The present supply of prebiotics is entirely inadequate
to meet
their demand. To produce novel prebiotics, a d-mannose isomerase
(XpMIaseA) from Xanthomonas phaseoli was first produced in Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris). XpMIaseA shared the highest amino acid sequence identity (58.0%) with
the enzyme from Marinomonas mediterranea. Efficient secretory production of XpMIaseA (282.0
U mL–1) was achieved using high cell density fermentation.
The optimal conditions of XpMIaseA were pH 7.5 and
55 °C. It showed a broad substrate specificity, which isomerized d-mannose, d-talose, mannobiose, epilactose, and mannotriose. XpMIaseA was employed to construct a one-pot three-enzyme
system for the production of mannosyl-β-(1 → 4)-fructose
(MF) using mannan (5%, w/v) as the substrate. The equilibrium yield
of MF was 58.2%. In in vitro fermentations, MF significantly
stimulated (≤3.2-fold) the growth of 12 among 15 tested Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains
compared with fructo-oligosaccharides. Thus, the novel d-mannose
isomerase provides a one-pot bioconversion strategy for efficiently
producing novel prebiotics.