Protein glycosylation constitutes a critical post-translational modification that supports a vast number of biological functions in living organisms across all domains of life. A seemingly boundless number of enzymes, glycosyltransferases, are involved in the biosynthesis of these protein-linked glycans. Few glycanbiosynthetic glycosyltransferases have been characterized in vitro, mainly due to the majority being integral membrane proteins and the paucity of relevant acceptor substrates. The crenarchaeote Pyrobaculum calidifontis belongs to the TACK superphylum of archaea (Thaumarchaeota, Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota, Korarchaeota) that has been proposed as an eukaryotic ancestor. In archaea, N-glycans are mainly found on cell envelope surface-layer proteins, archaeal flagellins and pili. Archaeal N-glycans are distinct from those of eukaryotes, but one noteworthy exception is the high-mannose N-glycan produced by P. calidifontis, which is similar in sugar composition to the eukaryotic counterpart. Here, we present the characterization and crystal structure of the first member of a crenarchaeal membrane glycosyltransferase, PcManGT. We show that the enzyme is a GDP-, dolichylphosphate-, and manganese-dependent mannosyltransferase. The membrane domain of PcManGT includes three transmembrane helices that topologically coincide with "half' of the sixtransmembrane helix cellulose-binding tunnel in Rhodobacter spheroides cellulose synthase BcsA. Conceivably, this "half tunnel" would be suitable for binding the dolichylphosphate-linked acceptor substrate. The PcManGT gene (Pcal_0472) is located in a large gene cluster comprising 14 genes of which 6 genes code for glycosyltransferases, and we hypothesize that this cluster may constitute a crenarchaeal N-glycosylation (PNG) gene cluster.

Commensal and pathogenic bacteria have evolved efficient enzymatic pathways to feed on host carbohydrates, including protein-linked glycans. Most proteins of the human innate and adaptive immune system are glycoproteins where the glycan is critical for structural and functional integrity. Besides enabling nutrition, the degradation of host N-glycans serves as a means for bacteria to modulate the host's immune system by for instance removing N-glycans on immunoglobulin G. The commensal bacterium Cutibacterium acnes is a gram-positive natural bacterial species of the human skin microbiota. Under certain circumstances, C. acnes can cause pathogenic conditions, acne vulgaris, which typically affects 80% of adolescents, and can become critical for immunosuppressed transplant patients. Others have shown that C. acnes can degrade certain host O-glycans, however, no degradation pathway for host N-glycans has been proposed. To investigate this, we scanned the C. acnes genome and were able to identify a set of gene candidates consistent with a cytoplasmic N-glycan-degradation pathway of the canonical eukaryotic N-glycan core. We also found additional gene sequences containing secretion signals that are possible candidates for initial trimming on the extracellular side. Furthermore, one of the identified gene products of the cytoplasmic pathway, AEE72695, was produced and characterized, and found to be a functional, dimeric exo-β-1,4-mannosidase with activity on the β-1,4 glycosidic bond between the second N-acetylglucosamine and the first mannose residue in the canonical eukaryotic N-glycan core. These findings corroborate our model of the cytoplasmic part of a C. acnes N-glycan degradation pathway.

Protein glycosylation is a critical protein modification. In biogenic membranes of eukaryotes and archaea, these reactions require activated mannose in the form of the lipid conjugate dolichylphosphate mannose (Dol-P-Man). The membrane protein dolichylphosphate mannose synthase (DPMS) catalyzes the reaction whereby mannose is transferred from GDP-mannose to the dolichol carrier Dol-P, to yield Dol-P-Man. Failure to produce or utilize Dol-P-Man compromises organism viability, and in humans, several mutations in the human dpm1 gene lead to congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG). Here, we report three high-resolution crystal structures of archaeal DPMS from Pyrococcus furiosus, in complex with nucleotide, donor, and glycolipid product. The structures offer snapshots along the catalytic cycle, and reveal how lipid binding couples to movements of interface helices, metal binding, and acceptor loop dynamics to control critical events leading to Dol-P-Man synthesis. The structures also rationalize the loss of dolichylphosphate mannose synthase function in dpm1-associated CDG.The generation of glycolipid dolichylphosphate mannose (Dol-P-Man) is a critical step for protein glycosylation and GPI anchor synthesis. Here the authors report the structure of dolichylphosphate mannose synthase in complex with bound nucleotide and donor to provide insight into the mechanism of Dol-P-Man synthesis.

