• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.375-380
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• 1987

D-$\alpha$-Amino-$\varepsilon$-carpolactam racemase (EC 5.1.1) and L-$\alpha$-amino-$\varepsilon$-caprolactam hydrolase (EC 3.5.2) were fractionated from cell-free extracts of Alcaligenes eutrophus A52 using ammonium sulfate precipitation and DEAE-cellulose ion exchange chromatography. It was made sure that D-$\alpha$-amino-$\varepsilon$-caprolactam was converted to L-$\alpha$-amino-$\varepsilon$-caprolactam by racemase, and then hydrolyzed into L-lysine by hydrolase in Alcaligenes eutrophus A52. For the conversion of D-$\alpha$-amino-$\varepsilon$-caprolactam into L-lysine by cell-free extracts of Alcaligenes eutrophus A52, the optimum temperature and pH were 6$0^{\circ}C$ and 8.5 respectively. The results showed that 0.5% D-$\alpha$-amino-$\varepsilon$-caprolactam was converted to L-lysine at 55$^{\circ}C$ for 10 hr with a conversion rate of 98% by cell-free extracts containing 3.1mg of protein.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.369-374
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• 1987

A bacterium which grows on D-$\alpha$-Amino-$\varepsilon$-Caprolactam as sole carbon, energy and nitrogen source was isolated from the sludge of industrial areas in Taegu, and identified as Alcaligenes eutrophus. The optimum pH, temperature and concentration of D-$\alpha$-Amino-$\varepsilon$-Caprolactam for the growth were 6.0, 3$0^{\circ}C$ and 0.2% respectively. The bacteria could utilize glucose and fructose as a carbon source, and utilize ammonium chloride, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate and sodium nitrate as a nitrogen source, and utilize L-Iysine and L-glutamate as a carbon and nitrogen source. It was found with thin layer chromatography and polarimeter that D-$\alpha$-Amino-$\varepsilon$-Caprolactam was converted to L-Iysine by the cell-free extracts of Alcaligenes eutrophus A52.