An additional aromatic interaction improves the thermostability and thermophilicity of a mesophilic family 11 xylanase: Structural basis and molecular study

In a general approach to the understanding of protein adaptation to high temperature, molecular models of the closely related mesophilic Streptomyces sp. S38 Xyl1 and thermophilic Thermomonospora fusca TfxA family 11 xylanases were built and compared with the three-dimensional (3D) structures of homologous enzymes. Some of the structural features identified as potential contributors to the higher thermostability of TfxA were introduced in Xyl1 by site-directed mutagenesis in an attempt to improve its thermostability and thermophilicity. A new Y11–Y16 aromatic interaction, similar to that present in TfxA and created in Xyl1 by the T11Y mutation, improved both the thermophilicity and thermostability. Indeed, the optimum activity temperature (70 vs. 60 °C) and the apparent Tm were increased by about 9 °C, and the mutant was sixfold more stable at 57 °C. The combined mutations A82R/F168H/N169D/Δ170 potentially creating a R82–D169 salt bridge homologous to that present in TfxA improved the thermostability but not the thermophilicity. Mutations R82/D170 and S33P seemed to be slightly destabilizing and devoid of influence on the optimal activity temperature of Xyl1. Structural analysis revealed that residues Y11 and Y16 were located on β-strands B1 and B2, respectively. This interaction should increase the stability of the N-terminal part of Xyl1. Moreover, Y11 and Y16 seem to form an aromatic continuum with five other residues forming putative subsites involved in the binding of xylan (+3, +2, +1, −1, −2). Y11 and Y16 might represent two additional binding subsites (−3, −4) and the T11Y mutation could thus improve substrate binding to the enzyme at higher temperature and thus the thermophilicity of Xyl1.