Overexpression, one-step purification, and biochemical characterization of a recombinant gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase from Bacillus licheniformis

A truncated gene from Bacillus lichenifromis ATCC 27811 encoding a recombinant γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (BLrGGT) was cloned into pQE-30 to generate pQE-BLGGT, and the overexpressed enzyme was purified from the crude extract of IPTG-induced E. coli M15 (pQE-BLGGT) to homogeneity by nickel-chelate chromatography. This protocol yielded over 25 mg of purified BLrGGT per liter of growth culture under optimum conditions. The molecular masses of the subunits of the purified enzyme were determined to be 41 and 22 kDa, respectively, by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The optimum pH and temperature for the recombinant enzyme were 6–8 and 40 °C, respectively. The chloride salt of metal ions Mg²⁺, K⁺, and Na⁺ can activate BLrGGT, whereas that of Pb²⁺ dramatically inhibited it. The substrate specificity study showed that l-γ-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide (l-γ-Glu-p-NA) is a preference for the enzyme. Steady-state kinetic study revealed that BLrGGT has a k _cat of 105 s⁻¹ and a K _m of 21 μM when using l-γ-Glu-p-NA as the substrate. With this overexpression and purification system, BLrGGT can now be obtained in quantities necessary for structural characterization and synthesis of commercially important γ-glutamyl compounds.     

Biosurfactants from Bacillus licheniformis: structural analysis and characterization

Summary The surface-active compounds of the strain Bacillus licheniformis were isolated and their structure was elucidated. The high surface-active capacity of the crude extract was basically due to traces of long-chain saturated fatty acids, especially of palmitic and stearic acids, to a mixture of small amounts of hydrocarbons with chain lengths of 20 and 22 carbons, and mainly to appreciable amounts of four slightly different lipopeptides. The lipopeptides were found to be a mixture of four closely related compounds. The lipophilic part consisting of i-, n-C₁₄ or i-, ai-C₁₅ -OH fatty acids was linked to the hydrophilic peptide moiety, which contained seven amino acids (Glu, Asp, Val, three Leu and Ile) by a lactone linkage. Fifteen milligrams per litre of the purified lipopeptide product decreased the surface tension of water from 72 mN m^–1 to 27 mN m^–1, characterizing the product as a powerful surface-active agent that compares favourably to other (bio)surfactants. Antibiotic activity was demonstrated against bacteria and yeasts. Offsprint requests to: O. Käppeli     

Detailed modes of action and biochemical characterization of endo-arabinanase from Bacillus licheniformis DSM13

An endo-arabinanase (BLABNase) gene from Bacillus licheniformis DSM13 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the biochemical properties of its encoded enzyme were characterized. The BLABNase gene consists of a single open reading frame of 987 nucleotides that encodes 328 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of about 36 kDa. BLABNase exhibited the highest activity against debranched α-(1,5)-arabinan in 50 mM sodium acetate buffer (pH 6.0) at 55°C. Enzymatic characterization revealed that BLABNase hydrolyzes debranched or linear arabinans with a much higher activity than branched arabinan from sugar beet. Enzymatic hydrolysis pattern analyses demonstrated BLABNase to be a typical endo-(1,5)-α-s-arabinanase (EC 3.2.1.99) that randomly cleaves the internal α-(1,5)-linked L-arabinofuranosyl residues of a branchless arabinan backbone to release arabinotriose mainly, although a small amount of arabino-oligosaccharide intermediates is also liberated. Our results indicated that BLABNase acts preferentially along with the oligosaccharides longer than arabinopentaose, thus enabling the enzymatic production of various arabino-oligosaccharides.     

Cloning and characterization of a recombinant family 5 endoglucanase from Bacillus licheniformis strain B-41361

The gene encoding a family 5 endoglucanase, cel5A, was cloned from the moderate thermophile Bacillus licheniformis strain B-41361. The primary structure of the translated cel5A gene predicts a 49 amino acid putative secretion signal and a 485 residue endoglucanase consisting of an N-terminal family 5 catalytic domain and C-terminal family 3 cellulose binding domain. The endoglucanase portion of the gene was expressed in Escherichia coli, but soluble activity in cell lysates was due to a truncated enzyme with an apparent mass of 42 kDa, the equivalent of the predicted catalytic domain. Insoluble protein renatured from inclusion bodies was protected against truncation, yielding an active holoenzyme (rCel5A) with apparent mass of 62 kDa. The recombinant rCel5A was optimally active at 65 °C and pH 6.0, but retained only 10% activity after 1 h incubation at this temperature. At 55 °C, rCel5A had a broad pH range for activity and stability, with greater than 75% relative activity from pH 4.5–7.0, and retaining greater than 80% relativity activity across the range pH 4.5–8.0 following 1 h incubation at 55 °C. It readily hydrolyzed pNPC, carboxymethylcellulose, barley β-glucan, and lichenan, but despite binding to cellulose, had only weak activity against avicel. Hydrolysis products from soluble polysaccharides included glucose, cellobiose, cellotriose, and cellotetraose. The catalytic properties, broad pH range and thermostability of the recombinant B. licheniformis endoglucanase may prove suitable for industrial applications.     

