03 Fakultät Chemie

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    Impact of remote mutations on metallo-beta-lactamase substrate specificity : implications for the evolution of antibiotic resistance
    (2005) Ölschläger, Peter; Mayo, Stephen L.; Pleiss, Jürgen
    Metallo-beta-lactamases have raised concerns due to their ability to hydrolyze a broad spectrum of beta-lactam antibiotics. The G262S point mutation distinguishing the metallo-beta-lactamase IMP 1 from IMP 6 has no effect on the hydrolysis of the drugs cephalothin and cefotaxime, but significantly improves catalytic efficiency toward cephaloridine, ceftazidime, benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, and imipenem. This change in specificity occurs even though residue 262 is remote from the active site. We investigated the substrate specificities of five other point mutants resulting from single nucleotide substitutions at positions near residue 262: G262A, G262V, S121G, F218Y and F218I. The results suggest two types of substrates: type I (nitrocefin, cephalothin and cefotaxime), which are converted equally well by IMP-6, IMP-1, and G262A, but even more efficiently by the other mutants, and type II (ceftazidime, benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, and imipenem), which are hydrolyzed much less efficiently by all the mutants, with IMP-1 being the most active. G262V, S121G, F218Y, and F218I improve conversion of type I substrates, whereas G262A and IMP-1 improve conversion of type II substrates, indicating two distinct evolutionary adaptations from IMP-6. Substrate structure may explain the catalytic efficiencies observed. Type I substrates have R2 electron donors, which may stabilize the substrate intermediate in the binding pocket and lead to enhanced activity. In contrast, the absence of these stabilizing interactions with type II substrates may result in poor conversion and increased sensitivity to mutations. This observation may assist future drug design. As the G262A and F218Y mutants confer effective resistance to Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) cells (high minimal inhibitory concentrations), they are likely to evolve naturally.
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    How to find soluble proteins : a comprehensive analysis of alpha/beta hydrolases for recombinant expression in E. coli
    (2005) Koschorreck, Markus; Fischer, Markus; Barth, Sandra; Pleiss, Jürgen
    Background: In screening of libraries derived by expression cloning, expression of active proteinsin E. coli can be limited by formation of inclusion bodies. In these cases it would be desirable to enrich gene libraries for coding sequences with soluble gene products in E. coli and thus to improve the efficiency of screening. Previously Wilkinson and Harrison showed that solubility can be predicted from amino acid composition (Biotechnology 1991, 9(5):443-448). We have applied this analysis to members of the alpha/beta hydrolase fold family to predict their solubility in E. coli. alpha/beta hydrolases are a highly diverse family with more than 1800 proteins which have been grouped into homologous families and superfamilies. Results: The predicted solubility in E. coli depends on hydrolase size, phylogenetic origin of the host organism, the homologous family and the superfamily, to which the hydrolase belongs. In general small hydrolases are predicted to be more soluble than large hydrolases, and eukaryotic hydrolases are predicted to be less soluble in E. coli than prokaryotic ones. However, combining phylogenetic origin and size leads to more complex conclusions. Hydrolases from prokaryotic, fungal and metazoan origin are predicted to be most soluble if they are of small, medium and large size, respectively. We observed large variations of predicted solubility between hydrolases from different homologous families and from different taxa. Conclusion: A comprehensive analysis of all alpha/beta hydrolase sequences allows more efficient screenings for new soluble alpha/beta hydrolases by the use of libraries which contain more soluble gene products. Screening of hydrolases from families whose members are hard to express as soluble proteins in E. coli should first be done in coding sequences of organisms from phylogenetic groups with the highest average of predicted solubility for proteins of this family. The tools developed here can be used to identify attractive target genes for expression using protein sequences published in databases. This analysis also directs the design of degenerate, family- specific primers to amplify new members from homologous families or superfamilies with a high probability of soluble alpha/beta hydrolases.
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    "In gel patch electrophoresis" : a new method for environmental DNA purification
    (2005) Roh, Changhyun; Villatte, Francois; Kim, Byung-Gee; Schmid, Rolf D.
    Most of the microorganism species are largely untapped and could represent an interesting reservoir of genes useful for biotechnological applications. Unfortunately, a major difficulty associated with the methods used to isolate environmental DNA is related to the contamination of the extracted material with humic substances. These polyphenolic compounds inhibit the DNA processing reactions and severely impede cloning procedures. In this work, we describe a rapid, simple and efficient method for the purification of genomic DNA from environmental samples: we added a chromatography step directly embedded into an agarose gel electrophoresis. This strategy enabled the DNA extraction from various environmental samples and it appeared that the purity grade was compatible with digestion by restriction enzymes and PCR amplifications.
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    Microbial P450 enzymes in biotechnology
    (2004) Urlacher, Vlada B.; Lutz-Wahl, Sabine; Schmid, Rolf D.
