Exploring applications of procerain b, a novel protease from Calotropis procera, and characterization by N-terminal sequencing as well as peptide mass fingerprinting.
Procerain B is a novel cysteine protease isolated from Calotropis procera by our group and published recently. We have further characterized the enzyme by N-terminal sequencing and peptide mass fingerprinting. Procerain B showed maximum sequence similarity (80%) with Asclepain. Moreover, the characteristic VDWR motif of cysteine proteases is present in procerain B. The N-terminal and peptide mass fingerprinting analysis showed a distinct nature of the enzyme. Various applications of the enzyme were also evaluated. Procerain B is very effective in milk-clotting and may be a potential candidate for this process in the cheese industry. Additionally, the enzyme has potential application as dietary supplement to aid digestion. Effects of various metal ions on milk-clotting activity were also studied. The milk-clotting activity was increased in case of few metals while others have a negative effect. It is worth mentioning that the easy availability of plant material and simple purification method makes industrial production of the enzyme feasible. A protease with easy purification and suitable properties for application is always desired.
Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, 781039, Assam, India.
Abhay Narayan
AN
Singh
Vikash Kumar
VK
Dubey
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D031107:Calotropis / Q000201:enzymology*; D043302:Cultured Milk Products / Q000378:metabolism; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005511:Food Handling; D019649:Food Industry; D008670:Metals / Q000494:pharmacology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010449:Peptide Mapping; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein
D008670:Metals; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; C474045:procerain