A Moderately Thermostable Alkaline Phosphatase from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans T2: Cloning, Expression and Biochemical Characterization

A gene-encoding alkaline phosphatase (AP) from thermophilic Geobacillus thermodenitrificans T2, termed Gtd AP, was cloned and sequenced. The deduced Gtd AP protein comprises 424 amino acids and shares a low homology with other known AP (<35% identity), while it exhibits the conservation of the active site and structure element of Escherichia coli AP. The Gtd AP protein, without a predicted signal peptide of 30 amino acids, was successfully overexpressed in E. coli and purified as a hexa-His-tagged fusion protein. The pH and temperature optima for purified enzyme are 9.0 and 65 °C, respectively. The enzyme retained a high activity at 45–60 °C, while it could be quickly inactivated by a heat treatment at 80 °C for 15 min, exhibiting a half-life of 8 min at 70 °C. The K _m and V _max for pNPP were determined to be 31.5 μM and 430 μM/min at optimal conditions. A divalent cation is essential, with a combination of Mg²⁺ and Co²⁺ or Zn²⁺ preferred. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by 10 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and vanadate but highly resistant to urea and dithiothreitol. The properties of Gtd AP make it suitable for application in molecular cloning or amplification.     

Properties of the Macrophomina phaseolina endoglucanase (EGL 1) gene product in bacterial and yeast expression systems

Functional expression of a β-d-1,4 glucanase-encoding gene (egl1) from a filamentous fungus was achieved in both Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae using a modified version of pRS413. Optimal activity of the E. coli-expressed enzyme was found at incubation temperatures of 60°C, whereas the enzyme activity was optimal at 40°C when expressed by S. cerevisiae. Enzyme activity at different pH levels was similar for both bacteria and yeast, being highest at 5.0. Yeast expression resulted in a highly glycosylated protein of approx 60 kDa, compared to bacterial expression, which resulted in a protein of 30 kDa. The hyperglycosylated protein had reduced enzyme activity, indicating that E. coli is a preferred vehicle for production scale-up.     

Xerophytic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cereus pterogonus</Emphasis> xylose isomerase is a thermostable enzyme

A thermostable xylose isomerase (D-xylose ketol-isomerase; EC.5.3.1.5) was isolated from the cladodes of xerophytic Cereus pterogonus. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity. SDS-PAGE analysis estimated the molecular mass of the enzyme protein at 66 kDa. The enzyme exhibited temperature optima at 60 and 80°C. Though the enzyme activity was optimum at pH 7.0, the enzyme was found to be stable in both acidic and basic pH ranges in the presence of divalent ions Mn²⁺, Co²⁺, and Mg²⁺. This enzyme may find potential use in the food and beverage industry. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 169–170, March–April, 2008.     

Highly Thermostable Xylanase of the Thermophilic Fungus Talaromyces thermophilus: Purification and Characterization

A thermostable xylanase from a newly isolated thermophilic fungus Talaromyces thermophilus was purified and characterized. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, diethylaminoethyl cellulose anion exchange chromatography, P-100 gel filtration, and Mono Q chromatography with a 23-fold increase in specific activity and 17.5% recovery. The molecular weight of the xylanase was estimated to be 25kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and gel filtration. The enzyme was highly active over a wide range of pH from 4.0 to 10.0. The relative activities at pH5.0, 9.0, and 10.0 were about 80%, 85.0%, and 60% of that at pH7.5, respectively. The optimum temperature of the purified enzyme was 75°C. The enzyme showed high thermal stability at 50°C (7days) and the half-life of the xylanase at 100°C was 60min. The enzyme was free from cellulase activity. K _m and V _max values at 50°C of the purified enzyme for birchwood xylan were 22.51mg/ml and 1.235μmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹, respectively. The enzyme was activated by Ag⁺, Co²⁺, and Cu²⁺; on the other hand, Hg²⁺, Ba²⁺, and Mn²⁺ inhibited the enzyme. The present study is among the first works to examine and describe a secreted, cellulase-free, and highly thermostable xylanase from the T. thermophilus fungus whose application as a pre-bleaching aid is of apparent importance for pulp and paper industries.     

