Birchfield Aaron S, McIntosh Cecilia A
Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University, P.O. Box 70703, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA.
BioTech (Basel). 2024 Feb 7;13(1):4. doi: 10.3390/biotech13010004.
Glycosyltransferases (GTs) are pivotal enzymes in the biosynthesis of various biological molecules. This study focuses on the scale-up, expression, and purification of a plant flavonol-specific 3-O glucosyltransferase (Cp3GT), a key enzyme from , for structural analysis and modeling. The challenges associated with recombinant protein production in , such as proteolytic degradation, were addressed through the optimization of culture conditions and purification processes. The purification strategy employed affinity, anion exchange, and size exclusion chromatography, leading to greater than 95% homogeneity for Cp3GT. In silico modeling, using D-I-TASSER and COFACTOR integrated with the AlphaFold2 pipeline, provided insights into the structural dynamics of Cp3GT and its ligand binding sites, offering predictions for enzyme-substrate interactions. These models were compared to experimentally derived structures, enhancing understanding of the enzyme's functional mechanisms. The findings present a comprehensive approach to produce a highly purified Cp3GT which is suitable for crystallographic studies and to shed light on the structural basis of flavonol specificity in plant GTs. The significant implications of these results for synthetic biology and enzyme engineering in pharmaceutical applications are also considered.
糖基转移酶(GTs)是各种生物分子生物合成中的关键酶。本研究聚焦于一种植物黄酮醇特异性3 - O - 葡萄糖基转移酶(Cp3GT)的放大培养、表达及纯化,该酶是来自[具体来源未给出]的关键酶,用于结构分析和建模。通过优化培养条件和纯化工艺,解决了在[具体宿主未给出]中生产重组蛋白时所面临的诸如蛋白水解降解等挑战。所采用的纯化策略包括亲和色谱、阴离子交换色谱和尺寸排阻色谱,使得Cp3GT的纯度高于95%。利用与AlphaFold2流程集成的D - I - TASSER和COFACTOR进行的计算机模拟建模,深入了解了Cp3GT的结构动力学及其配体结合位点,为酶 - 底物相互作用提供了预测。将这些模型与实验获得的结构进行比较,增进了对该酶功能机制的理解。研究结果展示了一种生产高度纯化的Cp3GT的综合方法,该方法适用于晶体学研究,并有助于揭示植物GTs中黄酮醇特异性的结构基础。还考虑了这些结果对合成生物学和制药应用中的酶工程的重要意义。