A New Group of Modular Xylanases in Glycoside Hydrolase Family 8 from Marine Bacteria.

Xylanases play a crucial role in the degradation of xylan in both terrestrial and marine environments. The endoxylanase XynB from the marine bacterium KMM 241 is a modular enzyme comprising a long N-terminal domain (NTD) (E44 to T562) with xylan-binding ability and a catalytic domain (CD) (T563 to E912) of glycoside hydrolase family 8 (GH8). In this study, the long NTD is confirmed to contain three different functional regions, which are NTD1 (E44 to D136), NTD2 (Y137 to A193), and NTD3 (L194 to T562). NTD1, mainly composed of eight β-strands, functions as a new type of carbohydrate-binding module (CBM), which has xylan-binding ability but no sequence similarity to any known CBM. NTD2, mainly forming two α-helices, contains one of the α-helices of the catalytic domain's (α/α) barrel and therefore is essential for the activity of XynB, although it is far away from the catalytic domain in sequence. NTD3, next to the catalytic domain in sequence, is shown to be helpful in maintaining the thermostability of XynB. Thus, XynB represents a kind of xylanase with a new domain architecture. There are four other predicted glycoside hydrolase sequences with the same domain architecture and high sequence identity (≥80%) with XynB, all of which are from marine bacteria. Phylogenetic analysis shows that XynB and these homologs form a new group in GH8, representing a new class of marine bacterial xylanases. Our results shed light on xylanases, especially marine xylanases. Xylanases play a crucial role in natural xylan degradation and have been extensively used in industries such as food processing, animal feed, and kraft pulp biobleaching. Some marine bacteria have been found to secrete xylanases. Characterization of novel xylanases from marine bacteria has significance for both the clarification of xylan degradation mechanisms in the sea and the development of new enzymes for industrial application. With XynB as a representative, this study reveals a new group of the GH8 xylanases from marine bacteria, which have a distinct domain architecture and contain a novel carbohydrate-binding module. Thus, this study offers new knowledge on marine xylanases.