Effects of Gene Orientation and Use of Multiple Promoters on the Expression of XYL1 and XYL2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The gene encoding a glycoside hydrolase family 39 xylosidase (BH1068) from the alkaliphile Bacillus halodurans strain C-125 was cloned with a C-terminal His-tag, and the recombinant gene product termed BH1068(His)₆ was expressed in Escherichia coli. Of the artificial substrates tested, BH1068(His)₆ hydrolyzed nitrophenyl derivatives of β-d-xylopyranose, α-l-arabinofuranose, and α-l-arabinopyranose. Deviation from Michaelis−Menten kinetics at higher substrate concentrations indicative of transglycosylation was observed, and k _cat and K _m values were measured at both low and high substrate concentrations to illuminate the relative propensities to proceed along this alternate reaction pathway. The pH maximum was 6.5, and under the conditions tested, maximal activity was at 47°C, and thermal instability occurred above 45°C. BH1068(His)₆ was inactive on arabinan, hydrolyzed xylooligosaccharides, and released only xylose from oat, wheat, rye, beech, and birch arabinoxylan, and thus, can be classified as a xylosidase with respect to natural substrate specificity. The enzyme was not inhibited by up to 200 mM xylose. The oligomerization state was tetrameric under the size-exclusion chromatography conditions employed.     

Glycosidases of turnip leaf tissues

Four myrosinase (β-thioglucosidase EC. 3.2.3.1) and seven disaccharase (β-fructofuranosidase, EC. 3.2.1.26) isoenzymes were isolated from turnip leaves. The most active enzymes were isolated in pure form. Myrosinase and disaccharase mol wt was 62.0 × 10³ and 69.5 × 10³ dalton, respectively, on the basis of gel filtration on Sephadex G-200. Myrosinase pH profile showed high activity between pH 5 and 7 with the optimum at pH 5.5. The purified enzyme was heat-stable for 60 min at 30°C with only loss of 24% of activity. Its activity is strongly inhibited (100%) by Pb²⁺, Ba²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Ca²⁺ ions, and activated (70%) by EDTA at 0.04M. The pure enzyme failed to hydrolyze amylose, glycogen, lactose, maltose, and sucrose. TheK _m andV _max values of myrosinase using sinigrin as specific substrate was 0.045 mM and 2.5 U, respectively. The maximal activity of disaccharase enzyme was obtained at pH 4–5 and 35–37°C. The enzyme was heat-stable at 30°C for 30 min with only 10% loss of its activity. Its activity is strongly activated (70–240%) by Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺, Cu²⁺, and EDTA at 0.01M. The enzyme activity is specific to the disaccharide sucrose and failed to hydrolyze other disaccharides (maltose and lactose). TheK _m andV _max of disaccharase were 0.123 mM and 3.33 U, respectively.     

Molecular cloning and expression of an endo-β-1,4-d-glucanase I (avicelase I) gene from Bacillus cellulyticus K-12 and characterization of the recombinant enzyme

Bacillus cellulyticus K-12 Avicelase (Avicelase I; EC 3.2.1.4) gene (ace A) has been cloned in Escherichia coli by using the vector pT7T3U19 and HindIII-HindIII libraries of the chromosomal inserts. The libraries were screened for the expression of avicelase by monitoring the immunoreaction of the antiavicelase (immunoscreening). Positive clones (Ac-3, Ac-5, and Ac-7) contained the identical 3.5-kb HindIII fragment as determined by restriction mapping and Southern hybridization, and expressed avicelase efficiently and constitutively using its own promoter in the heterologous host. From the immunoblotting analysis, a polypeptide that showed a carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) activity with an M _r , of 64,000 was detected. The recombinant endo 1,4-β- _d -glucanase I was purified to homogeneity from an intracellular fraction of E. coli by DEAE-Toyopearl M650, Phenyl Toyoperal M650, and TSK gel HW50S chromatography. The enzyme had a monomeric structure, its relative molecular mass being 65 kDa by gel filtration and 64 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The pI was 5.3 and the optimal pH was 4.6, and the enzyme was stable at pH 4.0–10.5. The enzyme had a temperature optimum of 50°C and was stable at 55°C for 48 h, and retained approx 20% of its activity after 30 min at 70°C. It showed high activity toward carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) as well as p-nitrophenyl-β-d-cellobioside, 4-methylumbelliferyl cellobioside, Avicel, filter paper, and some cellooligosaccharides. K _m values for CMC and Avicel were 7.6 and 85.2 mg/mL, respectively, whereas V _max values were 201 and 9.2 μmol · min⁻¹ · mg⁻¹, respectively. Cellotetraose (G4) was preferentially cleaved into cellobiose (G2) and cellopentaose (G5) was cleaved into G2 + cellotriose (G3), whereas cellohexaose (G6) was cleaved into G4 + G2 and, to a lesser extent, into G3 + G3. G3 was not cleaved at all. G2 was the main product of Avicel hydrolysis. G2 inhibited whereas Mg⁺⁺ stimulated the activity of CMCase and Avicelase. Hydrolysis of CMC took place with a rapid decrease in viscosity but a slow liberation of reducing sugars. Based on these results, it appeared that the cellulase should be regarded as endo type, although it hydrolyzed Avicel.     

