The development of thermostable and solvent-tolerant metalloproteins is a long-sought goal for many applications in synthetic biology and biotechnology. In this work, we were able to engineer a highly thermostable and organic solvent-stable metallo variant of the B1 domain of protein G (GB1) with a tetrahedral zinc binding site reminiscent of the one of thermolysin. Promising candidates were designed computationally by applying a protocol based on classical and first-principles molecular dynamics simulations in combination with genetic algorithm optimization. The most promising of the computationally predicted mutants was expressed and structurally characterized and yielded a highly thermostable protein. The experimental results thus confirm the predictive power of the applied computational protein engineering approach for the de novo design of highly stable metalloproteins.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b10660 | DOI Listing |
Nat Chem
January 2025
Institute of Bioengineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Protein catalysis and allostery require the atomic-level orchestration and motion of residues and ligand, solvent and protein effector molecules. However, the ability to design protein activity through precise protein-solvent cooperative interactions has not yet been demonstrated. Here we report the design of 14 membrane receptors that catalyse G protein nucleotide exchange through diverse engineered allosteric pathways mediated by cooperative networks of intraprotein, protein-ligand and -solvent molecule interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Laboratory of Extremophiles Biology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, Gdansk, 80-308, Poland.
In this study, we evaluated the combined effect between MLE-15, a modular lytic enzyme composed of four building blocks, and reline, a natural deep eutectic solvent. The bioinformatic analysis allowed us to determine the spatial architecture of MLE-15, whose components were bactericidal peptide cecropin A connected via a flexible linker to the cell wall binding domain (CBD) of mesophilic 201ϕ2 - 1 endolysin and catalytic domain (EAD) of highly thermostable Ph2119 endolysin. The modular enzyme showed high thermostability with the melting temperature of 93.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83844-2343, United States.
Lead azide (LA) is a widely utilized primary explosive, serving as the initiating charge in blasting caps or detonators to start the detonation process of secondary explosives. The toxicity and environmental concerns associated with LA have led to regulatory restrictions and increased scrutiny, prompting the search for lead-free alternatives. LA is highly sensitive toward heat, shock, or friction, which poses safety challenges during manufacturing, handling, and storage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
January 2025
Anhui Academy of Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical College, Hefei, China. Electronic address:
Luciferase, known for its exceptional catalytic bioluminescent properties, has been widely utilized in diverse applications within biotechnology and medical research. Currently, enhancing thermostability and catalytic activity is a primary focus for optimizing luciferase modifications to further expand its detection range and accuracy. This study revealed a highly thermostable luciferase variant from Photuris pennsylvanica, Ppe146-1H2, which inherently exhibits thermophilic enzyme characteristics that are not conducive for optimal catalytic performance in practical applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants (Basel)
December 2024
Institute of Basic Biological Problems, Federal Research Center "Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences", 142290 Pushchino, Russia.
The green unicellular algae contains 12-13 carbonic anhydrases (CAs). For a long time, the two closely related α-CAs of the periplasmic membrane CAH1 and CAH2 were considered to be the CAs with the highest CO hydration activity. The recombinant protein α-CA CAH3 (rCAH3) from the thylakoid lumen obtained in the present study showed more than three times higher activity compared to CAH1 and more than 11 times higher compared to previous studies with rCAH3.
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