Domain shuffling of cyclodextrin glucanotransferases for tailored product specificity and thermal stability

Cyclodextrin glucanotransferases (CGTases) convert α‐1,4‐glucans to cyclic oligosaccharides (cyclodextrins, CD), which have found applications in the food and the pharmaceutical industries. In this study, we used two CGTases with different cyclization activities, product specificities, and pH and temperature optima to construct chimeric variants for the synthesis of large‐ring CD. We used (a) a synthetic thermostable CGTase mainly forming α‐ and β‐CD (CD6 and CD7) derived from Geobacillus stearothermophilus ET1/NO2 (GeoT), and (b) a CGTase with lower cyclization activity from the alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. G825‐6, which mainly synthesizes γ‐CD (CD8). The A1, B, A2, and CDE domains of the G825‐6 CGTase were replaced with corresponding GeoT CGTase domains by utilizing a megaprimer cloning approach. A comparison of the optimum temperature and pH, thermal stability, and CD products synthesized by the variants revealed that the B domain had a major impact on the cyclization activity, thermal stability, and product specificity of the constructed chimera. Complete suppression of the synthesis of CD6 was observed with the variants GeoT‐A1/B and GeoT‐A1/A2/CDE. The variant GeoT‐A1/A2/CDE showed the desired enzyme properties for large‐ring CD synthesis. Its melting temperature was 9 °C higher compared to the G825‐6 CGTase and it synthesized up to 3.3 g·L(−1) CD9 to CD12, corresponding to a 1.8‐ and 2.3‐fold increase compared to GeoT and G825‐6 CGTase, respectively. In conclusion, GeoT‐A1/A2/CDE may be a candidate for the further development of CGTases specifically forming larger CD.