Production and recovery of an enzyme fromPseudomonas vesicularis var.povalolyticus PH that degrades polyvinyl alcohol

A PVA-degrading enzyme was produced byPseudomonas vesicularis var.povalolyticus PH and accumulated intracellularly when grown in nutrient medium including tryptone and yeast extract without PVA. The internal enzyme activity increased with cell growth and was maximal when growth was maximal, whereas, external activity continued to increase. It was presumed that the enzyme secretion was induced by the presence of PVA in the culture medium. It was established that crude enzyme can be effectively recovered from the cell by osmotic shock treatment with sucrose or NaCl.