The biochemical and molecular characterization of recombinant Bacillus subtilis tripeptidase (PepT) as a zinc-dependent metalloenzyme

Aminopeptidases catalyze the release of N-terminal amino acid residue from polypeptides and peptides, and most of them are known to be metalloenzymes. A tripeptidase gene (pepT) of Bacillus subtilis was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the resulting recombinant PepT was purified in an active form through sequential chromatographies. The addition of Zn2+ or Co2+ increased the enzymatic activity by approximately two fold. The points at which Zn2+ and Co2+ stimulated a half-maximum activity of the PepT were 650 nM and 1,700 nM, respectively. The measurement of the metal content showed that this enzyme contained 0.26 atom of Zn2+ per molecule with essentially the absence of Co2+ and others, and 0.53 atom of Zn2+ with 1.5-fold increase of activity when reconstituted with Zn2+. Consistent with this result, this enzyme is much readily refolded in the presence of Zn2+ than Co2+. To further delineate the structure and function relations, we made serial deletion mutants and analyzed their enzymatic activities. Of eight deletion mutants, only a mutant lacking the N-terminal 66 amino acid residues retained enzymatic activity. The mutant enzyme, however, required a concentration of Zn2+ ion at least ten-fold higher to reach maximum activity without significantly affecting kinetic parameters such as Km and Vmax compared to the full length PepT. Taken together, these data suggest that the B. subtilis PepT is likely to be a Zn2+-dependent metalloenzyme and that the N-terminal region of the PepT stabilizes Zn2+-binding.     

Characterization of a thermostable alkaline phytase from Bacillus licheniformis ZJ-6 in Pichia pastoris

A novel neutral phytase gene (phyC) from Bacillus licheniformis was cloned and expressed in Pichia pastoris under the control of AOX1 promoter. The gene is 1,146 bp in size and encodes a polypeptide of 381 amino acids. The recombinant PhyCm (rePhyCm), driven by the Saccharomyces cerevisiae α-mating factor, was secreted into culture medium. After 0.5% methanol induction for 96 h, the activity of rePhyCm in culture supernatant reached 0.23 U/ml. The optimum temperature and pH of purified rePhyCm were 60°C and 7.5, respectively. The rePhyCm was stable in a wide pH range of 5.0–9.0, especially for alkaline pH. The residual activities of rePhyCm retained over 80% after being incubated at pH 5.0–9.0, 37°C for 1 h in the presence of 1 mM CaCl₂. Interestingly, supplemental Ca²⁺ upgraded both the thermostability and pH stability of rePhyCm. Substrate specificity of rePhyCm, effects of metal ions and chemicals on phytase activity were also investigated in current study.     

Isolation and characterization of Pz-peptidase from Bacillus licheniformis N22

Pz-peptidase is an endopeptidase that cleaves the synthetic substrate, 4-phenylazobenzyloxycarbonyl-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-Arg (Pz-peptide), which was originally developed for the assay of Clostridium histolyticum collagenase (Wünsch and Heidrich, Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem., 333, 149–151, 1963; Morales and Woessner, J. Biol. Chem., 252, 4855–4860, 1977). Pz-peptidase was purified from the culture filtrate of Bacillus licheniformis N22. The purified Pz-peptidase showed a molecular weight of 70,000 in SDS-polyacryl-amide gel electrophoresis and 150,000 in gel filtration. Optimal pH for cleavage of Pz-peptide was 7.8. The Pz-peptidase activity was strongly inhibited by metal chelators such as EDTA and O-phenanthroline. Substrate specificity studies indicated that Pz-peptidase cleaved oligopeptides at the Xaa-Gly site in Xaa-Gly-Pro. However, Pz-peptidase failed to hydrolyze native collage, denatured collagen, hemoglobin and casein.     

