Engineering Glucosamine-6-Phosphate Synthase to Achieve Efficient One-Step Biosynthesis of Glucosamine

ACS Chem Biol. 2024 Jun 21;19(6):1237-1242. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.4c00144. Epub 2024 May 9.

Abstract

As an important functional monosaccharide, glucosamine (GlcN) is widely used in fields such as medicine, food nutrition, and health care. Here, we report a distinct GlcN biosynthesis method that utilizes engineered Bacillus subtilis glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase (BsGlmS) to convert D-fructose to directly generate GlcN. The best variant obtained by using a combinatorial active-site saturation test/iterative saturation mutagenesis (CAST/ISM) strategy was a quadruple mutant S596D/V597G/S347H/G299Q (BsGlmS-BK19), which has a catalytic activity 1736-fold that of the wild type toward D-fructose. Upon using mutant BK19 as a whole-cell catalyst, D-fructose was converted into GlcN with 65.32% conversion in 6 h, whereas the wild type only attained a conversion rate of 0.31% under the same conditions. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were implemented to provide insights into the mechanism underlying the enhanced activity of BK19. Importantly, the BsGlmS-BK19 variant specifically catalyzes D-fructose without the need for phosphorylated substrates, representing a significant advancement in GlcN biosynthesis.

MeSH terms

  • Bacillus subtilis* / enzymology
  • Bacillus subtilis* / genetics
  • Bacillus subtilis* / metabolism
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Catalytic Domain
  • Fructose / biosynthesis
  • Fructose / chemistry
  • Fructose / metabolism
  • Glucosamine* / biosynthesis
  • Glucosamine* / chemistry
  • Glucosamine* / metabolism
  • Glutamine-Fructose-6-Phosphate Transaminase (Isomerizing)* / chemistry
  • Glutamine-Fructose-6-Phosphate Transaminase (Isomerizing)* / genetics
  • Glutamine-Fructose-6-Phosphate Transaminase (Isomerizing)* / metabolism
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation
  • Protein Engineering*

Substances

  • Glucosamine
  • Glutamine-Fructose-6-Phosphate Transaminase (Isomerizing)
  • Fructose
  • Bacterial Proteins