Microbial enzymes mined from the Urania deep-sea hypersaline anoxic basin.
We created a metagenome expression library from the brine:seawater interface of the Urania hypersaline basin, screened it for esterases, and characterized five of these. Two had no significant sequence homology to known esterases, hydrolyzed both carboxylesters and thioesters, and exhibited unusual, habitat-specific characteristics (preference for high hydrostatic pressure and salinity). One has an unusual structural signature incorporating three catalytic active centers mediating distinct hydrolytic activities and an adaptive tertiary-quaternary structure that alters between three molecular states, according to the prevailing physicochemical conditions. Some of the esterases have high activities, specificities, enantioselectivities, and exceptional stability in polar solvents, and they are therefore potentially useful for industrial biotransformations. One possesses the highest enantioselectivity toward an ester of the important chiral synthon solketal (E: 126[S]; 98%ee).
Ferrer
Manuel
M
Department of Microbiology, GBF--German Research Centre for Biotechnology, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany. mferrer@icp.csic.es
Golyshina
Olga V
OV
Chernikova
Tatyana N
TN
Khachane
Amit N
AN
Martins Dos Santos
Vitor A P
VA
Yakimov
Michail M
MM
Timmis
Kenneth N
KN
Golyshin
Peter N
PN
D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000201:enzymology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D017753:Ecosystem; D004950:Esterases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006874:Hydrostatic Pressure; D008386:Marine Biology / Q000379:methods*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010802:Phylogeny; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D013379:Substrate Specificity
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D004950:Esterases