BSF1 fibrinolytic enzyme from a marine bacterium Bacillus subtilis A26: Purification,biochemical and molecular characterization

A novel fibrinolytic enzyme, subtilisin BSF1, from a newly isolated Bacillus subtilis A26 was purified, characterized and the gene was isolated and sequenced. The subtilisin BSF1 was purified to homogeneity by five-step procedure with a 4.97-fold increase in specific activity and 6.28% recovery. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 28 kDa by SDS-PAGE and gel filtration. The purified enzyme exhibited high fibrinolytic activity on fibrin agar plates.Interestingly, the enzyme was highly active over a wide range of pH from 7.0 to 12.0, with an optimum at pH 9.0. The relative activities at pH 10.0 and 11.0 were 97.8% and 85.2% of that at pH 9.0. The optimum temperature for enzyme activity was 60 °C. The activity of subtilisin BSF1 was totally lost in the presence of PMSF, suggesting that the purified enzyme is a serine protease. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the first 11 amino acids (aa) of the purified fibrinolytic enzyme was AQSVPYGISQI.The bsf1 gene encoding the subtilisin BSF1 was isolated and its DNA sequence was determined. The bsf1 gene consisted of 1146 bp encoding a pre-pro-protein of 381 amino acids organized into a signal peptide (29 aa), a pro-peptide (77 aa) and a mature domain (275 aa). The deduced amino acids sequence of the mature enzyme (BSF1) differs from those of nattokinase from B. subtilis natto and subtilisin DFE from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DC-4 by 5 and 39 amino acids, respectively.     

Purification and partial characterization of an acid phosphatase from the body wall of sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus

A high molecular weight (HMW) acid phosphatase from the body wall of sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus was purified to homogeneity by a combination of anion exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The enzyme was purified 19.3-fold with a total yield of 1.2%. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of the purified enzyme showed a single protein band of MW 147.9 kDa. The enzyme displayed maximum activity at pH 4.0 and 50 °C with p-nitrophenyl phosphate as substrate. The enzyme activity appeared to be stable over pH 2.0–5.0 and up to 40 °C. The enzyme activity was enhanced slightly by Mg²⁺, whereas inhibited strongly by Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺. The enzyme hydrolyzes several phosphate esters, suggesting a probable non-specific nature. The amino acid sequences of three segments of the purified enzyme were analyzed by mass spectroscopy, which did not have any homology with previously described acid phosphatase.     

Cloning,expression, and characterization of a thermostable β-xylosidase from thermoacidophilic Alicyclobacillus sp. A4

A β-xylosidase gene (xylA4) was identified in the genome sequence of thermoacidophilic Alicyclobacillus sp. A4. The deduced amino acid sequence was highly homologous with the β-xylosidases of family 52 of the glycoside hydrolases (GH). The full-length gene consisted of 2097 bp and encoded 698 amino acids without a signal peptide. The gene product was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli with an activity of 564.9 U/mL. Recombinant XylA4 was purified by Ni²⁺-NTA affinity chromatography with a molecular mass of 78.5 kDa. The enzyme showed optimal activity at pH 6.0 and 65 °C, and remained stable over the pH range of 5.0–9.0. The thermostability of XylA4 is noteworthy, retaining almost all of the activity after 1 h incubation at 65 °C. Using p-nitrophenyl-β-d-xylopyranoside (pNPX) as the substrate, XylA4 had the highest specific activity (261.1 U/mg) and catalytic efficiency (601.5/mM/s) known so far for GH52 xylosidases. The enzyme displayed high tolerance to xylose, with a K_i value of approximately 88.7 mM. It also had synergy with xylanase XynBE18 from Paenibacillus sp. E18 in xylan degradation, releasing more xylose (up to 1.43 folds) than XynBE18 alone. Therefore, this thermostable xylose-tolerant β-xylosidase may have a great application potential in many industrial fields.     

