The conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks by cellulases
to glucose
is a critical step in biofuel production. β-Glucosidases catalyze
the final step in cellulose breakdown, producing glucose, and are
often the rate-limiting step in biomass hydrolysis. The specific activity
of most natural and engineered β-glucosidase is higher on the
artificial substrate p-nitrophenyl β-d-glucopyranoside (pNPGlc) than on the natural substrate,
cellobiose. We report an engineered β-glucosidase (Q319A H0HC94)
with a 1.8-fold higher specific activity (366.3 ± 36 μmol/min/mg),
a 1.5-fold increase in k
cat
(340.8 ± 27 s–1), and a 3-fold increase
in catalytic efficiency (236.65 mM–1 s–1) over H0HC94 (WT) on cellobiose. Molecular dynamic simulations and
protein structure network analysis indicate that the Q319A H0HC94
active site pocket is significantly remodeled compared to the WT,
leading to changes in enzyme conformation, better accessibility of
cellobiose inside the active site pocket, and higher enzymatic activity.
This study shows the impact of rational engineering of a nonconserved
residue to increase β-glucosidase substrate accessibility and
catalytic efficiency by reducing crowding interaction between cellobiose
and active site pocket residues near the gatekeeper region and increasing
pocket volume and surface area. Thus, rational engineering of previously
characterized enzymes could be an excellent strategy to improve cellulose
hydrolysis.