Project description:Degradation of polysaccharides forms an essential arc in the carbon cycle, provides a percentage of our daily caloric intake, and is a major driver in the renewable chemical industry. Microorganisms proficient at degrading insoluble polysaccharides possess large numbers of carbohydrate active enzymes, many of which have been categorized as functionally redundant. Here we present data that suggests that carbohydrate active enzymes that have overlapping enzymatic activities can have unique, non-overlapping biological functions in the cell. Our comprehensive study to understand cellodextrin utilization in the soil saprophyte Cellvibrio japonicus found that only one of four predicted b-glucosidases is required in a physiological context. Gene deletion analysis indicated that only the cel3B gene product is essential for efficient cellodextrin utilization in C. japonicus and is constitutively expressed at high levels. Interestingly, expression of individual b-glucosidases in Escherichia coli K-12 enabled this non-cellulolytic bacterium to be fully capable of using cellobiose as a sole carbon source. Furthermore, enzyme kinetic studies indicated that the Cel3A enzyme is significantly more active than the Cel3B enzyme on the oligosaccharides but not disaccharides. Our approach for parsing related carbohydrate active enzymes to determine actual physiological roles in the cell can be applied to other polysaccharide-degradation systems.
Project description:Plant mannans are a component of lignocellulose that may possess diverse compositions changing both in terms of its backbone and side-chain substitutions. Consequently, the degradation of mannan substrates requires a cadre of enzymes for complete reduction to substituent monosaccharides, specifically mannose, galactose, and/or glucose. One bacterium that possesses this suite of enzymes is the Gram-negative saprophyte Cellvibrio japonicus, which has ten predicted mannanases from the Glycoside Hydrolase (GH) families 5, 26, and 27. Here we describe a systems biology approach to identify and characterize the essential components of the mannan degradation apparatus in this bacterium. Transcriptomic analysis uncovered significant changes in gene expression for most mannanases, as well as many genes that encode Carbohydrate Active Enzymes (CAZymes) when mannan substrates were actively being degraded. A comprehensive mutational analysis characterized 54 CAZyme genes in the context of mannan utilization. Growth analysis of the mutant strains indicated that the man26C, aga27A, and man5D genes, which encode a mannobiohydrolase, α- galactosidase, and mannosidase, respectively, were influential to the deconstruction of galactomannan. Furthermore, our updated model of mannan degradation in C. japonicus proposes that the removal of galactose sidechains from substituted mannans constitutes a crucial step for the efficient and complete degradation of this hemicellulose by bacteria.
Project description:Study of the secretome of Cellvibrio japonicus after growth on different chitins. Utilization of a novel plate method to enrich truly secreted proteins.
Project description:Lignocellulose degradation by microbes plays a central role in global carbon cycling, human gut metabolism, and renewable energy technologies While considerable effort has been put into understanding the biochemical aspects of lignocellulose degradation, much less work has been done to understand how these enzymes work in an in vivo context Here, we report a systems level study of xylan degradation in the saprophytic bacterium Cellvibrio japonicus Transcriptome analysis indicated seven genes that encode carbohydrate active enzymes were up-regulated during growth with xylan containing media In-frame deletion analysis of these genes found that only gly43F is critical for utilization of xylo-oligosaccharides, xylan, and arabinoxylan Heterologous expression of gly43F was sufficient for the utilization of xylo-oligosaccharides in Escherichia coli Additional analysis found that the xyn11A, xyn11B, abf43L, abf43K, and abf51A gene products were critical for utilization of arabinoxylan Furthermore, a predicted transporter (CJA_1315) was required for effective utilization of xylan substrates, and we propose this unannotated gene be called xntA (xylan transporter A) Our major findings are 1) C japonicus employs both secreted and surface associated enzymes for xylan degradation, which differs from the strategy used for cellulose degradation, and 2) a single cytoplasmic β-xylosidase is essential for the utilization of xylo-oligosaccharides
Project description:Understanding the strategies used by bacteria to degrade polysaccharides constitutes an invaluable tool for biotechnological applications Bacteria are major mediators of polysaccharide degradation in nature, however the complex mechanisms used to detect, degrade, and consume these substrates are not well understood, especially for recalcitrant polysaccharides such as chitin It has been previously shown that the model bacterial saprophyte Cellvibrio japonicus is able to catabolize chitin, but little is known about the enzymatic machinery underlying this capability Previous analyses of the C japonicus genome and proteome indicated the presence of four family 18 Glycoside Hydrolase (GH18) enzymes, and studies of the proteome indicated that all are involved in chitin utilization Using a combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches, we have studied the roles of these four chitinases in chitin bioconversion Genetic analyses showed that only the chi18D gene product is essential for the degradation of chitin substrates Biochemical characterization of the four enzymes showed functional differences and synergistic effects during chitin degradation, indicating non-redundant roles in the cell Transcriptomic studies revealed complex regulation of the chitin degradation machinery of C japonicus and confirmed the importance of CjChi18D and CjLPMO10A, a previously characterized chitin-active enzyme With this systems biology approach, we deciphered the physiological relevance of the GH18 enzymes for chitin degradation in C japonicus, and the combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches provided a comprehensive understanding of the initial stages of chitin degradation by this bacterium
