Immobilization of β-Galactosidases on the Lactobacillus Cell Surface Using the Peptidoglycan-Binding Motif LysM

Lysin motif (LysM) domains are found in many bacterial peptidoglycan hydrolases. They can bind non-covalently to peptidoglycan and have been employed to display heterologous proteins on the bacterial cell surface. In this study, we aimed to use a single LysM domain derived from a putative extracellular transglycosylase Lp_3014 of Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 to display two different lactobacillal β-galactosidases, the heterodimeric LacLM-type from Lactobacillus reuteri and the homodimeric LacZ-type from Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, on the cell surface of different Lactobacillus spp. The β-galactosidases were fused with the LysM domain and the fusion proteins, LysM-LacLMLreu and LysM-LacZLbul, were successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and subsequently displayed on the cell surface of L. plantarum WCFS1. β-Galactosidase activities obtained for L. plantarum displaying cells were 179 and 1153 U per g dry cell weight, or the amounts of active surface-anchored β-galactosidase were 0.99 and 4.61 mg per g dry cell weight for LysM-LacLMLreu and LysM-LacZLbul, respectively. LysM-LacZLbul was also displayed on the cell surface of other Lactobacillus spp. including L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, L. casei and L. helveticus, however L. plantarum is shown to be the best among Lactobacillus spp. tested for surface display of fusion LysM-LacZLbul, both with respect to the immobilization yield as well as the amount of active surface-anchored enzyme. The immobilized fusion LysM-β-galactosidases are catalytically efficient and can be reused for several repeated rounds of lactose conversion. This approach, with the β-galactosidases being displayed on the cell surface of non-genetically modified food-grade organisms, shows potential for applications of these immobilized enzymes in the synthesis of prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides.