Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of industrial sugar production. Particularly, the present invention relates to isolated polypeptides capable of hydrolyzing 1 -kestose in the presence of sucrose but lacking sucrase (invertase) activity, and polynucleotides encoding the polypeptides. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the polynucleotides as well as methods of producing and using the polypeptides in industrial sucrose production from 1 -kestose and sugar solutions containing 1 -kestose.

Background art

Industrial Sugar Production

[0002] Sugar (Sucrose) is produced in 120 countries and global production is currently around 180 million tons a year. Approximately 80% is produced from sugarcane while the remaining 20% is produced from sugar beet. For a general perspective, 70 countries produce sugar from sugarcane, 40 from sugar beet, and 10 from both. The 10 largest sugar-producing nations represent roughly 75% of world sugar production while Brazil alone accounts for almost 25% of world production.

[0003] While fructans are naturally found in very low concentration in sugarcane and sugar beet current biotechnological methods can allow the generation of sugarcane, sugar beet and other crop plants with an increased storage of carbohydrate content in the form of fructans. For example, the international patent applications WO96/01904, WO96/21023, WO98/39460, WO99/24593, WO2006066969 and WO2009152285 propose the expression of heterologous genes, alone or in combination, in sugarcane in order to produce and accumulate fructans in transgenic crops.

[0004] Inulin is a fructan type carbohydrate polymer, which occurs as a polydisperse composition in many plants and can also be produced by certain bacteria and fungi. Inulin from plant origin usually consists of a polydisperse composition of mainly linear chains composed of fructose units (mostly terminating in one glucose unit) which are linked to each other through beta (2- 1 ) fructosyl-fructose linkages. The smallest inulin molecule, the trisaccharide 1 - kestose (GFF; lUPAC NAME p-D-fructofuranosyl-(2→1 )-p-D-fructofuranosyl a- D-glucopyranoside - Erro! Fonte de referenda nao encontrada.) is identified as a key fructan type carbohydrate to be stored in transgenic crops. The present invention relates to juice of transgenic crops containing small fructans, particularly 1 -kestose. 1 -kestose and sucrose 2d chemical structures are represented by structural formulae (A) and (B), respectively:

a) 1 -kestose b) sucrose

[0005] While the state-of-the-art indicates that the juice of transgenic crops with an increased carbohydrate content in the form of 1 -kestose constitute an economically interesting starting material for fermentation products, of which Saccharomyces cerevisiae ethanol production is the most important, the industrial production of sucrose, as crystallized sugar, is in fact, expected to be hampered by 1 -kestose.

[0006] Kestoses are considered as stable as sucrose and there are indications that oligosaccharides like raffinose from sugar beet, dextran from sugarcane and kestoses, as well as other associated oligosaccharides can cause crystal deformations (elongation of the B- or C-axis), and do impact sugar crystallization, the main purification procedure used to recover sucrose from the sugarcane or sugar beet plant extract.

[0007] It is known for a person skilled in the art that several factors can influence sugar crystal growth rates, including supersaturation, temperature variations and the concentration and nature of impurities. Factors that affect the efficiency of this operation can have implications for crystal recovery (yield). Modification in shape or appearance of sucrose crystal is related to crystal growth rates reductions. This slows down industrial sugar production, effectively reducing factory capacity and leading to increased energy costs due to the longer processing times.

[0008] Since the currently available described methods for recovery or chromatographic separation of 1 -kestose from sugar mixtures are extremely complex and unfeasible from the technical-economic-industrial point of view (US5463038, WO97/21718), the juice of the referred transgenic crops need to be segregated from sugar factories. The segregation is necessary in order to prevent contamination of the traditional crop sugarcane juice with the juice of 1 - kestose rich transgenic crop, and avoid the resulting crystallization problems. In this way, this restriction ends up limiting the economic potential of using 1 - kestose rich transgenic crop as starting material for fermentation products.

[0009] The present invention describes the use of specific enzymes (kestose hydrolases) in an economically viable process to enable the use of sugar mixtures containing 1 -kestose in the industrial production of sucrose (as crystallized sugar).