Lactose is produced in large amounts as a by-product from the dairy industry. This inexpensive disaccharide can be converted to more useful value-added products such as galacto-oligosaccharides (GOSs) by transgalactosylation reactions with retaining beta-galactosidases (BGALs) being normally used for this purpose. Hydrolysis is always competing with the transglycosylation reaction, and hence, the yields of GOSs can be too low for industrial use. We have reported that a beta-glucosidase from Halothermothrix orenii (HoBGLA) shows promising characteristics for lactose conversion and GOS synthesis. Here, we engineered HoBGLA to investigate the possibility to further improve lactose conversion and GOS production. Five variants that targeted the glycone (-1) and aglycone (+1) subsites (N222F, N294T, F417S, F417Y, and Y296F) were designed and expressed. All variants show significantly impaired catalytic activity with cellobiose and lactose as substrates. Particularly, F417S is hydrolytically crippled with cellobiose as substrate with a 1000-fold decrease in apparent k(cat), but to a lesser extent affected when catalyzing hydrolysis of lactose (47-fold lower k(cat)). This large selective effect on cellobiose hydrolysis is manifested as a change in substrate selectivity from cellobiose to lactose. The least affected variant is F417Y, which retains the capacity to hydrolyze both cellobiose and lactose with the same relative substrate selectivity as the wild type, but with similar to 10-fold lower turnover numbers. Thin-layer chromatography results show that this effect is accompanied by synthesis of a particular GOS product in higher yields by Y296F and F417S compared with the other variants, whereas the variant F417Y produces a higher yield of total GOSs.

Plant mannanases are enzymes that carry out fundamentally important functions in cell wall metabolism during plant growth and development by digesting manno-polysaccharides. In this work, the Arabidopsis mannanase 5-2 (AtMan5-2) from a previously uncharacterized subclade of glycoside hydrolase family 5 subfamily 7 (GH5_7) has been heterologously produced in Pichia pastoris. Purified recombinant AtMan5-2 is a glycosylated protein with an apparent molecular mass of 50 kDa, a pH optimum of 5.5-6.0 and a temperature optimum of 25 degrees C. The enzyme exhibits high substrate affinity and catalytic efficiency on mannan substrates with main chains containing both glucose and mannose units such as konjac glucomannan and spruce galactoglucomannan. Product analysis of manno-oligosaccharide hydrolysis shows that AtMan5-2 requires at least six substrate-binding subsites. No transglycosylation activity for the recombinant enzyme was detected in the present study. Our results demonstrate diversification of catalytic function among members in the Arabidopsis GH5_7 subfamily.

A gene from the heterotrophic, halothermophilic marine bacterium Halothermothrix orenii has been cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. This gene encodes the only glycoside hydrolase of family 43 (GH43) produced by H. orenii. The crystal structure of the H. orenii glycosidase was determined by molecular replacement and refined at 1.10Å resolution. As for other GH43 members, the enzyme folds as a five-bladed β-propeller. The structure features a metal-binding site on the propeller axis, near the active site. Based on thermal denaturation data, the H. orenii glycosidase depends on divalent cations in combination with high salt for optimal thermal stability against unfolding. A maximum melting temperature of 76°C was observed in the presence of 4M NaCl and Mn2+ at pH 6.5. The gene encoding the H. orenii GH43 enzyme has previously been annotated as a putative α-l-arabinofuranosidase. Activity was detected with p-nitrophenyl-α-l-arabinofuranoside as a substrate, and therefore the name HoAraf43 was suggested for the enzyme. In agreement with the conditions for optimal thermal stability against unfolding, the highest arabinofuranosidase activity was obtained in the presence of 4M NaCl and Mn2+ at pH 6.5, giving a specific activity of 20-36μmolmin-1mg-1. The active site is structurally distinct from those of other GH43 members, including arabinanases, arabinofuranosidases and xylanases. This probably reflects the special requirements for degrading the unique biomass available in highly saline aqueous ecosystems, such as halophilic algae and halophytes. The amino-acid distribution of HoAraf43 has similarities to those of mesophiles, thermophiles and halophiles, but also has unique features, for example more hydrophobic amino acids on the surface and fewer buried charged residues.

