Publications

• Chitobiose phosphorylase from Vibrio proteolyticus, a member of glycosyl transferase family 36, has a clan GH-L-like (alpha/alpha)(6) barrel fold.

  Hidaka M., Honda Y., Kitaoka M., Nirasawa S., Hayashi K., Wakagi T., Shoun H., Fushinobu S.

  Vibrio proteolyticus chitobiose phosphorylase (ChBP) belongs to glycosyl transferase family 36 (GT-36), and catalyzes the reversible phosphorolysis of chitobiose into alpha-GlcNAc-1-phosphate and GlcNAc with inversion of the anomeric configuration. As the first known structures of a GT-36 enzyme, ... >> More

  Vibrio proteolyticus chitobiose phosphorylase (ChBP) belongs to glycosyl transferase family 36 (GT-36), and catalyzes the reversible phosphorolysis of chitobiose into alpha-GlcNAc-1-phosphate and GlcNAc with inversion of the anomeric configuration. As the first known structures of a GT-36 enzyme, we determined the crystal structure of ChBP in a ternary complex with GlcNAc and SO(4). It is also the first structures of an inverting phosphorolytic enzyme in a complex with a sugar and a sulfate ion, and reveals a pseudo-ternary complex structure of enzyme-sugar-phosphate. ChBP comprises a beta sandwich domain and an (alpha/alpha)(6) barrel domain, constituting a distinctive structure among GT families. Instead, it shows significant structural similarity with glycoside hydrolase (GH) enzymes, glucoamylases (GH-15), and maltose phosphorylase (GH-65) in clan GH-L. The structural similarity reported here, together with distant sequence similarities between ChBP and GHs, led to the reclassification of family GT-36 into a novel GH family, namely GH-94. << Less

  Structure 12:937-947(2004) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Reaction mechanism of chitobiose phosphorylase from Vibrio proteolyticus: identification of family 36 glycosyltransferase in Vibrio.

  Honda Y., Kitaoka M., Hayashi K.

  A family 36 glycosyltransferase gene was cloned from Vibrio proteolyticus. The deduced amino acid sequence showed a high degree of identity with ChBP (chitobiose phosphorylase) from another species, Vibrio furnissii. The recombinant enzyme catalysed the reversible phosphorolysis of (GlcNAc)2 (chit ... >> More

  A family 36 glycosyltransferase gene was cloned from Vibrio proteolyticus. The deduced amino acid sequence showed a high degree of identity with ChBP (chitobiose phosphorylase) from another species, Vibrio furnissii. The recombinant enzyme catalysed the reversible phosphorolysis of (GlcNAc)2 (chitobiose) to form 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-alpha-D-glucose 1-phosphate [GlcNAc-1-P] and GlcNAc, but showed no activity on cellobiose, indicating that the enzyme was ChBP, not cellobiose phosphorylase. In the synthetic reaction, the ChBP was active with alpha-D-glucose 1-phosphate as the donor substrate as well as GlcNAc-1-P to produce beta-D-glucosyl-(1-->4)-2-acetamide-2-deoxy-D-glucose with GlcNAc as the acceptor substrate. The enzyme allowed aryl-beta-glycosides of GlcNAc as the acceptor substrate with 10-20% activities of GlcNAc. Kinetic parameters of (GlcNAc)2 in the phosphorolysis and GlcNAc-1-P in the synthetic reaction were determined as follows: phosphorolysis, k(0)=5.5 s(-1), K(m)=2.0 mM; synthetic reaction, k(0)=10 s(-1), K(m)=14 mM, respectively. The mechanism of the phosphorolytic reaction followed a sequential Bi Bi mechanism, as frequently observed with cellobiose phosphorylases. Substrate inhibition by GlcNAc was observed in the synthetic reaction. The enzyme was considered a unique biocatalyst for glycosidation. << Less

  Biochem. J. 377:225-232(2004) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Chitin catabolism in the marine bacterium Vibrio furnissii. Identification, molecular cloning, and characterization of A N, N'-diacetylchitobiose phosphorylase.

  Park J.K., Keyhani N.O., Roseman S.

  The major product of bacterial chitinases is N,N'-diacetylchitobiose or (GlcNAc)(2). We have previously demonstrated that (GlcNAc)(2) is taken up unchanged by a specific permease in Vibrio furnissii (unlike Escherichia coli). It is generally held that marine Vibrios further metabolize cytoplasmic ... >> More

  The major product of bacterial chitinases is N,N'-diacetylchitobiose or (GlcNAc)(2). We have previously demonstrated that (GlcNAc)(2) is taken up unchanged by a specific permease in Vibrio furnissii (unlike Escherichia coli). It is generally held that marine Vibrios further metabolize cytoplasmic (GlcNAc)(2) by hydrolyzing it to two GlcNAcs (i.e. a "chitobiase "). Here we report instead that V. furnissii expresses a novel phosphorylase. The gene, chbP, was cloned into E. coli; the enzyme, ChbP, was purified to apparent homogeneity, and characterized kinetically. The DNA sequence indicates that chbP encodes an 89-kDa protein. The enzymatic reaction was characterized as follows. (GlcNAc)(2)+P(i) GlcNAc-alpha-1-P+GlcNAc K'(cq)=1.0+/-0.2 Reaction 1 The K(m) values for the four substrates were in the range 0.3-1 mm. p-Nitrophenyl-(GlcNAc)(2) was cleaved at 8.5% the rate of (GlcNAc)(2), and p-nitrophenyl (PNP)-GlcNAc was 36% as active as GlcNAc in the reverse direction. All other compounds tested displayed </=1% of the activity of the indicated substrates including: for phosphorolysis, higher chitin oliogsaccharides, (GlcNAc)(n), n = 3-5, cellobiose, PNP-GlcNAc, and PNP-(GlcNAc)(3); for synthesis, (GlcNAc)(n) (n = 2-5), glucose, etc. (GlcNAc)(2) is a major regulator of the chitin catabolic cascade. Conceivably GlcNAc-alpha-1-P plays a similar but different role in regulation. << Less

  J. Biol. Chem. 275:33077-33083(2000) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Conservation of the chitin utilization pathway in the Vibrionaceae.

  Hunt D.E., Gevers D., Vahora N.M., Polz M.F.

  Vibrionaceae are regarded as important marine chitin degraders, and attachment to chitin regulates important biological functions; yet, the degree of chitin pathway conservation in Vibrionaceae is unknown. Here, a core chitin degradation pathway is proposed based on comparison of 19 Vibrio and Pho ... >> More

  Vibrionaceae are regarded as important marine chitin degraders, and attachment to chitin regulates important biological functions; yet, the degree of chitin pathway conservation in Vibrionaceae is unknown. Here, a core chitin degradation pathway is proposed based on comparison of 19 Vibrio and Photobacterium genomes with a detailed metabolic map assembled for V. cholerae from published biochemical, genomic, and transcriptomic results. Further, to assess whether chitin degradation is a conserved property of Vibrionaceae, a set of 54 strains from 32 taxa were tested for the ability to grow on various forms of chitin. All strains grew on N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), the monomer of chitin. The majority of isolates grew on alpha (crab shell) and beta (squid pen) chitin and contained chitinase A (chiA) genes. chiA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis suggest that this gene is a good indicator of chitin metabolism but appears subject to horizontal gene transfer and duplication. Overall, chitin metabolism appears to be a core function of Vibrionaceae, but individual pathway components exhibit dynamic evolutionary histories. << Less

  Appl Environ Microbiol 74:44-51(2008) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]