Xylella fastidiosa is a small, xylem-limited bacterium that causes a number of diseases in over 100 species of plants. Many of the species infected are economically important (such as coffee, grapevines, citrus, and almond) and billions of dollars worldwide are lost annually due to X. fastidiosa infection of crops. The bacterium colonises both plant and insect hosts, using the insect host to transfer it from plant to plant. Sequencing of the X. fastidiosa genome in 2000 discovered that while the genome is reduced, it contains a high number of putative bifunctional enzymes. One of these enzymes, aspartate kinase:diaminopimelate decarboxylase (AK:DapDc), occurs in only a handful of species and is predicted to catalyse the first and last steps of lysine biosynthesis. This study reports the first experimental characterisation of this enzyme. AK:DapDc was over-expressed in the pET30dSE plasmid in Escherichia coli BL21 DE3 cells. It was purified by Ni2+ His-Trap chromatography followed by size exclusion chromatography. Homology models of AK:DapDc were created in SWISS-MODEL, which indicate homology with the aspartate kinase from Arabidopsis thaliana and the diaminopimelate decarboxylase from E. coli. Circular dichroism, and analytical ultracentrifugation were used to obtain information about the secondary and quaternary structure of AK:DapDc. This data, in combination with the homology models, suggests that AK:DapDc exists as a dimer or tetramer in solution. A coupled enzyme assay to assay for diaminopimelate decarboxylase activity has been set up, and preliminary crystal screens have been carried out.

As hidrolases, principalmente as peptidases e lipases, são responsáveis pelo alto faturamento no mercado mundial e pelos diversos empregos industriais e biotecnológicos. A obtenção destas proteínas ocorre pela aplicação dos microrganismos a bioprocessos, tanto de forma selvagem quanto por expressão heteróloga. Neste contexto, existe uma busca incessante por enzimas mais estáveis e com maior atividade catalítica, e algumas técnicas têm sido utilizadas para o melhoramento destes parâmetros. A obtenção da peptidase e lipase pelo fungo Fusarium oxysporum foi realizada por bioprocesso submerso, gerando picos de 165 U/mL em 72 horas e 633 U/mL em 48 horas, respectivamente. A peptidase foi purificada utilizando a resina Sephadex G-50 de exclusão de massa e caracterizada utilizando um substrato peptídico com supressão intramolecular de fluorescência. A classe da proteína foi determinada como serino peptidase e demonstrou características neutra e estável quanto ao pH em uma faixa ampla. A temperatura ótima foi de e 50 °C e a partir dos ensaios de estabilidade térmica foi evidenciado a manutenção da atividade proteolítica de 60-90% até 60 °C no período de uma hora. Quanto à eficiência catalítica, os subsítios S1, S2 e S\'1 tem certa especificidade, pois não demonstram eficiência catalítica quando há a presença dos seguintes aminoácidos nas respectivas posições dos substratos P1 (ácido aspártico, prolina e isoleucina), P2 (ácido aspártico, histidina, lisina, asparagina e triptofano) e P\'1 (ácido aspártico, ácido glutâmico e prolina), ao contrário dos subsítios S3, S\'2 e S\'3, onde todos aminoácidos apresentaram eficiência catalítica. A lipase foi purificada utilizado resina iônica e apresentou características básica e estabilidade em pH neutro, sua temperatura ótima foi de 35 °C e manutenção da atividade catalítica em pelo mens 50% após 1 hora de exposição a 25 a 40 °C. A produção da quimera deu-se pela busca de uma peptidase e uma lipase provenientes do fungo F. oxysporum no banco de dados, elas foram então fusionadas utilizando um linker composto por cinco aminoácidos (GGAGG) nas regiões C-terminal da peptidase e N-terminal da lipase. Ambas atividades foram detectadas na quimera, tornando-a funcional. A aplicação biotecnológica de ambas enzimas selvagens e recombinante é um passo importante para inovação, e de acordo com as características apresentadas cada enzima pode ser aplicada a diversos processos industriais, desde detergentes a biorremediação / proteins is wild-type microorganisms by bioprocesses or by heterologous expression. In this context, there is an incessant search for more stable enzymes with higher catalytic activity, and some techniques have been used to improve these parameters. Obtainment of peptidase and lipase by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum was performed by submerged bioprocess, generating peaks of 165 U / mL in 72 hours and 633 U / mL in 48 hours, respectively. Peptidase was purified using the Sephadex G-50 size exclusion resin and characterized using a peptide substrate with intramolecular fluorescence suppression. The enzyme class was determined as serine peptidase and demonstrated neutral and stable characteristics in a wide range of pH. The optimum temperature was 50 ° C and the thermal stability assays showed the maintenance of the proteolytic activity from 60 to 90% up to 60 ° C within one hour of exposure. As for catalytic efficiency, the S1, S2 and S\'1 subsites have a certain specificity, since they do not demonstrate catalytic efficiency when the following amino acids are present in the respective positions of the substrates P1 (aspartic acid, proline and isoleucine), P2 (aspartic acid, Histidine, lysine, asparagine and tryptophan) and P\'1 (aspartic acid, glutamic acid and proline), unlike subsites S3, S\'2 and S\'3, where all amino acids showed catalytic efficiency. The lipase was purified using ionic resin and presented basic characteristics and stability at neutral pH, its optimum temperature was 35 ° C and maintenance of the catalytic activity by 50% after 1 hour of exposure at 25 to 40 ° C. Production of the chimera was done by the search of a peptidase and a lipase from the fungus F. oxysporum in the database, they were then fused using a linker composed of five amino acids (GGAGG) in the C-terminal regions of the peptidase and N- Terminal portion of the lipase. Both activities were detected in the chimera, making it functional. The biotechnological application of both wild and recombinant enzymes is an important step for innovation, and according to the characteristics presented each enzyme can be applied to several industrial processes.