Purification and Characterization of a Thermostable Alkaline Protease from Alkalophilic Thermoactinomyces sp. H8682

Protease secreted into the culture medium by alkalophilic Thermoactinomyces sp. HS682 was purified to an electrophoretically homogeneous state through only two chromatograhies using Butyl-Toyopearl 650M and SP-Toyopearl 650S columns. The purified enzyme has an apparent relative molecular mass of 25, 000 according to gel filtration on a Sephadex G-75 column and SDS-PAGE and an isoelectric point above 11.0.

Its proteolytic activity was inhibited by active-site inhibitors of serine protease, DFP and PMSF, and metal ions, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺. The enzyme was stable toward some detergents, sodium perborate, sodium triphosphate, sodium-n-dodecylbenzenesulfonate, and sodium dodecyl sulfate, at a concentration of 0.1% and pH 11.5 and 37°C for 60 min. The optimum pH was pH 11.5–13.0 at 37°C and the optimum temperature was 70°C at pH 11.5. Calcium divalent cation raised the pH and heat stabilities of the enzyme. In the presence of 5 mM CaCl₂, it showed maximum proteolytic activity at 80°C and stability from pH 4–12.5 at 60°C and below 75°C at pH 11.5. The stabilization by Ca²⁺ was observed in secondary conformation deduced from the circular dichroic spectrum of the enzyme. The protease hydrolyzed the ester bond of benzoyl leucine ester well. The amino acid terminal sequence of the enzyme showed high homology with those of Microbiol serine protease, although alanine of the NH₂-terminal amino acid was deleted.     

Microbial Production of L-Tyrosine by an n-Paraffin-grown Bacterium

Four mannanases (Mannanases I, II, III, and IV) were isolated from the culture filtrate of a Streptomyces sp. by ion exchange chromatography. Mannanase IV was the main component and accounted for 64.4% of the total activity of the four mannanases. Mannanase IV was further purified by gel filtration, and the purified Mannanase IV was homogeneous on disc-gel electrophoretic analysis.

Optimum pH and temperature for the activity of Mannanase IV were 6.8 and 57°C, respectively. It was stable at temperatures up to 45°C when examined at pH 6.8 for 30min, and lost only 15% of its activity at 70°C for 30min at pH 6.8. The isoelectric point and molecular weight were pH 3.65 and 42,900, respectively. The enzyme was strongly inactivated by Al³⁺, Hg²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Cd²⁺, Ag⁺, Sn²⁺, and Cu²⁺, and completely inhibited by iodoacetic acid and N-bromosuccinimide. The enzyme hydrolyzed mannotriose to mannose and mannobiose, but did not hydrolyze mannobiose.     

Purification and properties of milk-clotting enzyme from Bacillus subtilis K-26

A milk-clotting enzyme from Bacillus subtilis K-26 was purified by gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography resulting in a 24-fold increase in specific activity with an 80% yield. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugel analysis revealed that the purified enzyme was homogeneous and had a molecular weight of 27,000 and a K_m of 2.77mg/ml for κ-casein. The enzyme was most stable at pH 7.5 and showed increasing clotting activity with decrease in milk pH up to 5.0. The maximum milk-clotting activity was obtained at 60°C, but the enzyme was inactivated by heating for 30 min at 60°C. The enzyme was irreversibly inhibited by EDTA and unaffected by DFP. Heavy-metal ions (Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺) inactivated the enzyme.     

Characterization of a keratinolytic protease produced by the feather-degrading Amazonian bacterium Bacillus sp. P45

Abstract

An extracellular keratinolytic protease produced by Bacillus sp. P45 was purified and characterized. The keratinase had a molecular weight of approximately 26 kDa and was active over wide pH and temperature ranges, with optimal activity at 55°C and pH 8.0. However, this enzyme displayed low thermostability, being completely inactivated after 10 min at 50°C. Keratinase activity increased with Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Triton X-100, ethanol and DMSO, was stable in the presence of the reducing agent 2-mercaptoethanol, and was inactivated by SDS. PMSF (phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride) completely inactivated and EDTA strongly inhibited the enzyme, indicating that the keratinase is a serine protease depending on metal ions for optimal activity and/or stability. Accordingly, analysis of tryptic peptides revealed sequence homologies which characterize the keratinase as a subtilisin-like serine protease. The purified enzyme was able to hydrolyze azokeratin and keratin azure. Casein was hydrolyzed at higher rates than keratinous substrates, and 2-mercaptoethanol tended to enhance keratin hydrolysis. With synthetic substrates, the keratinase showed a preference for aromatic and hydrophobic residues at the P1 position of tetrapeptides; the enzyme was not active, or the activity was drastically diminished, towards shorter peptides. Keratinase from Bacillus sp. P45 might potentially be employed in the production of protein hydrolysates at moderate temperatures, being suitable for the bioconversion of protein-rich wastes through an environmentally friendly process requiring low energy inputs.     

