Cloning and characterization of a novel α-galactosidase from Bifidobacterium breve 203 capable of synthesizing Gal-α-1,4 linkage

A novel α-galactosidase gene ( aga2 ) was cloned from Bifidobacterium breve 203. It contained an ORF of 2226-bp nucleotides encoding 741 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 81.5 kDa. The recombinant enzyme Aga2 was heterogeneously expressed, purified and characterized. Regarding substrate specificity for hydrolysis, Aga2 was highly active towards p -nitrophenyl-α- d -galactopyranoside ( p NPG). The K _m value for p NPG was estimated to be 0.27 mM and for melibiose it was estimated to be 4.3 mM. Aga2 was capable of catalyzing transglycosylation as well as hydrolysis. The enzyme synthesized a trisaccharide (Gal-α-1, 4-Gal-α-1, 6-Glc) using melibiose as a substrate. It was a new oligosaccharide produced by glycosidase and contained Gal-α-1,4 linkage, a novel galactosidic link formed by microbial α-galactosidase. In the presence of p NPG as a donor, Aga2 was able to catalyze glycosyl transfer to various acceptors including monosaccharides, disaccharides and sugar alcohols.