Project description:Recent interest in rare α-diglucosides such as kojibiose (α-1,2), nigerose (α-1,3), and isomaltose (α-1,6) reflects developments in pharmaceutical, biotechnological, and culinary industries that value these sugars as prebiotics, carrier molecules, and low glycemic index sweeteners. There have been only a few enzymes capable of degrading these substrates characterized, largely due in part to difficulties in identifying potential targets based solely on bioinformatic predictions. Previous genome sequencing of three Cellvibrio japonicus strains adapted to utilize rare α-diglucosides identified multiple, but thus far uncharacterized, mutations in each strain. In this report we analyzed the 36, 44, and 60 mutations that were in the kojibiose, nigerose, and isomaltose-adapted strains, respectively. The majority of mutations were unique to a specific adapted strain, which included indels that resulted a truncated protein, and single nucleotide variations within complete proteins. A single nucleotide variation in the C-terminus cyclomaltodextrin domain of the amy13E gene product (P606S) was observed in several adapted strains. RNAseq data identified amy13E as highly expressed in starch media, which suggested a key role for this gene in the metabolism of sugars with α-glycosidic bonds. Mutational analysis of amy13E found that this gene was essential for rare α-diglucoside metabolism and critical for the maintenance of adaptation phenotypes. Bioinformatic analysis coupled with biochemical assays using cell-free extracts indicated that the amy13E gene product is located in the periplasm and directly cleaves α-diglucosides into glucose. Our revised model of α-diglucoside degradation by C. japonicus is likely to be useful for making functional enzyme predictions in related bacteria.
Project description:Chitin utilization by microbes plays a significant role in cycling of carbon and nitrogen in the biosphere, and the study of the microbial approaches used to degrade chitin will facilitate our understanding of bacterial strategies to degrade this recalcitrant polysaccharide. The early stages of chitin depolymerization by the bacterium Cellvibrio japonicus have been characterized and are dependent on one chitin-specific lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase and non-redundant glycoside hydrolases from the family GH18 to generate chito-oligosaccharides for entry into metabolism. Here, we describe the mechanisms for the latter stages of chitin utilization by C. japonicus with an emphasis on the fate of chito-oligosaccharides. Our systems biology approach combined transcriptomics, bacterial genetics, and complex environmental substrates to determine the essential mechanisms for chito-oligosaccharide transport and catabolism in Cellvibrio japonicus. Using RNAseq analysis we found not only the up-regulation of genes that encode CAZymes specific for chitin metabolism but also a coordinated expression of non-chitin specific CAZyme genes. Furthermore, we used mutational analysis to characterize the hex20B gene product, predicted to encode a hexosaminidase, and found that it is required for efficient utilization of chito-oligosaccharides. Surprisingly, two additional gene loci (CJA_0353 and CJA_1157), which encode putative TonB-dependent transporters, were essential for shuttling chito-oligosaccharides into the periplasmic space. Here we propose naming these loci cttA (chito-oligosaccharides transporter A) and cttB respectively. This study further develops our model of how C. japonicus can derive nutrients from recalcitrant chitin-containing substrates and may be potentially useful for other environmentally or industrially important bacteria.
Project description:The degradation of plant biomass by saprophytes is an ecologically important part of the global carbon cycle, which has also inspired a vast diversity of industrial enzyme applications. The xyloglucans (XyGs) constitute a family of ubiquitous and abundant plant cell wall polysaccharides, yet the enzymology of XyG saccharification is poorly studied. Here, we present the identification and molecular characterization of a complex genetic locus that is required for xyloglucan utilization by the model saprophyte Cellvibrio japonicus. In harness, transcriptomics, reverse genetics, enzyme kinetics, and structural biology indicate that the encoded cohort of an ?-xylosidase, a ?-galactosidase, and an ?-l-fucosidase is specifically adapted for efficient, concerted saccharification of dicot (fucogalacto)xyloglucan oligosaccharides following import into the periplasm via an associated TonB-dependent receptor. The data support a biological model of xyloglucan degradation by C. japonicus with striking similarities - and notable differences - to the complex polysaccharide utilization loci of the Bacteroidetes.