Cellulosome Complex Research Articles

A mannanase, ManA, of the polycentric anaerobic fungusOrpinomycessp. strain PC-2 has carbohydrate binding and docking modules

The anaerobic fungus Orpinomyces sp. strain PC-2 produces a broad spectrum of glycoside hydrolases, most of which are components of a high molecular mass cellulosomal complex. Here we report about a cDNA (manA) having 1924 bp isolated from the fungus and found to encode a polypeptide of 579 amino acid residues. Analysis of the deduced sequence revealed that it had a mannanase catalytic module, a family 1 carbohydrate-binding module, and a noncatalytic docking module. The catalytic module was homologous to aerobic fungal mannanases belonging to family 5 glycoside hydrolases, but unrelated to the previously isolated mannanases (family 26) of the anaerobic fungus Piromyces. No mannanase activity could be detected in Escherichia coli harboring a manA-containing plasmid. The manA was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and ManA was secreted into the culture medium in multiple forms. The purified extracellular heterologous mannanase hydrolyzed several types of mannan but lacked activity against cellulose, chitin, or beta-glucan. The enzyme had high specific activity toward locust bean mannan and an extremely broad pH profile. It was stable for several hours at 50 degrees C, but was rapidly inactivated at 60 degrees C. The carbohydrate-binding module of the Man A produced separately in E. coli bound preferably to insoluble lignocellulosic substrates, suggesting that it might play an important role in the complex enzyme system of the fungus for lignocellulose degradation.

Crystal Structure of a Type-II Cohesin Module from the Bacteroides cellulosolvens Cellulosome Reveals Novel and Distinctive Secondary Structural Elements

The incorporation of enzymes into the multi-enzyme cellulosome complex and its anchoring to the bacterial cell surface are dictated by a set of binding interactions between two complementary protein modules: the cohesin and the dockerin. In this work, the X-ray crystal structure of a type-II cohesin from scaffoldin A of Bacteroides cellulosolvens has been determined to a resolution of 1.6 angstroms using molecular replacement. The type-II B. cellulosolvens cohesin (Bc-cohesin-II) is the first detailed description of a crystal structure for a type-II cohesin, and its features were compared with the known type-I cohesins from Clostridium thermocellum and Clostridium cellulolyticum (Ct-cohesin-I and Cc-cohesin-I, respectively). The overall jelly-roll topology of the type-II Bc-cohesin is very similar to that observed for the type-I cohesins with three additional secondary structures: an alpha-helix and two "beta-flaps" that disrupt the normal course of a beta-strand. In addition, beta-strand 5 is elevated by approximately 4 angstroms on the surface of the molecule, relative to the type-I Ct and Cc-cohesins. Like its type-I analogue, the hydrophobic/aromatic core of Bc-cohesin-II comprises an upper and lower core, but an additional aromatic patch and conserved tryptophan at the crown of the molecule serves to stabilize the alpha-helix of the type-II cohesin. Comparison of Bc-cohesin-II with the known type-I cohesin-dockerin heterodimer suggests that each of the additional secondary structural elements assumes a flanking position relative to the putative dockerin-binding surface. The raised ridge formed by beta-strand 5 confers additional distinctive topographic features to the proposed binding interface that collectively distinguish between the type-II and type-I cohesins.

The curdlan-type exopolysaccharide produced by Cellulomonas flavigena KU forms part of an extracellular glycocalyx involved in cellulose degradation

The genus Cellulomonas is comprised of a group of Gram-positive, soil bacteria capable of utilizing cellulose as their sole source of carbon and energy. Cellulomonas flavigena KU was originally isolated from leaf litter and subsequently shown to produce large quantities of a curdlan-type (beta-1,3-glucan) exopolysaccharide (EPS) when provided with an excess of glucose or other soluble carbon-source. We report here that curdlan EPS is also produced by Cellulomonas flavigena KU when growing on microcrystalline cellulose in mineral salts-yeast extract media. Microscopic examination of such cultures shows an adherent biofilm matrix composed of cells, curdlan EPS, and numerous surface structures resembling cellulosome complexes. Those Cellulomonas species that produce curdlan EPS are all non-motile and adhere to cellulose as it is broken down into soluble sugars. These observations suggest two very different approaches towards the complex process of cellulose degradation within the genus Cellulomonas.