Enzymes: [0010] The enzymes responsible for hydrolyzing carbohydrates are namely glycoside hydrolases (GH) (glycosidases, O-glycoside hydrolases, EC 3.2.1 .x). Based on common structural fold and amino acid sequence comparisons they are classified in families as described and according to the Carbohydrate-Active enZYme server (http://www.cazy.org/).

[0011] Glycoside hydrolase family GH32 contains one of the earliest described enzyme activities, namely that of 'inverting' sucrose, from which is derived the name of 'invertase' (EC 3.2.1 .26). In addition to the 'historical' invertases, this family also contains enzymes that hydrolyze fructose containing polysaccharides such as inulinases (EC 3.2.1 .7) and exo-inulinases (EC 3.2.1 .80), levanases (EC 3.2.1 .65) and p-2,6-fructan 6-levanbiohydrolases (EC 3.2.1 .64), fructan p-(2,1 )-fructosidase/1 -exohydrolase (EC 3.2.1 .153) or fructan p-(2,6)-fructosidase/6-exohydrolases (EC 3.2.1 .154). In addition, GH32 family comprises enzymes displaying transglycosylating activities such as sucrose:sucrose 1 -fructosyltransferases (EC 2.4.1 .99), fructan :fructan 1 - fructosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1 .100), sucrose:fructan 6-fructosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1 .10), fructan :fructan 6G-fructosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1 .243) and levan fructosyltransferases (EC 2.4.1 .-). All of these enzymes have a common β- propeller catalytic domain with three conserved amino acids, located in the deep axial pocket of the active site. The propeller has a 5-fold repeat of blades, each consisting of four antiparallel β-strands with the classical W topology around the central axis, enclosing the negatively charged cavity of the active site.

[0012] In general, the catalytic reaction of GH32 enzymes occurs by a retaining mechanism in which an aspartate (Asp/D) located close to the N terminus acts as the nucleophile and a glutamate (Glu/E) acts as the general acid/base catalyst. The reaction proceeds through attachment of the aspartate nucleophile to a fructosyl unit of the donor substrate. The fructosyl is subsequently released by hydrolysis (or transferred to an acceptor sugar substrate in transglycosylation). The present invention relates to fructosyl hydrolysis, particularly the hydrolysis of terminal, non-reducing (2->1 )-beta-D- fructofuranose residues in oligosaccharides.

[0013] In the case of Saccharomyces cerevisiae invertase, the prototype of EC 3.2.1 .26, dimerization plays a determinant role in substrate specificity, preventing binding of extended substrates, which explains its invertase character at the molecular level (Sainz-Polo et al. 2013). As extracted from the work of Sainz-Polo and colleagues, when comparing the activity of S. cerevisiae invertase with different oligosaccharides, the highest efficiency was found with sucrose as a substrate, followed by the trisaccharides raffinose and 1 -kestose, whereas the tetrasaccharide nystose was hydrolyzed at a much lower rate. No significant activity was observed with inulin as the substrate (

[0014] Table 1).

Table 1 . Comparative substrate Specificity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae invertase. Data extracted from Sainz-Polo et al., 2013.

[0015] Exo-inulinases or fructan beta-fructosidase (EC 3.2.1 .80), found in Bacteria and Eukaryota domains, hydrolyses terminal, non-reducing (2->1 )- and (2->6)-linked beta-D-fructofuranose residues in fructans like inulin, levan, kestose and sucrose. As general rule, they hydrolyze inulin and sucrose with similar efficiency and are economically important to industrial production of high fructose syrup from natural inulins.

[0016] On the other hand, Fructan 1 -exohydrolase (1 -FEH / Fructan beta- (2,1 )-fructosidase - EC 3.2.1 .153) were only reported in Magnoliophyta division of plants so far (i.e., angiosperms, including crops, grains, grasses, garden and roadside weeds, and broad-leaved trees and shrubs). While these plant enzymes also promote hydrolysis of terminal, non-reducing (2->1 )-linked beta- D-fructofuranose residues in fructans, they are distinguished from exo- inulinases (EC 3.2.1 .80) by the fact that they have no or have very low activity against sucrose.