    Oxidations are key reactions in chemical syntheses. Biooxidations using fermentation processes have already conquered some niches in industrial oxidation processes, since they allow the introduction of oxygen even into non-activated carbon atoms in a sterically and optically selective manner which is difficult or impossible to achieve by synthetic organic chemistry. Biooxidation using isolated enzymes is limited to oxidases and dehydrogenases. Surprisingly, cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs) have scarcely been studied for use in biooxidations, although they are one of the largest known superfamilies of enzyme proteins. Their gene sequences have been identified in various organisms such as humans, bacteria, algae, fungi and plants. The reactions catalyzed by P450s are quite diverse and range from biosynthetic pathways (e.g. those of animal hormones and secondary plant metabolites) to the activation or biodegradation of hydrophobic xenobiotic compounds (e. g. those of various drugs in the liver of higher animals). From a practical point of view, the great potential of P450s is limited by their functional complexity, low activity, and limited stability. In addition, P450-catalyzed reactions require a constant supply of NAD(P)H which makes continuous cell-free processes very expensive. Quite recently, several groups have started to investigate cost-efficient ways which could allow the continuous supply of electrons to the heme iron. These include, for example, the use of electron mediators, direct electron supply from electrodes and enzymatic approaches. In addition, methods of protein design and directed evolution have been applied in an attempt to enhance the activity of the enzymes and improve their selectivity. The promising application of bacterial P450s as catalyzing agents in biocatalytic reactions and recent progress made in this field are covered in this review.
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    Biotransformation of ionones by engineered cytochrome P450 BM-3
    (2005) Urlacher, Vlada B.; Makhsumkhanov, Akhmadjan; Schmid, Rolf D.
    Wild type cytochrome P450 monooxygenase from Bacillus megaterium (P450 BM-3) has low activity for the hydroxylation of beta-ionone (>1 min-1). Substitution of phenylalanine by valine at position 87 increased the beta-ionone hydroxylation activity up to 100-fold (115 min-1). For further activity improvement methods of site-directed and random mutagenesis were applied. The R47L Y51F F87V mutant, designed by site-directed mutagenesis and the A74E F87V P386S mutant, obtained after two rounds of error-prone PCR, exhibit an increase in activity up to 300-fold compared to the wild type enzyme. All mutants converted -ionone regioselectively to 4-hydroxy-beta-ionone.
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    Molecular modelling of family GH16 glycoside hydrolases : potential roles for xyloglucan endotransglucosylases/hydrolases in cell wall modification in the Poaceae
    (2004) Strohmeier, Marco; Hrmova, Maria; Fischer, Markus; Harvey, Andrew J.; Pleiss, Jürgen; Fincher, Geoffrey B.
    Family GH16 glycoside hydrolases can be assigned to five sub-groups according to their substrate specificities, including xyloglucan endotransglucosylases/hydrolases (XTHs), (1,3)-β- galactanases, (1,4)-β-galactanases/κ-carrageenases, “non-specific” (1,3/1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucan endohydrolases and (1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucan endohydrolases. A structured family GH16 glycoside hydrolase database has been constructed (http://www.ghdb.uni-stuttgart.de) and provides multiple sequence alignments with functionally annotated amino acid residues and phylogenetic trees. The database has been used for homology modelling of seven family GH16 glycoside hydrolases, based on structural coordinates for (1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucan endohydrolases and a κ-carrageenase. In combination with multiple sequence alignments, the models predict the three-dimensional dispositions of amino acid residues in the substrate-binding and catalytic sites of XTHs and (1,3/1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucan endohydrolases, for which no structural information is available. Furthermore, they reveal similarities with the active sites of family GH11 (1,4)-β-D-xylan endohydrolases. From a biological viewpoint, the classification and molecular modelling establish structural and evolutionary connections between XTHs, (1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucan endohydrolases and xylan endohydrolases, and raise the possibility that XTHs from higher plants could be active not only on cell wall xyloglucans, but also on (1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucans and arabinoxylans, which are major components of walls in grasses. A role for XTHs in (1,3;1,4)-β-D-glucan and arabinoxylan modification would be consistent with the apparent over-representation of XTH sequences in cereal EST databases.
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    Screen-printed bienzymatic sensor based on sol-gel immobilized Nippostrongylus brasiliensis acetylcholinesterase and a cytochrome P450 BM-3 (CYP102-A1) mutant
    (2006) Waibel, Michael; Schulze, Holger; Huber, Norbert; Bachmann, Till T.
