Effects of the cofactor binding sites on the activities of secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (SADH)

•TeSADH was cloned, the two mutants S199Y and R200D were constructed for exploring how the cofactors bind to TeSADH.•In yeast, the S199Y mutant substantially elevated the ethanol concentration compared with the wild-type.•The S199Y mutant exhibited an increased preference for NAD(P)H over NAD(P)+, binding with NAD(P)H more compactly than NAD(P)+.

SADHs from Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus are enzymes that, together with various cofactors, catalyze the reversible reduction of carbonyl compounds to their corresponding alcohols. To explore how cofactors bind to SADH, TeSADH was cloned in this study, and Ser199 and Arg200 were replaced by Tyr and Asp, respectively. Both sites were expected to be inside or adjacent to the cofactor-binding domain according to computational a prediction. Analysis of TeSADH activities revealed that the enzymatic efficiency (kcat/Km) of the S199Y mutant was noticeably enhanced using by NADH, NADPH as cofactors, and similar with that of wild-type using by NADP+, NAD+. Conversely, the activity of the R200D mutant significantly decreased with all cofactors. Furthermore, in yeast, the S199Y mutant substantially elevated the ethanol concentration compared with the wild type. Molecular dynamics simulation results indicated the H-bonding network between TeSADH and the cofactors was stronger for the S199Y mutant and the binding energy was simultaneously increased. Moreover, the fluorescence results indicated the S199Y mutant exhibited an increased preference for NAD(P)H, binding with NAD(P)H more compactly compared with wild type.