Carbohydrate-binding module O-mannosylation alters binding selectivity to cellulose and lignin

Improved understanding of the effect of protein glycosylation is expected to provide the foundation for the design of protein glycoengineering strategies. In this study, we examine the impact of O-glycosylation on the binding selectivity of a model Family 1 carbohydrate-binding module (CBM), which has been shown to be one of the primary sub-domains responsible for non-productive lignin binding in multi-modular cellulases. Specifically, we examine the relationship between glycan structure and the binding specificity of the CBM to cellulose and lignin substrates. We find that the glycosylation pattern of the CBM exhibits a strong influence on the binding affinity and the selectivity between both cellulose and lignin. In addition, the large set of binding data collected allows us to examine the relationship between binding affinity and the correlation in motion between pairs of glycosylation sites. Our results suggest that glycoforms displaying highly correlated motion in their glycosylation sites tend to bind cellulose with high affinity and lignin with low affinity. Taken together, this work helps lay the groundwork for future exploitation of glycoengineering as a tool to improve the performance of industrial enzymes.

Improved understanding of the effect of protein glycosylation is expected to provide the foundation for the design of protein glycoengineering strategies.

The cell walls of terrestrial plants primarily comprise the polysaccharides cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin, as well as the heterogeneous aromatic polymer, lignin. In nature, carbohydrates derived from plant polysaccharides provide a massive carbon and energy source for biomass-degrading fungi, bacteria, and archaea, which together are the primary organisms that recycle plant matter and are a critical component of the global carbon cycle. Across the various environments in which these microbes break down lignocellulose, a few known enzymatic and chemical systems have evolved to deconstruct polysaccharides to soluble sugars.^1–6 These natural systems are, in several cases, being evaluated for industrial use to produce sugars for further conversion into renewable biofuels and chemicals.From an industrial perspective, overcoming biomass recalcitrance to cost-effectively produce soluble intermediates, including sugars for further upgrading remains the main challenge in biomass conversion. Lignin, the evolution of which in planta provided a significant advantage for terrestrial plants to mitigate microbial attack, is now widely recognized as a primary cause of biomass recalcitrance.⁷ Chemical and/or biological processing scenarios of lignocellulose have been evaluated⁸ and several approaches have been scaled to industrial biorefineries to date. Many biomass conversion technologies overcome recalcitrance by partially or wholly removing lignin from biomass using thermochemical pretreatment or fractionation. This approach enables easier polysaccharide access for carbohydrate-active enzymes and/or microbes. There are however, several biomass deconstruction approaches that employ enzymes or microbes with whole, unpretreated biomass.^9,10 In most realistic biomass conversion scenarios wherein enzymes or microbes are used to depolymerize polysaccharides, native or residual lignin remains.^11,12 It is important to note that lignin can bind and sequester carbohydrate-active enzymes, which in turn can affect conversion performance.¹³Therefore, efforts aimed at improving cellulose binding selectivity relative to lignin have emerged as major thrusts in cellulase studies.^14–25 Multiple reports in the past a few years have made exciting new contributions to our collective understanding of how fungal glycoside hydrolases, which are among the most well-characterized cellulolytic enzymes given their importance to cellulosic biofuels production, bind to lignin from various pretreatments.^15,17 Taken together, these studies have demonstrated that the Family 1 carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) often found in fungal cellulases are the most relevant sub-domains for non-productive binding to lignin,^15,17,20,26 likely due to the hydrophobic face of these CBMs that is known to be also responsible for cellulose binding (Fig. 1).²⁷Open in a separate windowFig. 1Model of glycosylated CBM binding the surface of a cellulose crystal. Glycans are shown in green with oxygen atoms in red, tyrosines known to be critical to binding shown in purple, and disulfide bonds Cys8–Cys25 and Cys19–Cys35 in yellow.Furthermore, several studies have been published recently using protein engineering of Family 1 CBMs to improve CBM binding selectivity to cellulose with respect to lignin. Of particular note, Strobel et al. screened a large library of point mutations in both the Family 1 CBM and the linker connecting the catalytic domain (CD) and CBM.^21,22 These studies demonstrated that several mutations in the CBM and one in the linker led to improved cellulose binding selectivity compared to lignin. The emerging picture is that the CBM-cellulose interaction, which occurs mainly as a result of stacking between the flat, hydrophobic CBM face (which is decorated with aromatic residues) and the hydrophobic crystal face of cellulose I, is also likely the main driving force in the CBM-lignin interaction given the strong potential for aromatic–aromatic and hydrophobic interactions.Alongside amino acid changes, modification of O-glycosylation has recently emerged as a potential tool in engineering fungal CBMs, which Harrison et al. demonstrated to be O-glycosylated.^28–31 In particular, we have revealed that the O-mannosylation of a Family 1 CBM of Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I (TrCel7A) can lead to significant enhancements in the binding affinity towards bacterial microcrystalline cellulose (BMCC).^30,32,33 This observation, together with the fact that glycans have the potential to form both hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions with other molecules, led us to hypothesize that glycosylation may have a unique role in the binding selectivity of Family 1 CBMs to cellulose relative to lignin and as such, glycoengineering may be exploited to improve the industrial performance of these enzymes. To test this hypothesis, in the present study, we systematically probed the effects of glycosylation on CBM binding affinity for a variety of lignocellulose-derived cellulose and lignin substrates and investigated routes to computationally predict the binding properties of different glycosylated CBMs.     

