Alginate Degradation: Insights Obtained through Characterization of a Thermophilic Exolytic Alginate Lyase

Abstract

Enzymatic depolymerization of seaweed polysaccharides is gaining interest for the production of functional oligosaccharides and fermentable sugars. Herein, we describe a thermostable alginate lyase that belongs to Polysaccharide Lyase family 17 (PL17) and was derived from an Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge (AMOR) metagenomics dataset. This enzyme, AMOR_PL17A, is a thermostable exolytic oligoalginate lyase (EC 4.2.2.26), which can degrade alginate, poly β-d-mannuronate and poly α-l-guluronate within a broad range of pH, temperature and salinity conditions. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that tyrosine Y251, previously suggested to act as catalytic acid, indeed is essential for catalysis; whereas mutation of tyrosine Y446, previously proposed to act as catalytic base, did not affect enzyme activity. The observed reaction products are protonated and deprotonated forms of the 4,5-unsaturated uronic acid monomer, Δ, two hydrates of DEH (4-deoxy-l-erythro-5-hexulosuronate), which are formed after ring opening and, finally, two epimers of a 5-membered hemiketal called 4-deoxy-d-manno-hexulofuranosidonate (DHF) formed through intramolecular cyclisation of hydrated DEH. The detection and NMR assignment of these hemiketals refine our current understanding of alginate degradation. Importance The potential markets for seaweed-derived products and seaweed processing technologies are growing, yet commercial enzyme-cocktails for complete conversion of seaweed to fermentable sugars are not available. Such an enzyme-cocktail would require the catalytic properties of a variety of different enzymes, where fucoidanases, laminarinases and cellulases together with endo- and exo-acting alginate lyases would be the key enzymes. Here we present an exo-acting alginate lyase that efficiently produces monomeric sugars from alginate. Since it is only the second characterized exo-acting alginate lyase capable of degrading alginate at industrially relevant higher temperatures of 60 °C, this enzyme may be of great biotechnological and industrial interest. In addition, in-depth NMR-based structural elucidation reveal previously undescribed rearrangement products of the unsaturated monomeric sugars generated from exo-acting lyases. The insight provided by the NMR assignment of these products facilitates future assessment of product formation by alginate lyases.