Purification and Characterization of Fatty Acid Cyclooxygenase from Human Platelets

Abstract

The fatty acid cyclooxygenase (EC 1.14.99.1) that produces the prostaglandin, thromboxane, and prostacyclin precursor (PGHp), was solubilized from human platelet microsomes in 20 sucrose and 1.0% Triton X-100. The enzyme was purified 300-fold by electrofocusing, Sephadex G-200 gel filtration, and hydrophobic chromatography on ethyl agarose. The cyclooxygenase catalyzed the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin endoperioxide, PGH₂, that was trapped at ?25°C and separated on TLC at ?20°C. PGH₂ was hydrolyzed to HHT in acidic pH, or was chemically converted to PGE₂ in slightly alkaline pH in the absence of cofactors. The enzyme showed a broad pH optimum in the range of 7–9. Hemin containing substances such as methemoglobin were absolutely required as cofactors, while tryptophan, epinephrine, phenol, and hydro-quinone stimulated the PGH₂ formation. Metal ions, such as Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺ inhibited the enzyme reaction at 0.1 to 1 mM.

The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated at 79,432 by sodium dodecyl sulfate disc gel electrophoresis at pH 8.0. The properties of the human platelet enzyme was generally similar to the sheep vesicular enzyme in the method of solubilization, pH optimum, and molecular weight.     

Purification an α-galactosidase from Coriolus versicolor with acid-resistant and good degradation ability on raffinose family oligosaccharides

An acid-tolerant α-galactosidase (CVGI) was isolated from the fruiting bodies of Coriolus versicolor with a 229-fold of purification and a specific activity of 398.6 units mg^?1. It was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration chromatography. The purified enzyme gave a single band corresponding to a molecular mass of 40 kDa in SDS-PAGE and gel filtration. The α-galactosidase was identified by MALDI-TOF-MS and its inner peptides were sequenced by ESI-MS/MS. The optimum temperature and pH of the enzyme were determined as 60 °C and 3.0, respectively. The enzyme was very stable at a temperature range of 4–50 °C and at a pH range of 2–5. Among the metal ions tested, Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Hg²⁺ ions have been shown to partially inhibit the activity of α-galactosidase, while the activity of CVGI was completely inactivated by Ag⁺ ions. N-bromosuccinamide inhibited enzyme activity by 100 %, indicating the importance of tryptophan residue(s) at or near the active site. CVGI had wide substrate specificity (p-nitrophenyl galactoside, melidiose, raffinose and stachyose). After treatment with CVGI, raffinose family oligosaccharide was hydrolyzed effectively to yield galactose and sucrose. The results showed that the general properties of the enzyme offer potential for use of this α-galactosidase in several production processes.     

The Isolation of Collagenase and Its Enzymological and Physico-chemical Properties

A collagenolytic enzyme specific for native collagen and gelatin was isolated from Pseudomonas marinoglutinosa by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, Sephadex G–150 gel filtration and by disc electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel.

The molecular weight of the enzyme was approximately 74,000 and its isoelectric point was found to be around 4.5. The optimum pH and temperature for Z–GPLGP hydrolysis were around 7.6 and 38°C, respectively. The enzyme was rather stable up to 50°C and in the range between pH 5.0 and 10.0, and was stabilized by Ca²⁺ to some extent. Some chelating agents and metal ions such as Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Fe²⁺ inactivated the enzyme, but diisopropyl phosphofluoridate, sulfhydryl agents and some trypsin inhibitors did not affect the activity.

The EDTA-inactivated enzyme was restored its activity by added Ca-salt to almost completely and very slightly by Co-, Mn- and Sr-salt.

Metal analysis showed the enzyme contained 1 g atom of zinc and 4 g atoms of calcium per mole.     

Purification and Some Properties of a New Levanase from Bacillus sp. No. 71

A levanase from Bacillus sp. was purified to a homogeneous state. The enzyme had a molecular weight of 135,000 and an isoelectric point of pH 4.7. The enzyme was most active at pH 6.0 and 40°C, stable from pH 6.0 to 10.0 for 20 hr of incubation at 4°C and up to 30°C for 30 min of incubation at pH 6.0. The enzyme activity was inhibited by Ag ⁺, Hg^{2 +}, Cu^{2 +}, Fe^{3 +}, Pb²⁺, and p-chloromercuribenzoic acid. The enzyme hydrolyzed levan and phlein endowise to produce levanheptaose as a main product. The limit of hydrolysis of levan and phlein were 71% and 96%, respectively.     