    Here we describe the development of a bienzymatic biosensor that simplifies the sample pretreatment steps for insecticide detection, and enables the highly sensitive detection of phosphorothionates in food. These compounds evolve their inhibitory activity towards acetylcholinesterases (AChEs) only after oxidation which is performed in vivo by P450 monooxygenases. Consequently, phosphorothionates require a suitable sample pretreatment by selective oxidation to be detectable in AChE based systems. In this study, enzymatic phosphorothionate activation and AChE inhibition were integrated in a single biosensor unit. A triple mutant of cytochrome P450 BM-3 (CYP 102-A1) and Nippostrongylus brasiliensis AChE (NbAChE) were immobilized using a fluoride catalyzed sol-gel process. Different sol-gel types were fabricated and characterized regarding enzyme loading capacity and enzyme activity containment. The enzyme sol-gel itself already proved to be suitable for the highly sensitive detection of paraoxon and parathion in a spectrometric assay. A method for screen-printing of this enzyme sol-gel on thick film electrodes was developed. Finally, amperometric biosensors containing coimmobilized NbAChE and the cytochrome P450 BM-3 mutant were produced and characterized with respect to signal stability, organophosphate detection, and storage stability. The detection limits achieved were 1 μg/L for paraoxon and 10 μg/L for parathion in its oxidized form, which is according to EC regulations the highest tolerable pesticide concentration in infant food.
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    Catalytic hydroxylation in biphasic systems using CYP102A1 mutants
    (2005) Maurer, Steffen Christian; Kühnel, Katja; Kaysser, Leonard A.; Eiben, Sabine; Schmid, Rolf D.; Urlacher, Vlada B.
    Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases are biocatalysts that hydroxylate or epoxidise a wide range of hydrophobic organic substrates. To date their technical application is limited to a small number of whole-cell biooxidations. The use of the isolated enzymes is believed to be impractical due to the low stability of this enzyme class, to the stochiometric need of the expensive cofactor NADPH, and due to the low solubility of most substrates in aqueous media. To overcome these problems we have investigated the application of a bacterial monooxygenase (mutants of CYP102A1) in a biphasic reaction system supported by cofactor recycling with NADP+-dependent formate dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas sp 101. Using this experimental setup, cyclohexane, octane and myristic acid were hydroxylated. To reduce the process costs a novel NADH-dependent double mutant of CYP102A1 was designed. For recycling of NADH during myristic acid hydroxylation in a biphasic system NAD+-dependent FDH was used. Stability of the monooxygenase under the reaction conditions is quite high as revealed by total turnover numbers of up to 12850 in NADPH-dependent cyclohexane hydroxylation and up to 30000 in NADH-dependent myristic acid oxidation.
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    Cloning, expression, and characterization of a self-sufficient cytochrome P450 monooxygenase from Rhodococcus ruber DSM 44319
    (2006) Liu, Luo; Schmid, Rolf D.; Urlacher, Vlada B.
    A new member of class IV of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases was identified in Rhodococcus ruber strain DSM 44319. As the genome of Rhodococcus ruber has not been sequenced, a P450-like gene fragment was amplified using degenerated primers. The flanking regions of the P450-like DNA fragment were identified by directional genome walking using PCR. The primary protein structure suggests a natural self-sufficient fusion protein consisting of a ferredoxin, flavin-containing reductase and P450 monooxygenase. The only flavin found within the enzyme was FMN. The enzyme was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and purified and characterized. In the presence of NADPH, the P450 monooxygenase showed hydroxylation activity towards polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons naphthalene, indene, acenaphthene, toluene, fluorene, m-xylene and ethyl benzene. The conversion of naphthalene, acenaphthene and fluorene resulted in respective ring monohydroxylated metabolites. Alkyl aromatics like toluene, m-xylene and ethyl benzene were hydroxylated exclusively at the side chains. The new enzyme’s ability to oxidize such compounds makes it a potential candidate for biodegradation of pollutants and an attractive biocatalyst for synthesis.
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    Sequence and structure of epoxide hydrolases : a systematic analysis
    (2004) Barth, Sandra; Fischer, Markus; Schmid, Rolf D.; Pleiss, Jürgen
    Epoxide hydrolases (EC 3.3.2.3) are ubiquitous enzymes which catalyze the hydrolysis of epoxides to the corresponding vicinal diols. Over 100 epoxide hydrolases (EH) have been identified or predicted, 3 structures are available. Although they catalyze the same chemical reaction, sequence similarity is low. To identify conserved regions, all EHs were aligned. Phylogenetic analysis identified 12 homologous families, which were grouped into 2 major superfamilies: the microsomal EH superfamily, which includes the homologous families of Mammalian, Insect, Fungal, and Bacterial EHs, and the cytosolic EH superfamily, which includes Mammalian, Plant, and Bacterial EHs. Bacterial EHs show a high sequence diversity. Based on structure comparison of 3 known structures from Agrobacterium radiobacter AD1 (cytosolic EH), Aspergillus niger (microsomal EH), and Mus musculus (cytosolic EH), and multisequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis of 95 EHs, the modular architecture of this enzyme family was analyzed. While core and cap domain are highly conserved, the structural differences between the EHs are restricted to only 2 loops: the NC-loop connecting the core and the cap and the cap-loop which is inserted into the cap domain. EHs were assigned to either of 3 clusters based on loop length. Using this classification, core and cap region of all EHs, NC-loops and cap-loops of 78% and 89% of all EHs, respectively, could be modeled. Representative models are available from the Lipase Engineering Database, http://www.led.uni-stuttgart.de.