Improvement in thermostability of metagenomic GH11 endoxylanase (Mxyl) by site-directed mutagenesis and its applicability in paper pulp bleaching process

An attempt has been made for enhancing the thermostability of xylanase (Mxyl) retrieved from a compost-soil-based metagenomic library. The analysis of the structure of xylanase by molecular dynamics simulation revealed more structural fluctuations in β-sheets. When the surface of β-sheets was enriched with arginine residues by substituting serine/threonine by site-directed mutagenesis, the enzyme with four arginine substitutions (MxylM4) exhibited enhanced thermostability at 80 °C. The T 1/2 of MxylM4 at 80 °C, in the presence of birchwood xylan, increased from 130 to 150 min at 80 °C without any alteration in optimum pH and temperature and molecular mass. Improvement in thermostability of MxylM4 was corroborated by increase in T m by 6 °C over that of Mxyl. The K m of MxylM4, however, increased from 8.01 ± 0.56 of Mxyl to 12.5 ± 0.32 mg ml−1, suggesting a decrease in the affinity as well as specific enzyme activity. The Mxyl as well as MxylM4 liberated chromophores and lignin-derived compounds from kraft pulp, indicating their applicability in pulp bleaching.