Characterization of Chitinase Produced by the Alkaliphilic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus mannanilyticus</Emphasis> IB-OR17 B1 Strain

The paper reports on the isolation of an extracellular chitinase produced by the alkaliphilic Bacillus mannanilyticus IB-OR17 B1 strain grown in media containing crab shell and bee chitin at a pH of 8–11. The enzyme was 860-fold purified by ultrafiltration and chitin sorption. The molecular weight of the purified chitinase was shown by denaturing electrophoresis to be 56 kDa. The enzyme showed maximum activity at a pH of 7.5–8.0 and 65°C and was stable within a pH range of 3.5–10.5 and temperature range of 75–85°C. With colloidal chitin as substrate, the kinetic characteristics of the chitinase were determined as follows: K_M ~ 1.32 mg/mL and V_max ~ 5.05 μM min^–1. N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and its dimer were the main products of enzymatic chitin cleavage, while the trisaccharide was detected just in minor quantities. The chitinase actively hydrolyzed p-nitrophenyl-GlcNAc₂ according to the exo-mechanism of substrate hydrolysis characteristic of chitobiosidases.     

Purification and Properties of Phospholipase D from Actinomadura sp. Strain No. 362

An extracellular phospholipase D from Actinomadura sp. Strain No. 362 was purified about 430-fold from the culture filtrate. The purified enzyme preparation was judged to be homogeneous on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight and isoelectric point of the enzyme were estimated to be about 50,000—60,000 and 6.4, respectively. The enzyme was most active at pH 5.5 and 50°C in the presence of Triton X-100, but showed the highest activity at pH 7.0 and 60 — 70°C in its absence. The enzyme was stable up to 30°C at pH 7.2 and also stable in the pH range of 4.0 to 8.0 on 2 hr incubation at 25°C. With regard to substrate specificity, this enzyme hydrolysed lecithin best among the phospholipids tested. It was activated by Fe^{3 +}, Al³⁺, Mn^{2 +}, Ca^{2 +}, diethyl ether, sodium deoxycholate and Triton X-100, but was inhibited by cetyl pyridinium chloride and dodecylsulfate.     

Characterization of Betaine Aldehyde Dehydrogenase from Cylindrocarpon didymum M-1

To obtain a lipase which effectively hydrolyzes castor oil, bacteria were isolated from 500 soil samples. The best strain was examined; its microbiological characteristics suggested that it belongs to the genus Pseudomonas. A lipase from this strain was purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation and chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose and DEAE-Toyopearl 650 M. The enzyme was purified about 400-fold with a yield of 13%. The purified enzyme was electrophoretically homogeneous and its molecular weight was 30,000. The optimum pH and temperature for the hydrolysis of olive oil emulsion were 7.0 and 60°C. The enzyme was stable up to 35°C at pH 7.0 for 30min and also stable from pH 9.0 to 10.0 at 4°C for 22 hr. The activity was inhibited by Fe³⁺ , Hg²⁺ , pCMB, and anionic surfactants, and enhanced by nonionic surfactants and bile salts. The enzyme efficiently hydrolyzed castor oil.     

Purification and Properties of a Chromobacterium Lipase with a High Molecular Weight

A lipase with a high molecular weight was purified from Chromobacterium viscosum by chromatography using the Amberlite CG–50 and Sephadex G–75. The purified lipase (Lipase A) was found to be homogeneous by disc electrophoresis.

Lipase A had an optimum pH around 7 for lipolysis of olive oil and the enzyme was stable at the range of pH 4 to 9 and below 50°C. Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ and high concentrations of l-cysteine, iodoacetic acid and NBS had remarkable inhibitory effects. Bile salts were activator. Lipase A was more active on water insoluble esters than water soluble esters. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was pH 4.7.     

Purification and characterization of a protease-resistant cellulase from Aspergillus niger

