Enhancing the Catalytic Activity of Type II L-Asparaginase from Bacillus licheniformis through Semi-Rational Design

Low catalytic activity is a key factor limiting the widespread application of type II L-asparaginase (ASNase) in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, smart libraries were constructed by semi-rational design to improve the catalytic activity of type II ASNase from Bacillus licheniformis. Mutants with greatly enhanced catalytic efficiency were screened by saturation mutations and combinatorial mutations. A quintuple mutant ILRAC was ultimately obtained with specific activity of 841.62 IU/mg and k_cat/K_m of 537.15 min^-1·mM^-1, which were 4.24-fold and 6.32-fold more than those of wild-type ASNase. The highest specific activity and k_cat/K_m were firstly reported in type II ASNase from Bacillus licheniformis. Additionally, enhanced pH stability and superior thermostability were both achieved in mutant ILRAC. Meanwhile, structural alignment and molecular dynamic simulation demonstrated that high structure stability and strong substrate binding were beneficial for the improved thermal stability and enzymatic activity of mutant ILRAC. This is the first time that enzymatic activity of type II ASNase from Bacillus licheniformis has been enhanced by the semi-rational approach, and results provide new insights into enzymatic modification of L-asparaginase for industrial applications.