[0017] The present invention relates to fructosyl hydrolysis, particularly the hydrolysis of terminal, non-reducing (2->1 )- beta-D-fructofuranose residues in oligosaccharides, and more particularly to the selective hydrolysis of small fructans like 1 -kestose but not sucrose by enzymes, more particularly, by 1 -FEH enzymes (EC 3.2.1 .153). In this way, the present invention relates to isolated polypeptides capable of hydrolyzing 1 -kestose in the presence of sucrose but lacking sucrase (invertase) activity, and polynucleotides encoding the same.

Summary of the invention

[0018] The present invention relates to an efficient, advantageous and economically viable industrial process using specific enzymes (kestose hydrolases) to enable the use of sugar mixtures (preferably derived from sugarcane, sugar beet or other crop plants with an increased storage carbohydrate content in the form of fructans) containing 1 -kestose in the industrial production of sucrose (as crystallized sugar).

[0019] The present invention seeks to provide a method for conversion of 1 -kestose into sucrose and fructose in a sugar solution, containing kestose and more than 10 imM sucrose (3g/L), wherein said method comprises the enzymatic hydrolysis (preferably using 1 -FEH enzymes - EC 3.2.1 .153) of 1 - kestose.

[0020] The present invention also seeks to provide a method of producing a polypeptide having 1 -Kestose Hydrolase activity, comprising: (a) cultivating a recombinant host cell transformed with a heterologous nucleic acid construct coding for hydrolases acting on glycosidic compounds under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and (b) recovering the polypeptide.

[0021] The present invention also seeks to provide a composition comprising the above polypeptide. Brief description of figures

[0022] Figure 1 . Suggested mechanism of 1 -FEH inhibition by sucrose. A) Catalytic site of chicory 1 -FEHIIa with sucrose as ligand (PDB: 2ADE); B) Catalytic site of chicory 1 -FEHIIa with 1 -kestose as ligand (PDB: 2AEZ).

[0023] Figure 2. Homology modeling of chicory (Cichorium intybus) 1 - FEH lla (PDB: 2ADE) and 1 -FEH I complexed with sucrose (in the center). Residues highlighted in red correspond to 1 -FEH I and those highlighted in blue correspond to 1 -FEH lla.

[0024] Figure 3. HPAEC-PAD Dionex Chromatograms illustrating the validation of 1 -kestose hydrolysis by 1 -FEH enzyme A (Campanula rapunculoides). The remaining target enzymes tested showed a similar reaction product pattern, with only fructose and sucrose being produced. The upper panel indicates the chromatogram of control reaction containing the substrate 1 - kestose without enzyme. The lower panel shows the formation of fructose and sucrose after hydrolysis of 1 -kestose by 1 -FEH A, at the concentration of 0.75 img/mL, for 1 hour, at 30° C. Initial concentration of 1 -kestose was 10 imM in all experiments.

[0025] Figure 4. Sucrose inhibition assay of four 1 -FEH targets. Target ID letters correspond to Table 4.

Detailed description of the invention

[0026] One embodiment according to the present invention refers to a method of producing a polypeptide having Kestose Hydrolase activity, comprising (a) cultivating a recombinant host cell transformed with a heterologous nucleic acid construct coding for hydrolases acting on glycosidic compounds under conditions conducive for production of the polypeptide; and (b) recovering the polypeptide.

[0027] According to the method of producing a polypeptide having Kestose Hydrolase activity of the present invention the recombinant host cell is a prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell. In a preferred aspect of the present invention, said cell is a yeast cell or filamentous fungal cell. In a most preferred aspect of the present invention, said cell is a Pichia, a Myceliophthora, a Thielavia, a Trichoderma, an Aspergillus or a Saccharomyces cell.

[0028] In one aspect, the recombinant host cell of the above method is transformed by a vector comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding at least one hydrolase acting on glycosidic compounds. In a preferred aspect, the abovementioned polynucleotide sequence encodes at least one 1 -FEH enzyme (EC 3.2.1 .153), wherein said 1 -FEH enzyme is listed at table 1 . In another aspect, the 1 -FEH enzyme is engineered to show increased performance for the conversion of 1 -kestose into sucrose and fructose in the presence of sucrose (more than 10 imM).

