Bioinformatics-guided discovery and functional verification of fungal polyester hydrolases for polycaprolactone degradation
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a biodegradable polyester that can degrade slowly under ambient environmental conditions. Here, we explored natural fungal sequence diversity to identify cutinase-like enzymes (CLEs) with PCL-degrading activity. Using a previously reported Cryptococcus CLE as the query, bioinformatics analysis identified 14 fungal homologs that were heterologously expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and screened using a plate-based assay. Nine homologs exhibited detectable PCL degradation, with three producing larger degradation zones than the Cryptococcus reference enzyme. These three homologs exhibited distinct apparent optimal temperatures of 30, 37, and 40°C, compared with 45°C for the reference enzyme under the tested conditions. Signal peptide replacement and GFP-based analyses suggested that native signal peptide recognition alone was unlikely to account for the five inactive homologs. Collectively, this study provides a practical bioinformatics-to-experiment strategy for screening natural enzyme diversity and prioritizing promising candidates for further biochemical characterization.
Source: Biotechnology Reports
Authors: Claire Lu, Chloe Lu, Chunhui Xiang
Institution: Iowa State University
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,480
OpenAlex ID: W7221676990