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Microbial transglutaminase (mTG) has recently emerged as a powerful tool for antibody engineering. In nature, it catalyzes the formation of amide bonds between glutamine side chains and primary amines. Being applied to numerous research fields from material sciences to medicine, mTG enables efficient site-specific conjugation of molecular architectures that possess suitable recognition motifs. In monoclonal antibodies, the lack of native transamidation sites is bypassed by incorporating specific peptide recognition sequences. Herein, we report a rapid and efficient mTG-catalyzed bioconjugation that relies on a novel recognition motif derived from its native substrate Streptomyces papain inhibitor (SPIP ). Improved reaction kinetics compared to commonly applied sequences were demonstrated for model peptides and for biotinylation of Her2-targeting antibody trastuzumab variants. Moreover, an antibody-drug conjugate assembled from trastuzumab that was C-terminally tagged with the novel recognition sequence revealed a higher payload-antibody ratio than the reference antibody.

Autotransporters are large proteins produced and secreted by Gram-negative bacteria. They consist of an N-terminal passenger domain, which typically harbours enzymatic activity and exerts a virulence function, and a C-terminal membrane anchor domain. Somehow, the membrane domain facilitates the transport of the passenger domain into the extracellular space. Several autotransporters possess hydrolase passenger domains that belong to the GDSL family of lipolytic enzymes. GDSL autotransporters represent a functionally distinct family and are characterized by several features of their passenger domains; these include 1) the absence of a conserved right-handed parallel β-helix, 2) lipolytic activity, and thus the capability to hydrolyse membranes, and 3) covalent attachment to the respective C-terminal β-domain, with the hydrolase domain exposed to the exterior. The esterase EstA of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a typical enzyme of this type. Its physiological role was studied, its potential biotechnological application has been demonstrated, and its crystal structure was solved recently. Furthermore, it is capable of displaying different classes of enzymes in a range of Gram-negative bacteria including Escherichia coli, and FACS-based high-throughput screening for enantioselective esterases could be achieved using EstA.

Lipases are important enzymes in biotechnology. Extracellular bacterial lipases from Pseudomonads and related species require the assistance of specific chaperones, designated "Lif" proteins (lipase specific foldases). Lifs, a unique family of steric chaperones, are anchored to the periplasmic side of the inner membrane where they convert lipases into their active conformation. We have previously shown that the autotransporter protein EstA from P. aeruginosa can be used to direct a variety of proteins to the cell surface of Escherichia coli. Here we demonstrate for the first time the functional cell-surface display of the Lif chaperone and FACS (fluorescence-activated cell sorting)-based analysis of bacterial cells that carried foldase-lipase complexes. The model Lif protein, LipH from P. aeruginosa, was displayed at the surface of E. coli cells. Surface exposed LipH was functional and efficiently refolded chemically denatured lipase. The foldase autodisplay system reported here can be used for a variety of applications including the ultrahigh-throughput screening of large libraries of foldase variants generated by directed evolution.