium glutamicum, and for cytochrome bo3 from E. coli. Taken together, CL can enhance the activity of detergent-solubilized cytochrome bd and cytochrome bo3.

Homologous bd oxidases share the same architecture but differ in mechanism

Cytochrome bd oxidases are terminal reductases of bacterial and archaeal respiratory chains. The enzyme couples the oxidation of ubiquinol or menaquinol with the reduction of dioxygen to water, thus contributing to the generation of the protonmotive force. Here, we determine the structure of the Escherichia coli bd oxidase treated with the specific inhibitor aurachin by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The major subunits CydA and CydB are related by a pseudo two fold symmetry. The heme b and d cofactors are found in CydA, while ubiquinone-8 is bound at the homologous positions in CydB to stabilize its structure. The architecture of the E. coli enzyme is highly similar to that of Geobacillus thermodenitrificans, however, the positions of heme b595 and d are interchanged, and a common oxygen channel is blocked by a fourth subunit and substituted by a more narrow, alternative channel. Thus, with the same overall fold, the homologous enzymes exhibit a different mechanism.