Three-phase extraction study of cyanex 923-n-heptane/H(2)SO(4) system

Phase behavior of the extraction system, Cyanex 923–heptane/H₂SO₄–H₂O has been studied. The third phase appeared at different aqueous H₂SO₄ concentration with varying initial Cyanex 923 concentration and temperature affects its appearance. Almost all of H₂SO₄ and H₂O are extracted into the middle phase. The H₂SO₄ concentration in the third phase increases with the increasing aqueous acid concentration (C_H2SO4,b) while the water content first increases and then reaches a constant value at C_H2SO4,b=11.3 mol l⁻¹. In the region of C_H2SO4,b higher than 5.2 mol l⁻¹, the composition of the middle phase is only related to the equilibrium concentration of H₂SO₄ in the bottom phase. H₂SO₄ and H₂O are transferred into the middle phase mainly by their coordination with Cyanex 923 when C_H2SO4,b is less than 11.3 mol l⁻¹. When C_H2SO4,b is higher than 11.3 mol l⁻¹, excess H₂SO₄ is solubilized into the polar layer of the aggregates. In the region considered, the extracted complex changes from C923 · H₂SO₄ to C923 · H₂SO₄ · H₂O and then to C923 · (H₂SO₄)₂ · H₂O.     

Preparation of Co3O4 Nanofibers via an Electrospinning Technique

Thin PVA/cobalt acetate composite fibers were prepared by using sol-gel processing and electrospinning technique.After calcination of the above precursor fibers,Co3O4 nanofibers with a diameter of 50-150 nm could be successfully obtained.The fibers were characterized by SEM,FT-IR,WAXD,respectively.     

Over 18% binary organic solar cells enabled by isomerization of non-fullerene acceptors with alkylthiophene side chains

Side-chain engineering has been demonstrated as an effective method for fine-tuning the optical, electrical, and morphological properties of organic semiconductors toward efficient organic solar cells (OSCs). In this work, three isomeric non-fullerene small molecule acceptors (SMAs), named BTP-4F-T2C8, BTP-4F-T2EH and BTP-4F-T3EH, with linear and branched alkyl chains substituted on the α or β positions of thiophene as the side chains, were synthesized and systematically investigated. The results demonstrate that the size and substitution position of alkyl side chains can greatly affect the electronic properties, molecular packing as well as crystallinity of the SMAs. After blending with donor polymer D18-Cl, the prominent device performance of 18.25% was achieved by the BTP-4F-T3EH-based solar cells, which is higher than those of the BTP-4F-T2EH-based (17.41%) and BTP-4F-T2C8-based (15.92%) ones. The enhanced performance of the BTP-4F-T3EH-based devices is attributed to its stronger crystallinity, higher electron mobility, suppressed biomolecular recombination, and the appropriate intermolecular interaction with the donor polymer. This work reveals that the side chain isomerization strategy can be a practical way in tuning the molecular packing and blend morphology for improving the performance of organic solar cells.

     

Phenanthroline complexes bearing diamide-anion recognition sites

The synthesis and anion binding properties of new ruthenium(II) and cobalt(II) phenanthroline complexes, containing two amide subunits are described. Evidence for anion binding in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution was obtained from u.v.–vis titration experiments. Results indicated that these receptors showed strong affinity for F⁻ and AcO⁻, and showed weak affinity for OH⁻ and H₂PO ₄ ⁻ , and showed no affinity for Cl⁻, Br⁻, I⁻. These receptors interacted with various anions examined through hydrogen-bond formation.     

Quantitative analysis of 23-hydroxybetulinic acid in mouse plasma using electrospray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

23-Hydroxybetulinic acid is a newly isolated derivative of betulinic acid. The agent exhibits potential anti-tumor activity and functions in this regard via apoptosis. In support of pharmacokinetic and toxicological evaluations, a new assay based on liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) was developed for the quantitative analysis of 23-hydroxybetulinic acid. Sample preparation consisted of extraction of the plasma by the addition of methylene chloride followed by centrifugation. Aliquots of the supernatant were analyzed using an isocratic reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system coupled to a negative ion electrospray mass spectrometer. Molecules of 23-hydroxybetulinic acid and the internal standard limonin were detected using selected ion monitoring at m/z 471 and 469, respectively. The limit of detection of 23-hydroxybetulinic acid was 0.05 pg (0.11 fmol) injected on-column (10 pg/mL, 5 microL injection volume), and the limit of quantitation was 10 pg (21.19 fmol, 2 ng/mL, 5 muL injection volume). 23-Hydroxybetulinic acid was stable in plasma samples at -20 degrees C for at least 3 weeks. The intra-day and inter-day coefficients of variation of the assay were 3.0 and 4.8%, respectively. The utility of the assay was demonstrated by measuring 23-hydroxybetulinicacid in mouse plasma following intragastric administration (IG) in vivo. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using the 3P97 pharmacokinetic software package. A two-compartment, first-order model was selected for pharmacokinetic modeling. The result showed that after IG of 200 mg/kg 23-hydroxybetulinic acid, the plasma concentrations reached peaks at 2 h with C(max) of 3.1 microg/mL. The 200 mg/kg 23-hydroxybetulinic acid suspension IG doses were found to have long elimination half-lives of 25.6 h and low bioavailability of 2.3%. No interference was noted due to endogenous substances. These analytical methods should be of value in future studies related to the development and characterization of 23-hydroxybetulinic acid.     

