Carboxylesterases (CXEs) are widely distributed in plants, where they have been implicated in roles that include plant defense, plant development, and secondary metabolism. We have cloned, overexpressed, purified, and crystallized a carboxylesterase from the kiwifruit species Actinidia eriantha (AeCXE1). The structure of AeCXE1 was determined by X-ray crystallography at 1.4 A resolution. The crystal structure revealed that AeCXE1 is a member of the alpha/beta-hydrolase fold superfamily, most closely related structurally to the hormone-sensitive lipase subgroup. The active site of the enzyme, located in an 11 A deep hydrophobic gorge, contains the conserved catalytic triad residues Ser169, Asp276, and His306. Kinetic analysis using artificial ester substrates showed that the enzyme can hydrolyze a range of carboxylester substrates with acyl groups ranging from C2 to C16, with a preference for butyryl moieties. This preference was supported by the discovery of a three-carbon acyl adduct bound to the active site Ser169 in the native structure. AeCXE1 was also found to be inhibited by organophosphates, with paraoxon (IC50 = 1.1 muM) a more potent inhibitor than dimethylchlorophosphate (DMCP; IC50 = 9.2 muM). The structure of AeCXE1 with paraoxon bound was determined at 2.3 A resolution and revealed that the inhibitor binds covalently to the catalytic serine residue, with virtually no change in the structure of the enzyme. The structural information for AeCXE1 provides a basis for addressing the wider functional roles of carboxylesterases in plants.
Lipases from Geotrichum candidum NRRL Y-553 are of interest because of their unique specificity for cis-9-unsaturated fatty acids relative to both stearic and palmitic acids. The lipases were partially purified by chromatography on Octyl Sepharose, AG MP-1 macroporous anion exchanger, and chromatofocusing resin. The preparation was found to contain multiple, glycosylated lipases varying slightly in pI (pI 4.88, 4.78, 4.65, 4.57 and 4.52) as judged by both activity and silver staining. The molecular mass determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was 64 kilodaltons for the main species, with minor species of 60 and 57 kilodaltons present as well. The specificity of the crude lipases for hydrolysis of 4-methylumbelliferyl esters of oleic vs. palmitic acid was 20-to-1. The specificity of the purified, partially separated lipases was similar to that of the crude preparation. Thus the lipases could be used even in crude form for the hydrolysis and restructuring of triacylglycerols on a large scale.
