Open AccessFunctional assessment of hydrophilic domains of late embryogenesis abundant proteins from distant organisms
Author(s) -
Liu Yingying,
Zhang Heng,
Han Jiahui,
Jiang Shijie,
Geng Xiuxiu,
Xue Dong,
Chen Yun,
Zhang Chen,
Zhou Zhengfu,
Zhang Wei,
Chen Ming,
Lin Min,
Wang Jin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
microbial biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.287
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 1751-7915
DOI - 10.1111/1751-7915.13416
Subject(s) - deinococcus radiodurans , yarrowia , escherichia coli , desiccation , biology , biochemistry , bacteria , yeast , chemistry , botany , genetics , dna , gene
Summary Late embryogenesis abundant ( LEA ) proteins play a protective role during desiccation and oxidation stresses. LEA 3 proteins are a major group characterized by a hydrophilic domain ( HD ) with a highly conserved repeating 11‐amino acid motif. We compared four different HD orthologs from distant organisms: (i) Dr HD from the extremophilic bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans ; (ii) Ce HD from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans ; (iii) Yl HD from the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica ; and (iv) Bn HD from the plant Brassica napus . Circular dichroism spectroscopy showed that all four HD s were intrinsically disordered in phosphate buffer and then folded into α‐helical structures with the addition of glycerol or trifluoroethanol. Heterologous HD expression conferred enhanced desiccation and oxidation tolerance to Escherichia coli . These four HD s protected the enzymatic activities of lactate dehydrogenase ( LDH ) by preventing its aggregation under desiccation stress. The HD s also interacted with LDH , which was intensified by the addition of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), suggesting a protective role in a chaperone‐like manner. Based on these results, the HD s of LEA 3 proteins show promise as protectants for desiccation and oxidation stresses, especially Dr HD , which is a potential ideal stress‐response element that can be applied in synthetic biology due to its extraordinary protection and stress resistance ability.