Purification and characterization of a new laccase from Shiraia sp.SUPER-H168

A new laccase from Shiraia sp.SUPER-H168 was purified by ion exchange column chromatography and gel permeation chromatography and the apparent molecular mass of this enzyme was 70.78 kDa, as determined by MALDI/TOF-MS. The optimum pH value of the purified laccase was 4, 6, 5.5 and 3 with 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (DMP), syringaldazine, guaiacol and 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS) as substrates, respectively. The optimum temperature of the purified laccase was 50 °C using DMP, syringaldazine and guaiacol as substrates, but 60 °C for ABTS. Inhibitors and metal ions of SDS, NaN₃, Ag⁺ and Fe³⁺ showed inhibition on enzyme activity of 10.22%, 7.86%, 8.13% and 67.50%, respectively. Fe²⁺ completely inhibited the purified laccase. The K_cat/K_m values of the purified laccase toward DMP, ABTS guaiacol and syringaldazine were 3.99 × 10⁶, 3.74 × 10⁷, 8.01 × 10⁴ and 2.35 × 10⁷ mol^?1 L S^?1, respectively. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified laccase showed 36.4% similarity to Pleurotus ostrestus. Approximately 66% of the Acid Blue 129 (100 mg L^?1) was decolorized by 2.5 U of the purified laccase after a 120 min incubation at 50 °C. Acid Red 1 (20 mg L^?1) and Reactive Black 5 (50 mg L^?1) were decolorized by the purified laccase after the addition of Acid Blue 129 (100 mg L^?1).     

Isolation and biochemical characteristics of a molecular form of epididymal acid phosphatase of boar seminal plasma

The fluid of boar epididymis is characterized by a high activity of acid phosphatase (AcP), which occurs in three molecular forms. An efficient procedure was developed for the purification of a molecular form of epididymal acid phosphatase from boar seminal plasma. We focused on the epididymal molecular form, which displayed the highest electrophoretic mobility. The purification procedure (dialysis, ion exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography and hydroxyapatite chromatography) used in this study gave more than 7000-fold purification of the enzyme with a yield of 50%. The purified enzyme was homogeneous by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The purified molecular form of the enzyme is a thermostable 50 kDa glycoprotein, with a pI value of 7.1 and was highly resistant to inhibitors of acid phosphatase when p-nitrophenyl phosphate was used as the substrate. Hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate by the purified enzyme was maximally active at pH of 4.3; however, high catalytic activity of the enzyme was within the pH range of 3.5–7.0. Kinetic analysis revealed that the purified enzyme exhibited affinity for phosphotyrosine (K_m = 2.1 × 10⁻³ M) and was inhibited, to some extent, by sodium orthovanadate, a phosphotyrosine phosphatase inhibitor. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of boar epididymal acid phosphatase is ELRFVTLVFR, which showed 90% homology with the sequence of human, mouse or rat prostatic acid phosphatase.The purification procedure described allows the identification of the specific biochemical properties of a molecular form of epididymal acid phosphatase, which plays an important role in the boar epididymis.     

Purification and characterization of a novel α-amylase from a newly isolated Bacillus methylotrophicus strain P11-2

An aerobic bacterial strain P11-2 with high amylolytic activity was isolated from soil sample collected from wheat field of Jiyuan, China. The strain was identified as Bacillus methylotrophicus by morphological and physiological characteristics as well as by analysis of the gene encoding the 16S rRNA. The α-amylase was purified to homogeneity by a combination of 80% (NH₄)₂SO₄ precipitation, DEAE FF anion exchange, and superdex 75 10/300 GL gel filtration chromatography. The purified α-amylase exhibited specific activity of 330.7 U/mg protein that corresponds to 13.1 fold purification. The relative molecular mass of the α-amylase was 44.0 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The optimal pH and temperature for enzyme activity were 7.0 and 70 °C, respectively. The α-amylase activity was stimulated by Mg²⁺, Ba²⁺, Al³⁺ and dl-dithiothreitol (DTT), however, Ca²⁺ almost had no activation or inhibition on the α-amylase. After 4 h of reaction toward soluble starch, the end products were glucose, maltose and maltotriose. The 10 residues of the N-terminal sequence of the purified α-amylase were SVKNGQILHA, which showed no homology to other reported α-amylases from Bacillus strain.     

Cloning,expression and characterization of d-aminoacylase from Achromobacter xylosoxidans subsp. denitrificans ATCC 15173