A new paradigm for cellulose depolymerization by fungi focuses on an oxidative mechanism involving cellobiose dehydrogenases (CDH) and copper-dependent lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMO); however, mechanistic studies have been hampered by the lack of structural information regarding CDH. CDH contains a haem-binding cytochrome (CYT) connected via a flexible linker to a flavin-dependent dehydrogenase (DH). Electrons are generated from cellobiose oxidation catalysed by DH and shuttled via CYT to LPMO. Here we present structural analyses that provide a comprehensive picture of CDH conformers, which govern the electron transfer between redox centres. Using structure-based site-directed mutagenesis, rapid kinetics analysis and molecular docking, we demonstrate that flavin-to-haem interdomain electron transfer (IET) is enabled by a haem propionate group and that rapid IET requires a closed CDH state in which the propionate is tightly enfolded by DH. Following haem reduction, CYT reduces LPMO to initiate oxygen activation at the copper centre and subsequent cellulose depolymerization.

Each year, about six million tons of lactose are generated from liquid whey as industrial byproduct, and optimally this large carbohydrate waste should be used for the production of value-added products. Trametes multicolor pyranose 2-oxidase (TmP2O) catalyzes the oxidation of various monosaccharides to the corresponding 2-keto sugars. Thus, a potential use of TmP2O is to convert the products from lactose hydrolysis, D-glucose and D-galactose, to more valuable products such as tagatose. Oxidation of glucose is however strongly favored over galactose, and oxidation of both substrates at more equal rates is desirable. Characterization of TmP2O variants (H450G, V546C, H450G/ V546C) with improved D-galactose conversion has been given earlier, of which H450G displayed the best relative conversion between the substrates. To rationalize the changes in conversion rates, we have analyzed high-resolution crystal structures of the aforementioned mutants with bound 2- and 3-fluorinated glucose and galactose. Binding of glucose and galactose in the productive 2-oxidation binding mode is nearly identical in all mutants, suggesting that this binding mode is essentially unaffected by the mutations. For the competing glucose binding mode, enzyme variants carrying the H450G replacement stabilize glucose as the a-anomer in position for 3-oxidation. The backbone relaxation at position 450 allows the substrate-binding loop to fold tightly around the ligand. V546C however stabilize glucose as the beta-anomer using an open loop conformation. Improved binding of galactose is enabled by subtle relaxation effects at key active-site backbone positions. The competing binding mode for galactose 2-oxidation by V546C stabilizes the beta-anomer for oxidation at C1, whereas H450G variants stabilize the 3-oxidation binding mode of the galactose alpha-anomer. The present study provides a detailed description of binding modes that rationalize changes in the relative conversion rates of D-glucose and D-galactose and can be used to refine future enzyme designs for more efficient use of lactose-hydrolysis byproducts.

Dolichylphosphate mannose synthase (DPMS) performs an essential function by synthesizing the activated lipid-linked sugar intermediated required by non-Leloir mannosyltransferases involved in protein glycosylation pathways. In eukaryotes and archaea, DPMS catalyzes the transfer of a mannose unit from GDP-mannose to dolichylphosphate to generate dolichylphosphate mannose (Dol-P-Man). DPMS from the extremophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus (PfDPMS) belongs to the type-III class of DPMSs with a large catalytic domain attached to a transmembrane (TM) domain with two dimers of TM helices, TMD1 and TMD2, oriented such that TMD2 forms a 45° angle with TMD1. Our earlier work showed that the TM domain is dispensable for Dol-Pmannosylation, which brought its biological relevance into question. Here, we present crystallographic and bioinformatic evidence for a role for the TM domain in membrane translocation of Dol-P-Man. We crystallized a reaction performed at a temperature where PfDPMS activity is low, and determined the crystal structure at 2.9 Å resolution. Although the experimental data is deeply convoluted by traces of different structural states, we observed a strong signal for a Dol-P-Man molecule flipped inside the protein. Dol-P-Man is found to be flipped across TMD2 to position the mannosylphosphate head group in a polar pocket between TMD1 and TMD2. A role of the TM domain in glycolipid translocation is further discussed based on its topological resemblance to the GtrA family of small membrane transporters. Additionally, we identfied a dpm2 gene candidate that may serve as the missing translocation domain for the previously characterized type-I DPMS from Saccharmomyces cerevisiae.