Identification of the acid/base catalyst of a glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) β-glucosidase from Aspergillus niger ASKU28

The commercially important glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) β-glucosidases from Aspergillus niger are anomeric-configuration-retaining enzymes that operate through the canonical double-displacement glycosidase mechanism. Whereas the catalytic nucleophile is readily identified across all GH3 members by sequence alignments, the acid/base catalyst in this family is phylogenetically variable and less readily divined. In this report, we employed three-dimensional structure homology modeling and detailed kinetic analysis of site-directed mutants to identify the catalytic acid/base of a GH3 β-glucosidase from A. niger ASKU28. In comparison to the wild-type enzyme and other mutants, the E490A variant exhibited greatly reduced kcat and kcat/Km values toward the natural substrate cellobiose (67,000- and 61,000-fold, respectively). Correspondingly smaller kinetic effects were observed for artificial chromogenic substrates p-nitrophenyl β-d-glucoside and 2,4-dinitrophenyl β-d-glucoside, the aglycone leaving groups of which are less dependent on acid catalysis, although changes in the rate-determining catalytic step were revealed for both. pH-rate profile analyses also implicated E490 as the general acid/base catalyst. Addition of azide as an exogenous nucleophile partially rescued the activity of the E490A variant with the aryl β-glucosides and yielded β-glucosyl azide as a product. These results strongly support the assignment of E490 as the acid/base catalyst in a β-glucosidase from A. niger ASKU28, and provide crucial experimental support for the bioinformatic identification of the homologous residue in a range of related GH3 subfamily members. ► The catalytic acid/base residue in a glycoside hydrolase family 3 β-glucosidase was identified. ► Site-directed mutagenesis, enzyme kinetic analysis, and nucleophile rescue were used. ► Prediction of the corresponding residue among other GH3 enzymes is enabled. ► These results are crucial to understanding catalysis and active-site structure in GH3.