(Below N is a link to NCBI taxonomic web page and E link to ESTHER at designed phylum.) > cellular organisms: NE > Eukaryota: NE > Opisthokonta: NE > Fungi: NE > Dikarya: NE > Ascomycota: NE > saccharomyceta: NE > Pezizomycotina: NE > leotiomyceta: NE > Eurotiomycetes: NE > Eurotiomycetidae: NE > Eurotiales: NE > Aspergillaceae: NE > Aspergillus: NE > Aspergillus nidulans: NE > Aspergillus nidulans FGSC A4: NE
LegendThis sequence has been compared to family alignement (MSA) red => minority aminoacid blue => majority aminoacid color intensity => conservation rate title => sequence position(MSA position)aminoacid rate Catalytic site Catalytic site in the MSA MKLQLHLALSLLAAIVAANPIRLDQRQITGNELRDGSCHDVTFIFARGST ELGYLGSTVGPATCNVLKLRKPGQVACQGVAPAYIADLASNFLPQGTNQI AINEAKSLFELAASKCPNTKIVAGGYSQGAAVMHAAISTLSSTVQDQIKG VVLFGDTRNKQDGGRIPNFPTDKTKIICAFGDLVCEGTLVITAAHLSYID DVPDAADFLVGKL
References
Title: Phylogenetic analysis and in-depth characterization of functionally and structurally diverse CE5 cutinases Novy V, Carneiro LV, Shin JH, Larsbrink J, Olsson L Ref: Journal of Biological Chemistry, :101302, 2021 : PubMed
Cutinases are esterases that release fatty acids from the apoplastic layer in plants. As they accept bulky and hydrophobic substrates, cutinases could be used in many applications, ranging from valorization of bark-rich side streams to plastic recycling. Advancement of these applications with cutinases as biocatalysts, however, requires deeper knowledge of the enzymes' biodiversity and structure-function relationships. Here, we mined over 3000 members from Carbohydrate Esterase family 5 (CE5) for putative cutinases and condensed it to 151 genes from known or putative lignocellulose-targeting organisms. The 151 genes were subjected to a phylogenetic analysis. While cutinases with available crystal structures were phylogenetically closely related, we selected nine phylogenic diverse cutinases for characterization. The nine selected cutinases were recombinantly produced and their kinetic activity was characterized against para-nitrophenol substrates esterified with consecutively longer alkyl chains (pNP-C(2) to C(16)). The investigated cutinases each had a unique activity fingerprint against tested pNP-substrates. The five enzymes with the highest activity on pNP-C(12) and C(16), indicative of activity on bulky hydrophobic compounds, were selected for in-depth kinetic and structure-function analysis. All five enzymes showed a decrease in k(cat) values with increasing substrate chain length, while K(M) values and binding energies (calculated from in silico docking analysis) improved. Two cutinases from Fusarium solani and Cryptococcus sp. exhibited outstandingly low K(M) values, resulting in high catalytic efficiencies towards pNP-C(16). Docking analysis suggested that different clades of the phylogenetic tree may harbor enzymes with different modes of substrate interaction, involving a solvent-exposed catalytic triad, a lipase-like lid, or a clamshell-like active site possibly formed by flexible loops.
Four cutinase genes are encoded in the genome of the saprophytic fungus Aspergillus nidulans, but only two of them have proven to codify for active cutinases. However, their overall roles in cutin degradation are unknown, and there is scarce information on the regulatory effectors of their expression. In this work, the expression of the cutinase genes was assayed by multiplex qRT-PCR in cultures grown in media containing both inducer and repressor carbon sources. The genes ancut1 and ancut2 were induced by cutin and its monomers, while ancut3 was constitutively expressed. Besides, cutin induced ancut4 only under oxidative stress conditions. An in silico analysis of the upstream regulatory sequences suggested binding regions for the lipid metabolism transcription factors (TF) FarA for ancut1 and ancut2 while FarB for ancut3. For ancut4, the analysis suggested binding to NapA (the stress response TF). These binding possibilities were experimentally tested by transcriptional analysis using the A. nidulans mutants ANDeltafarA, ANDeltafarB, and ANDeltanapA. Regarding cutin degradation, spectroscopic and chromatographic methods showed similar products from ANCUT1 and ANCUT3. In addition, ANCUT1 produced 9,10-dihydroxy hexadecanoic acid, suggesting an endo-cleavage action of this enzyme. Regarding ANCUT2 and ANCUT4, they produced omega fatty acids. Our results confirmed the cutinolytic activity of the four cutinases, allowed identification of their specific roles in the cutinolytic system and highlighted their differences in the regulatory mechanisms and affinity towards natural substrates. This information is expected to impact the cutinase production processes and broaden their current biotechnological applications.
The aspergilli comprise a diverse group of filamentous fungi spanning over 200 million years of evolution. Here we report the genome sequence of the model organism Aspergillus nidulans, and a comparative study with Aspergillus fumigatus, a serious human pathogen, and Aspergillus oryzae, used in the production of sake, miso and soy sauce. Our analysis of genome structure provided a quantitative evaluation of forces driving long-term eukaryotic genome evolution. It also led to an experimentally validated model of mating-type locus evolution, suggesting the potential for sexual reproduction in A. fumigatus and A. oryzae. Our analysis of sequence conservation revealed over 5,000 non-coding regions actively conserved across all three species. Within these regions, we identified potential functional elements including a previously uncharacterized TPP riboswitch and motifs suggesting regulation in filamentous fungi by Puf family genes. We further obtained comparative and experimental evidence indicating widespread translational regulation by upstream open reading frames. These results enhance our understanding of these widely studied fungi as well as provide new insight into eukaryotic genome evolution and gene regulation.
