Insights into the mechanism of glucoamylase activation induced by PEF

Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) is a non-thermal processing technology, numerous studies have demonstrated that PEF can activate glucoamylase, nevertheless, the exact activation mechanism remains undetermined. To clarify the relationship between PEF activation and the structure and physical properties of glucoamylase, this study conducted simulation experiments using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. MD results revealed that with increasing pulse numbers, the binding pocket volume of glucoamylase continuously expanded accompanied by elevated flexibility and solvent accessibility of binding pocket, while overall stability initially increased then decreased. This study elucidates the interconnections between stability changes and activity variations under PEF treatment, providing theoretical guidance for stability regulation during PEF-induced activation of glucoamylase.