• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.48-58
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• 2009

Glycosyl hydrolases (GH, EC 3.2.1.-) are key enzymes which can hydrolyze the glycosidic bonds between two or more carbohydrates, or between a carbohydrate and a non-carbohydrate moiety. The new enzyme nomenclature of glycoside hydrolases is based on their amino acid sequence similarity and structural features. Here, we examined the glycosyl hydrolase family(GHF) genes reported from earthworm species. Among overall 115 GHFs, 12 GHFs could be identified from earthworm species through CAZy database. Of 12 GHF group genes, five genes including GHF2, 5, 17, 18, 20 are thought to be potent for industrial applications. The alignment of these genes with same genes from other animal species exhibited high sequence homology and some important amino acid residues necessary for enzyme activity appeared to be conserved. These genes can be utilized as a pest control agent or applicable to the food industry, clinical therapeutics and organic wastes disposition.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.313-318
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• 2006

A thermophilic bacterium producing the extracellular cellulase was isolated from soybean paste, and the isolate WL-12 has been identified as Bacillus licheniformis on the basis on its 16S rRNA sequence, morphology and biochemical properties. A gene encoding the cellulase of B. licheniformis WL-12 was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was determined. This cellulase gene, designated celA, consisted of 1,551 nucleotides, encoding a polypeptide of 517 amino acid residues. The gene product contained catalytic domain and cellulose binding domain. The deduced amino acid sequence was highly homologous to those of cellulases of B. licheniformis, B. subtilis and B. amytoliquefaciens belonging to the glycosyl hydrolase family 5. When the celA gene was highly expressed using a strong B. subtilis promoter, the extracellular cellulase was produced up to 7.0 units/ml in B. subtilis WB700.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.404-409
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• 2008

The brown-rot basidiomycete Fomitopsis palustris is known to degrade crystalline cellulose (Avicel) and produce three major cellulases, exoglucanases, endoglucanases, and ${\beta}$-glucosidases. A gene encoding endoglucanase, designated as cel12, was cloned from total RNA prepared from F. palustris grown at the expense of Avicel. The gene encoding Cel12 has an open reading frame of 732 bp, encoding a putative protein of 244 amino acid residues with a putative signal peptide residing at the first 18 amino acid residues of the N-terminus of the protein. Sequence analysis of Cel12 identified three consensus regions, which are highly conserved among fungal cellulases belonging to GH family 12. However, a cellulose-binding domain was not found in Cel12, like other GH family 12 fungal cellulases. Northern blot analysis showed a dramatic increase of cel12 mRNA levels in F. palustris cells cultivated on Avicel from the early to late stages of growth and the maintenance of a high level of expression in the late stage, suggesting that Cel12 takes a significant part in endoglucanase activity throughout the growth of F. palustris. Adventitious expression of cel12 in the yeast Pichia pastoris successfully produced the recombinant protein that exhibited endoglucanase activity with carboxymethyl cellulose, but not with crystalline cellulose, suggesting that the enzyme is not a processive endoglucanase unlike two other endoglucanases previously identified in F. palustris.

• The Korean Journal of Soil Zoology
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• v.8 no.1_2
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• pp.7-12
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• 2003

Endogeneous endoglucanase (EC 3.2.1.4) cDNA was cloned from a representative species (Eisenia anderi) of the earthworm family Lumbricidae. Endoglucanase from the midgut of the earthworm is composed of 456 amino acids and belongs to glycosyl hydrolase family 9 (GHF9), sharing high homologies (50-51 %) with those of selected termite and crayfish. This endoglucanase consists of three consensus catalytic domains found in most microbial cellulases. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using the amino acid squence data matched through the BLASTX program and showed that GHF9 families could be divided into four groups of arthropoda, bacteria, plant and annelida.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1012-1020
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• 2011