Production and characterization of biosurfactants from Bacillus licheniformis F2.2

A biosurfactant-producing strain, Bacillus licheniformis F2.2, was isolated from a fermented food in Thailand. The strain was capable of producing a new biosurfactant, BL1193, as well as two kinds of popular lipopeptide biosurfactants, plipastatin and surfactin. Mass spectrometry and FT-IR analysis indicated that BL1193 had a molecular mass of 1,193 Da with no peptide portion in the molecule. While plipastatin and surfactin were abundantly produced in a nutrient YPD medium, BL1193 was produced only in a synthetic DF medium containing no amino acids. According to an oil displacement activity test, the specific activity of BL1193 (6.53 kBS units/mg) is equivalent to that of surfactin (5.78-6.83 kBS units/mg).     

Homologies among three Bacillus licheniformis plasmids and molecular characterization of their replication module

To assess to what extent three Bacillus licheniformis plasmids had the same molecular organization a physical map of the 9.34, 8.40 and 7.90 kb plasmids was achieved by using seventeen restriction enzymes. Southern hybridization was performed on plasmids using restriction fragments of the smallest plasmid as probes. Data from different hybridization patterns show a close homology among the three plasmids hypothesizing a similar molecular organization. The lack of plasmid diversity observed, seem to support the hypothesis of a similar phylogeny among these plasmids. This investigation provides more information concerning phylogeny, interrelationships and level of diversity among Bacillus plasmids and a molecular characterization of three plasmids useful for the construction of cloning vectors.     

Purification and characterization of antimicrobial substances from Bacillus licheniformis BFP011

Bacillus licheniformis BFP011 isolated from papaya (Thailand) could produce extracellular antimicrobial substances which were active against some important phytopathogens, pathogenics and spoilage microorganisms such as Colletotrichum capsici, Escherichia coli O157: H7 and Salmonella typhi ATCC 5784. The antimicrobial substances of this bacterium showed resistance to pronase enzyme and high temperature at 100 and 121°C for 15 min. They were purified by TLC on silica gel plates F254 using the different solvent mixtures. The best solvent mixture was revealed as n-butanol: ethanol: acetic acid: water (30: 60: 5: 30, v/v). The spots F4, F5 and F6 from TLC were able to inhibit growth of S. typhi ATCC 5784 assayed in vitro by the disc diffusion method. The characterization of the active fractions F4, F5 and F6 from TLC and reversedphase HPLC indicated that the antimicrobial substances of B. licheniformis BFP011 contain peptides and unsaturated fatty acids.     

Purification and characterization of a membrane-associated phosphatidylserine synthase from Bacillus licheniformis

A CDP-diacylglycerol-dependent phosphatidylserine synthase was solubilized from Bacillus licheniformis membranes and purified to near homogeneity. The purification procedure consisted of CDP-diacylglycerol-Sepharose affinity chromatography followed by substrate elution from blue dextran-Sepharose. The purified preparation showed a single band with an apparent relative molecular mass of 53 000 daltons when subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate--polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Proteolytic digestion of the enzyme yielded a smaller (41 000 daltons) active form. The preparation was free of any phosphatidylglycerophosphate synthase, phosphatidylserine decarboxylase, CDP-diacylglycerol hydrolase, and phosphatidylserine hydrolase activities. The utilization of substrates and the formation of products occurred with the expected stoichiometry. Radioisotopic exchange patterns between related substrate and product pairs suggest a sequential Bi-Bi reaction as opposed to the ping-pong mechanism exhibited by the well-studied phosphatidylserine synthase of Escherichia coli [Larson, T. J., & Dowhan, W. (1976) Biochemistry 15, 5212-5218]. The B. licheniformis enzyme was also found to be markedly dissimilar to the E. coli enzyme with regard to association with detergent micelles, affinity for ribosomes, and antigenicity.     

Biochemical characterization of a low molecular weight aspartic protease inhibitor from thermo-tolerant Bacillus licheniformis: kinetic interactions with Pepsin

