The βγ-crystallin domain of Lysinibacillus sphaericus phosphatidylinositol phospholipase C plays a central role in protein stability

beta gamma-crystallin has emerged as a superfamily of structurally homologous proteins with representatives across all domains of life. A major portion of this superfamily is constituted by microbial members. This superfamily has also been recognized as a novel group of Ca2+-binding proteins with a large diversity and variable properties in Ca2+ binding and stability. We have recently described a new phosphatidylinositol phospholipase C from Lysinibacillus sphaericus (LS-PIPLC) which was shown to efficiently remove phosphatidylinositol from crude vegetable oil. Here, the role of the C-terminal beta gamma-crystallin domain of LS-PIPLC was analyzed in the context of the whole protein. A truncated protein in which the C-terminal beta gamma-crystallin domain was deleted (LS-PIPLC Delta CRY) is catalytically as efficient as the full-length protein (LS-PIPLC). However, the thermal and chemical stability of LS-PIPLC Delta CRY are highly affected, demonstrating a stabilizing role for this domain. It is also shown that the presence of Ca2+ increases the thermal and chemical stability of the protein both in aqueous media and in oil, making LS-PIPLC an excellent candidate for use in industrial soybean oil degumming.