[0029] In a further aspect, the invention relates to a composition comprising the polypeptide having Kestose Hydrolase activity according to the present invention and a stabilizer. In one embodiment, the composition comprises polypeptides having Kestose Hydrolase activity according to the present invention and polypeptides having Dextranase activity. In another embodiment, the composition comprises polypeptides having Kestose Hydrolase activity, polypeptides having Dextranase activity and polypeptides having Amylase activity.

1 -FEH inhibition by sucrose

[0030] Among the 1 -FEH enzymes characterized so far in the state of the art, the vast majority is completely inhibited by sucrose at low imM concentration (Verhaest et al. 2007; Le Roy et al. 2008). While it is not straightforward to compare enzyme inhibition data from different research groups, a few 1 -FEH enzymes can be identified as "being less inhibited by sucrose": 1 -FEH I from Chicory Roots (Claessens, Van Laere, and De Proft 1990), 1 -FEH I from Helianthus (Xu et al. 2014) and (6 and 1 )-FEH from Arabidopsis thaliana (De Coninck et al. 2005). All of them were reported to retain at least 50% of their activity in the presence of 10 imM of sucrose.

[0031] The present invention relates to fructosyl hydrolysis, particularly the hydrolysis of terminal, non-reducing (2->1 )- beta-D-fructofuranose residues in oligosaccharides, and more particularly to the selective hydrolysis of small fructans like 1 -kestose by 1 -FEH enzymes in the presence of substantial amounts (above 10 mM) of sucrose.

[0032] In this way, one aspect of the present invention consists in a method for conversion of 1 -kestose into sucrose and fructose in a sugar solution containing more than 10 mM sucrose, wherein said method comprises the enzymatic hydrolysis of 1 -kestose.

Structural determinants for sucrose inhibition in 1 -FEH enzymes

[0033] While consistent enzyme kinetics data is essential for an in deep understanding of substrate specificity, specific activity and inhibition profile of 1 - FEH candidates, three-dimensional structures, protein alignments and molecular modeling has the potential to shed some light on the structural determinants for sucrose inhibition in 1 -FEH enzymes.

[0034] As discussed by Verhaest and colleagues (2007), sucrose inhibition could be related to conserved protein regions among plant cell wall invertases and FEHs known as 'GSAT and 'YTG'. Enzymes reported as strongly inhibited by sucrose contain a serine or a glycine residue in the YTG region while plant invertases and some FEHs that are reported as not, or only very weakly, inhibited by sucrose contain a W82 homologue (using Cichorium intybus 1 -FEH lla protein as reference) stacking with a hydrophobic amino acid. Interestingly, in chicory 1 -FEH I, which is described as very weakly inhibited by sucrose, a leucine instead of tryptophan (W82) is observed in the GSAT region.

[0035] In general, the terminal fructosyl unit is positioned in a very similar way at the -1 subsite on proteins belonging to the family GH 32. In this orientation, the anomeric C2 of fructose (i.e., the one that will suffer the nucleophilic attack and will be covalently attached to the enzyme during hydrolysis) is correctly positioned between the two catalytic active amino acids Glutamate and Aspartate, (respectively D22 and E201 on 1 -FEH lla). Contrariwise, glucosyl unit of sucrose is found in a slightly altered position in 1 - FEH lla enzyme from Cichorium intybus. In this position, the active site E201 forms a short H-linkage with the 02 of the glucosyl part of sucrose, impairing its action as acid-base catalyst. Consequently, the glycosidic oxygen 01 will not be protonated and an enzymatic reaction (i.e., the nucleophilic attack and the sucrose hydrolysis) will not occur. When the substrate 1 -kestose is bound in the active site, is the "second fructosyl residue" that lies in the S1 subsite and the oxygen 03 forms a close intramolecular hydrogen bond with the glycosidic oxygen 01 ' between glucose and fructose. In this way, the acid-base catalyst E201 can fulfil its function as proton donor to the glycosidic oxygen 01 .