d-Aminoacylase catalyzes the conversion of N-acyl-d-amino acids to d-amino acids and fatty acids. The aim of this study was to identify the d-aminoacylase gene from Achromobacter xylosoxidans subsp. denitrificans ATCC 15173 and investigate the biochemical characterization of the enzyme. A previously uncharacterized d-aminoacylase gene (ADdan) from this organism was cloned and sequenced. The open reading frame (ORF) of ADdan was 1467 bp in size encoding a 488-amino acid polypeptide. ADdan, with a high amino acid similarity to N-acyl-d-aspartate amidohydrolase from Alcaligenes A6, showed relatively low sequence similarities to other characterized d-aminoacylases. The recombinant ADdan protein was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) using pET-28a with a T7 promoter. The enzyme was purified in a single chromatographic step using nickel affinity gel column. The molecular mass of the expressed protein, calculated by SDS–PAGE, was about 52 kDa. The purified ADdan showed optimal activity at pH 8.0 and 50 °C, and was stable at pH 6.0–8.0 and up to 45 °C. Its activity was inhibited by Cu²⁺, Fe²⁺, Ca²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Hg²⁺, whereas Mg²⁺ had no significant influence on this recombinant d-aminoacylase. This is the first report on the characterization of d-aminoacylase with activity towards both N-acyl derivatives of neutral d-amino acids and N-acyl-d-aspartate. The characteristics of ADdan could prove to be of interest in industrial production of d-amino acids.     

Production and characterization of β-1,4-glucosidase from a strain of Penicillium pinophilum

A high β-glucosidase (BGL)-producing strain was isolated and identified as Penicillium pinophilum KMJ601 based on its morphology and internal transcribed spacer rDNA gene sequence. Under the optimal culture conditions, a maximum BGL specific activity of 3.2 U ml⁻¹ (83 U mg-protein⁻¹), one of the highest levels among BGL-producing microorganisms was obtained. An extracellular BGL was purified to homogeneity by sequential chromatography of P. pinophilum culture supernatants on a DEAE-Sepharose column, a gel filtration column, and then on a Mono Q column. The relative molecular weight of P. pinophilum BGL was determined to be 120 kDa by SDS-PAGE and size exclusion chromatography, indicating that the enzyme is a monomer. The hydrolytic activity of the BGL had a pH optimum of 3.5 and a temperature optimum of 32 °C. P. pinophilum BGL showed a higher activity (V_max = 1120 U mg-protein⁻¹) than most BGLs purified from other sources. The internal amino acid sequences of P. pinophilum BGL showed a significant homology with hydrolases from glycoside hydrolase family 3. Although BGLs have been purified and characterized from several other sources, P. pinophilum BGL is distinguished from other BGLs by its high activity.     

Digestive amylase of a primitive animal,the scorpion: Purification and biochemical characterization

Scorpion, one of the most ancient invertebrates was chosen, as a model of a primitive animal, to purify and characterize an amylase located in the hepatopancreas. The scorpion digestive amylase (SDA) was purified. Pure SDA was obtained after heat treatment followed by ammonium sulfate fractionation and three steps of chromatography. The pure amylase is not glycosylated and has a molecular mass of 59,101 Da determined by MALDI-TOF MS analysis. The maximal amylase activity was measured at pH 7.0 and 50 °C, in the presence of Ca²⁺ and using potato starch as substrate. The enzyme was able to hydrolyze also, glycogen and amylose. The 23 NH₂-terminal amino acid SDA residues were sequenced. The sequence obtained is similar to those of mammalian and avian pancreatic amylases. Nevertheless, polyclonal antibodies directed against SDA failed to recognize classical digestive amylases like the porcine pancreatic one.     

Purification and characterization of a cis-epoxysuccinic acid hydrolase from Bordetella sp. strain 1–3

Purification of a cis-epoxysuccinic acid hydrolase was achieved by ammonium sulfate precipitation, ionic exchange chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography followed by size-exclusion chromatography. The enzyme was purified 177-fold with a yield of 14.4%. The apparent molecular mass of the enzyme was determined to be 33 kDa under denaturing conditions. The optimum pH for enzyme activity was 7.0, and the enzyme exhibited maximum activity at about 45 °C in 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.5). EDTA and o-phenanthrolin inhibited the enzyme activity remarkably, suggesting that the enzyme needs some metal cation to maintain its activity. Results of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis indicated that the cis-epoxysuccinic acid hydrolase needs Zn²⁺ as a cofactor. Eight amino acids sequenced from the N-terminal region of the cis-epoxysuccinic acid hydrolase showed the same sequence as the N-terminal region of the beta subunit of the cis-epoxysuccinic acid hydrolase obtained from Alcaligenes sp.     

Purification and characterization of a novel thermostable α-l-arabinofuranosidase (α-l-AFase) from Chaetomium sp.

