Engineering of Thermovibrio ammonificans carbonic anhydrase mutants with increased thermostability

Parra-Cruz, Ricardo; Lau, Phei Li; Loh, Hwei-San; Pordea, Anca

Abstract

Carbonic anhydrase can be used as an additive to improve the efficiency of carbon capture and utilisation processes, due to its ability to increase the rate of CO2 absorption into solvents. Successful industrial application requires robust carbonic anhydrases, able to withstand process conditions and to perform consistently over long periods of time. Tolerance of high temperatures, pH and salt concentrations are particularly desirable features. We have previously used molecular dynamics simulations to rationally design four mutants of Thermovibrio ammonificans carbonic anhydrase with increased rigidity, and we hypothesized that this will result in an increased thermostability. Herein, we report on the successful recombinant expression and characterization of these mutants. Four of the TaCA variants showed increased stability at 90 ᵒC during 1 h, compared to wild-type. Two out of the four mutations predicted by the theoretical studies resulted in marked stabilization of the protein, with up to 3-fold higher time of half-life for mutant N140 G compared to the wild-type enzyme at 60 ᵒC. A significantly 50-fold increased ester hydrolysis activity was also observed with the most thermostable variant at 95 ᵒC compared to 25 ᵒC, suggesting an increased flexibility of the active site at high temperatures.

Citation

Parra-Cruz, R., Lau, P. L., Loh, H.-S., & Pordea, A. (2020). Engineering of Thermovibrio ammonificans carbonic anhydrase mutants with increased thermostability. Journal of Co2 Utilization, 37, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2019.11.015

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 10, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Nov 27, 2019
• Publication Date: 2020-04
• Deposit Date: Jan 27, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 28, 2020
• Journal: Journal of CO2 Utilization
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 37
• Pages: 1-8
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2019.11.015
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3591176
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Engineering of Thermovibrio ammonificans carbonic anhydrase mutants with increased thermostability; Journal Title: Journal of CO2 Utilization; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2019.11.015; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.