A Fungal Versatile GH10 Endoxylanase and Its Glycosynthase Variant: Synthesis of Xylooligosaccharides and Glycosides of Bioactive Phenolic Compounds

The study of endoxylanases as catalysts to valorize hemicellulosic residues and to obtain glycosides with improved properties is a topic of great industrial interest. In this work, a GH10 β-1,4-endoxylanase (XynSOS), from the ascomycetous fungus Talaromyces amestolkiae, has been heterologously produced in Pichia pastoris, purified, and characterized. rXynSOS is a highly glycosylated monomeric enzyme of 53 kDa that contains a functional CBM1 domain and shows its optimal activity on azurine cross-linked (AZCL)–beechwood xylan at 70 °C and pH 5. Substrate specificity and kinetic studies confirmed its versatility and high affinity for beechwood xylan and wheat arabinoxylan. Moreover, rXynSOS was capable of transglycosylating phenolic compounds, although with low efficiencies. For expanding its synthetic capacity, a glycosynthase variant of rXynSOS was developed by directed mutagenesis, replacing its nucleophile catalytic residue E236 by a glycine (rXynSOS-E236G). This novel glycosynthase was able to synthesize β-1,4-xylooligosaccharides (XOS) of different lengths (four, six, eight, and ten xylose units), which are known to be emerging prebiotics. rXynSOS-E236G was also much more active than the native enzyme in the glycosylation of a broad range of phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties. The interesting capabilities of rXynSOS and its glycosynthase variant make them promising tools for biotechnological applications.