Exploiting the aglycon promiscuity of glycosyltransferase Bs-YjiC from Bacillus subtilis and its application in synthesis of glycosides

J Biotechnol. 2017 Apr 20:248:69-76. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2017.03.009. Epub 2017 Mar 16.

Abstract

Glycosylation is a prominent biological mechanism for structural and functional diversity of natural products. Uridine diphosphate-dependent glycosyltransferases with aglycon promiscuity are generally recognised as effective biocatalysts for glycodiversification of natural products for practical applications. In this study, the aglycon promiscuity of glycosyltransferase Bs-YjiC from Bacillus subtilis 168 was explored. Bs-YjiC, with uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG) as sugar donor, exhibited robust capabilities to glycosylate 19 structurally diverse types of drug-like scaffolds with regio- and stereospecificities and form O-, N- and S-linkage glycosides. Twenty-four glycosides of 17 aglycons were purified from scale-up reactions using Bs-YjiC as a biocatalyst, and their structures were confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Furthermore, a one-pot reaction by coupling Bs-YjiC to sucrose synthase from Arabidopsis thaliana was applied to glycosylate pterostilbene. Without adding the costly UDPG as sugar donor, 9mM (3.8g/L) pterostilbene 4'-O-β-glucoside was obtained by periodic feeding of pterostilbene. These results suggest the aglycon promiscuity of Bs-YjiC and demonstrate its significant application prospect in biosynthesis of valuable natural products.

Keywords: Aglycon promiscuity; Bacillus subtilis 168; Glycosylation; Glycosyltransferase sucrose synthase; Natural products.

MeSH terms

  • Bacillus subtilis / enzymology*
  • Bacillus subtilis / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Glycosides / chemistry
  • Glycosides / metabolism*
  • Glycosylation
  • Glycosyltransferases / chemistry
  • Glycosyltransferases / genetics
  • Glycosyltransferases / metabolism*
  • Recombinant Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism*
  • Stilbenes / chemistry
  • Stilbenes / metabolism

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Glycosides
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Stilbenes
  • pterostilbene
  • Glycosyltransferases