An endo-β-1,4-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.4) was purified from a culture filtrate of Aspergillus niger IFO31125 by column chromatography through TSK-gel DEAE-3SW and TSK-gel DEAE-5PW, and by gel filtration through TSK-gel G2000SW by high performance liquid chromatography. The enzyme was estimated to have a molecular weight of about 40 kDa by both gel filtration and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and appeared to consist of a monomeric protein. It contained 8.9% carbohydrate. The optimal pH for activity was 6.0–7.0, and the stable pH range was 5.0–10.0. The optimum temperature at pH 6.0 was around 70°C. The enzyme was very thermally stable and no loss of original activity was found on incubation at 60°C for 2 h. The enzyme efficiently hydrolyzed carboxymethylcellulose and lichenan, but crystalline forms of cellulose, curdlan, laminarin, cellobiose, p-nitrophenyl-β-d-glucopyranoside and p-nitrophenyl-β-d-cellobioside were barely hydrolyzed. The activity of the enzyme was inhibited by Hg²⁺ and Cu²⁺ but was not affected by other inhibitors of thiol enzymes such as p-chloromercuribenzoate and N-ethylmaleimide. N-Bromosuccinimide showed a strong inhibitory effect, suggesting that a tryptophan residue is essential for the activity of the enzyme. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme showed considerable homology to those of endo-β-1,4-glucanases from some other microorganisms, including Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Schizophyllum commune. The enzyme had very strong protease-resistance, and showed no loss of activity when incubated with proteases such as Savinase at 40°C, even for 2 weeks.     

Purification and properties of cyclomaltodextrinase from alkalophilic Bacillus sp.

An alkalophilic strain isolated from soil produced intracellular cyclomaltodextrinase on the culture medium at an initial pH of 10.6. The strain was identified as closely resembling Bacillus circulans. The enzyme was purified 252-fold from the cell extract by chitosan treatment, ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Toyopearl column chromatography, and gel filtration. The pH and temperature optima of the purified enzyme were 6.0 and 50°C. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 126,000, with two subunits of 67,000. The isoelectric point was pH 4.2. Enzyme activity was inhibited by Ag⁺, Hg²⁺, Cu²⁺, and p-chloromercuribenzoate. The enzyme hydrolyzed α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrins, as well as linear maltodextrins, to yield maltooligosaccharides. Starch and maltose were not degraded by the enzyme.     

Studies on the Decomposition of Raffinose by α-Galactosidase of Actinomycetes

α-Galactosidase was isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces olivaceus and was partially purified by chromatography on a DEAE-sephadex column. The optimum pH of the preparation was found to be 5.2 for raffinose and the preparation was inactivated completely by maintaining it at 60°C for 15 minutes. p-Chloromercuribenzoate, HgCl₂ and AgNO₃ caused complete inhibition of the enzyme activity at 2 × 10^?5 M concentration. The preparation showed transglycosylase activity. A sugar spot, chromatographically identical with that of stachyose, appeared in the digest of raffinose. However, the preparation hydrolyzed raffinose completely into galactose and sucrose after a prolonged incubation.

A simple raffinose estimation method was developed using the enzyme preparation, and it was found that the method allowed to estimate 125~500 μg of raffinose with an accuracy of ±5%. The method was applied to the estimation of raffinose in beet molasses.     

Purification and biochemical characterization of a broad substrate specificity thermostable alkaline protease from Aspergillus nidulans

Aspergillus nidulans PW1 produces an extracellular carboxylesterase activity that acts on several lipid esters when cultured in liquid media containing olive oil as a carbon source. The enzyme was purified by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. It has an apparent MW and pI of 37 kDa and 4.5, respectively. The enzyme efficiently hydrolyzed all assayed glycerides, but showed preference toward short- and medium-length chain fatty acid esters. Maximum activity was obtained at pH 8.5 at 40°C. The enzyme retained activity after incubation at pHs ranging from 8 to11 for 12 h at 37°C and 6 to 8 for 24 h at 37°C. It retained 80% of its activity after incubation at 30 to 70°C for 30 min and lost 50% of its activity after incubation for 15 min at 80°C. Noticeable activation of the enzyme is observed when Fe²⁺ ion is present at a concentration of 1 mM. Inhibition of the enzyme is observed in the presence of Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Hg²⁺, and Zn²⁺ ions. Even though the enzyme showed strong carboxylesterase activity, the deduced N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified protein corresponded to the protease encoded by prtA gene.     

Purification and Characterization of the Cholinesterase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa A-16

The Cholinesterase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa A–16 was purified approximately 11,150-fold with an overall recovery of 15.2% and proved to be homogeneous by electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation and chromatography. The molecular weight of the enzyme was determined as approximately 30,000 by equilibrium centrifugation and gel filtration methods. The sedimentation coefficient, S_20,w was determined to be 3.3 S. Isoelectric focusing electrophoresis with carrier ampholite revealed that the enzyme had an isoelectric point around pH 8.1.

The purified Cholinesterase, which was considered to be an acetylcholinesterase from its substrate specificity, hydrolyzed acetylthiocholine and acetylcholine at the highest rates among the various esters tested.