A gene coding for an endoglucanase (EglA), of the glycosyl hydrolase family 12 and derived from Aspergillus niger VTCC-F021, was cloned and sequenced. The cDNA sequence, 717 bp, and its putative endoglucanase, a 238 aa protein with a predicted molecular mass of 26 kDa and a pI of 4.35, exhibited 98.3-98.7% and 98.3-98.6% identities, respectively, with cDNA sequences and their corresponding endoglucanases from Aspergillus niger strains from the GenBank. The cDNA was overexpressed in Pichia pastoris GS115 under the control of an AOX1 promoter with a level of 1.59 U/ml culture supernatant, after 72 h of growth in a YP medium induced with 1% (v/v) of methanol. The molecular mass of the purified EglA, determined by SDS-PAGE, was 33 kDa, with a specific activity of 100.16 and 19.91 U/mg toward 1% (w/v) of ${\beta}$-glucan and CMC, respectively. Optimal enzymatic activity was noted at a temperature of $55^{\circ}C$ and a pH of 5. The recombinant EglA (rEglA) was stable over a temperature range of $30-37^{\circ}C$ and at pH range of 3.5-4.5. Metal ions, detergents, and solvents tested indicated a slightly inhibitory effect on rEglA activity. Kinetic constants ($K_m$, $V_{max}$, $k_{cat}$, and $k_{cat}/K_m$) determined for rEglA with ${\beta}$-glucan as a substrate were 4.04 mg/ml, 102.04 U/mg, 2,040.82 $min^{-1}$, and 505.05, whereas they were 10.17 mg/ml, 28.99 U/mg, 571.71 $min^{-1}$, and 57.01 with CMC as a substrate, respectively. The results thus indicate that the rEglA obtained in this study is highly specific toward ${\beta}$-glucan. The biochemical properties of rEglA make it highly valuable for downstream biotechnological applications, including potential use as a feed enzyme.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1699-1706
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• 2014

A lichenase gene (mt-lic) was identified for the first time through function-based screening of a soil metagenomic library. Its deduced amino acid sequence exhibited a high degree of homology with endo-${\beta}$-1,3-1,4-glucanase (having both lichenase and chitosanase activities), encoded by the bgc gene of Bacillus circulans WL-12. The recombinant lichenase overexpressed and purified from Escherichia coli was able to efficiently hydrolyze both barley ${\beta}$-glucan and lichenan. The enzyme showed maximal activity at a pH of 6.0 at $50^{\circ}C$, with Azo-barley-glucan as the substrate. The metal ions $Mn^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $Fe^{2+}$ enhanced the enzymatic activity, whereas the $Cu^{2+}$ and $Zn^{2+}$ ions inhibited the enzymatic activity. The $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ values of the purified lichenase were determined to be 0.45 mg/ml and 24.83 U/min/mg of protein, respectively.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1514-1519
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• 2009

A gene encoding the xylanase of Bacillus subtilis AMX-4 isolated from soil was cloned into Escherichia coli and the gene product was purified from the cell-free extract of the recombinant strain. The gene, designated xylA, consisted of 639 nucleotides encoding a polypeptide of 213 residues. The deduced amino acid sequence was highly homologous to those of xylanases belonging to glycosyl hydrolase family 11. The molecular mass of the purified xylanase was 23 kDa as estimated by SDS-PAGE. The enzyme had a pH optimum of 6.0-7.0 and a temperature optimum of $50-55^{\circ}C$. Xylanase activity was significantly inhibited by 5 mM $Cu^{2+}$ and 5 mM $Mn^{2+}$, and noticeably enhanced by 5 mM $Fe^{2+}$. The enzyme was active on xylans including arabinoxylan, birchwood xylan, and oat spelt xylan, but it did not exhibit activity toward carboxymethylcellulose or p-nitrophenyl-$\beta$-xylopyranoside. The predominant products resulting from xylan and xylooligosaccharide hydrolysis were xylobiose and xylotriose. The enzyme could hydrolyze xylooligosaccharides larger than xylotriose.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1711-1716
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• 2010

