Investigating the multi-modularity of a GH10 Xylanase found in termite gut metagenome.

The functional screening of a Pseudacanthotermes militaris termite gut metagenomic library revealed an array of xylan degrading enzymes including Pm25, a multi-modular Glycoside Hydrolase (GH) family 10. Sequence analysis showed details of the unusual domain organization of this enzyme. It consists of one catalytic domain, which is intercalated by two Carbohydrate Binding Modules (CBMs) from family 4. The genes upstream of pm25 are susC-susD-unk suggesting Pm25 is a Xyn10C-like enzyme belonging to a polysaccharide utilization loci. The majority of Xyn10C-like enzymes shared the same interrupted domain architecture, and were vastly distributed in different xylan utilization loci found in gut Bacteroidetes, indicating its importance in glycan foraging for the gut microbiota. In order to understand its unusual multi-modularity and the possible role of the CBMs, a detailed characterization of the full length Pm25 and truncated variants was performed. Results revealed that the GH10 catalytic module is specific towards the hydrolysis of xylan. Ligand binding results indicate that the GH10 module and the CBMs act independently whereas the tandem CBM4s act synergistically with each other and improve enzymatic activity when assayed on insoluble polysaccharides. In addition, we show that the UNK protein upstream of Pm25 is able to bind arabinoxylan. Altogether, these findings contribute to a better understanding of the potential role of Xyn10C-like proteins in xylan utilization systems of gut bacteria. IMPORTANCE: Xylan is the major hemicellulosic polysaccharide in cereals and contributes to the recalcitrance of the plant cell wall toward degradation. Bacteroidetes, one of the main phyla in Rumen and Human gut microbiota, have been shown to encode polysaccharide utilization loci (PUL) dedicated to the degradation of xylan. Here we present the biochemical characterization of a xylanase encoded by a bacteroidetes strain isolated from the termite gut metagenome. This xylanase is a multi-modular enzyme of which sequence is interrupted by the insertion of two CBM from family 4. Our results show that not only this enzyme resemble homologues that were shown to be important for xylan degradation in rumen or human diet but show that the CBM insertion in the middle of the sequence seems to be a common feature in xylan utilisation system. This study shed light on a better understanding toward xylan degradation and plant cell wall deconstruction which can conduct to several applications in food, feed and bioeconomy.