Unveiling molecular details behind improved activity at neutral to alkaline pH of an engineered DyP-type peroxidase

DyP-type peroxidases (DyPs) are microbial enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of a wide range of substrates, including synthetic dyes, lignin-derived compounds, and metals, such as Mn and Fe, and have enormous biotechnological potential in biorefineries. However, many questions on the molecular basi...

ver descrição completa

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Borges, Patricia T., Silva, Diogo, Silva, Tomás F.D., Brissos, Vânia, Cañellas, Marina, Lucas, Maria Fátima|||0000-0001-8672-9940, Masgrau, Laura|||0000-0003-4495-508X, Melo, Eduardo P.|||0000-0002-0974-8977, Machuqueiro, Miguel, Frazão, Carlos, Martins, Lígia O.|||0000-0003-0082-9591
Tipo de documento: artigo
Data de publicação:2022
País:España
Recursos:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositório:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglês
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:292406
Acesso em linha:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/292406
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.csbj.2022.07.032
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Biorefinery
Biocatalysis
Directed evolution
Protein stability
Structure-function relationships
Descrição
Resumo:DyP-type peroxidases (DyPs) are microbial enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of a wide range of substrates, including synthetic dyes, lignin-derived compounds, and metals, such as Mn and Fe, and have enormous biotechnological potential in biorefineries. However, many questions on the molecular basis of enzyme function and stability remain unanswered. In this work, high-resolution structures of PpDyP wild-type and two engineered variants (6E10 and 29E4) generated by directed evolution were obtained. The X-ray crystal structures revealed the typical ferredoxin-like folds, with three heme access pathways, two tunnels, and one cavity, limited by three long loops including catalytic residues. Variant 6E10 displays significantly increased loops' flexibility that favors function over stability: despite the considerably higher catalytic efficiency, this variant shows poorer protein stability compared to wild-type and 29E4 variants. Constant-pH MD simulations revealed a more positively charged microenvironment near the heme pocket of variant 6E10, particularly in the neutral to alkaline pH range. This microenvironment affects enzyme activity by modulating the pK of essential residues in the heme vicinity and should account for variant 6E10 improved activity at pH 7-8 compared to the wild-type and 29E4 that show optimal enzymatic activity close to pH 4. Our findings shed light on the structure-function relationships of DyPs at the molecular level, including their pH-dependent conformational plasticity. These are essential for understanding and engineering the catalytic properties of DyPs for future biotechnological applications.