Laccase is a widely-used environment-friendly copper-containing oxidase found in many plants, insects and fungi. Recently, more and more laccases are also found in bacteria. Myxobacteria are an important bacteria resource. However, myxobacteria are much more difficult to isolate and purify than other bacteria. We used bioinformatic approach to screen myxobacteria proteomes available in NCBI. Based on conserved sequences of four copper binding sites in multicopper oxidase, 30 potential laccase sequences were obtained. Among them, nine genes were synthesized and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Seven proteins showed laccase activity when tested with traditional laccase substrates. One protein, named rSC-2, was chosen for further research because it exhibited the highest activity towards 2,6-dimethyl phenol (DMP). The molecular weight of rSC-2 was 57 kDa. Its specific activity to DMP was 0.27 U/mg. The optimal temperature and the optimal pH were 60 ℃ and 7.0, respectively. About 50% of the original activity was retained after incubation at 60 ℃ and pH 7.0-8.0 for 1 h. Metals showed different effects on rSC-2. rSC-2 activity was enhanced by several metalsat concentration of 1 mmol/L, such as Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺. With a higher concentration of 5 mmol/L, the activity of rSC-2 was apparently inhibited. This is the first report of bioinformatics screening myxobacteria laccases in combination with expression in E. coli.
漆酶是一种应用广泛的绿色环保的多酚氧化酶。漆酶过去被认为广泛存在于植物、昆虫和真菌中，而近年来，越来越多的细菌中也发现了漆酶的存在。黏细菌是一类重要的资源菌，但与一般细菌相比，较难分离和纯化。文中利用生物信息学的方法，综合应用Blast 和隐马尔可夫模型方法对黏细菌蛋白质组数据库进行搜索，并根据多铜氧化酶的保守铜离子结合位点进行进一步筛选，获得30 个候选黏细菌漆酶序列。挑选其中9 个，在大肠杆菌中进行重组表达。利用2,6-甲氧基苯酚 (DMP) 等常用漆酶底物检测重组酶的催化氧化活性，其中7 个重组蛋白具有漆酶催化活性。选择1 个对2,6-甲氧基苯酚 (DMP) 具有较高氧化活性的重组酶 (命名为rSC-2)，通过Ni-NTA 亲和层析柱纯化rSC-2，测试其酶学性质。纯化的rSC-2 蛋白分子量约57 kDa，在最适反应条件下，rSC-2 催化DMP 反应的比酶活为0.27 U/mg。催化DMP 反应的最适温度为60 ℃，最适pH 为7.0。rSC-2 在pH 7.0−8.0 有较高酶活，在60 ℃孵育1 h 保留50%以上剩余酶活。低浓度的Ca²⁺对酶活有一定的促进作用，而较高浓度的Fe³⁺、Co²⁺、Ba²⁺对酶活的抑制作用较明显。这是首次对黏细菌漆酶序列进行系统性的生物信息学分析，并实现纤维堆囊菌Sorangium cellulosum 序列来源的漆酶活性蛋白在大肠杆菌细胞中重组表达。.
Keywords: bioinformatics; enzymology characterization; myxobacteria laccase; recombinant expression; separation and purification.