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Beta-glycosidase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus is a homotetramer with a higher number of ion pairs compared with mesophilic glycoside hydrolases. The ion pairs are arranged in large networks located mainly at the tetrameric interface of the molecule. In the present study, the structure and thermal stability of the wild-type beta-glycosidase and of three mutants in residues R488 and H489 involved in the C-terminal ionic network were examined by FTIR (Fourier-transform IR) spectroscopy. The FTIR data revealed small differences in the secondary structure of the proteins and showed a lower thermostability of the mutant proteins with respect to the wild-type. Generalized 2D-IR (two-dimensional IR correlation spectroscopy) at different temperatures showed different sequences of thermal unfolding events in the mutants with respect to the wild-type, indicating that punctual mutations affect the unfolding and aggregation process of the protein. A detailed 2D-IR analysis of synchronous maps of the proteins allowed us to identify the temperatures at which the ionic network that stabilizes the quaternary structure of the native and mutant enzymes at the C-terminal breaks down. This evidence gives support to the current theories on the mechanism of ion-pair stabilization in proteins from hyperthermophilic organisms.

alpha-l-Fucosidase is a lysosomal enzyme responsible for hydrolyzing the alpha-1,6-linked fucose joined to the reducing-end N-acetylglucosamine of carbohydrate moieties in glycoproteins. The first alpha-l-fucosidase from Archaea was recently identified in the genome of the hyperthermophile Sulfolobus solfataricus; the enzyme is encoded by two open reading frames separated by a -1 frameshift. A preliminary biochemical and biophysical characterization of this extremophile enzyme has been carried out both in solution, through small angle X-ray scattering experiments, and in the crystalline state, showing an unusual oligomeric assembly resulting from the association of nine subunits, endowed with 3-fold molecular symmetry.

Transition-state mimicry is increasingly important both to understand enzyme mechanism and to direct the synthesis of putative therapeutic agents. X-ray crystallography is able to provide vital information on the interactions between an enzyme and the potential inhibitor. Here we report the structures, at approximately 2 A resolution, of a family GH1 beta-glycosidase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus, in complex with both covalently (derived from 2-fluoro-glycosides) and noncovalently (hydroximolactam) bound inhibitors. The enzyme has broad specificity, accommodating both gluco- and galacto-configured substrates, and the crystallographic data demonstrate that the only difference in the way these ligands bind lies in the interactions between Gln18, Glu432, and Trp433, and the hydroxyl group at the O3 and O4 positions. Inhibition by the differently configured ligands was also shown to be extremely similar, with K(i) values of 1.04 and 1.08 microM for the gluco and galacto epimers, respectively. The noncovalently bound inhibitors have a trigonal anomeric carbon, adopt a (4)H(3) (half-chair) conformation, and an interaction is formed between O2 and the catalytic nucleophile, all of which contribute to (partial) mimicry of the oxocarbenium-ion-like transition state. The inhibition of the beta-glycosidase from S. solfataricus by hydroximolactams is discussed in light of the emerging work on family GH1 glycosidase inhibition by a spectrum of putative transition-state mimics.

The use of the new glycosynthase Ta-beta-GlyE386G and of the already known Ss-beta-GlyE387G for the synthesis of interesting 4-methylumbelliferyl disaccharides and for the galactosylation of alpha- and beta-xylosides of 4-penten-1-ol is reported. The results show satisfactory yields of reaction in presence of low excesses of acceptors and demonstrated that the high activity of these enzymes at pH below neutrality is applicable in the transfer of glucose as well as of galactose from the preferred 2-NP-based donors.

We have recently reported that a functional alpha-L-fucosidase could be expressed by a single insertional mutation in the region of overlap between the ORFs SSO11867 and SSO3060 of the hyperthermophilic Archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus [Cobucci-Ponzano et al. J. Biol. Chem. (2003) 278, 14622-14631]. This enzyme, belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 29 (GH29), showed micromolar specificity for p-nitrophenyl-alpha-L-fucoside (pNp-Fuc) and promoted transfucosylation reactions by following a reaction mechanism in which the products retained the anomeric configuration of the substrate. The active site residues in GH29 enzymes are still unknown. We describe here the identification of the catalytic nucleophile of the reaction in the alpha-L-fucosidase from S. solfataricus by reactivation with sodium azide of the mutant Asp242Gly that shows a 10(3)-fold activity reduction on pNp-Fuc. The detailed stereochemical analysis of the fucosyl-azide produced by the mutant reactivated on pNp-Fuc revealed its inverted (beta-fucosyl azide) configuration compared with the substrate. This allows for the first time the unambiguous assignment of Asp242, and its homologous residues, as the nucleophilic catalytic residues of GH29 alpha-L-fucosidases. This is the first time that this approach is used for alpha-L-glycosidases, widening the applicability of this method.