The cellulosomes: multienzyme machines for degradation of plant cell wall polysaccharides.

The discrete multicomponent, multienzyme cellulosome complex of anaerobic cellulolytic bacteria provides enhanced synergistic activity among the different resident enzymes to efficiently hydrolyze intractable cellulosic and hemicellulosic substrates of the plant cell wall. A pivotal noncatalytic subunit called scaffoldin secures the various enzymatic subunits into the complex via the cohesin-dockerin interaction. The specificity characteristics and tenacious binding between the scaffoldin-based cohesin modules and the enzyme-borne dockerin domains dictate the supramolecular architecture of the cellulosome. The diversity in cellulosome architecture among the known cellulosome-producing bacteria is manifest in the arrangement of their genes in either multiple-scaffoldin or enzyme-linked clusters on the genome. The recently described three-dimensional crystal structure of the cohesin-dockerin heterodimer sheds light on the critical amino acids that contribute to this high-affinity protein-protein interaction. In addition, new information regarding the regulation of cellulosome-related genes, budding genetic tools, and emerging genomics of cellulosome-producing bacteria promises new insight into the assembly and consequences of the multienzyme complex.

Pinpoint Mapping of Recognition Residues on the Cohesin Surface by Progressive Homologue Swapping

The high affinity cohesin-dockerin interaction dictates the suprastructural assembly of the multienzyme cellulosome complex. The connection between affinity and species specificity was studied by exploring the recognition properties of two structurally related cohesin species of divergent specificity. The cohesins were examined by progressive rounds of swapping, in which corresponding homologous stretches were interchanged. The specificity of binding of the resultant chimeric cohesins was determined by enzyme-linked affinity assay and complementary protein microarray. In succeeding rounds, swapped segments were systematically contracted, according to the binding behavior of previously generated chimeras. In the fourth and final round we discerned three residues, reputedly involved in interspecies binding specificity. By replacing only these three residues, we were able to convert the specificity of the resultant mutated cohesin, which bound preferentially to the rival dockerin with approximately 20% capacity of the wild-type interaction. These residues represent but 3 of the 16 contact residues that participate in the cohesin-dockerin interaction. This approach allowed us to differentiate, in a structure-independent fashion, between residues critical for interspecies recognition and binding residues per se.

Hydrophilic domains of scaffolding protein CbpA promote glycosyl hydrolase activity and localization of cellulosomes to the cell surface of Clostridium cellulovorans.

CbpA, the scaffolding protein of Clostridium cellulovorans cellulosomes, possesses one family 3 cellulose binding domain, nine cohesin domains, and four hydrophilic domains (HLDs). Among the three types of domains, the function of the HLDs is still unknown. We proposed previously that the HLDs of CbpA play a role in attaching the cellulosome to the cell surface, since they showed some homology to the surface layer homology domains of EngE. Several recombinant proteins with HLDs (rHLDs) and recombinant EngE (rEngE) were examined to determine their binding to the C. cellulovorans cell wall fraction. Tandemly linked rHLDs showed higher affinity for the cell wall than individual rHLDs showed. EngE was shown to have a higher affinity for cell walls than rHLDs have. C. cellulovorans native cellulosomes were found to have higher affinity for cell walls than rHLDs have. When immunoblot analysis was carried out with the native cellulosome fraction bound to cell wall fragments, the presence of EngE was also confirmed, suggesting that the mechanism anchoring CbpA to the C. cellulovorans cell surface was mediated through EngE and that the HLDs play a secondary role in the attachment of the cellulosome to the cell surface. During a study of the role of HLDs on cellulose degradation, the mini-cellulosome complexes with HLDs degraded cellulose more efficiently than complexes without HLDs degraded cellulose. The rHLDs also showed binding affinity for crystalline cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose. These results suggest that the CbpA HLDs play a major role and a minor role in C. cellulovorans cellulosomes. The primary role increases cellulose degradation activity by binding the cellulosome complex to the cellulose substrate; secondarily, HLDs aid the binding of the CbpA/cellulosome to the C. cellulovorans cell surface.

