Background: Enzymatic isomerization is a promising strategy to solve the problem of xylose fermentation and, consequently, to leverage the production of advanced biofuels and biochemicals. In a previous work, our research group discovered a new strain of Streptomyces with great biotechnological potential due to its ability to produce a broad arsenal of enzymes related to lignocellulose degradation.
Methods: We applied a multidisciplinary approach involving enzyme kinetics, biophysical methods, small angle X-ray scattering and X-ray crystallography to investigate two novel xylose isomerases, XylA1F1 and XylA2F1, from this strain.
Results: We showed that while XylA1F1 prefers to act at lower temperatures and relatively lower pH, XylA2F1 is extremely stable at higher temperatures and presents a higher turnover number. Structural analysis revealed that XylA1F1 exhibits unique properties in the active site not observed in classical XylAs from classes I and II nor in its ortholog XylA2F1. It encompasses the natural substitutions, M86A and T93K, that create an extra room for substrate accommodation and narrow the active-site entrance, respectively. Such modifications may contribute to the functional differentiation of these enzymes.
Conclusions: We have characterized two novel xylose isomerases that display distinct functional behavior and harbor unprecedented amino-acid substitutions in the catalytic interface.
General significance: Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the functional and structural aspects of xylose isomerases, which might be instrumental for the valorization of the hemicellulosic fraction of vegetal biomass.
Keywords: Biofuels; Crystal structure; Enzyme kinetics; Hemicellulosic fraction; Structure-function relationship; Xylose isomerase.
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