• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.5 no.6
• /
• pp.319-323
• /
• 1995

A chromogenic mimic of phenlyalanyl-dipeptide, L-phenylalanyl-L-2-sulfanilylglycine (PSG), was synthesized and examined for its usability in leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) assay. The enzyme activity was easily determined by measuring the amount of diazotized adduct of sulfanilic acid released upon hydrolysis of PSG ($\varepsilon^{420}$=18,000/M/cm). Under the experimental conditions employed, PSG showed a Km of 0.063 mM and a Kcat of 1683/min, assessable less than 0.1 $\mu$ g of LAP per milliliter. And the presence of aminopeptidase M (APM) was suggested to be negligible in LAP assay. This novel assay can circumvent the occasional yellow background in biological systems, i.e., serums, etc..

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.9
• /
• pp.1469-1476
• /
• 2007

Jeot-gal is a traditional Korean fermented seafood and has long been used for seasoning. We isolated 188 strains from shrimp, anchovy, and yellow corvina Jeot-gal, and screened sixteen strains that showed strong fibrinolytic activities on a fibrin plate. Among those strains, the strain that had the largest halo zone was chosen and identified as Bacillus licheniformis by using 16S rDNA sequencing and an API CHB kit. The fibrinolytic activity of Bacillus licheniformis was characterized and designated as bpKJ-31. The active component of bpKJ-31 was identified as a 37 kDa protein, designated bacillopeptidase F, by internal peptide mapping and N-terminal sequencing. The optimum activity of bpKJ-31 was shown at pH 9 and $40^{\circ}C$, with a chromogenic substrate for plasmin. It had high degrading activity for the $B{\beta}$-chain and $A{\alpha}$-chain of fibrin(ogen), and also acted on thrombin, but not skim milk and casein. The amidolytic activity of bpKJ-31 was inhibited by 1 mM phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, but 1 mM EDTA did not affect the enzyme activity, indicating that bpKJ-31 is an alkaline serine protease, like a plasmin. The bpKJ-31 showed approximately 14.3% higher fibrinolytic activity than the plasmin. These features of bpKJ-31 make it attractive as a health-promoting biomaterial.