Cloning, heterologous expression, and characterization of Thielavia terrestris glucoamylase

Thielavia terrestris is a soil-borne thermophilic fungus whose molecular/cellular biology is poorly understood. Only a few genes have been cloned from the Thielavia genus. We detected an extracellular glucoamylase in culture filtrates of T. terrestris and cloned the corresponding glaA gene. The coding region contains five introns. Based on the amino acid sequence, the glucoamylase was 65% identical to Neurospora crassa glucoamylase. Sequence comparisons suggested that the enzyme belongs to the glycosyl hydrolase family 15. The T. terrestris glaA gene was expressed in Aspergillus oryzae under the control of an A. oryzae α-amylase promoter and an Aspergillus niger glucoamylase terminator. The 75-kDa recombinant glucoamylase showed a specific activity of 2.8 μmol/(min·mg) with maltose as substrate. With maltotriose as a substrate, the enzyme had an optimum pH of 4.0 and an optimum temperature of 60°C. The enzyme was stable at 60°C for 30 min. The K _m and k _cat of the enzyme for maltotriose were determined at various pHs and temperatures. At 20°C and pH 4.0, the enzyme had a K _m of 0.33±0.07 mM and a k _cat of (5.5±0.5)×10³ min⁻¹ for maltotriose. The temperature dependence of k _cat /K _m indicated an activation free energy of 2.8 kJ/mol across the range of 20–70°C. Overall, the enzyme derived from the thermophilic fungus exhibited properties comparable with that of its homolog derived from mesophilic fungi.     

Characterization of Cyclodextrin Glucanotransferase Produced by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus megaterium</Emphasis>

Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase, produced by Bacillus megaterium, was characterized, and the biochemical properties of the purified enzyme were determined. The substrate specificity of the enzyme was tested with different α-1,4-glucans. Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase displayed maximum activity in the case of soluble starch, with a K _m value of 3.4 g/L. The optimal pH and temperature values for the cyclization reaction were 7.2 and 60 °C, respectively. The enzyme was stable at pH 6.0–10.5 and 30 °C. The enzyme activity was activated by Sr²⁺, Mg²⁺, Co²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Cu²⁺, and it was inhibited by Zn²⁺and Ag⁺. The molecular mass of cyclodextrin glucanotransferase was established to be 73,400 Da by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, 68,200 Da by gel chromatography, and 75,000 Da by mass spectrometry. The monomer form of the enzyme was confirmed by the analysis of the N-terminal amino acid sequence. Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase formed all three types of cyclodextrins, but the predominant product was β-cyclodextrin.     

A β-glucosidase from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

The filamentous fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, grown on a xylose medium, was found to excrete one β-glucosidase (β-glu x). The enzyme was purified to apparent homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, anion-exchange chromatography, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) gel filtration chromatography. Its molecular mass was estimated to be 130 kDa by HPLC gel filtration and 60 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, suggesting that β-glu x may be a homodimer. For p-nitrophenyl β-d-glucopyranoside hydrolysis, apparent K _m and V _max values were found to be 0.09 mM and 193 U/mg, respectively, while optimum temperature and pH were 55–60°C and pH 5.0, respectively. β-Glu x was strongly inhibited by Fe²⁺ and activated about 35% by Ca²⁺. β-Glu x possesses strong transglucosylation activity in comparison with commercially available β-glucosidases. The production rate of total glucooligosaccharides (GOSs) from 30% cellobiose at 50°C and pH 5.0 for 6 h with 0.6 U/mL of enzyme preparation was 80 g/L. It reached 105 g/L under the same conditions when using cellobiose at 350 g/L (1.023 M). Finally, GOS structure was determined by mass spectrometry and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.     

Studies on alkaline protease produced by Bacillus sp. NG312

An alkalophilic hyperproducer of alkaline protease, Bacillus sp. NG312, was isolated, and the enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 11.0 and 60°C. The temperature optimum was increased by 10°C in presence of Ca²⁺. The crudeenzyme was found to have half-life of 11 d at 37°C and maximum stability at pH 9.0–10.0. It also exhibited very good stability in presence of detergent components and some locally available commericial detergent powders.     

