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Abstract: Xyloglucan (XyG) is a complex polysaccharide that is ubiquitous and often abundant in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. XyG metabolism is therefore a key component of the global carbon cycle, and hence XyG enzymology is of significant fundamental and applied importance in biomass conversion. To facilitate structure–function analyses of XyG-specific endo-glucanases, we have synthesized a 2′,4′-dinitrophenyl 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-β-glycoside mechanism-based inhibitor based on the highly branched XyG repeating motif XXXG (Xyl3Glc4: ([α-D-Xylp-(1→6)]-β-D-Glcp-(1→4)-[α-D-Xylp-(1→6)]-β-D-Glcp-(1→4)-[α-D-Xylp-(1→6)]-β-D-Glcp-(1→4)-D-Glcp. Key steps in the chemo-enzymatic synthesis included selective enzyme hydrolysis of XyG polysaccharide to produce the core heptasaccharide, per-O-acetylation, α-bromination, reductive glycal formation, electrophilic fluorination, SNAr glycosylation, and Zemplen deprotection. The resulting compound, XXXG(2F)-β-DNP, specifically labelled the active sites of several endo-(xylo)glucanases by accumulation of a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate, as revealed by intact protein mass spectrometry. Crystallography of a complex with a Cellvibrio japonicus Glycoside Hydrolase Family 5 (GH5) endo-xyloglucanase corroborated the covalent nature of the intermediate, and further revealed the anticipated specificity for the catalytic nucleophile of this anomeric-configuration-retaining glycosidase. This specificity complements that of an analogous XXXG N-bromoacetylglycosylamine inhibitor, which labelled the catalytic acid–base sidechain in the same enzyme [Attia, et al., Biotechnol. Biofuels, 2018, 11, 45]. We anticipate that these inhibitors may find continued use in mechanistic analyses of endo-(xylo)glucanases from diverse GH families.

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Abstract: Background: Xyloglucan (XyG) is a ubiquitous and fundamental polysaccharide of plant cell walls. Due to its structural complexity, XyG requires a combination of backbone-cleaving and sidechain-debranching enzymes for complete deconstruction into its component monosaccharides. The soil saprophyte Cellvibrio japonicus has emerged as a genetically tractable model system to study biomass saccharification, in part due to its innate capacity to utilize a wide range of plant polysaccharides for growth. Whereas the downstream debranching enzymes of the xyloglucan utilization system of C. japonicus have been functionally characterized, the requisite backbone-cleaving endo-xyloglucanases were unresolved. Results: Combined bioinformatic and transcriptomic analyses implicated three glycoside hydrolase family 5 subfamily 4 (GH5_4) members, with distinct modular organization, as potential keystone endo-xyloglucanases in C. japonicus. Detailed biochemical and enzymatic characterization of the GH5_4 modules of all three recombinant proteins confirmed particularly high specificities for the XyG polysaccharide versus a panel of other cell wall glycans, including mixed-linkage beta-glucan and cellulose. Moreover, product analysis demonstrated that all three enzymes generated XyG oligosaccharides required for subsequent saccharification by known exo-glycosidases. Crystallographic analysis of GH5D, which was the only GH5_4 member specifically and highly upregulated during growth on XyG, in free, product-complex, and active-site affinity-labelled forms revealed the molecular basis for the exquisite XyG specificity among these GH5_4 enzymes. Strikingly, exhaustive reverse-genetic analysis of all three GH5_4 members and a previously biochemically characterized GH74 member failed to reveal a growth defect, thereby indicating functional compensation in vivo, both among members of this cohort and by other, yet unidentified, xyloglucanases in C. japonicus. Our systems-based analysis indicates distinct substrate-sensing (GH74, GH5E, GH5F) and attack-mounting (GH5D) functions for the endo-xyloglucanases characterized here. Conclusions: Through a multi-faceted, molecular systems-based approach, this study provides a new insight into the saccharification pathway of xyloglucan utilization system of C. japonicus. The detailed structural–functional characterization of three distinct GH5_4 endo-xyloglucanases will inform future bioinformatic predictions across species, and provides new CAZymes with defined specificity that may be harnessed in industrial and other biotechnological applications.

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Abstract: The human gastrointestinal tract harbours myriad bacterial species, collectively termed the microbiota, that strongly influence human health. Symbiotic members of our microbiota play a pivotal role in the digestion of complex carbohydrates that are otherwise recalcitrant to assimilation. Indeed, the intrinsic human polysaccharide-degrading enzyme repertoire is limited to various starch-based substrates; more complex polysaccharides demand microbial degradation. Select Bacteroidetes are responsible for the degradation of the ubiquitous vegetable xyloglucans (XyGs), through the concerted action of cohorts of enzymes and glycan-binding proteins encoded by specific xyloglucan utilization loci (XyGULs). Extending recent (meta)genomic, transcriptomic and biochemical analyses, significant questions remain regarding the structural biology of the molecular machinery required for XyG saccharification. Here, we reveal the three-dimensional structures of an α-xylosidase, a β-glucosidase, and two α-l-arabinofuranosidases from the Bacteroides ovatus XyGUL. Aided by bespoke ligand synthesis, our analyses highlight key adaptations in these enzymes that confer individual specificity for xyloglucan side chains and dictate concerted, stepwise disassembly of xyloglucan oligosaccharides. In harness with our recent structural characterization of the vanguard endo-xyloglucanse and cell-surface glycan-binding proteins, the present analysis provides a near-complete structural view of xyloglucan recognition and catalysis by XyGUL proteins.

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Abstract: Alcohol oxidases, including carbohydrate oxidases, have a long history of research that has generated fundamental biological understanding and biotechnological applications. Despite a long history of study, the galactose 6-oxidase/glyoxal oxidase family of mononuclear copper-radical oxidases, Auxiliary Activity Family 5 (AA5), is currently represented by only very few characterized members. Here we report the recombinant production and detailed structure-function analyses of two homologues from the phytopathogenic fungi Colletotrichum graminicola and C. gloeosporioides, CgrAlcOx and CglAlcOx, respectively, to explore the wider biocatalytic potential in AA5. EPR spectroscopy and crystallographic analysis confirm a common active-site structure vis-a-vis the archetypal galactose 6-oxidase from Fusarium graminearum. Strikingly, however, CgrAlcOx and CglAlcOx are essentially incapable of oxidizing galactose and galactosides, but instead efficiently catalyse the oxidation of diverse aliphatic alcohols. The results highlight the significant potential of prospecting the evolutionary diversity of AA5 to reveal novel enzyme specificities, thereby informing both biology and applications.

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Abstract: The xyloglucans (XyGs) are a ubiquitous family of highly branched plant cell wall polysaccharides5, 6 whose mechanism(s) of degradation in the human gut and consequent importance in nutrition have been unclear1, 7, 8. Here we demonstrate that a single, complex gene locus in Bacteroides ovatus confers XyG catabolism in this common colonic symbiont. Through targeted gene disruption, biochemical analysis of all predicted glycoside hydrolases and carbohydrate-binding proteins, and three-dimensional structural determination of the vanguard endo-xyloglucanase, we reveal the molecular mechanisms through which XyGs are hydrolysed to component monosaccharides for further metabolism