A gene encoding the ${\beta}$-xylosidase/${\alpha}$-arabinofuranosidase (XylC) of Paenibacillus woosongensis was cloned into Escherichia coli. This xylC gene consisted of 1,425 nucleotides, encoding a polypeptide of 474 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibited an 80% similarity with those of both Clostridium stercorarium ${\beta}$-xylosidase/${\alpha}$-N-arabinosidase and Bacillus cellulosilyticus ${\alpha}$-arabinofuranosidase, belonging to the glycosyl hydrolase family 43. The structural gene was subcloned with a C-terminal His-tag into a pET23a(+) expression vector. The His-tagged XylC, purified from a cell-free extract of a recombinant E. coli BL21(DE3) Codon Plus carrying a xylC gene by affinity chromatography, was active on para-nitrophenyl-${\alpha}$-arabinofuranoside (pNPA) as well as para-nitrophenyl-${\beta}$-xylopyranoside (pNPX). However, the enzymatic activities for the substrates were somewhat incongruously influenced by reaction pHs and temperatures. The enzyme was also affected by various chemicals at different levels. SDS (5 mM) inhibited the enzymatic activity for pNPX, while enhancing the enzymatic activity for pNPA. Enzyme activity was also found to be inhibited by addition of pentose or hexose. The Michaelis constant and maximum velocity of the purified enzyme were determined for hydrolysis of pNPX and pNPA, respectively.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1801-1806
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• 2010

A $\beta$-xylosidase encoding gene from Klebsiella sp. Sc was cloned in Escherichia coli. The $\beta$-xylosidase gene consisted of an open reading frame of 1,680 nucleotides and encodes 559 amino acids with a deduced molecular weight of 63 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of the $\beta$-xylosidase from Klebsiella sp. Sc exhibits 90% identities and 95% positives compared to those from Klebsiella oxytoca (KOX), Lactobacillus lactis (LAC, 82%, 90%), Bacillus longum (BLON, 69%, 81%) and Escherichia coli (ECOLI, 47%, 63%). The $\beta$-xylosidase was purified by GST-fusion purification system. The pH and temperature optima of the enzyme were 6.6 and $55^{\circ}C$, respectively. The $\beta$-xylosidase hydrolyzes xylobiose to xylose.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.1555-1563
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• 2008

A novel $\alpha$-amylase ($\alpha$-1,4-$\alpha$-D-glucan glucanohydrolase, E.C. 3.2.1.1), ScAmy43, was found in the culture medium of the phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum grown on oats flour. Purified to homogeneity, ScAmy43 appeared as a 43 kDa monomeric enzyme, as estimated by SDS-PAGE and Superdex 75 gel filtration. The MALDI peptide mass fingerprint of ScAmy43 tryptic digest as well as internal sequence analyses indicate that the enzyme has an original primary structure when compared with other fungal a-amylases. However, the sequence of the 12 N-terminal residues is homologous with those of Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus kawachii amylases, suggesting that the new enzyme belongs to the same GH13 glycosyl hydrolase family. Assayed with soluble starch as substrate, this enzyme displayed optimal activity at pH 4 and $55^{\circ}C$ with an apparent $K_m$ value of 1.66 mg/ml and $V_{max}$ of 0.1${\mu}mol$glucose $min^{-1}$ $ml^{-1}$. ScAmy43 activity was strongly inhibited by $Cu^{2+}$, $Mn^{2+}$, and $Ba^{2+}$, moderately by $Fe^{2+}$, and was only weakly affected by $Ca^{2+}$ addition. However, since EDTA and EGTA did not inhibit ScAmy43 activity, this enzyme is probably not a metalloprotein. DTT and $\beta$-mercaptoethanol strongly increased the enzyme activity. Starting with soluble starch as substrate, the end products were mainly maltotriose, suggesting for this enzyme an endo action.