The purification and characterization of an extracellular α-l-arabinofuranosidase (α-l-AFase) from Chaetomium sp. was investigated in this report. The α-l-AFase was purified to homogeneity with a purification fold of 1030. The purified α-l-AFase had a specific activity of 20.6 U mg^?1. The molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated to be 52.9 kDa and 51.6 kDa by SDS–PAGE and gel filtration, respectively. The optimal pH and temperature of the enzyme were pH 5.0 and 70 °C, respectively. The enzyme was stable over a broad pH range of 4.0–10.0 and also exhibited excellent thermostability, i.e., the residual activities reached 75% after treatment at 60 °C for 1 h. The enzyme showed strict substrate specificity for the α-l-arabinofuranosyl linkage. The K_m and V_max values for p-nitrophenyl (pNP)-α-l-arabinofuranoside were calculated to be 1.43 mM and 68.3 μmol min^?1 mg^?1 protein, respectively. Furthermore, the gene encoding α-l-AFase was cloned and sequenced and found to contain a catalytic domain belonging to the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 43 α-l-AFase. The deduced amino acid sequence of the gene showed the highest identity (67%) to the putative α-l-AFase from Neurospora crassa. This is the first report on the purification, characterization and gene sequence of an α-l-AFase from Chaetomium sp.     

Purification and characterization of a new alkali-thermostable lipase from Staphylococcus aureus isolated from Arachis hypogaea rhizosphere

An extracellular lipase (EC 3.1.1.3), SAL-PP1, from Staphylococcus aureus isolated from Arachis hypogaea rhizosphere was purified and characterized. The enzyme was purified using PALL'S Microsep centrifugal device (10 kD cut off), hydrophobic interaction (phenyl sepharose CL-4B column) and Superose-12 gel filtration chromatography and found to have a molecular mass of around 49 kDa. The gene fragment encoding the part of the catalytic site of the SAL-PP1 lipase was sequenced and the deduced amino acid sequence shows 93% identity with that of SEL3. SAL-PP1 showed activity against long acyl-chain triglycerides, various p-nitrophenyl esters and phospholipids. The enzyme shows high stability and activity after incubation with various metal ions (retained >90% activity in presence of Ca²⁺, Na⁺, Cu²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺, or Hg²⁺ at 10 mM), organic solvents (retained >80% activity in presence of acetonitrile, ethanol, DMSO, methanol, isopropanol, toluene, or ethylene glycol at 10 mM), detergents (retained >70% activity in Triton X-100, Tween 80, or sodium deoxycholate at 10 mM) and irreversible inhibitors (retained >77% activity in presence of PMSF, leupetin, or β-mercaptoethanol, at 1 mM). Thermal inactivation studies revealed a temperature dependent unfolding of secondary structure of protein. SAL-PP1 showed maximal activity and stability at pH 8.0 and pH 9.0, respectively. The alkali-thermostability, organic solvent-tolerance and broad substrate specificity of this enzyme may have potential implications in detergent formulations, biotransformation, industries, and medicine.     

Homologous expression,purification and characterization of a novel high-alkaline and thermal stable lipase from Burkholderia cepacia ATCC 25416

The lipase secreted by Burkholderia cepacia ATCC 25416 was particularly attractive in detergent and leather industry due to its specific characteristics of high alkaline and thermal stability. The lipase gene (lipA), lipase chaperone gene (lipB), and native promoter upstream of lipA were cloned. The lipA was composed of 1095 bp, corresponding to 364 amino acid residues. The lipB located immediately downstream of lipA was composed of 1035 bp, corresponding to 344 amino acid residues. The lipase operon was inserted into broad host vector pBBRMCS1 and electroporated into original strain. The homologous expression of recombinant strain showed a significant increase in the lipase activity. LipA was purified by three-step procedure of ammonium sulfate precipitation, phenyl-sepharose FF and DEAE-sepharose FF. SDS-PAGE showed the molecular mass of the lipase was 33 kDa. The enzyme optimal temperature and pH were 60 °C and 11.0, respectively. The enzyme was stable at 30–70 °C. After incubated in 70 °C for 1 h, enzyme remained 72% of its maximal activity. The enzyme exhibited a good stability at pH 9.0–11.5. The lipase preferentially hydrolyzed medium-chain fatty acid esters. The enzyme was strongly activated by Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Co²⁺, and apparently inhibited by PMSF, EDTA and also DTT with SDS. The enzyme was compatible with various ionic and non-ionic surfactants as well as oxidant H₂O₂. The enzyme had good stability in the low- and non-polar solvents.     

