Purification and characterization of trypsin from an entomopathogen,Nomuraea rileyi NRRL 13755

Nomuraea rileyi isolate NRRL-13755 produced a large amount of trypsin enzyme when cultured on basal salt medium containing 1% (w/v) gelatin. The trypsin was purified nearly 60-fold, with a recovery of about 13% of the initial activity from the culture supernatant. This protease exhibited a remarkably high specific activity of nearly 370,000 IU/mg protein. The native molecular weight was estimated by gel permeation chromatography to be 30 kDa, and the subunit molecular weight was determined to be about 30 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The pH and temperature optima were determined to be 8.5 and 35°C, respectively. With a relative trypsin activity of 100%, this purified preparation showed about 10% chymoelastase and nearly 50% chymotrypsin activity. Metal-chelating agents such as EDTA and EGTA at 2mm inhibited the enzyme activity by 40%, whereas N-carbobenzoxy-glycyl-l-phenylalaninamide (CBZ-gly-phe-NH₂) (2mm) and DTT (2mm) had no effect on activity. Trypsin inhibitor from turkey egg-white at 100 g/ml strongly inhibited the enzyme activity.The mention of firm names or trade products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over other firms or similar products not mentioned.