title: Molecular cloning and characterization of the gene coding for azoreductase from Bacillus sp. OY1-2 isolated from soil.
abstract: Azo dyes are regarded as pollutants because they are not readily reduced under aerobic conditions. Bacillus sp. OY1-2 transforms azo dyes into colorless compounds, and this reduction is mediated by a reductase activity for the azo group in the presence of NADPH. A 1.2-kbp EcoRI fragment containing the gene that encodes azoreductase was cloned by screening the genomic library of Bacillus sp. OY1-2 with digoxigenin-labeled probe designed from the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme. An open reading frame encoding the azoreductase, consisting of 178 amino acids, was predicted from the nucleotide sequence. In addition, because only a Bacillus subtillis hypothetical protein was discovered in the public databases (with an amino acid identity of 52.8%), the gene encoding the azoreductase cloned in this study was predicted to be a member of a novel family of reductases. Southern blot analysis revealed that the azoreductase gene exists as a single copy gene on a chromosome. Escherichia coli-expressing recombinant azoreductase gave a ten times greater reducing activity toward azo dyes than the original Bacillus sp. OY1-2. In addition, the expressed azoreductase purified from the recombinant E. coli lysate by Red-Sepharose affinity chromatography showed a similar activity and specificity as the native enzyme. This is the first report describing the sequencing and characterization of a gene encoding the azo dye-reducing enzyme, azoreductase, from aerobic bacteria and its expression in E. coli.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology, Food Microbiology, and Environmental Sanitation, Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health, 1-3-69, Nakamichi, Higashinari-ku, Osaka 537-0025, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoda
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruhul
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sugiura
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001407:Bacillus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009247:NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009601:Nitroreductases; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D009247:NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases; D009601:Nitroreductases; C021106:azoreductase