We have previously shown that the hyperthermophilic glycosynthase from Sulfolobus solfataricus (Ssbeta-glyE387G) can promote the synthesis of branched oligosaccharides from activated beta-glycosides, at pH 6.5, in the presence of 2 M sodium formate as an external nucleophile. In an effort to increase the synthetic potential of hyperthermophilic glycosynthases, we report a new method to reactivate the Ssbeta-glyE387G glycosynthase and two novel mutants in the nucleophile of the beta-glycosidases from the hyperthermophilic Archaea Thermosphaera aggregans (Tabeta-gly) and Pyrococcus furiosus (CelB). We describe here that, at pH 3.0 and low concentrations of sodium formate buffer, the three hyperthermophilic glycosynthases show k(cat) values similar to those of the wild-type enzymes and 17-fold higher than those observed at the usual reactivation conditions in 2 M sodium formate at pH 6.5. Moreover, at acidic pH the three reactivated mutants have wide substrate specificity and improved efficiency in the synthetic reaction. The data reported suggest that the reactivation conditions modify the ionization state of the residue acting as an acid/base catalyst. This new reactivation method can be of general applicability on hyperthermophilic glycosynthases whose intrinsic stability allows their exploitation as synthetic tools at low pH.

The analysis of the complete genome of the thermoacidophilic Archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus revealed two open reading frames (ORF), named SSO11867 and SSO3060, interrupted by a -1 frameshift and encoding for the N- and the C-terminal fragments, respectively, of an alpha-l-fucosidase. We report here that these ORFs are actively transcribed in vivo, and we confirm the presence of the -1 frameshift between them at the cDNA level, explaining why we could not find alpha-fucosidase activity in S. solfataricus extracts. Detailed analysis of the region of overlap between the two ORFs revealed the presence of the consensus sequence for a programmed -1 frameshifting. Two specific mutations, mimicking this regulative frameshifting event, allow the expression, in Escherichia coli, of a fully active thermophilic and thermostable alpha-l-fucosidase (EC ) with micromolar substrate specificity and showing transfucosylating activity. The analysis of the fucosylated products of this enzyme allows, for the first time, assigning a retaining reaction mechanism to family 29 of glycosyl hydrolases. The presence of an alpha-fucosidase putatively regulated by programmed -1 frameshifting is intriguing both with respect to the regulation of gene expression and, in post-genomic era, for the definition of gene function in Archaea.

Biochemical, crystallographic, and computational data support the hypothesis that electrostatic interactions are among the dominant forces in stabilizing hyperthermophilic proteins. The thermostable beta-glycosidase from the hyperthermophile Sulfolobus solfataricus (Ssbeta-gly) is an interesting model system for the study of protein adaptation to high temperatures. The largest ion-pair network of Ssbeta-gly is located at the tetrameric interface of the molecule; in this paper, key residues in this region were modified by site-directed mutagenesis and the stability of the mutants was analyzed by kinetics of thermal denaturation. All mutations produced faster enzyme inactivation, suggesting that the C-terminal ionic network prevents the dissociation into monomers, which is the limiting step in the mechanism of Ssbeta-gly inactivation. Moreover, the calculated reaction order showed that the mechanism of inactivation depends on the mutation introduced, suggesting that intermediates maintaining enzymatic activity are produced during the inactivation transition of some, but not all, mutants. Molecular models of each mutant allow us to rationalize the experimental evidence and give support to the current theories on the mechanism of ion pair stabilization in proteins from hyperthermophiles., (Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

