Engineering enzyme catalytic properties is important for basic research as well as for biotechnological applications. We have previously shown that the reshaping of enzyme access tunnels via the deletion of a short surface loop element may yield a haloalkane dehalogenase variant with markedly modified substrate specificity and enantioselectivity. Here, we conversely probed the effects of surface loop-helix transplantation from one enzyme to another within the enzyme family of haloalkane dehalogenases. Precisely, we transplanted a nine-residue long extension of L9 loop and beta4 helix from DbjA into the corresponding site of DbeA. Biophysical characterization showed that this fragment transplantation did not affect the overall protein fold or oligomeric state, but lowered protein stability (DeltaT (m) = -5 to 6 degC). Interestingly, the crystal structure of DbeA mutant revealed the unique structural features of enzyme access tunnels, which are known determinants of catalytic properties for this enzyme family. Biochemical data confirmed that insertion increased activity of DbeA with various halogenated substrates and altered its enantioselectivity with several linear beta-bromoalkanes. Our findings support a protein engineering strategy employing surface loop-helix transplantation for construction of novel protein catalysts with modified catalytic properties.
Haloalkane dehalogenases (HLDs) convert halogenated aliphatic pollutants to less toxic compounds by a hydrolytic mechanism. Owing to their broad substrate specificity and high enantioselectivity, haloalkane dehalogenases can function as biosensors to detect toxic compounds in the environment or can be used for the production of optically pure compounds. Here, the structural analysis of the haloalkane dehalogenase DpcA isolated from the psychrophilic bacterium Psychrobacter cryohalolentis K5 is presented at the atomic resolution of 1.05 A. This enzyme exhibits a low temperature optimum, making it attractive for environmental applications such as biosensing at the subsurface environment, where the temperature typically does not exceed 25 degrees C. The structure revealed that DpcA possesses the shortest access tunnel and one of the most widely open main tunnels among structural homologs of the HLD-I subfamily. Comparative analysis revealed major differences in the region of the alpha4 helix of the cap domain, which is one of the key determinants of the anatomy of the tunnels. The crystal structure of DpcA will contribute to better understanding of the structure-function relationships of cold-adapted enzymes.
Transport of ligands between buried active sites and bulk solvent is a key step in the catalytic cycle of many enzymes. Absence of evolutionary optimized transport tunnels is an important barrier limiting the efficiency of biocatalysts prepared by computational design. Creating a structurally defined and functional -Yhole into the protein represents an engineering challenge. Here we describe the computational design and directed evolution of a de novo transport tunnel in haloalkane dehalogenase. Mutants with a blocked native tunnel and newly opened auxiliary tunnel in a distinct part of the structure showed dramatically modified properties. The mutants with blocked tunnels acquired specificity never observed with native family members, up to 32-times increased substrate inhibition and 17-times reduced catalytic rates. Opening of the auxiliary tunnel resulted in specificity and substrate inhibition similar to the native enzyme, and the most proficient haloalkane dehalogenase reported to date (kcat = 57 s-1 with 1,2-dibromoethane at 37oC and pH=8.6). Crystallographic analysis and molecular dynamics simulations confirmed successful introduction of structur-ally defined and functional transport tunnel. Our study demonstrates that whereas we can open the transport tunnels with reasonable proficiency, we cannot accurately predict the effects of such change on the catalytic properties. We propose that one way to increase efficiency of an enzyme is the direct its substrates and products into spatially distinct tunnels. The results clearly show the benefits of enzymes with de novo transport tunnels and we anticipate that this engineering strategy will facilitate creation of a wide range of useful biocatalysts.
A variant of the haloalkane dehalogenase DhaA with greatly enhanced stability and tolerance of organic solvents but reduced activity was created by mutating four residues in the access tunnel. To create a stabilized enzyme with superior catalytic activity, two of the four originally modified residues were randomized. The resulting mutant F176G exhibited 10- and 32-times enhanced activity towards 1,2-dibromoethane in buffer and 40% (v/v) DMSO, respectively, while retaining high stability. Structural and molecular dynamics analyses showed that the new variant exhibited superior activity because the F176G mutation increased the radius of the tunnel's mouth and the mobility of alpha-helices lining the tunnel. The new variant's tunnel was open in 48 % of trajectories, compared to 58 % for the wild-type, but only 0.02 % for the original four-point variant. Delicate balance between activity and stability of enzymes can be manipulated by fine-tuning the diameter and dynamics of their access tunnels.
