Characterization of Glycerol Dehydrogenase from Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum DSM 571 and GGG Motif Identification

Glycerol dehydrogenases (GlyDHs) are essential for glycerol metabolism in vivo, catalyzing its reversible reduction to 1,3-dihydroxypropranone (DHA). The gldA gene encoding a putative GlyDH was cloned from Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum DSM 571 (TtGlyDH) and expressed in Escherichia coli. The presence of Mn²⁺ enhanced its enzymatic activity by 79.5%. Three highly conserved residues (Asp¹⁷¹, His²⁵⁴, and His²⁷¹) in TtGlyDH were associated with metal ion binding. Based on an investigation of glycerol oxidation and DHA reduction, TtGlyDH showed maximum activity towards glycerol at 60℃ and pH 8.0 and towards DHA at 60℃ and pH 6.0. DHA reduction was the dominant reaction, with a lower K_m(DHA) of 1.08 ± 0.13 mM and V_max of 0.0053 ± 0.0001 mM/s, compared with glycerol oxidation, with a K_m(glycerol) of 30.29 ± 3.42 mM and V_max of 0.042 ± 0.002 mM/s. TtGlyDH had an apparent activation energy of 312.94 kJ/mol. The recombinant TtGlyDH was thermostable, maintaining 65% of its activity after a 2-h incubation at 60℃. Molecular modeling and site-directed mutagenesis analyses demonstrated that TtGlyDH had an atypical dinucleotide binding motif (GGG motif) and a basic residue Arg⁴³, both related to dinucleotide binding.