Molecular engineering of a thermostable carbohydrate-binding module

Structure-function studies are frequently practiced on the very diverse group of natural carbohydrate-binding modules in order to understand the target recognition of these proteins. We have taken a step further in the study of carbohydrate-binding modules and created variants with novel binding properties by molecular engineering of one such molecule of known 3D-structure. A combinatorial library was created from the sequence encoding a thermostable carbohydrate-binding module, CBM4-2 from a Rhodothermus marinus xylanase, and phage-display technology was successfully used for selection of variants with specificity towards different carbohydrate polymers (birchwood xylan, Avicel (TM), ivory nut mannan and recently also xyloglucan), as well as towards a glycoprotein (human IgG4). Our work not only generated a number of binders with properties that would suite a range of biotechnological applications, but analysis of selected binders also helped us to identify residues important for their specificities.