Effects of oligolignol sizes and binding modes on a GH11 xylanase inhibition revealed by molecular modeling techniques.

Lignin and phenolic compounds have been shown as the main recalcitrance for biomass decomposition, as they inhibit a number of lignocellulose-degrading enzymes. Understanding the inhibition mechanisms and energetic competitions with the native substrate is essential for the development of lignin resistive enzymes. In this study, atomistic detail of the size-dependent effects and binding modes of monomeric coniferyl alcohol, dimeric oligolignol, and tetrameric oligolignol made from coniferyl alcohols on the GH11 xylanase from Bacillus firmus strain K-1 was investigated by using molecular docking and atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. From the MD simulation results on the docked conformation of oligolignol binding within the "Cleft" and the "N-terminal," changes were observed both for protein conformations and positional binding of ligands, as binding with "Thumb" regions was found for all oligolignin models. Moreover, the uniquely stable "N-terminal" binding of the coniferyl alcohol monomer had no effect on the highly fluctuated Thumb region, showing no sign of inhibitory effect, and was in good agreement with recent studies. However, the inhibitory effect of oligolignols was size dependent, as the estimated binding energy of the tetrameric oligolignol became stronger than that of the xylohexaose substrate, and the important binding residues were identified for future protein engineering attempts to enhance the lignin resistivity of GH11. Graphical Abstract Size-dependent binding modes of coniferyl alcohol monomers (upper panels) and the dimers (lower panels). Uniquely stable "N-terminal" binding of the monomer is shown to have no effect on the binding pocket, and hence no sign of inhibition, which was in good agreement with some recent studies.