Pyranose 2-oxidase (P2Ox) participates in fungal lignin degradation by producing the H 2 O 2 needed for lignin-degrading peroxidases. The enzyme oxidizes cellulose-and hemicellulose-derived aldopyranoses at C2 preferentially, but also on C3, to the corresponding ketoaldoses. To investigate the structural determinants of catalysis, covalent flavinylation, substrate binding, and regioselectivity, wild-type and mutant P2Ox enzymes were produced and characterized biochemically and structurally. Removal of the histidyl-FAD linkage resulted in a catalytically competent enzyme containing tightly, but noncovalently bound FAD. This mutant (H167A) is characterized by a 5-fold lower k cat , and a 35-mV lower redox potential, although no significant structural changes were seen in its crystal structure. In previous structures of P2Ox, the substrate loop (residues 452-457) covering the active site has been either disordered or in a conformation incompatible with carbohydrate binding. We present here the crystal structure of H167A in complex with a slow substrate, 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose. Pyranose 2-oxidase (P2Ox, 3 pyranose:oxygen 2-oxidoreductase; glucose 2-oxidase; EC 1.1.3.10) is a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent oxidase present in the hyphal periplasmic space (1) of wood-degrading basidiomycetes (2, 3). These fungi are the only known microorganisms that are capable of fully mineralizing lignin, and P2Ox has a proposed role in the oxidative events (4) of lignin degradation by providing the essential co-substrate, H 2 O 2 , for lignin and manganese peroxidases (5, 6). An alternative hypothesis assigns a role for P2Ox in both H 2 O 2 production and in the reduction of quinones in the periplasm or in the extracellular environment (7). P2Ox from the white-rot fungi Trametes multicolor (Trametes ochracea) and Peniophora gigantea are hitherto the most studied biochemically (7-10) and structurally (11, 12).P2Ox oxidizes a broad range of carbohydrate substrates that are natural constituents of hemicelluloses, allowing most lignocellulose-derived sugars to be utilized. Substrates can be oxidized regioselectively at the C2 position, although some oxidation at C3 can occur as a side reaction (10). For C2 oxidation, D-glucose, D-xylose, and L-sorbose are good or reasonably good substrates, and D-galactose and L-arabinose perform poorly as substrates (7). Based on the catalytic efficiency, k cat /K m , D-glucose (D-Glc) is the best substrate for T. multicolor P2Ox (7). Substrates that are oxidized at C3 were analyzed for P. gigantea P2Ox and include 2-deoxy-D-glucose, 2-keto-D-glucose, and methyl ␤-D-glucosides (13, 10). That oxidation can take place either at C2 or at C3 presupposes two distinct, productive binding modes (referred to here as C2 ox and C3 ox ) for a monosaccharide in the P2Ox active site.P2Ox from T. multicolor is homotetrameric with a molecular mass of 270 kDa (7) where each of the four subunits carries one FAD molecule bound covalently to N ⑀2 (i.e. N3) of His 167 via its 8␣-methyl group (14, 11). The...

Cellobiose dehydrogenase, the only currently known extracellular flavocytochrome, is formed not only by a number of wood-degrading but also by various phytopathogenic fungi. This inducible enzyme participates in early events of lignocellulose degradation, as investigated in several basidiomycete fungi at the transcriptional and translational level. However, its role in the ascomycete fungi is not yet obvious. Comprehensive sequence analysis of CDH-encoding genes and their translational products reveals significant sequence similarities along the entire sequences and also a common domain architecture. All known cellobiose dehydrogenases fall into two related subgroups. Class-I members are represented by sequences from basidiomycetes whereas class-II comprises longer, more complex sequences from ascomycete fungi. Cellobiose dehydrogenase is typically a monomeric protein consisting of two domains joined by a protease-sensitive linker region. Each larger (dehydrogenase) domain is flavin-associated while the smaller (cytochrome) domains are haem-binding. The latter shorter domains are unique sequence motifs for all currently known flavocytochromes. Each cytochrome domain of CDH can bind a single haem b as prosthetic group. The larger dehydrogenase domain belongs to the glucose-methanol-choline (GMC) oxidoreductase superfamily - a widespread flavoprotein evolutionary line. The larger domains can be further divided into a flavin-binding subdomain and a substrate-binding subdomain. In addition, the class-II (but not class-I) proteins can possess a short cellulose-binding module of type 1 at their C-termini. All the cellobiose dehydrogenases oxidise cellobiose, cellodextrins, and lactose to the corresponding lactones using a wide spectrum of different electron acceptors. Their flexible specificity serves as a base for the development of possible biotechnological applications.

The major laccase isoenzyme LAP2 secreted by the white-rot basidiomycete Trametes pubescens in response to high copper concentrations was purified to apparent electrophoretic homogeneity using anion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The monomeric protein has a molecular mass of 65 kDa, of which 18 % is glycosylation, and a pI value of 2 6. The pH optima of the laccase depend on the substrates oxidized and show bell-shaped pH activity profiles with an optimum of 3-4 5 for phenolic substrates such as 2,6-dimethoxyphenol or syringaldazine, while the non-phenolic substrates ABTS [2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] and ferrocyanide show a monotonic pH profile with a rate increasing with decreasing pH. The catalytic efficiencies k cat /K m determined for some of its substrates were 48W10 6 , 47W10 6 , 20W10 6 and 7W10 6 M N1 s N1 for ABTS, syringaldazine, ferrocyanide and oxygen, respectively. Furthermore, the gene lap2 encoding the purified laccase was cloned and its nucleotide sequence determined. The gene consists of 1997 bp, with the coding sequence interrupted by eight introns and flanked by an upstream region in which putative CAAT, TATA, MRE and CreA consensus sequences were identified. Based on Northern analysis containing total RNA from both induced and uninduced cultures, expression of lap2 is highly induced by copper, which is also corroborated by an increase in laccase activity in response to copper. A stimulating effect of various other heavy metal ions on laccase synthesis was also observed. In addition to induction, a second regulatory mechanism seems to be repression of lap2 transcription by glucose.

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Different classes of cell wall degrading enzymes produced b y the biocontrol fungi Trichoderma harzianum and Gliocladium virens inhibited spore germination of Botrytis cinerea in a bioassay in vitro. The addition of any chitinolytic or glucanolytic enzyme to the reaction mixture synergistically enhanced the antifungal properties of five different fungitoxic compounds against B. cinerea. The chemicals tested were gliotoxin, flusilazole, miconazole, captan and benomyl. Dose response curves were determined for each combination of toxin and enzyme, and in all cases the ED, , values of the mixtures were substantially lower than ED, , values of the two compounds used alone. For instance, the addition of endochitinase from T. harzianum at a concentration of 10 pg ml level of synergism appeared to be higher when enzymes were combined with toxins having primary sites of action associated with membrane structure, compared with pesticides having multiple or cytoplasmic sites of action. Among enzymes tested, the highest levels of synergism with synthetic fungicides were detected for the endochitinase from T. harzianum strain P I , which, when used alone, was the most effective chitinolytic enzyme against phytopathogenic fungi of those tested. The use of hydrolytic enzymes to synergistically enhance the antifungal ability of fungitoxic compounds may reduce the impact of some chemical pesticides on plants and animals.reduced the ED, , values of toxins up to 86-fold. The