Alkaline-stable lipases are highly valuable biocatalysts that catalyze reactions under highly basic conditions. Herein, computational predictions of lipase from Acinetobacter haemolyticus and its mutant, Mut-LipKV1 was performed to identify functionally relevant mutations that enhance pH performance under increasing basicity. Mut-LipKV1 was constructed by in silico site directed mutagenesis of several outer loop acidic residues, aspartic acid (Asp) into basic ones, lysine (Lys) at positions 51, 122 and 247, followed by simulation under extreme pH conditions (pH 8.0-pH 12.0). The energy minimized Mut-LipKV1 model exhibited good quality as shown by PROCHECK, ERRAT and Verify3D data that corresponded to 79.2, 88.82 and 89.42% in comparison to 75.2, 86.15, and 95.19% in the wild-type. Electrostatic surface potentials and charge distributions of the Mut-LipKV1 model was more stable and better adapted to conditions of elevated pHs (pH 8.0 - 10.0). Mut-LipKV1 exhibited a mixture of neutral and positive surface charge distribution compared to the predominantly negative charge in the wild-type lipase at pH 8.0. Data of molecular dynamics simulations also supported the increased alkaline-stability of Mut-LipKV1, wherein the lipase was more stable at a higher pH 9.0 (RMSD = ∼0.3 nm, RMSF = ∼0.05-0.2 nm), over the optimal pH 8.0 of the wild-type lipase (RMSD = 0.3 nm, RMSF = 0.05-0.20 nm). Thus, the adaptive strategy of replacing surface aspartic acid to lysine in lipase was successful in yielding a more alkaline-stable Mut-LipKV1 under elevated basic conditions.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
We previously reported on a mutant lipase KV1 (Mut-LipKV1) from Acinetobacter haemolyticus which optimal pH was raised from 8.0 to 11.0 after triple substitutions of surface aspartic acid (Asp) with lysine (Lys). Herein, this study further examined the Mut-LipKV1 by molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and molecular mechanics-Poisson Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) calculations to explore the structural requirements that participated in the effective binding of tributyrin and its catalytic triad (Ser165, Asp259 and His289) and identify detailed changes that occurred post mutation. Mut-LipKV1 bound favorably with tributyrin (-4.1 kcal/mol) and formed a single hydrogen bond with His289, at pH 9.0. Despite the incongruent docking analysis data, results of MD simulations showed configurations of both the tributyrin-Mut-LipKV1 (RMSD 0.3 nm; RMSF 0.05 - 0.3 nm) and the tributyrin-wildtype lipase KV1 (tributyrin-LipKV1) complexes (RMSD 0.35 nm; RMSF 0.05 - 0.4 nm) being comparably stable at pH 8.0. MM-PBSA analysis indicated that van der Waals interactions made the most contribution during the molecular binding process, with the Mut-LipKV1-tributyrin complex (-44.04 kcal/mol) showing relatively lower binding energy than LipKV1-tributyrin (-43.83 kcal/mol), at pH 12.0. All tributyrin-Mut-LipKV1 complexes displayed improved binding free energies over a broader pH range from 8.0 - 12.0, as compared to LipKV1-tributyrin. Future empirical works are thus, important to validate the improved alkaline-stability of Mut-LipKV1. In a nutshell, our research offered a considerable insight for further improving the alkaline tolerance of lipases.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.