[0036] Verhaest and colleagues (2007) speculate that sucrose bind in the so called "inhibitor configuration" because the high conserved GH32 residue W82 is shifted further away from the active site in 1 -FEH lla enzyme, probably because it does not stack with an aromatic residue as observed in the microbial exo-inulinases enzymes. Most probably, the smaller residues such as glycine and serine at YTG region allow a different position of W82 and the binding of sucrose in the inhibitor configuration. Interestingly, all plant invertases contain a W82 homologue in the YTG region that stacks with a hydrophobic amino acid at GSAT region, which probably prevents the binding of sucrose in the inhibitor configuration.

[0037] A probable mechanism for inhibition considers the position of sucrose, compared to 1 -kestose, in chicory 1 -FEH lla catalytic site (Erro! Fonte de referenda nao encontrada.). This figure shows that the fructosyl moiety of 1 -kestose (B) bound to 1 -FEH locates roughly in the same position as the glucosyl moiety of sucrose (A). However, because of the longer binding distance between two fructosyl units compared with the binding distance between the fructosyl and glucosyl moieties in sucrose, this last sugar binds in an orientation that prevents it from hydrolysis.

[0038] In order to elucidate the residues that might be responsible for sucrose binding at the catalytic site, a homology model was generated in which the crystal structure of chicory 1 -FEHIIa (PDB: 2ADE) was superimposed with the chicory 1 -FEHI (Erro! Fonte de referenda nao encontrada.). The main differences observed were: i) the presence of a W82 residue in 1 -FEHIIa, instead of the L163 homologue in 1 -FEHI; ii) the presence of a S101 residue in 1 -FEHIIa, instead of the N182 homologue in 1 -FEHI. The tryptophan present in position 82 of 1 -FEHII apparently leads to a higher interaction with glucosyl moiety of sucrose than its Leucine homologue in 1 -FEHI (Erro! Fonte de referenda nao encontrada.). This interaction stabilizes sucrose binding to the active site, preventing 1 -kestose to enter. Residues modifications that decrease the interaction of glucosyl moiety of sucrose to the active site might decrease enzymatic inhibition by the sugar. Highlighting this view, mutagenesis experiments in the literature showed that W82L and S101 L mutants of 1 -FEH lla enzyme were no longer inhibited by 10 imM sucrose, against a 63% inhibition of the wild type (Verhaest et al., 2007).

[0039] The present invention relates to fructosyl hydrolysis, particularly the hydrolysis of terminal, non-reducing (2->1 )- beta-D-fructofuranose residues in oligosaccharides, and more particularly to the selective hydrolysis of small fructans like 1 -kestose by native or engineered/mutated 1 -FEH enzymes in the presence of sucrose. Some of the Kestose Hydrolases disclosed by the present invention, although not limiting its scope, are listed in Table 2.

Table 2. Kestose hydrolases for selective hydrolysis of small fructans.

^* aminoacid substitution

Process: The use of the Enzyme for higher yield sugar production

[0040] In a particular embodiment according to the present invention, an enzyme having Kestose Hydrolase activity is intended for use in the sugar industry for conversion of 1 -kestose into sucrose, in various sugar solutions. The term "Kestose hydrolase" means enzymes capable of performing the hydrolysis of 1 -kestose into sucrose and fructose in the presence of substantial amounts (above 10 mM) of sucrose.

[0041] The Kestose Hydrolase enzyme used herein may be produced by any means known in the art. [0042] In one aspect, the invention relates to the application of an enzyme having Kestose Hydrolase activity of the invention for conversion of 1 - kestose into sucrose and fructose in a sugar solution.

[0043] In a further aspect, the invention relates to a method for conversion of 1 -kestose into sucrose and fructose in a sugar solution comprising contacting the sugar solution with an enzyme having Kestose Hydrolase activity according to the invention. In particular, the enzyme having Kestose Hydrolase activity is a 1 -FEH enzyme (EC 3.2.1 .153).

[0044] In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the 1 -FEH enzyme shows increased performance for the conversion of 1 -kestose into sucrose and fructose in the presence of sucrose (more than 10 mM). Table 3 demonstrates a comparison of sucrose inhibition profiles for some of the Kestose Hydrolases disclosed by the present invention.

