Kinetic studies of Gly28:Ser mutant form of Bacillus pumilus lipase: Changes in kcat and thermal dependence

Lipases are useful catalysts for a wide variety of industrial purposes. Herein we report the stability and thermal dependence of the activity of wild-type Bacillus pumilus lipase (BplA) and four site-directed mutants designed to improve its thermal stability. The Gly28:Ser mutation produces a dramatic four-fold increase in its kcat and a remarkable increase in its stability. While the increase in kcat is temperature-independent, the increase in stability shows that the resultant interactions of this mutation have a strong enthalpic component. Thermal dependence of stability, kcat, KM and kcat/KM were analysed to gain insight on the structural effects of mutations on BplA. Our results are consistent with a gain in enzyme mobility for those mutants displaying enhanced catalytic properties; the analysis of thermal dependence of kinetic parameters indicates that the mutations did not change either the catalytic mechanism or the rate-limiting step of catalysis.

Graphical AbstractFigure optionsDownload high-quality image (29 K)Download as PowerPoint slideResearch Highlights
► Mutation Gly28:Ser increases kcat and stability of B. pumilus lipase.
► Thermal dependence of stability has a strong enthalpic component.
► kcat/KM increases due to an important reduction of KM.