title: Trehalose Analogues: Latest Insights in Properties and Biocatalytic Production.
abstract: Trehalose (α-D-glucopyranosyl α-D-glucopyranoside) is a non-reducing sugar with unique stabilizing properties due to its symmetrical, low energy structure consisting of two 1,1-anomerically bound glucose moieties. Many applications of this beneficial sugar have been reported in the novel food (nutricals), medical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Trehalose analogues, like lactotrehalose (α-D-glucopyranosyl α-D-galactopyranoside) or galactotrehalose (α-D-galactopyranosyl α-D-galactopyranoside), offer similar benefits as trehalose, but show additional features such as prebiotic or low-calorie sweetener due to their resistance against hydrolysis during digestion. Unfortunately, large-scale chemical production processes for trehalose analogues are not readily available at the moment due to the lack of efficient synthesis methods. Most of the procedures reported in literature suffer from low yields, elevated costs and are far from environmentally friendly. "Greener" alternatives found in the biocatalysis field, including galactosidases, trehalose phosphorylases and TreT-type trehalose synthases are suggested as primary candidates for trehalose analogue production instead. Significant progress has been made in the last decade to turn these into highly efficient biocatalysts and to broaden the variety of useful donor and acceptor sugars. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the latest insights and future perspectives in trehalose analogue chemistry, applications and production pathways with emphasis on biocatalysis.
authors.affiliation: Center for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Ghent 9000, Belgium. maarten.walmagh@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Maarten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walmagh
authors.affiliation: Center for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Ghent 9000, Belgium. renfei.zhao@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Renfei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Center for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, Ghent 9000, Belgium. tom.desmet@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Desmet
mesh_terms: D055162:Biocatalysis; D005964:Glucosyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry; D056692:Prebiotics; D014199:Trehalose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D056692:Prebiotics; D014199:Trehalose; D005964:Glucosyltransferases
keywords: enzyme engineering; galactosidase; glycoside phosphorylase; glycosyltransferase; prebiotic