The first, recently identified, archaeal alpha-xylosidase from Sulfolobus solfataricus (XylS) shows high specificity for hydrolysis of isoprimeverose [alpha-D-xylopyranosyl-(1,6)-D-glucopyranose, (X)], the p-nitrophenyl-beta derivative of isoprimeverose, and xyloglucan oligosaccharides and has transxylosidic activity, forming, in a retaining mode, interesting alpha-xylosides. This article describes the synthesis of isoprimeverose, the disaccharidic repeating unit of xyloglucan, of the p-nitrophenyl-beta derivative of isoprimeverose, and of a trisaccharide based on isoprimeverose that is one of the trisaccharidic building blocks of xyloglucan. A substrate structure-activity relationship is recognized for both the hydrolysis and the synthesis reactions of XylS, it being a biocatalyst (i) active hydrolytically only on X-ending substrates liberating a xylose molecule and (ii) capable of transferring xylose only on the nonreducing end glucose of p-nitrophenyl-(PNP)-beta-D-cellobioside. The compounds synthesized by this enzyme are a starting point for enzymological studies of other new enzymes (i.e., xyloglucanases) for which suitable substrates are difficult to synthesize. This study also allows us to define the chemical characteristics of the xylose-transferring activity of this new archaeal enzyme, contributing to building up a library of different glycosidases with high specific selectivity for oligosaccharide synthesis.

The importance of carbohydrates in a variety of biological functions is the reason that interest has recently increased in these compounds as possible components of therapeutic agents. Thus, the need for a technique allowing the easy synthesis of carbohydrates and glucoconjugates is an emerging challenge for chemists and biologists involved in this field. At present, enzymatic synthesis has resulted in the most promising approach for the production of complex oligosaccharides. In this respect, the enzymological characteristics of the catalysts, in term of regioselectivity, substrate specificity, and operational stability, are of fundamental importance to improve the yields of the process and to widen the repertoire of the available products. Here, two methods of oligosaccharide synthesis performed by a glycosynthase and by an alpha-xylosidase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus are briefly reviewed. The approaches used and the biodiversity of the catalysts together are key features for their possible utilization in the synthesis of oligosaccharides.

In this work, we show that the nonspecific DNA-binding protein Sso7d from the crenarchaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus displays a cation-dependent ATPase activity with a pH optimum around neutrality and a temperature optimum of 70 degrees C. Measurements of tryptophan fluorescence and experiments that used 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid as probe demonstrated that ATP hydrolysis induces a conformational change in the molecule and that the binding of the nucleotide triggers the ATP hydrolysis-induced conformation of the protein to return to the native conformation. We found that Sso7d rescues previously aggregated proteins in an ATP hydrolysis-dependent manner; the native conformation of Sso7d forms a complex with the aggregates, while the ATP hydrolysis-induced conformation is incapable of this interaction. Sso7d is believed to be the first protein isolated from an archaeon capable of rescuing aggregates.

S beta gly and CelB are well-studied hyperthermophilic glycosyl hydrolases, isolated from the Archaea Sulfolobus solfataricus and Pyrococcus furiosus, respectively. Previous studies revealed that the two enzymes are phylogenetically related; they are very active and stable at high temperatures, and their overall three-dimensional structure is very well conserved. To acquire insight in the molecular determinants of thermostability and thermoactivity of these enzymes, we have performed a detailed comparison, under identical conditions, of enzymological and biochemical parameters of S beta gly and CelB, and we have probed the basis of their stability by perturbations induced by temperature, pH, ionic strength, and detergents. The major result of the present study is that, although the two enzymes are remarkably similar with respect to kinetic parameters, substrate specificity, and reaction mechanism, they are strikingly different in stability to the different physical or chemical perturbations induced. These results provide useful information for the design of further experiments aimed at understanding the structure-function relationships in these enzymes.