Cohesin–dockerin interaction in cellulosome assembly: a single Asp-to-Asn mutation disrupts high-affinity cohesin–dockerin binding

The cohesive cellulosome complex is sustained by the high-affinity cohesin–dockerin interaction. In previous work [J. Biol. Chem. 276 (2001) 9883], we demonstrated that a single Thr-to-Leu replacement in the Clostridium thermocellum dockerin component differentiates between non-recognition and high-affinity recognition by the interspecies rival cohesin from C. cellulolyticum. In this report, we show that a single Asp-to-Asn substitution on the cohesin counterpart also disrupts normal recognition of the dockerin. The Asp34 carboxyl group of the cohesin appears to play a central role in the resultant hydrogen-bonding network as an acceptor of two crucial hydrogen bonds from Ser45 of the dockerin domain. The results underscore the fragile nature of the intermolecular contact interactions that maintain this very high-affinity protein–protein interaction.

Effect of short-chain acids on the carboxymethylcellulase activity of the ruminal bacteriumRuminococcus albus

The addition of 100-300 mmol/L of acetic, propionic, butyric or lactic acids (short-chain acids), or of acetic, propionic, and butyric acids (volatile fatty acids, VFA) mixtures increased the degradation of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) by R. albus (7.5 to 46 and 6 to 39 %, respectively). Differences among individual acids were observed at 300 mmol/L whereas VFA mixtures differed at 100 mmol/L. When assayed at the same concentration, CMCase activity was increased less by NaCl than by the short-chain acids, whereas ethylene glycol decreased the activity. Since osmolarity and/or ionic strength changes in the medium cannot completely account for the observed increases of carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) activity, it is suggested that the anions of short-chain acids produce changes in the reaction media polarity that contribute to the effects observed. Alterations in the media could also bring about conformational changes in CMCase leading to increased rates of reaction and subsequent increases in CMC degradation. Finally, explanations for the observed phenomena based on the direct effect of the compounds tested on the cellulosome complex, its domains, and/or its component enzymes are proposed.

Site-specific and reversible anchoring of active proteins onto cellulose using a cellulosome-like complex

Protein engineering strategies facilitating controlled and spontaneous assembly of macromolecular complexes are of great interest for the design of artificial multi-enzyme systems of pre-defined composition. Here we have combined affinity proteins from different sources to achieve specific and reversible anchoring of affinity domain-tagged reporter proteins to a cellulose-anchored fusion protein. The design principle mimics the architecture of macromolecular cellulosome complexes produced by some cellulolytic microbes. A fusion protein between a cellulose-binding module (CBM1Cel6A) of the Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase Cel6A and a five-domain staphylococcal protein A (SPA) was constructed to serve as platform for docking of easily detectable reporter proteins onto cellulose surfaces. In turn, the reporter proteins were produced as fusions to two copies of a SPA-binding affinity protein (an affibody denoted ZSPA-1), selected from a phage display library constructed by combinatorial protein engineering. In a series of experiments, involving repeated washing and low pH elution, affinity-tagged Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP) and Fusarium solani pisi lipase cutinase reporter proteins were both found to be specifically directed from solution to the same region of a cellulose filter paper where SPA-CBM1Cel6A fusion protein had been previously applied. This showed that the SPA-CBM1Cel6A fusion protein had been stably anchored to the cellulose surface without loss of binding capacity and that the interaction between SPA and the ZSPA-1 affibody domains was selective. The generality of this biospecificity-driven system for assembly applications is discussed.