Purification and biochemical properties of an extracellular acid phytase produced by the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CY strain

An extracellular acid phytase was purified to homogeneity from the culture supernatant of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CY strain by ultrafiltration, DEAE-Sepharose column chromatography, and Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 630 kDa by gel filtration. Removing the sugar chain by endoglycosidase H digestion revealed that the molecular mass of the protein decreased to 446 kDa by gel filtration and gave a band of 55 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The purified enzyme was most active at pH 3.6 and 40 °C and was fairly stable from pH 2.5 to 5.0. The phytase displayed broad substrate specificity and had a K_m value of 0.66 mM (sodium phytate, pH 3.6, 40 °C). The phytase activity was completely inhibited by Fe³⁺ and Hg²⁺, and strongly inhibited (maximum of 91%) by Ba²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Sn²⁺ at 5 mM concentrations.     

Thermophilic lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus: Gene cloning,expression and characterization

An extracellular lipase gene ln1 from thermophilic fungus Thermomyces lanuginosus HSAUP₀₃80006 was cloned through RT-PCR and RACE amplification. Its coding sequence predicted a 292 residues protein with a 17 amino acids signal peptide. The deduced amino acids showed 78.4% similarity to another lipase lgy from T. lanuginosus while shared low similarity with other fungi lipases. Higher frequencies hydrophobic amino acids related to lipase thermal stability, such as Ala, Val, Leu and Gly were observed in this lipase (named LN). The sequence, -Gly-His-Ser-Leu-Gly-, known as a lipase-specific consensus sequence of mould, was also found in LN. High level expression for recombinant lipase was achieved in Pichia pastoris GS115 under the control of strong AOX1 promoter. It was purified to homogeneity through only one step DEAE-Sepharose anion exchange chromatography and got activity of 1328 U/ml. The molecular mass of one single band of this lipase was estimated to be 33 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The enzyme was stable at 60 °C and kept 65% enzyme activity after 30 min incubation at 70 °C. It kept half-activity after incubated for 40 min at 80 °C. The optimum pH for enzyme activity was 9.0 and the lipase was stable from pH 8.0 to 12.0. Lipase activity was enhanced by Ca²⁺ and inhibited by Fe²⁺, Zn²⁺, K⁺, and Ag⁺. The cell-free enzyme hydrolyzed and synthesized esters efficiently, and the synthetic efficiency even reached 81.5%. The physicochemical and catalytic properties of the lipase are extensively investigated for its potential industrial applications.     

Effects of galactomannan as carbon source on production of α-galactosidase by Thermomyces lanuginosus: Fermentation,purification and partial characterisation

Thermophilic fungus Thermomyces lanuginosus CBS 395.62/b strain is able to grow and synthesise extracellular α-galactosidase in media containing galactomannan such as locust bean gum (LBG) or guar gum (GG). Production of extracellular α-galactosidase was enhanced from 1.2 U/mL to 4–6 U/mL meaning about 3–5 times increase by optimisation of medium composition. This enzyme was purified to homogeneity by partial precipitation with 2-propanol and different liquid chromatographical steps. The developed purification protocol yielded 22% of enzyme activity with 900 purified fold. Molecular mass of the purified α-galactosidase enzyme was estimated to be 53 kDa. Maximal catalytic activity of the enzyme was obtained in the acidic pH range between pH 4.6 and 4.8 and in the temperature range 60–66 °C. More than 95% of enzyme activity was remaining after 1-day incubation at 70 °C and on pH in the range from 4.0 to 7.0. The enzyme activity was significantly stimulated by Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺ and K⁺ ions, while considerably inhibited by the presence of Ca²⁺, Ag⁺ and Hg²⁺.     

A putative proline iminopeptidase of Thermotoga maritima is a leucine aminopeptidese with lysine-p-nitroanilide hydrolyzing activity

