Phytase Engineering for Enhanced Mineral Bioavailability in Animal Feed

Phytases are crucial feed enzymes used in the animal nutrition industry to hydrolyze phytate (inositol hexaphosphate), the primary storage form of phosphorus in plants. This hydrolysis releases digestible phosphorus, calcium, and other essential minerals, significantly reducing the need for costly mineral supplementation and decreasing phosphorus excretion, thereby lowering environmental impact. However, commercial Phytases face challenges including inactivation during feed pelleting (high temperature/moisture), low activity across the varying pH conditions of the animal gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and insufficient phytate degradation efficiency. This often necessitates high enzyme dosages or supplementary chemical pre-treatment.

Our specialized enzyme optimization services are focused on creating Phytase variants with superior robustness and efficacy. Our core objectives include: engineering superior thermal stability for pelleting tolerance; enhancing activity across the broad physiological pH range of the GI tract; and maximizing the degradation efficiency of phytate for optimal mineral release. Consult with our experts to design a customized strategy that ensures comprehensive phytate degradation and cost-effective feed formulation.

Challenges in Commercial Phytase Performance

The maximum efficacy of Phytases in modern feed processing and animal nutrition is limited by the following technical barriers:

• Pelleting Instability: Enzyme activity is irreversibly lost during the high-temperature (up to 95℃) and high-moisture conditions of the feed pelleting process, requiring costly post-pelleting application.
• Narrow pH Activity: Many Phytases exhibit optimal activity only at a narrow pH range, failing to perform efficiently in the highly acidic stomach or the more neutral small intestine of various livestock.
• Low Degradation Efficiency: Inefficient hydrolysis of phytate, particularly the intermediate inositol phosphates, leading to incomplete mineral release and requiring a high enzyme dosage.
• Digestive Protease Susceptibility: The enzyme is susceptible to rapid degradation by endogenous proteases within the animal's digestive tract, shortening its effective working lifespan.

Our engineering platforms are dedicated to resolving these complex stability and activity challenges for the feed industry.

Engineering Focus: Thermostability and pH Activity

We apply integrated protein engineering strategies to enhance your target Phytase:

Superior Pelleting Tolerance

             

Using Directed Evolution to introduce stabilizing mutations, ensuring high residual activity after exposure to the heat and shear stress of the pelleting process.

Broadened pH Activity Range

Engineering the enzyme's active site to optimize its catalytic performance across the wide physiological pH range (e.g., pH 2.5 to 6.0) found throughout the animal GI tract.

Increased Degradation Efficiency

Maximizing the enzyme's catalytic speed and ensuring complete hydrolysis of phytate and its intermediate forms for maximal phosphorus and mineral release.

Resistance to Digestive Proteases

Using Rational Design to modify exposed loops and cleavage sites, increasing the enzyme's half-life against stomach and intestinal proteases.

Our experts are ready to apply these integrated capabilities to achieve next-generation Phytases with unparalleled feed stability and mineral release efficacy.

Technology Platforms for Phytase Engineering

We leverage a suite of cutting-edge platforms to deliver highly functional enzyme variants:

AI-Driven Thermophile Discovery

Using AI-guided metagenomic analysis to discover naturally thermostable Phytase starting points from environmental thermophilic organisms.

Directed Evolution for Pellet Stability

We utilize HTS platforms optimized to screen for variants that maintain high activity after simulated pelleting heat and moisture stress.

Rational Design for pH Adaptation

Using structural modeling to rationally design mutations that shift the enzyme's pKa values, optimizing activity across the acidic stomach and neutral intestine environments.

Thermal and pH Activity Profiling

We offer full stability profiling, including half-life measurement after high-temperature exposure and comprehensive activity testing across pH 2.5 to pH 6.0.

Integrated Enzyme Production and Formulation

Specialized custom production services optimized for high-yield expression, suitable for direct incorporation into industrial feed processing.

Partner with us to harness these platforms for next-generation feed enzyme performance and cost reduction.

Project Flow: Phytase Optimization Workflow

Our enzyme optimization projects follow a flexible, milestone-driven workflow:

• Consultation and Goal Definition: Initial discussion to define the stability target (e.g., 90% residual activity after 90℃ pelleting) and the desired efficacy across the target animal's GI pH range.
• Design Strategy Proposal: We propose a tailored strategy involving Rational Design (for pH profile) and/or Directed Evolution (for thermal and protease stability), outlining the predicted timeframe.
• Library Construction and Screening: We execute mutagenesis and employ HTS platforms using a combination of thermal stress, varying pH conditions, and high-throughput inorganic phosphate detection to identify lead variants.
• Iterative Optimization & Profiling: Successive rounds of evolution focus on maximizing thermal stability, broad pH activity, and resistance to digestive proteases.
• Final Deliverables: Delivery of the final Phytase variant along with detailed kinetic data, thermostability reports, pH activity profiles, and feed efficacy reports (phytate degradation/phosphorus release).

Technical communication is maintained throughout the project. We encourage potential clients to initiate a consultation to discuss their specific feed enzyme challenges and explore how our technologies can achieve superior performance and bioavailability.

We provide comprehensive support, including:

• Detailed Kinetic Data, Thermal Stability Profiles, pH Activity Curves, and Protease Resistance Reports.
• Consultation on formulation strategies, including potential encapsulation or stabilization methods to maximize enzyme longevity.
• Experimental reports include complete raw data on mutagenesis libraries, HTS screening results, and final phosphorus bioavailability testing.