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- Montanier, Cedric, et al.
(author)
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The Active Site of a Carbohydrate Esterase Displays Divergent Catalytic and Noncatalytic Binding Functions
- 2009
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In: PLoS Biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1545-7885. ; 7:3, s. 687-697
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Multifunctional proteins, which play a critical role in many biological processes, have typically evolved through the recruitment of different domains that have the required functional diversity. Thus the different activities displayed by these proteins are mediated by spatially distinct domains, consistent with the specific chemical requirements of each activity. Indeed, current evolutionary theory argues that the colocalization of diverse activities within an enzyme is likely to be a rare event, because it would compromise the existing activity of the protein. In contrast to this view, a potential example of multifunctional recruitment into a single protein domain is provided by CtCel5C-CE2, which contains an N-terminal module that displays cellulase activity and a C-terminal module, CtCE2, which exhibits a noncatalytic cellulose-binding function but also shares sequence identity with the CE2 family of esterases. Here we show that, unlike other CE2 members, the CtCE2 domain displays divergent catalytic esterase and noncatalytic carbohydrate binding functions. Intriguingly, these diverse activities are housed within the same site on the protein. Thus, a critical component of the active site of CtCE2, the catalytic Ser-His dyad, in harness with inserted aromatic residues, confers noncatalytic binding to cellulose whilst the active site of the domain retains its esterase activity. CtCE2 catalyses deacetylation of noncellulosic plant structural polysaccharides to deprotect these substrates for attack by other enzymes. Yet it also acts as a cellulose-binding domain, which promotes the activity of the appended cellulase on recalcitrant substrates. The CE2 family encapsulates the requirement for multiple activities by biocatalysts that attack challenging macromolecular substrates, including the grafting of a second, powerful and discrete noncatalytic binding functionality into the active site of an enzyme. This article provides a rare example of "gene sharing,'' where the introduction of a second functionality into the active site of an enzyme does not compromise the original activity of the biocatalyst.
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2. |
- Martinez-Fleites, Carlos, et al.
(author)
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Crystal structures of Clostridium thermocellum xyloglucanase, XGH74A, reveal the structural basis for xyloglucan recognition and degradation
- 2006
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In: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 281:34, s. 24922-24933
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The enzymatic degradation of the plant cell wall is central both to the natural carbon cycle and, increasingly, to environmentally friendly routes to biomass conversion, including the production of biofuels. The plant cell wall is a complex composite of cellulose microfibrils embedded in diverse polysaccharides collectively termed hemicelluloses. Xyloglucan is one such polysaccharide whose hydrolysis is catalyzed by diverse xyloglucanases. Here we present the structure of the Clostridium thermocellum xyloglucanase Xgh74A in both apo and ligand-complexed forms. The structures, in combination with mutagenesis data on the catalytic residues and the kinetics and specificity of xyloglucan hydrolysis reveal a complex subsite specificity accommodating seventeen monosaccharide moieties of the multibranched substrate in an open substrate binding terrain.
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3. |
- Montanier, Cedric Y., et al.
(author)
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A novel, noncatalytic carbohydrate-binding module displays specificity for galactose-containing polysaccharides through calcium-mediated oligomerization
- 2011
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In: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - : American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 286:25
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The enzymic degradation of plant cell walls plays a central role in the carbon cycle and is of increasing environmental and industrial significance. The catalytic modules of enzymes that catalyze this process are generally appended to noncatalytic carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs). CBMs potentiate the rate of catalysis by bringing their cognate enzymes into intimate contact with the target substrate. A powerful plant cell wall-degrading system is the Clostridium thermocellum multienzyme complex, termed the "cellulosome." Here, we identify a novel CBM (CtCBM62) within the large C. thermocellum cellulosomal protein Cthe_2193 (defined as CtXyl5A), which establishes a new CBM family. Phylogenetic analysis of CBM62 members indicates that a circular permutation occurred within the family. CtCBM62 binds to D-galactose and L-arabinopyranose in either anomeric configuration. The crystal structures of CtCBM62, in complex with oligosaccharides containing alpha- and beta-galactose residues, show that the ligand-binding site in the beta-sandwich protein is located in the loops that connect the two beta-sheets. Specificity is conferred through numerous interactions with the axial O4 of the target sugars, a feature that distinguishes galactose and arabinose from the other major sugars located in plant cell walls. CtCBM62 displays tighter affinity for multivalent ligands compared with molecules containing single galactose residues, which is associated with precipitation of these complex carbohydrates. These avidity effects, which confer the targeting of polysaccharides, are mediated by calcium-dependent oligomerization of the CBM.
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