Site-specific and reversible anchoring of active proteins onto cellulose using a cellulosome-like complex

Protein engineering strategies facilitating controlled and spontaneous assembly of macromolecular complexes are of great interest for the design of artificial multi-enzyme systems of pre-defined composition. Here we have combined affinity proteins from different sources to achieve specific and reversible anchoring of affinity domain-tagged reporter proteins to a cellulose-anchored fusion protein. The design principle mimics the architecture of macromolecular cellulosome complexes produced by some cellulolytic microbes. A fusion protein between a cellulose-binding module (CBM1 Cel6A) of the Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase Cel6A and a five-domain staphylococcal protein A (SPA) was constructed to serve as platform for docking of easily detectable reporter proteins onto cellulose surfaces. In turn, the reporter proteins were produced as fusions to two copies of a SPA-binding affinity protein (an affibody denoted Z SPA-1), selected from a phage display library constructed by combinatorial protein engineering. In a series of experiments, involving repeated washing and low pH elution, affinity-tagged Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP) and Fusarium solani pisi lipase cutinase reporter proteins were both found to be specifically directed from solution to the same region of a cellulose filter paper where SPA-CBM1 Cel6A fusion protein had been previously applied. This showed that the SPA-CBM1 Cel6A fusion protein had been stably anchored to the cellulose surface without loss of binding capacity and that the interaction between SPA and the Z SPA-1 affibody domains was selective. The generality of this biospecificity-driven system for assembly applications is discussed.

Cohesin-Dockerin Interactions within and between Clostridium josui and Clostridium thermocellum: BINDING SELECTIVITY BETWEEN COGNATE DOCKERIN AND COHESIN DOMAINS AND SPECIES SPECIFICITY

The cellulosome components are assembled into the cellulosome complex by the interaction between one of the repeated cohesin domains of a scaffolding protein and the dockerin domain of an enzyme component. We prepared five recombinant cohesin polypeptides of the Clostridium thermocellum scaffolding protein CipA, two dockerin polypeptides of C. thermocellum Xyn11A and Xyn10C, four cohesin polypeptides of Clostridium josui CipA, and two dockerin polypeptides of C. josui Aga27A and Cel8A, and qualitatively and quantitatively examined the cohesin-dockerin interactions within C. thermocellum and C. josui, respectively, and the species specificity of the cohesin-dockerin interactions between these two bacteria. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis indicated that there was a certain selectivity, with a maximal 34-fold difference in the K(D) values, in the cohesin-dockerin interactions within a combination of C. josui, although this was not detected by qualitative analysis. Affinity blotting analysis suggested that there was at least one exception to the species specificity in the cohesin-dockerin interactions, although species specificity was generally conserved among the cohesin and dockerin polypeptides from C. thermocellum and C. josui, i.e. the dockerin polypeptides of C. thermocellum Xyn11A exceptionally bound to the cohesin polypeptides from C. josui CipA. SPR analysis confirmed this exceptional binding. We discuss the relationship between the species specificity of the cohesin-dockerin binding and the conserved amino acid residues in the dockerin domains.

Ruminococcus albus 8 mutants defective in cellulose degradation are deficient in two processive endocellulases, Cel48A and Cel9B, both of which possess a novel modular architecture.

The cellulolytic bacterium Ruminococcus albus 8 adheres tightly to cellulose, but the molecular biology underpinning this process is not well characterized. Subtractive enrichment procedures were used to isolate mutants of R. albus 8 that are defective in adhesion to cellulose. Adhesion of the mutant strains was reduced 50% compared to that observed with the wild-type strain, and cellulose solubilization was also shown to be slower in these mutant strains, suggesting that bacterial adhesion and cellulose solubilization are inextricably linked. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that all three mutants studied were impaired in the production of two high-molecular-mass, cell-bound polypeptides when they were cultured with either cellobiose or cellulose. The identities of these proteins were determined by a combination of mass spectrometry methods and genome sequence data for R. albus 8. One of the polypeptides is a family 9 glycoside hydrolase (Cel9B), and the other is a family 48 glycoside hydrolase (Cel48A). Both Cel9B and Cel48A possess a modular architecture, Cel9B possesses features characteristic of the B(2) (or theme D) group of family 9 glycoside hydrolases, and Cel48A is structurally similar to the processive endocellulases CelF and CelS from Clostridium cellulolyticum and Clostridium thermocellum, respectively. Both Cel9B and Cel48A could be recovered by cellulose affinity procedures, but neither Cel9B nor Cel48A contains a dockerin, suggesting that these polypeptides are retained on the bacterial cell surface, and recovery by cellulose affinity procedures did not involve a clostridium-like cellulosome complex. Instead, both proteins possess a single copy of a novel X module with an unknown function at the C terminus. Such X modules are also present in several other R. albus glycoside hydrolases and are phylogentically distinct from the fibronectin III-like and X modules identified so far in other cellulolytic bacteria.