The estimated values of Km at pH 7.5 and 25°C were 1.5 × 10^?4 m for acetylthiocholine and 1.9 × 10^?4 m for acetylcholine. The enzyme also hydrolyzed the acetyl and propionyl esters of several aliphatic and aromatic alcohols at a lower rate which was entirely dependent on the properties of the alcohol moiety of those esters.     

Studies on an Alkaline Proteinase of Aspergillus sydowi

An alkaline proteinase of Aspergillus sydowi (Bainier et Sartory) Thom et Church has been purified approximately 4.5-fold from a culture filtrate by fractionation with ammonium sulfate, treatment with acrynol and Alumina gel C_γ, and DEAE-Sephadex column chromatography. The purified proteinase obtained as needle crystals was monodisperse in both the ultracentrifuge and the electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel.

The optimum pH and temperature for the activity were 8.0 and 40°C, respectively. Fifty per cent of the activity was lost at 45°C within ten minutes and 95% at 50°C. At 5°C, the enzyme was highly stable at the range of pH 6 to 9. None of metallic salts tested promoted the activity, but Zn⁺⁺, Ni⁺⁺ and Hg⁺⁺ were found to be inhibitory. Sulfhydryl reagent, reducing and oxidizing reagents tested except iodine had no effect on the activity, but potato inhibitor, DFP and NBS caused a marked inhibition.

The alkaline proteinase from Aspergillus sydowi was markedly protected from inactivation by the presence of Ca⁺⁺ in the enzyme solution. The protective effect of Ca⁺⁺ was influenced remarkably by the pH values of the enzyme solution, i.e., optimum concentrations of Ca⁺⁺ for the protective effect at pH 7.1, 7.5 and 7.8 were 10^?2, 10^?3 and 10^?4 M, respectively. Conversely, at higher pH values such as 9.0, Ca⁺⁺ accelerated the rate of inactivation. There was a parallelism between the loss in activity and the increase in ninhydrin-positive material in the enzyme solution.

The proteinase acted on various denaturated proteins, but not on native proteins. In digestion of casein by the proteinase, 92% of nitrogen was turned into soluble form in 0.2 m trichloroacetic acid solution, with 14~17% of peptide bonds being hydrolyzed. Casein hydrolyzed with the Asp. sydowi proteinase was further hydrolyzed by Pen. chrysogenum, B. subtilis or St. griseus proteinases, which further increased the free amino residues in the reaction mixtures. On the contrary, the Asp. sydowi proteinase reacted only slightly on casein hydrolyzed by the above-mentioned proteinases.     

Purification and Properties of Hydroxycinnamic Acid Ester Hydrolase from Aspergillus japonicus

Hydroxycinnamic acid ester hydrolase from the wheat bran culture medium of Aspergillus japonicus was purified 255-fold by ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sephadex treatment and column chromatographies on DEAE-Sephadex, CM-Sephadex and various other Sephadexes. The purified enzyme was free from tannase and found to be homogeneous on polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis. Its molecular weight was estimated to be 150,000 by gel filtration and 142,000 by SDS-gel electrophoresis. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was pH 4.80. As to its amino acid composition, aspartic acid and glycine were abundant. The optimum pH and temperature for the enzyme reaction were, respectively, 6.5 and 55°C when chlorogenic acid was used as a substrate. The enzyme was stable between pH 3.0 to 7.5 and inactivated completely by heat treatment at 70°C for 10 min.

All metal ions examined did not activate the enzyme, while Hg⁺⁺ reduced its activity. The enzyme was markedly inhibited by diisopropylfluorophosphate and an oxidizing reagent, iodine, although it was not affected so much by metal chelating or reducing reagents. The purified enzyme hydrolyzed not only esters of hydroxycinnamic acids such as chlorogenic acid, caffeoyl tartaric acid and p-coumaroyl tartaric acid, but also ethyl and benzyl esters of cinnamic acid. However, the enzyme did not act on ethyl esters of crotonic acid and acrylic acid or esters of hydroxybenzoic acids.     

Limited Hydrolysis of Ricin D with Trypsin in the Presence of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

An α-amylase which produces both maltotetraose and maltopentaose from starch as the main products was found in the culture filtrate of a strain of Bacillus circulans which was newly isolated from soil. The enzyme was purified to be almost homogeneous on disc electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel by means of ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-Sepharose column chromatography and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration.

The optimum pH and temperature of the enzyme were around pH 7.0 and around 50°C, respectively. Metal ions such as Hg²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Fe²⁺ and Co²⁺ strongly inhibited the enzyme activity. The molecular weight was about 45,000. The yields of maltotetraose and maltopentaose from potato starch were 30 ~ 40% and 20 ~ 30%, respectively.