Iterative Saturation Mutagenesis of ?6 Subsite Residues in Cyclodextrin Glycosyltransferase from Paenibacillus macerans To Improve Maltodextrin Specificity for 2-O-d-Glucopyranosyl-l-Ascorbic Acid Synthesis

摘要

2- O -d-Glucopyranosyl-l-ascorbic acid (AA-2G), a stable l-ascorbic acid derivative, is usually synthesized by cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase), which contains nine substrate-binding subsites (from +2 to ?7). In this study, iterative saturation mutagenesis (ISM) was performed on the ?6 subsite residues (Y167, G179, G180, and N193) in the CGTase from Paenibacillus macerans to improve its specificity for maltodextrin, which is a cheap and easily soluble glycosyl donor for AA-2G synthesis. Site saturation mutagenesis of four sites—Y167, G179, G180, and N193—was first performed and revealed that four mutants—Y167S, G179R, N193R, and G180R—produced AA-2G yields higher than those of other mutant and wild-type CGTases. ISM was then conducted with the best positive mutant as a template. Under optimal conditions, mutant Y167S/G179K/N193R/G180R produced the highest AA-2G titer of 2.12 g/liter, which was 84% higher than that (1.15 g/liter) produced by the wild-type CGTase. Kinetics analysis of AA-2G synthesis using mutant CGTases confirmed the enhanced maltodextrin specificity and showed that compared to the wild-type CGTase, the mutants had no cyclization activity but high hydrolysis and disproportionation activities. A possible mechanism for the enhanced substrate specificity was also analyzed through structure modeling of the mutant and wild-type CGTases. These results indicated that the ?6 subsite played crucial roles in the substrate binding and catalytic reactions of CGTase and that the obtained CGTase mutants, especially Y167S/G179K/N193R/G180R, are promising starting points for further development through protein engineering.