The cellulosome system of Acetivibrio cellulolyticus includes a novel type of adaptor protein and a cell surface anchoring protein.

A scaffoldin gene cluster was identified in the mesophilic cellulolytic anaerobe Acetivibrio cellulolyticus. The previously described scaffoldin gene, cipV, encodes an N-terminal family 9 glycoside hydrolase, a family 3b cellulose-binding domain, seven cohesin domains, and a C-terminal dockerin. The gene immediately downstream of cipV was sequenced and designated scaB. The protein encoded by this gene has 942 amino acid residues and a calculated molecular weight of 100,358 and includes an N-terminal signal peptide, four type II cohesions, and a C-terminal dockerin. ScaB cohesins 1 and 2 are very closely linked. Similar, but not identical, 39-residue Thr-rich linker segments separate cohesin 2 from cohesin 3 and cohesin 3 from cohesin 4, and an 84-residue Thr-rich linker connects the fourth cohesin to a C-terminal dockerin. The scaC gene downstream of scaB codes for a 1,237-residue polypeptide that includes a signal peptide, three cohesins, and a C-terminal S-layer homology (SLH) module. A long, ca. 550-residue linker separates the third cohesin and the SLH module of ScaC and is characterized by an 18-residue Pro-Thr-Ala-Ser-rich segment that is repeated 27 times. The calculated molecular weight of the mature ScaC polypeptide (excluding the signal peptide) is 124,162. The presence of the cohesins and the conserved SLH module implies that ScaC acts as an anchoring protein. The ScaC cohesins are on a separate branch of the phylogenetic tree that is close to, but distinct from, the type I cohesins. Affinity blotting with representative recombinant probes revealed the following specific intermodular interactions: (i) an expressed CipV cohesin binds selectively to an enzyme-borne dockerin, (ii) a representative ScaB cohesin binds to the CipV band of the cell-free supernatant fraction, and (iii) a ScaC cohesin binds to the ScaB dockerin. The experimental evidence thus indicates that CipV acts as a primary (enzyme-recognizing) scaffoldin, and the protein was also designated ScaA. In addition, ScaB is thought to assume the role of an adaptor protein, which connects the primary scaffoldin (ScaA) to the cohesin-containing anchoring scaffoldin (ScaC). The cellulosome system of A. cellulolyticus thus appears to exhibit a special type of organization that reflects the function of the ScaB adaptor protein. The intercalation of three multiple cohesin-containing scaffoldins results in marked amplification of the number of enzyme subunits per cellulosome unit. At least 96 enzymes can apparently be incorporated into an individual A. cellulolyticus cellulosome. The role of such amplified enzyme incorporation and the resultant proximity of the enzymes within the cellulosome complex presumably contribute to the enhanced synergistic action and overall efficient digestion of recalcitrant forms of cellulose. Comparison of the emerging organization of the A. cellulolyticus cellulosome with the organizations in other cellulolytic bacteria revealed the diversity of the supramolecular architecture.

Characterization of the cellulolytic complex (cellulosome) of Clostridium acetobutylicum.

A large cellulosomal gene cluster was identified in the recently sequenced genome of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824. Sequence analysis revealed that this cluster contains the genes for the scaffolding protein CipA, the processive endocellulase Cel48A, several endoglucanases of families 5 and 9, the mannanase Man5G, and a hydrophobic protein, OrfXp. Surprisingly, genetic organization of this large cluster is very similar to that of Clostridium cellulolyticum, the model of mesophilic clostridial cellulosomes. As C. acetobutylicum is unable to grow on cellulosic substrates, the existence of a cellulosomal gene cluster in the genome raises questions about its expression, function and evolution. Biochemical evidence for the expression of a cellulosomal protein complex was investigated. The results of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, N-terminal sequencing and Western blotting with antibodies against specific components of the C. cellulolyticum cellulosome suggest that at least four major cellulosomal proteins are present. In addition, despite the fact that no cellulolytic activities were detected, we report here the evidence for the production of a high molecular mass cellulosomal complex in C. acetobutylicum.