The crystal structure of the novel haloalkane dehalogenase DbeA from Bradyrhizobium elkanii USDA94 revealed the presence of two chloride ions buried in the protein interior. The first halide-binding site is involved in substrate binding and is present in all structurally characterized haloalkane dehalogenases. The second halide-binding site is unique to DbeA. To elucidate the role of the second halide-binding site in enzyme functionality, a two-point mutant lacking this site was constructed and characterized. These substitutions resulted in a shift in the substrate-specificity class and were accompanied by a decrease in enzyme activity, stability and the elimination of substrate inhibition. The changes in enzyme catalytic activity were attributed to deceleration of the rate-limiting hydrolytic step mediated by the lower basicity of the catalytic histidine.
Haloalkane dehalogenases are microbial enzymes that convert a broad range of halogenated aliphatic compounds to their corresponding alcohols by the hydrolytic mechanism. These enzymes play an important role in the biodegradation of various environmental pollutants. Haloalkane dehalogenase LinB isolated from a soil bacterium Sphingobium japonicum UT26 has a relatively broad substrate specificity and can be applied in bioremediation and biosensing of environmental pollutants. The LinB variants presented here, LinB32 and LinB70, were constructed with the goal of studying the effect of mutations on enzyme functionality. In the case of LinB32 (L117W), the introduced mutation leads to blocking of the main tunnel connecting the deeply buried active site with the surrounding solvent. The other variant, LinB70 (L44I, H107Q), has the second halide-binding site in a position analogous to that in the related haloalkane dehalogenase DbeA from Bradyrhizobium elkanii USDA94. Both LinB variants were successfully crystallized and full data sets were collected for native enzymes as well as their complexes with the substrates 1,2-dibromoethane (LinB32) and 1-bromobutane (LinB70) to resolutions ranging from 1.6 to 2.8 A. The two mutants crystallize differently from each other, which suggests that the mutations, although deep inside the molecule, can still affect the protein crystallizability.
Mutations targeting as few as four residues lining the access tunnel extended the half-life of an enzyme in 40% dimethyl sulfoxide from minutes to weeks and increased its melting temperature by 190C. Protein crystallography and molecular dynamics revealed that the tunnel residue packing is a key determinant of protein stability and the active-site accessibility for cosolvent molecules (red dots).
Haloalkane dehalogenases are hydrolytic enzymes with a broad range of potential practical applications such as biodegradation, biosensing, biocatalysis and cellular imaging. Two newly isolated psychrophilic haloalkane dehalogenases exhibiting interesting catalytic properties, DpcA from Psychrobacter cryohalolentis K5 and DmxA from Marinobacter sp. ELB17, were purified and used for crystallization experiments. After the optimization of crystallization conditions, crystals of diffraction quality were obtained. Diffraction data sets were collected for native enzymes and complexes with selected ligands such as 1-bromohexane and 1,2-dichloroethane to resolutions ranging from 1.05 to 2.49 A.
A novel enzyme, DbeA, belonging to the haloalkane dehalogenase family (EC 3.8.1.5) was isolated from Bradyrhizobium elkani USDA94. This haloalkane dehalogenase is closely related to the DbjA enzyme from B. japonicum USDA110 (71% sequence identity), but has different biochemical properties. DbeA is generally less active and has a higher specificity towards brominated and iodinated compounds than DbjA. In order to understand the altered activity and specificity of DbeA, its mutant variant DbeA1, which carries the unique fragment of DbjA, was also constructed. Both wild-type DbeA and DbeA1 were crystallized using the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystals of DbeA belonged to the primitive orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), while the crystals of DbeA1 belonged to the monoclinic space group C2. Diffraction data were collected to 2.2 A resolution for both DbeA and DbeA1 crystals.
