Simultaneously improving stability and specificity of cell surface displayed glucose dehydrogenase mutants to construct whole-cell biocatalyst for glucose biosensor application

The improved stability and substrate specificity of cell surface displayed glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) mutants by replacing four amino acids from Bacillus subtilis by using site-directed mutagenesis was systematically investigated. A series of mutated GDHs including E170R/Q252L, V149K/E170R/Q252L, E170R/Q252L/G259A and V149K/E170R/Q252L/G259A, were fused to the ice nucleation protein for displaying on cell surface of Eschericia coli. Q252L/E170R/V149K, Q252L/E170R/G259A and Q252L/E170R/V149K/G259A variants were found stable at a wide pH range and shown excellent thermostability. Especially, the Q252L/E170R/V149K/G259A mutant showed half-life of ∼3.8 days at 70 °C. Q252L/E170R/V149K/G259A variant exhibited the narrowest substrate specificity for d-glucose. The whole cell displayed GDH mutant could be cultured in a large scale with excellent enzyme activity and productivity. In addition, a sensitive and stable electrochemical glucose biosensor can be prepared using the GDH-mutant bacteria modified electrode. Thus, the whole cell biocatalysts are promising candidates for exploitation in a wide range of industrial applications.