Characterization of the cellulolytic complex (cellulosome) of Clostridium acetobutylicum

A large cellulosomal gene cluster was identified in the recently sequenced genome of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824. Sequence analysis revealed that this cluster contains the genes for the scaffolding protein CipA, the processive endocellulase Cel48A, several endoglucanases of families 5 and 9, the mannanase Man5G, and a hydrophobic protein, OrfXp. Surprisingly, genetic organization of this large cluster is very similar to that of Clostridium cellulolyticum, the model of mesophilic clostridial cellulosomes. As C. acetobutylicum is unable to grow on cellulosic substrates, the existence of a cellulosomal gene cluster in the genome raises questions about its expression, function and evolution. Biochemical evidence for the expression of a cellulosomal protein complex was investigated. The results of sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, N-terminal sequencing and Western blotting with antibodies against specific components of the C. cellulolyticum cellulosome suggest that at least four major cellulosomal proteins are present. In addition, despite the fact that no cellulolytic activities were detected, we report here the evidence for the production of a high molecular mass cellulosomal complex in C. acetobutylicum.

A newly described cellulosomal cellobiohydrolase, CelO, from Clostridium thermocellum: investigation of the exo-mode of hydrolysis, and binding capacity to crystalline cellulose.

The sequence of the celO gene from Clostridium thermocellum F7 was determined. The gene product, cellulase CelO (Ct-Cel5F), had a modular structure consisting of a carbohydrate-binding module of the CBM3 family and a catalytic domain of the glycosyl hydrolase family 5. The presence of the dockerin module indicated that the enzyme was a component of the cellulosome complex. The thermostable recombinant gene product was active on cellodextrins, barley beta-glucan, carboxymethylcellulose and insoluble cellulose. Cellobiose was the only product released from amorphic and crystalline cellulose, cellotetraose and higher cello-oligosaccharides, identifying CelO as a cellobiohydrolase. The cleavage pattern of p-nitrophenyl beta-D-cellotetraoside, blockage of the hydrolysis of NaBH(4)-reduced cellopentaose and the reduction in substrate viscosity suggested activity from the reducing end in a processive mode after making random cuts. Binding to insoluble, i.e. amorphous, and crystalline cellulose was mediated by the carbohydrate-binding module CBM3b, with a preference for the crystalline substrate.

EndB, a multidomain family 44 cellulase from Ruminococcus flavefaciens 17, binds to cellulose via a novel cellulose-binding module and to another R. flavefaciens protein via a dockerin domain.

The mechanisms by which cellulolytic enzymes and enzyme complexes in Ruminococcus spp. bind to cellulose are not fully understood. The product of the newly isolated cellulase gene endB from Ruminococcus flavefaciens 17 was purified as a His-tagged product after expression in Escherichia coli and found to be able to bind directly to crystalline cellulose. The ability to bind cellulose is shown to be associated with a novel cellulose-binding module (CBM) located within a region of 200 amino acids that is unrelated to known protein sequences. EndB (808 amino acids) also contains a catalytic domain belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 44 and a C-terminal dockerin-like domain. Purified EndB is also shown to bind specifically via its dockerin domain to a polypeptide of ca. 130 kDa present among supernatant proteins from Avicel-grown R. flavefaciens that attach to cellulose. The protein to which EndB attaches is a strong candidate for the scaffolding component of a cellulosome-like multienzyme complex recently identified in this species (S.-Y. Ding et al., J. Bacteriol. 183:1945-1953, 2001). It is concluded that binding of EndB to cellulose may occur both through its own CBM and potentially also through its involvement in a cellulosome complex.

