Fungal GH25 muramidases: New family members with applications in animal nutrition and a crystal structure at 0.78Å resolution

Muramidases/lysozymes hydrolyse the peptidoglycan component of the bacterial cell wall. They are found in many of the glycoside hydrolase (GH) families. Family GH25 contains muramidases/lysozymes, known as CH type lysozymes, as they were initially discovered in the Chalaropsis species of fungus. The characterized enzymes from GH25 exhibit both β-1,4-N-acetyl- and β-1,4-N,6-O-diacetylmuramidase activities, cleaving the β-1,4-glycosidic bond between N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM) and N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) moieties in the carbohydrate backbone of bacterial peptidoglycan. Here, a set of fungal GH25 muramidases were identified from a sequence search, cloned and expressed and screened for their ability to digest bacterial peptidoglycan, to be used in a commercial application in chicken feed. The screen identified the enzyme from Acremonium alcalophilum JCM 736 as a suitable candidate for this purpose and its relevant biochemical and biophysical and properties are described. We report the crystal structure of the A. alcalophilum enzyme at atomic, 0.78 Å resolution, together with that of its homologue from Trichobolus zukalii at 1.4 Å, and compare these with the structures of homologues. GH25 enzymes offer a new solution in animal feed applications such as for processing bacterial debris in the animal gut.