Table 3. Sucrose inhibition profiles for some of the Kestose hydrolases

^* aminoacid substitution

[0045] Alternatively, the 1 -FEH enzyme is engineered to show increased performance for the conversion of 1 -kestose into sucrose and fructose in the presence of sucrose (more than 10 mM). [0046] In the present context, the contact of the Kestose Hydrolase enzyme with the sugar solution may be performed by any means known in the art.

[0047] In the present context a "sugar solution" means any solution comprising sugar derived from sugarcane, sugar beet or other crop plants with an increased storage carbohydrate content in the form of fructans, particularly 1 -kestose.

[0048] In particular, the sugar solution is selected from the group comprising any juice (including primary juice, secondary juice, mixed juice, sulphited juice, limed juice, decanted juice, filtered juice, evaporated juice, concentrated juice, or juices derived from unit operations of sugarcane mills, beet sugar mills or sugar refinery), any syrup (concentrated syrup, sulphited sugar, floated syrup, limed syrup, syrup derived from unit operation of sugarcane mills, sugar beet industry or sugar refinery), any massacuite (massacuite A, massacuite B, massacuite C), any molasses, any magma, raw sugar solution, and/or VVHP/VHP sugar solution, also affinated sugar, melted sugar, clarified sugar, carbonated sugar, phosphated sugar, (including any sugar solution derived from unit operation of sugar refinery).

[0049] The Kestose Hydrolase may be added at any suitable step during the raw sugar, white sugar or refined sugar process. In particular, the Kestose Hydrolase may be added to the sugar cane juice before or during clarification. Other suitable points to add Kestose Hydrolase could be to the holding sugar juice tanks or to syrup tanks. In another particular embodiment the Kestose Hydrolase is added during the evaporation step, e.g., to the molasses stream between evaporators, more particularly prior to the last evaporator.

[0050] The Kestose Hydrolase may be also used in a composition with polypeptides having dextranase activity and polypeptides having amylase activity, since dextran and starch are common contaminants in sugar production processes. Example - Results

[0051] As a proof-of-concept, four kestose hydrolase targets were selected, cloned, expressed in Pichia pastoris and tested for hydrolysis of 1 - kestose to sucrose and fructose, in the presence of sucrose. The targets, depicted in Table , comprise one wild type 1 -FEH from Campanula rapunculoides, mutated versions of 1 -FEH w1 and w1 from Triticum aestivum and a mutated version of 1 -FEH lla from Cichorium intybus.

[0052] Targets B, C and D from Table 4 are described in the literature as strongly inhibited by sucrose (Verhaest et al. 2007; Van Den Ende et al. 2003). In order to obtain enzymes able to hydrolyze 1 -kestose in the presence of high amounts of sucrose (e.g. 380 imM) point mutations were performed to substitute W82 homologue Tryptophan residue present within the GSAT region for a Leucine residue. These substitutions are supposed to decrease the interaction of glucosyl moiety of sucrose to the active site of the enzymes, leading to destabilization of sucrose binding and, consequently, less inhibition.

Table 4. Kestose hydrolase targets tested for kestose hydrolase activity and sucrose inhibition.

^* aminoacid substitution

[0053] The enzymes A, B, C and D were expressed in Pichia pastoris KM71 H strain with a fusion GFP protein at C-terminal in 300 mL of culture media. After 48-hour induction with 0.5% (v/v) mM of methanol, the recombinant proteins were partially purified by precipitation with ammonium sulphate at 70% of saturation, followed by solubilization with sodium phosphate buffer 50 mM pH6.0. The partially purified proteins were concentrated and analyzed by SDS- PAGE and blue-light transluminator for GFP fluorescence. The enzymatic activity assays of the partially purified enzymes were evaluated using 10mM 1 - kestose as substrate, 50 uL of enzyme and sucrose as inhibitor ranging from zero to 380 imM, in a 100 μΙ_-Γβ3θΐίοη buffered with sodium phosphate 50 imM pH6.0. The reactions were carried for 1 hour at 30 °C and stopped by heating at 95 °C for 5 minutes. The reactions were than diluted to 4 imL with ultrapure water and analyzed high-pressure anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD, Dionex, Sunnyvale, CA, USA). Enzyme relative activity was determined by the amount of fructose released.