Cohesin-Dockerin Interaction in Cellulosome Assembly: A SINGLE HYDROXYL GROUP OF A DOCKERIN DOMAIN DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN NONRECOGNITION AND HIGH AFFINITY RECOGNITION

The assembly of enzyme components into the cellulosome complex is dictated by the cohesin-dockerin interaction. In a recent article (Mechaly, A., Yaron, S., Lamed, R., Fierobe, H.-P., Belaich, A., Belaich, J.-P., Shoham, Y., and Bayer, E. A. (2000) Proteins 39, 170-177), we provided experimental evidence that four previously predicted dockerin residues play a decisive role in the specificity of this high affinity interaction, although additional residues were also implicated. In the present communication, we examine further the contributing factors for the recognition of a dockerin by a cohesin domain between the respective cellulosomal systems of Clostridium thermocellum and Clostridium cellulolyticum. In this context, the four confirmed residues were analyzed for their individual effect on selectivity. In addition, other dockerin residues were discerned that could conceivably contribute to the interaction, and the suspected residues were similarly modified by site-directed mutagenesis. The results indicate that mutation of a single residue from threonine to leucine at a given position of the C. thermocellum dockerin differentiates between its nonrecognition and high affinity recognition (K(a) approximately 10(9) m(-1)) by a cohesin from C. cellulolyticum. This suggests that the presence or absence of a single decisive hydroxyl group is critical to the observed biorecognition. This study further implicates additional residues as secondary determinants in the specificity of interaction, because interconversion of selected residues reduced intraspecies self-recognition by at least three orders of magnitude. Nevertheless, as the latter mutageneses served to reduce but not annul the cohesin-dockerin interaction within this species, it follows that other subtle alterations play a comparatively minor role in the recognition between these two modules.

Three surface layer homology domains at the N terminus of the Clostridium cellulovorans major cellulosomal subunit EngE.

The gene engE, coding for endoglucanase E, one of the three major subunits of the Clostridium cellulovorans cellulosome, has been isolated and sequenced. engE is comprised of an open reading frame (ORF) of 3,090 bp and encodes a protein of 1,030 amino acids with a molecular weight of 111,796. The amino acid sequence derived from engE revealed a structure consisting of catalytic and noncatalytic domains. The N-terminal-half region of EngE consisted of a signal peptide of 31 amino acid residues and three repeated surface layer homology (SLH) domains, which were highly conserved and homologous to an S-layer protein from the gram-negative bacterium Caulobacter crescentus. The C-terminal-half region, which is necessary for the enzymatic function of EngE and for binding of EngE to the scaffolding protein CbpA, consisted of a catalytic domain homologous to that of family 5 of the glycosyl hydrolases, a domain of unknown function, and a duplicated sequence (DS or dockerin) at its C terminus. engE is located downstream of an ORF, ORF1, that is homologous to the Bacillus subtilis phosphomethylpyrimidine kinase (pmk) gene. The unique presence of three SLH domains and a DS suggests that EngE is capable of binding both to CbpA to form a CbpA-EngE cellulosome complex and to the surface layer of C. cellulovorans.

Cellulosomes—Structure and Ultrastructure

The cellulosome is a macromolecular machine, whose components interact in a synergistic manner to catalyze the efficient degradation of cellulose. The cellulosome complex is composed of numerous kinds of cellulases and related enzyme subunits, which are assembled into the complex by virtue of a unique type of scaffolding subunit (scaffoldin). Each of the cellulosomal subunits consists of a multiple set of modules, two classes of which (dockerin domains on the enzymes and cohesin domains on scaffoldin) govern the incorporation of the enzymatic subunits into the cellulosome complex. Another scaffoldin module—the cellulose-binding domain—is responsible for binding to the substrate. Some cellulosomes appear to be tethered to the cell envelope via similarly intricate, multiple-domain anchoring proteins. The assemblage is organized into dynamic polycellulosomal organelles, which adorn the cell surface. The cellulosome dictates both the binding of the cell to the substrate and its extracellular decomposition to soluble sugars, which are then taken up and assimilated by normal cellular processes.