The
binding affinities between E-group colicin (CE) and cognate
immunity proteins (Im) are among the strongest interactions in nature.
Aiming at mining protein pairs with ultrahigh affinity for artificial
multienzyme complexes, DNase domains of CE2, 8, and 9 were engineered
to generate CL2, 8, and 9 variants without DNA binding and catalytic
activity but retaining Im binding activity, respectively. Further
study discovered that all these variants, in addition to a CE7 variant
(CL7) from the previous report, and their cognate Im proteins are
highly thermostable. Taking advantage of the specific and ultrahigh
affinity of these hyperthermostable affinity pairs, a hyperthermostable
artificial scaffold was established and applied for cellulose degradation.
Four hyperthermostable cellulolytic enzymes were integrated into the
system through specific pairing of CL and cognate Im proteins. This
complex with four enzymes assembled sequentially exhibited an obvious
synergistic effect in hydrolyzing cellulosic substrates at elevated
temperature. In comparison with free enzymes, the catalytic activity
of the complex enhanced more than half-fold at 70 °C with phosphoric
acid-swollen cellulose as the substrate, while it increased almost
onefold at 75 °C with Avicel as the substrate. The present study
provided four affinity pairs with ultrahigh affinity, hyperthermostability,
high specificity, a small and unified structure, and high assembly
efficiency. More importantly, it provided an unconventional idea of
mining hyperthermostable affinity pairs from mesophilic microorganisms
instead of the less-abundant thermophiles, which are the main source
pool of the thermostable affinity pairs for the time being.