The beta-glycosidase from the hyperthermophilic Archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus hydrolyzes beta-glycosides following a retaining mechanism based upon the action of two amino acids: Glu387, which acts as the nucleophile of the reaction, and Glu206, which acts as the general acid/base catalyst. The activities of inactive mutants of the catalytic nucleophile Glu387Ala/Gly were restored by externally added nucleophiles. Sodium azide and sodium formate were used as external nucleophiles and the products of their reaction were characterized. Glu387Ala/Gly mutants were reactivated with 2, 4-DNP-beta-Glc substrate and the Glu387Gly mutant showed recovered activity, with the same nucleophiles, also on 2-NP-beta-Glc. The reaction catalyzed by the Glu387Gly mutant proceeded differently depending on the type of externally added nucleophile. Sodium azide restored the catalytic activity of the mutant by attacking the alpha-side of the anomeric carbon of the substrates, thereby yielding an inverting glycosidase. Sodium formate promoted the opposite behavior (retaining) in the mutant, producing 3-O-beta-linked disaccharide derivative of the substrates. A possible role of sodium formate as a biomimicking agent in replacing the natural nucleophile Glu387 is also discussed.

beta-Glycosidase from the extreme thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus is a thermostable tetrameric protein with a molecular mass of 240 kDa which is stable in the presence of detergents and has a maximal activity above 95 degrees C. An understanding of the structure-function relationship of the enzyme under different chemical-physical conditions is of fundamental importance for both theoretical and application purposes. In this paper we report the effect of basic pH values on the structural stability of this enzyme. The structure of the enzyme was studied at pH 10 and in the temperature range 25-97.5 degrees C using circular dichroism, Fourier-transform infrared and fluorescence spectroscopy. The spectroscopic data indicated that the enzyme stability was strongly affected by pH 10 suggesting that the destabilization of the protein structure is correlated with the perturbation of ionic interactions present in the native protein at neutral pHs. These experiments give support to the observation derived from the 3D-structure, that large ion pair networks on the surface stabilize Sulfolobus solfataricus beta-glycosidase.

The sequences of a number of archaeal genomes have recently been completed, and many more are expected shortly. Consequently, the research of Archaea in general and hyperthermophiles in particular has entered a new phase, with many exciting discoveries to be expected. The wealth of sequence information has already led, and will continue to lead to the identification of many enzymes with unique properties, some of which have potential for industrial applications. Subsequent functional genomics will help reveal fundamental matters such as details concerning the genetic, biochemical and physiological adaptation of extremophiles, and hence give insight into their genomic evolution, polypeptide structure-function relations, and metabolic regulation. In order to optimally exploit many unique features that are now emerging, the development of genetic systems for hyperthermophilic Archaea is an absolute requirement. Such systems would allow the application of this class of Archaea as so-called "cell factories": (i) expression of certain archaeal enzymes for which no suitable conventional (mesophilic bacterial or eukaryal) systems are available, (ii) selection for thermostable variants of potentially interesting enzymes from mesophilic origin, and (iii) the development of in vivo production systems by metabolic engineering. An overview is given of recent insight in the molecular biology of hyperthermophilic Archaea, as well as of a number of promising developments that should result in the generation of suitable genetic systems in the near future.

Enzymes from hyperthermophilic organisms must operate at temperatures which rapidly denature proteins from mesophiles. The structural basis of this thermostability is still poorly understood. Towards a further understanding of hyperthermostability, we have determined the crystal structure of the beta-glycosidase (clan GH-1A, family 1) from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus at 2.6 A resolution. The enzyme is a tetramer with subunit molecular mass at 60 kDa, and crystallises with half of the tetramer in the asymmetric unit. The structure is a (betaalpha)8 barrel, but with substantial elaborations between the beta-strands and alpha-helices in each repeat. The active site occurs at the centre of the top face of the barrel and is connected to the surface by a radial channel which becomes a blind-ended tunnel in the tetramer, and probably acts as the binding site for extended oligosaccharide substrates. Analysis of the structure reveals two features which differ significantly from mesophile proteins; (1) an unusually large proportion of surface ion-pairs involved in networks that cross-link sequentially separate structures on the protein surface, and (2) an unusually large number of solvent molecules buried in hydrophilic cavities between sequentially separate structures in the protein core. These factors suggest a model for hyperthermostability via resilience rather than rigidity., (Copyright 1997 Academic Press Limited.)