[0054] HPAEC-PAD analysis showed that all enzymes tested are kestose hydrolases without sucrase activity, since the only reaction products were fructose and sucrose, but no glucose was detected. An example of such HPAEC-PAD chromatograms can be seen in Erro! Fonte de referenda nao encontrada..

[0055] After identifying that the chosen targets are active against 1 - kestose but not sucrose, we performed sucrose inhibition studies in which the amount of enzyme and substrate were fixed and increasing concentrations of sucrose were added to the reaction. Inhibition percentage was calculated by the amount of fructose released in each reaction, compared to the fructose released in the reaction without added sucrose (Erro! Fonte de referenda nao encontrada.).

[0056] The 1 -FEH enzyme from Campanula rapunculoides (line A in Erro! Fonte de referenda nao encontrada.) was selected as a potential target because of its natural substitution of the W82 homologue in the GSAT region by a phenylalanine residue (Table ). One could expect a low inhibition profile by sucrose, but our data shows that the enzyme is more than 70% inhibited in the presence of 100 imM sucrose. This probably happens because phenylalanine has a similar role as tryptophan in interacting to the glucosyl moiety of sucrose in the active site of the enzyme. This is reasonable, since both amino acids have aromatic side-chains.

[0057] The Triticum aestivum enzymes 1 -FEH w1 and 1 -FEH w2 (lines B and C, respectively in Erro! Fonte de referenda nao encontrada.) were point- mutated to substitute the W82 homologue of GSAT region for a leucine residue, generating the (W135L) and (W134L) versions, respectively (Table ). These mutations were expected to cause a decrease in the interaction of sucrose to the active site, preventing inhibition. However, as seen in Erro! Fonte de referenda nao encontrada., the enzyme B had a similar inhibition pattern of enzyme A and the enzyme C showed a lower inhibition, but higher than 75% at 380 mM of sucrose. These results are probably explained by the presence of a tyrosine residue adjacent to the leucine substitution (Table ), that may also be interacting and stabilizing sucrose in the active site. Thus, further point mutations in these tyrosine residues have a high potential to decrease enzyme inhibition by sucrose.

[0058] The target enzyme 1 -FEH lla from Cichorium intybus is described as strongly inhibited by sucrose (Verhaest et al. 2007). The same authors showed that the substitution of the W82 homologue residue of GSAT region by a leucine (W120L version, Table ) decreased enzymatic inhibition from 63% to 0% in the presence of 10 mM sucrose. Since sucrose concentrations usually reach 380 mM in the industrial processes from sugarcane, inhibition data of kestose hydrolases in such sucrose concentrations are necessary. In this sense, the same W120L mutation of 1 -FEH lla from Cichorium intybus was tested and the inhibition reached 52% at 380 mM sucrose (line D in Erro! Fonte de referenda nao encontrada.). These results are representative examples of using this enzyme for industrial application for conversion of 1 -kestose into sucrose and fructose. Other mutations may have additional effects, like the S139L substitution, which was also demonstrated by Verhaest et al., 2007 to reduce sucrose inhibition in the same enzyme. The double mutation (W120L and S139L) has also a high potential to decrease inhibition in high sucrose concentrations (e.g. 380 Mm).

Citation list

Patent Literature

- WO96/01904

- WO96/21023

- WO98/39460

- WO99/24593

- WO2006066969

- WO2009152285

Non-Patent Literature

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- Xu, Huanhuan, Mingxiang Liang, Li Xu, Hui Li, Xi Zhang, Jian Kang, Qingxin Zhao, and Haiyan Zhao. 2014. "Cloning and Functional Characterization of Two Abiotic Stress-Responsive Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus Tuberosus) Fructan 1 -Exohydrolases (1 -FEHs)." Plant Molecular Biology 87 (1 -2): 81 -98. doi:10.1007/s1 1 103-014-0262-1 .