title: Cloning and expression of an acidic pectin methylesterase from jelly fig (Ficus awkeotsang).
abstract: Pectin methylesterase (PME) is the key enzyme responsible for the gelation of jelly curd in the water extract of jelly fig (Ficus awkeotasang) achenes. The jelly fig PME extracted from achenes was isoelectrofocused at pH 2.5 and subjected to N-terminal amino acid sequencing. A cDNA fragment encoding the mature protein of this acidic PME was obtained by PCR cloning using a poly(T) primer and a degenerate primer designed according to the N-terminal sequence of the purified PME. The complete cDNA sequence of its precursor protein was further obtained by PCR using the same strategy. The PME clone was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and its expressed protein was immunologically recognized as strongly as the original antigen using antibodies against purified PME. Fractionation analysis revealed that the overexpressed PME was predominantly present in the pellet and thus presumably formed insoluble inclusion bodies in E. coli cells.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan 40227, Republic of China.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Tzen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002265:Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli; D007526:Isoelectric Point; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010944:Plants / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D002265:Carboxylic Ester Hydrolases; C022323:pectinesterase