The Sulfolobus solfataricus, strain MT4, beta-glycosidase (Ss beta-gly) is a thermophilic member of glycohydrolase family 1. To identify active-site residues, glutamic acids 206 and 387 have been changed to isosteric glutamine by site-directed mutagenesis. Mutant proteins have been purified to homogeneity using the Schistosoma japonicum glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion system. The proteolytic cleavage of the chimeric protein with thrombin was only obtainable after the introduction of a molecular spacer between the GST and the Ss beta-gly domains. The Glu387-->Gln mutant showed no detectable activity, as expected for the residue acting as the nucleophile of the reaction. The Glu206-->Gln mutant showed 10- and 60-fold reduced activities on aryl-galacto and aryl-glucosides, respectively, when compared with the wild type. Moreover, a significant Km decrease with p/o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucoside was observed. The residual activity of the Glu206-->Gln mutant lost the typical pH dependence shown by the wild type. These data suggest that Glu206 acts as the general acid/base catalyst in the hydrolysis reaction.

The application of enzymes isolated from extreme thermophiles in biotechnological processes is hampered by their unconventional fermentation conditions. The expression, in mesophilic hosts, of genes encoding for thermophilic proteins enables these difficulties to be overcome and permits the production of enzymes in high yield by using conventional fermentation plants and an efficient enzyme purification utilizing heat precipitation of host proteins. The beta-glycosidase gene from Sulfolobus solfataricus, a thermoacidophilic archaeon growing at 87 degrees C and pH 3.5, has been cloned and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast). The fermentation of a S. cerevisiae strain on a 100-litre scale and the two-step purification of the expressed beta-glycosidase by cell autolysis and extracts thermal precipitation is described. This procedure, after 72 h of autolysis, gave a yield 56-fold higher with respect to that obtained with the beta-glycosidase from S. solfataricus.

The gene coding for the beta-glycosidase from the archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity with a rapid purification procedure employing a thermal precipitation as a crucial step. The final yield was 64% and the purification from the thermal precipitation was 5.4-fold. The expressed enzyme shows the same molecular mass, thermophilicity, thermal stability, and broad substrate specificity, with noticeable exocellobiase (glucan 1,4-beta-D-glucosidase) activity, of the enzyme purified from S. Solfataricus. We provide evidence that the beta-glycosidase can assume its functional state in E. coli without the contribution of N-epsilon-methylated lysine residues.

Hydrophobic residues in the core of a truncated form of chymotrypsin inhibitor 2 (CI2) have been mutated in order to measure their contribution to the stability of the protein. The free energy of unfolding of wild-type and mutants was measured by both guanidinium chloride-induced denaturation and differential scanning calorimetry. The two methods give results for the changes in free energy on mutation that agree to within 1% or 2%. The average change in the free energy of unfolding (+/- standard deviation) for an Ile-->Val mutation is 1.2 +/- 0.1 kcal mol-1, for a Val-->Ala mutation 3.4 +/- 1.5 kcal mol-1, and for either an Ile-->Ala or a Leu-->Ala mutation 3.6 +/- 0.6 kcal mol-1. This gives an average change in the free energy of unfolding for deleting one methylene group of 1.3 +/- 0.5 kcal mol-1. Two significant correlations were found between the change in the free energy of unfolding between wild-type and mutant, delta delta GU-F, and the environment of the mutated residue in the protein. The first is between delta delta GU-F and the difference in side-chain solvent-accessible area buried between wild-type and mutant (correlation coefficient = 0.81, 10 points). The second and slightly better correlation was found between delta delta GU-F and N, the number of methyl/methylene groups within a 6-A radius of the hydrophobic group deleted (correlation coefficient = 0.84, 10 points). The latter correlation is very similar to that found previously for barnase, suggesting that this relationship is general and applies to the hydrophobic cores of other globular proteins. The combined data for C12 and barnase clearly show a better correlation with N (correlation coefficient = 0.87, 30 points) than with the change in the solvent-accessible surface area (correlation coefficient = 0.82, 30 points). This indicates that the packing density around a particular residue is important in determining the contribution the residue makes to protein stability. In one case, Ile-->Val76, a mutation which deletes the C delta 1 methyl group of a buried side chain, a surprising result was obtained. This mutant was found to be more stable than wild-type by 0.2 +/- 0.1 kcal mol-1. We have solved and analyzed the crystal structure of this mutant and find that there are small movements of side chains in the core, the largest of which, 0.7 A, is a movement of the side chain that has been mutated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)