The present article reports a low molecular weight aspartic protease inhibitor, API, from a newly isolated thermo-tolerant Bacillus licheniformis. The inhibitor was purified to homogeneity as shown by rp-HPLC and SDS-PAGE. API is found to be stable over a broad pH range of 2-11 and at temperature 90 degrees C for 2 1/2h. It has a Mr (relative molecular mass) of 1363 Da as shown by MALDI-TOF spectra and 1358 Da as analyzed by SDS-PAGE .The amino acid analysis of the peptide shows the presence of 12 amino acid residues having Mr of 1425 Da. The secondary structure of API as analyzed by the CD spectra showed 7% alpha-helix, 49% beta-sheet and 44% aperiodic structure. The Kinetic studies of Pepsin-API interactions reveal that API is a slow-tight binding competitive inhibitor with the IC(50) and Ki values 4.0 nM and (3.83 nM-5.31 nM) respectively. The overall inhibition constant Ki* value is 0.107+/-0.015 nM. The progress curves are time-dependent and consistent with slow-tight binding inhibition: E+I -->/<-- (k(4), k(5)) EI -->/<-- (k(6), k(7)) EI*. Rate constant k(6)=2.73+/-0.32 s(-1) reveals a fast isomerization of enzyme-inhibitor complex and very slow dissociation as proved by k(7)=0.068+/-0.009 s(-1). The Rate constants from the intrinsic tryptophanyl fluorescence data is in agreement with those obtained from the kinetic analysis; therefore, the induced conformational changes were correlated to the isomerization of EI to EI*.     

Purification and characterization of phosphofructokinase of Bacillus licheniformis

The phosphofructokinase (PFK) of Bacillus licheniformis was purified about 50–65-fold and examined for a number of enzymatic and physical characteristics. The enzyme is quite unstable under normal assay conditions, but Mg²⁺, K⁺, adenosine-5′-diphosphate, phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), and fructose-6-phosphate (fru-6-P) are fairly effective stabilizing agents. Saturation functions for ATP and fru-6-P were hyperbolic. Several attempts to induce positive cooperative binding of fru-6-P were unsuccessful. However, “sigmoidal” saturation kinetics for fru-6-P could be observed under assay conditions that permitted an irreversible inactivation of the PFK during assay. Several divalent cations could support the catalysis of B. licheniformis PFK and the enzyme was activated by both NH₄⁺ and K⁺ ions. B. licheniformis PFK is inhibited by citrate, ATP, PEP, Ca²⁺, and several other metabolic intermediates, but the inhibition caused by citrate and ATP at high fru-6-P concentration and by calcium can be relieved by Mg²⁺ addition while PEP inhibition is specifically relieved by fru-6-P. There are at least three binding sites for PEP on the PFK molecule. The active form of this PFK has a molecular weight of about 134,000 daltons. In the presence of Mg²⁺, adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP), and PEP, at 0 °C, the PFK molecule is rapidly dissociated to an inactive form with a molecular weight of about 68,000 daltons. Association of these subunits to yield the active form of PFK occurs spontaneously, and rapidly, when the temperature is raised to 30 °C. Ninety percent of the original activity is recovered after activation. Growth of B. licheniformis on several different substrates resulted in minor variations of PFK activity. In a parallel fashion, sporulation involved no irreversible inactivation of PFK and the level of the activity was about the same throughout the life cycle. Control of this enzyme during sporulation could be affected by any or all of the cell constituents found to regulate PFK activity in vitro, but it is considered likely that the most significant in vivo negative effector is PEP, with this inhibition being reversed by fru-6-P.     

Chitinase from Bacillus licheniformis DSM13: expression in Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 and biochemical characterisation

The gene chi, coding for a GH18 chitinase from the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus licheniformis DSM13 (ATCC 14580), was cloned into the inducible lactobacillal expression vectors pSIP403 and pSIP409, derived from the sakacin-P operon of Lactobacillus sakei, and expressed in the host strain Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1. Both the complete chi gene including the original bacillal signal sequence as well as the mature chi gene were compared, however, no extracellular chitinase activity was detected with any of the constructs. The chitinase gene was expressed intracellularly as an active enzyme with these different systems, at levels of approximately 5mg of recombinant protein per litre of cultivation medium. Results obtained for the two different expression vectors that only differ in the promoter sequence were well comparable. To further verify the suitability of this expression system, recombinant, His-tagged chitinase Chi was purified from cell extracts of L. plantarum and characterised. The monomeric 65-kDa enzyme can degrade both chitin and chitosan, and shows properties that are very similar to those reported for the native chitinase purified from other B. licheniformis isolates. It shows good thermostability (half lives of stability of 20 and 8.4 days at 37 and 50°C, respectively), and good stability in the pH range of 5-10. The results presented lead the way to overproduction of chitinase in a food-grade system, which is of interest for the food and feed industry.     