A putative aminopeptidase P gene (TM0042, Swissport Q9WXP9, GeneBank AAD35136) of Thermotoga maritima was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (RIL). The enzyme was purified by the combination of ion exchange chromatography; Q-Sepharose and Mono-Q column. The purified recombinant T. maritima aminopeptidase P enzyme, gave a homogenous protein band with an apparent molecular weight of 40 kDa in SDS-PAGE analysis. The enzyme was purified 23-fold with the specific activity of 16.5 unit/mg with the final recovery of 22%. The enzyme was thermostable up to 90 °C for 30 min. An optimal activity was observed at 90 °C at pH 7.5. The purified enzyme was stable between pH 6.5 and 8 at 80 °C with the optimum of pH 7.5. Based on the amino acid sequence, the enzyme belongs to M 24B family of metalloenzymes. None of the divalent cations enhance the activity of the enzyme while Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Zn²⁺ were inhibitory to the enzyme activity. Divalent cation of Mg²⁺ showed 100% enzyme activity, to a lesser extent, Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺ whereas strong inhibition of enzyme activity was observed with Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺. The enzyme designated as putative aminopeptidase P was very low activity in hydrolyzing proline-p-nitroanilide. Kinetic studies on the purified enzyme confirmed that the enzyme is a leucine aminopeptidase. Enzyme also hydrolyzes lysine-p-nitroanilide with efficiency comparable to that of leucine-p-nitroanilide. This is the first report of leucine aminopeptidase with lysine-p-nitroanilide hydrolyzing activity, which belongs to the M 24B family of metalloenzymes.     

Purification and characterization of a new carbonyl reductase from Leifsonia xyli HS0904 involved in stereoselective reduction of 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl) acetophenone

Leifsonia xyli HS0904 can stereoselectively catalyze the bioreduction of 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl) acetophenone (BTAP) to its corresponding alcohol, which is a valuable chiral intermediate in the pharmaceuticals. In this study, a new carbonyl reductase derived from L. xyli HS0904 was purified and its biochemical properties were determined in detail. The carbonyl reductase was purified by 530-fold with a specific activity of 13.2 U mg⁻¹ and found to be a homodimer with a molecular mass of 49 kDa, in which the subunit molecular-weight was about 24 kDa. The purified enzyme exhibited a maximum enzyme activity at 34 °C and pH 7.2, and retained over 90% of its initial activity at 4 °C and pH 7.0 for 24 h. The addition of various additives, such as Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, l-cysteine, l-glutathione, urea, PEG 1000 and PEG 4000, could enhance the enzyme activity. The maximal reaction rate (V_max) and apparent Michaelis–Menten constant (K_m) of the purified carbonyl reductase for BTAP and NADH were confirmed as 33.9 U mg⁻¹, 0.383 mM and 69.9 U mg⁻¹, 0.412 mM, respectively. Furthermore, this enzyme was found to have a broad spectrum of substrate specificity and can asymmetrically catalyze the reduction of a variety of ketones and keto esters.     

Production,purification and characterization of an extracellular lipase from Aureobasidium pullulans HN2.3 with potential application for the hydrolysis of edible oils

Lipase production (8.02 ± 0.24 U/ml) by the yeast Aureobasidium pullulans HN2.3 isolated from sea saltern was carried by using time-dependent induction strategy. The lipase in the supernatant of the yeast cell culture was purified to homogeneity with a 3.4-fold increase in specific lipase activity as compared to that in the supernatant by ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration chromatography and anion-exchange chromatography. According to the data on SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 63.5 kDa. The optimal pH and temperature of the purified enzyme were 8.5 and 35 °C, respectively. The enzyme was greatly inhibited by Hg²⁺, Fe²⁺ and Zn²⁺. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride, not inhibited by ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), but weakly inhibited by iodoacetic acid. It was found that the purified lipase had the highest hydrolytic activity towards peanut oil.     

Purification and characterization of a highly selective glycyrrhizin-hydrolyzing β-glucuronidase from Penicillium purpurogenum Li-3

A novel β-glucuronidase from filamentous fungus Penicillium purpurogenum Li-3 was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by ultrafiltration, ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose ion exchange chromatography, and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration with an 80.7-fold increase in specific activity. The purified β-glucuronidase is a dimeric protein with an apparent molecular mass of 69.72 kDa (m/z = 69,717), determined by MALDI/TOF-MS. The optimal temperature and pH of the purified enzyme are 40 °C and 6.0, respectively. The enzyme is stable within pH 5.0–8.0, and the temperature up to 45 °C. Mg²⁺ ions enhanced the activity of the enzyme, Ca²⁺ and Al³⁺ showed no effect, while Mn²⁺, Zn²⁺, Hg²⁺ and Cu²⁺ substantially inhibited the enzymatic activity. The K_m and V_max values of the purified enzyme for glycyrrhizin (GL) were evaluated as 0.33 mM and 59.0 mmol mg^?1 min^?1, respectively. The purified enzyme displayed a highly selective glycyrrhizin-hydrolyzing property and converted GL directly to glycyrrhetic acid mono-glucuronide (GAMG), without producing byproduct glycyrrhetic acid (GA). The results suggest that the purified enzyme may have potential applications in bio-pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry.