Endo-inulinase stabilization by pyridoxal phosphate modification: a kinetics, thermodynamics, and simulation approach

The structural and storage and functional thermostabilization of endo-inulinase (EC 3.2.1.7) through semi-rational modification of surface accessible lysine residues by pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) and ascorbate reduction have been explored. Improved stability was observed on modifications in the absence or presence of inulin, which indicates storage or functional thermostabilization, respectively. Comparisons have been made between non-modified and modified enzyme by the determination of Tm as an indicator of structural stability, temperature-dependent half-lives (t1/2), energy barrier of the inactivation process, and thermodynamic parameters (ΔH, ΔG, and ΔS) in a storage thermostability approach. These parameters coincided well with the observed stabilization of the engineered enzyme. Moreover, relative activities with sucrose and inulin were determined for non-modified and modified endo-inulinases at different temperatures. A comparison of the sucrose-to-inulin ratios of the initial rate of hydrolysis as an indicator of substrate specificity revealed about twofold improvement in inulinase versus sucrose activity by enzyme modification. Molecular dynamics simulations and molecular docking approaches were employed to explain the observed structural and functional thermostabilization of endo-inulinase upon modification. We hypothesize the establishment of intramolecular interactions between the covalently attached PLP-Lys381 and Arg526 and Ser376 residues as a representative of modification-originated intramolecular contacts in the modified enzyme.