title: Molecular cloning and sequencing of the gene encoding an exopolygalacturonase of a Bacillus isolate and properties of its recombinant enzyme.
abstract: An exopolygalacturonase (exo-PGase; EC 3.2.1.82) was found in the culture broth of a Bacillus isolate. The gene encoding the exo-PGase, pehK, was cloned by polymerase chain reaction using mixed primers designed from N-terminal and internal amino acid (aa) sequences of the enzyme (PehK). The determined nucleotide (nt) sequence of pehK revealed a 2940 bp open reading frame (980 aa) that encoded a putative signal sequence (27 aa) and a mature protein (953 aa; 103810 Da). The recombinant enzyme was purified to homogeneity from a culture broth of Bacillus subtilis harboring a pehK-containing plasmid. It had a molecular mass of 105 kDa and a pI value of 5.0. The maximum activity was observed at pH 8 and 55 degrees C in Tris-HCl buffer. The degradation products from polygalacturonic or oligogalacturonic acids were digalacturonic acid, like the exo-PGases, PehX of Erwinia chrysanthemi and PehB of Ralstonia solanacearum. The deduced aa sequence of PehK exhibited moderate homology to those of PehX and PehB with approx. 30% identity for both. High homology was observed in a suitably aligned internal region of the three enzymes (65% identity), and some of the conserved aa residues appeared to form the catalytic core of the enzymes.
authors.affiliation: Tochigi Research Laboratories, Kao Corporation, 2606 Akabane, Ichikai, Haga, 321-3497 Tochigi, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suzumatsu
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ito
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001407:Bacillus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004795:Enzyme Stability; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases; C065616:exo-poly-alpha-galacturonosidase