Glucose oxidase (GOx) catalyzes the oxidation of D-glucose to D-glucono-1,5-lactone and has a wide range of applications in various industries. However, the strict substrate specificity of GOx hampers its application in the conversion of other abundant sugars such as D-xylose. In this study, the substrate preference of GOx from Aspergillus niger (AnGOx) was engineered using a semi-rational design approach. The mutant T110V/F414L exhibited a 5.7-fold increase in D-xylose oxidation activity compared to that of the wild-type enzyme, which was attributed to its enhanced affinity for the substrate. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the T110V and F414L mutations may mitigate the non-productive binding of D-xylose at the entrance of the substrate-binding pocket, and therefore, are beneficial for providing access of its C1 hydroxyl group to the catalytic residues. Moreover, the mutant simultaneously oxidized D-xylose and D-glucose in the corncob hydrolysate to the corresponding aldonic acids when coupled with catalase. These findings provide new insights into substrate recognition by GOx and offer a new method for the utilization of D-xylose from lignocellulosic feedstocks.
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