Dataset Information

Giant Viruses as a Source of Novel Enzymes for Biotechnological Application.

ABSTRACT: The global demand for industrial enzymes has been increasing in recent years, and the search for new sources of these biological products is intense, especially in microorganisms. Most known viruses have limited genetic machinery and, thus, have been overlooked by the enzyme industry for years. However, a peculiar group of viruses breaks this paradigm. Giant viruses of the phylum Nucleocytoviricota infect protists (i.e., algae and amoebae) and have complex genomes, reaching up to 2.7 Mb in length and encoding hundreds of genes. Different giant viruses have robust metabolic machinery, especially those in the Phycodnaviridae and Mimiviridae families. In this review, we present some peculiarities of giant viruses that infect protists and discuss why they should be seen as an outstanding source of new enzymes. We revisited the genomes of representatives of different groups of giant viruses and put together information about their enzymatic machinery, highlighting several genes to be explored in biotechnology involved in carbohydrate metabolism, DNA replication, and RNA processing, among others. Finally, we present additional evidence based on structural biology using chitinase as a model to reinforce the role of giant viruses as a source of novel enzymes for biotechnological application.

SUBMITTER: de Oliveira EG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9787589 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Giant Viruses as a Source of Novel Enzymes for Biotechnological Application.

de Oliveira Ellen Gonçalves EG Carvalho João Victor Rodrigues Pessoa JVRP Botelho Bruna Barbosa BB da Costa Filho Clécio Alonso CA Henriques Lethícia Ribeiro LR de Azevedo Bruna Luiza BL Rodrigues Rodrigo Araújo Lima RAL

Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) 20221201 12

The global demand for industrial enzymes has been increasing in recent years, and the search for new sources of these biological products is intense, especially in microorganisms. Most known viruses have limited genetic machinery and, thus, have been overlooked by the enzyme industry for years. However, a peculiar group of viruses breaks this paradigm. Giant viruses of the phylum <i>Nucleocytoviricota</i> infect protists (i.e., algae and amoebae) and have complex genomes, reaching up to 2.7 Mb i ...[more]

PMID: 36558786

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Project description:Alginate denotes a group of industrially important 1-4-linked biopolymers composed of the C-5-epimers ?-D-mannuronic acid (M) and ?-L-guluronic acid (G). The polysaccharide is manufactured from brown algae where it constitutes the main structural cell wall polymer. The physical properties of a given alginate molecule, e.g., gel-strength, water-binding capacity, viscosity and biocompatibility, are determined by polymer length, the relative amount and distribution of G residues and the acetyl content, all of which are controlled by alginate modifying enzymes. Alginate has also been isolated from some bacteria belonging to the genera Pseudomonas and Azotobacter, and bacterially synthesized alginate may be O-acetylated at O-2 and/or O-3. Initially, alginate is synthesized as polymannuronic acid, and some M residues are subsequently epimerized to G residues. In bacteria a mannuronan C-5-epimerase (AlgG) and an alginate acetylase (AlgX) are integral parts of the protein complex necessary for alginate polymerization and export. All alginate-producing bacteria use periplasmic alginate lyases to remove alginate molecules aberrantly released to the periplasm. Alginate lyases are also produced by organisms that utilize alginate as carbon source. Most alginate-producing organisms encode more than one mannuronan C-5 epimerase, each introducing its specific pattern of G residues. Acetylation protects against further epimerization and from most alginate lyases. An enzyme from Pseudomonas syringae with alginate deacetylase activity has been reported. Functional and structural studies reveal that alginate lyases and epimerases have related enzyme mechanisms and catalytic sites. Alginate lyases are now utilized as tools for alginate characterization. Secreted epimerases have been shown to function well in vitro, and have been engineered further in order to obtain enzymes that can provide alginates with new and desired properties for use in medical and pharmaceutical applications.

Dataset Information

Giant Viruses as a Source of Novel Enzymes for Biotechnological Application.

Publications

Giant Viruses as a Source of Novel Enzymes for Biotechnological Application.

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