Isolation and characterization of thermostable chitinases from Bacillus licheniformis X-7u

Four kinds of thermostable chitinase were isolated from the cell-free culture broth of Bacillus licheniformis X-7u by successive column chromatographies on Butyl-Toyopearl, Q-Sepharose, and Sephacryl S-200. We named the enzymes chitinases I(89 kDa), II(76 kDa), III(66 kDa) and IV(59 kDa). Chitinases II, III and IV possessed extremely high optimum temperatures (70-80 degrees C), showing remarkable heat stability. Chitinases II, III and IV produced (GlcNAc)2 and GlcNAc from colloidal chitin and chitinase I predominantly produced (GlcNAc)2. The action pattern of chitinase I on PN-(GlcNAc)4 also showed a stronger propensity to cleave off the (GlcNAc)2 unit from the non-reducing end than the other three chitinases. Chitinases II, III and IV catalyzed a transglycosylation reaction that converted (GlcNAc)4 into (GlcNAc)6.     

Expression of a keratinase (kerA) gene from Bacillus licheniformis in Escherichia coli and characterization of the recombinant enzymes

The gene kerA (1,047 bp) encoding the main keratinase from Bacillus licheniformis was cloned into two conventional vectors, pET30α and pET32α, and expressed in Escherichia coli. From SDS-PAGE analysis, the recombinant keratinases were 45 and 55 kDa. They had different optimal pH values (7.5 and 8.5) but the same optimum temperature of 50 °C. The recombinant keratinase produced in E. coli pET30α-kerA was more stable than that produced in E. coli pET32α-kerA, and retained approx. 70 % of its total enzyme activity after 30 min at 70 °C.     

地衣芽孢杆菌胞外蛋白酶的纯化及特性分析

研究不同条件对地衣芽孢杆菌De株产生胞外蛋白酶的量及其酶活性的影响,结果表明在pH为7.4—8.2范围内,温度为30℃时,培养8—12h的菌株所分泌胞外产物中的蛋白酶活性最高。实验先以半透膜法收集芽孢杆菌的胞外产物,然后再经过硫酸铵沉淀过夜S、ephadex G-100凝胶层析和DEAE-Cellulose离子交换层析及聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳等四个步骤的分离纯化后,可以得到含有3种主要蛋白质(BLP1、BLP2、BLP3)成分的胞外蛋白酶,其分子量分别为66.2KD、31.0KD及约20.1KD,所得纯化蛋白酶的蛋白浓度为0.773μg/mL,蛋白回收率为11.66%。实验还发现,纯化的胞外蛋白酶在100℃下作用30min,仍可保持其活力,可见具有相当的热稳定性,而其酶活最佳的pH和温度条件分别为7.8和45—65℃。酶活抑制实验显示EDTA、铜、钴、镁离子等均可成为其酶活抑制因子;而丝氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂甲基磺酰氟(PMSF)、铁、锰、钡、钙离子等对酶活性没有明显影响;锌则会令之酶活性其部分丧失。     

Folding of prokaryotic DNA. Isolation and characterization of nucleoids from Bacillus licheniformis

Intact and fast-sedimenting nucleoids of Bacillus licheniformis were isolated under low-salt conditions and without addition of detergents, polyamines or Mg2+. These nucleoids were partially unfolded by treatment with RNase and completely unfolded by treatments that disrupt protein-DNA interactions, like incubation with proteinase K, 0.1% sodium dodecyl sulphate and high ionic strength. Ethidium bromide intercalation studies on RNase-treated, proteinase-K-treated and non-treated nucleoids in combination with sedimentation analysis of DNase-I-treated nucleoids revealed that DNA is organized in independent, negatively supertwisted domains. In contrast to the DNA organization in bacterial nucleoids, isolated under high-salt conditions and in the presence of detergents (Stonington & Pettijohn, 1971; Worcel & Burgi, 1972), the domains of supertwisted DNA in the low-salt-isolated nucleoids studied here are restrained by protein-DNA interactions. A major role for nascent RNA in restraining supertwisted DNA was not observed. The superhelix density of B. licheniformis nucleoids calculated from the change of the sedimentation coefficient upon ethidium bromide intercalation, was of the same order of magnitude as that of other bacterial nucleoids and eukaryotic chromosomes, isolated under high-salt conditions: namely, -0.150 (corrected to standard conditions: 0.2 M-NaCl, 37 degrees C; Bauer, 1978). Electron microscopy of spread nucleoids showed relaxed DNA and regions of condensed DNA. Spreading in the presence of 100 micrograms ethidium bromide per ml revealed only condensed structures, indicating that nucleoids are intact. From spreadings of proteinase-K-treated nucleoids we infer that supertwisted DNA and the protein-DNA interactions, responsible for restraining the superhelical DNA conformation, are localized in the regions of condensed DNA.