Rapid determination of volatile constituents of Michelia alba flowers by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with solid-phase microextraction

The volatile constituents of Michelia alba flowers, including fresh flowers, frozen flowers and withered flowers, were investigated by GC-MS. The volatiles in a simulated natural environment were sampled by solid-phase microextraction (SPME), with a 100 microm polydimethylsiloxane fiber at 25+/-5 degrees C for 4 h. The fibers were desorbed in a GC injection liner at 250 degrees C for 3 min. With headspace SPME-GC-MS analysis, 61 peaks were separated. The main compounds in headspace of fresh Michelia alba flowers included alpha-myrcene, (S)-limonene, (R)-fenchone, linalool, camphor, caryophyllene, germacrene D, etc., a greater number of compounds than for frozen flowers and withered flowers. At the same time, the biomarkers of fresh flowers were compared with the frozen flowers and withered flowers. In this study, headspace SPME-GC-MS afforded a simple and more sensitive sampling method for fresh Michelia alba flowers and other fresh flowers.     

Stochastic resonance is applied to quantitative analysis for weak chromatographic signal of glyburide in plasma

Based on the theory of stochastic resonance, a new method carried on the quantitive analysis to weak chromatographic signal of glyburide in plasma, which was embedded in the noise background and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of HPLC-UV is enhanced remarkably. This method enhances the quantification limit to 1 ng ml⁻¹, which is the same as HPLC-MS, and makes it possible to detect the weak signal accurately by HPLC-UV, which was not suitable before. The results showed good recovery and linear range from 1 to 50 ng ml⁻¹ of glyburide in plasma and the method can be used for quantitative analysis of glyburide.     

Effect of the sixth axial ligand in CS-ligated iron(II)octaethylporphyrinates: structural and Mössbauer studies

The effect of a sixth ligand in a series of low-spin thiocarbonyl-ligated iron(II)octaethylporphyrinates has been investigated. Six-coordinate complexes have been synthesized and characterized by M?ssbauer and infrared spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray structure determinations. The results are compared with the five-coordinate parent complex. The crystal structures of [Fe(OEP)(CS)(1-MeIm)] and [Fe(OEP)(CS)(Py)] are reported and discussed. The 1-methylimidazole and pyridine derivatives exhibit Fe-C(CS) bond distances of 1.703(4) and 1.706(2) A that are significantly longer than the 1.662(3) A reported for five-coordinate [Fe(OEP)(CS)] (Scheidt, W. R.; Geiger, D. K. Inorg. Chem. 1982, 21, 1208). The trans Fe-N(ligand) distances of 2.112(3) and 2.1550(15) A observed for the 1-methylimidazole and pyridine complex are approximately 0.13 A longer than those observed for analogous bis-ligated complexes and are consistent with a significant structural trans effect for the CS ligand. M?ssbauer investigations carried out for five- and six-coordinate thiocarbonyl derivatives with several different sixth axial ligands reveal interesting features. All derivatives exhibit very small isomer shift values, consistent with a very strong interaction between iron and CS. The five-coordinate derivative has delta(Fe) = 0.08 mm/s, and the six-coordinate complexes exhibit delta(Fe) = 0.14 to 0.19 mm/s at 4.2 K. The five-coordinate complex shows a large quadrupole splitting (DeltaE(q) = 1.93 mm/s at 4.2 K) which is reduced on coordination of the sixth ligand (DeltaE(q) = 0.42-0.80 mm/s at 4.2 K). Addition of a sixth ligand also leads to a small decrease in the value of nu(CS). Correlations in structural, IR, and M?ssbauer results suggest that the sixth ligand effect is primarily induced by changes in sigma-bonding. The structure of [Fe(OEP)(CS)(CH(3)OH)] is briefly reported. Crystal data: [Fe(OEP)(CS)(1-MeIm)] crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group P2(1)/n, Z = 4, a = 9.5906(5) A, b = 16.704(4) A, c = 23.1417(6) A, beta = 100.453(7) degrees. [Fe(OEP)(CS)(Py)] crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P1, Z = 5, a = 13.9073(6) A, b = 16.2624(7) A, c = 22.0709(9) A, alpha = 70.586(1) degrees, beta = 77.242(1) degrees, gamma = 77.959(1) degrees. [Fe(OEP)(CS)(CH(3)OH)] crystallizes in the triclinic system, space group P1, Z = 1, a = 9.0599(5) A, b = 9.4389(5) A, c = 11.0676(6) A, alpha = 90.261(1) degrees, beta = 100.362(1) degrees, gamma = 114.664(1) degrees.