Purification and Characterization of Thermostable α-Galactosidase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus terreus</Emphasis><Subscript>GR</Subscript>

An extracellular thermostable α-galactosidase producing Aspergillus terreus _GR strain was isolated from soil sample using guar gum as sole source of carbon. It was purified to apparent homogeneity by acetone precipitation, gel filtration followed by DEAE-Sephacel chromatographic step. The purified enzyme showed a single band after sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The molecular weight of the purified enzyme after SDS-PAGE was 108 kDa. The enzyme showed optimum pH and temperature of 5.0 and 65 °C, respectively, for artificial substrate pNPαGal. α-Galactosidase from A. terreus _GR is found to be thermostable, as it was not inactivated after heating at 65 °C for 40 min. The K _m for pNPαGal, oNPαGal, raffinose, and stachyose are 0.1, 0.28, 0.42, and 0.33 mM, respectively. Inhibitors such as 1,10-phenanthroline, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, mercaptoethanol, and urea have no effect, whereas N-bromosuccinamide inhibited enzyme activity by 100%. Among metal ions tested, Mg²⁺, Ni²⁺, Ca²⁺, Co²⁺, and Mn²⁺ had no effect on enzyme activity, but Ag⁺, Hg²⁺, and Cu²⁺ have inhibited complete activity.     

Purification, characterization, and structural investigation of a new moderately thermophilic and partially calcium-independent extracellular α-amylase from Bacillus sp. TM1

A new α-amylase was extracted from a recently found strain of Bacillus sp. and purified by ion-exchange chromatography. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed a single band for the purified enzyme with an apparent molecular weight of 59 kDa. The optimum temperature and pH range of the enzyme were 40–60°C and 4.5–7.5, respectively, and its activation energy was 1.974 kcal/mol. The K _m value for the enzyme activity on solubie starch was 4 mg/mL, and the T _m values obtained from the circular dichroism (CD) results of thermal unfolding were 78.7 and 80.2°C in the absence and presence of the calcium, respectively. The enzyme was almost completely inhibited by the addition of Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺, and Zn²⁺ and was activated by EDTA, Cr³⁺, and Al³⁺. Moreover, it was partially inhibited by Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Co²⁺. Proteolytic digestion of the enzyme using trypsin combined with results from T _m using CD and irreversible thermoinactivation suggests that this enzyme can be considered a moderate thermophile with both mild flexibility and rigidity.     

Xylulokinase activity in various yeasts includingSaccharomyces cerevisiae containing the cloned xylulokinase gene

d-Xylose is a major constituent of hemicellulose, which makes up 20–30% of renewable biomass in nature.d-Xylose can be fermented by most yeasts, includingSaccharomyces cerevisiae, by a two-stage process. In this process, xylose is first converted to xylulose in vitro by the enzyme xylose (glucose) isomerase, and the latter sugar is then fermented by yeast to ethanol. With the availability of an inexpensive source of xylose isomerase produced by recombinantE. coli, this process of fermenting xylose to ethanol can become quite effective. In this paper, we report that yeast xylose and xylulose fermentation can be further improved by cloning and overexpression of the xylulokinase gene. For instance, the level of xylulokinase activity in S.cerevisiae can be increased 230fold by cloning its xylulokinase gene on a high copy-number plasmid, coupled with fusion of the gene with an effective promoter. The resulting genetically-engineered yeasts can ferment xylose and xylulose more than twice as fast as the parent yeast.     

Production and properties of 3-cyanopyridine hydratase inRhodococcus equi SHB-121

A strain ofRhodococcus equi SHB-121 forming 3-cyanopyridine hydratase was screened from nitrile-polluted soil. The optimum conditions for the formation of 3-cyanopyridine hydratase by the strain SHB-121 have been studied. Under the optimum conditions, the specific activity of the enzyme reached 5.32 U/mg of dry cell, 95 times higher than that cultured in screening medium. In addition, the activity of coexistent amidase was very low. 3-Cyanopyridine hydratase was purified from methylacrylamide-induced cells ofRh. equi SHB-121 by procedures including ultrasonic oscillation, ammonium sulfate precipitation, and column chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose DE52, hydroxyapatite, and Sephadex G-25. The overall purification was 31-fold. The molecular weight of the enzyme was about 30 kDA by SDS-PAGE. The pI value was 4.1. The transition temperature and pH were 7.0°C and 6.0, respectively, resulting from the differential spectra. The optimum pH and temperature for the enzyme reaction were 8.0 and 30°C. The enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by Ag⁺, Hg²⁺, Cu²⁺, and NH₄ ⁺, whereas it was enhanced by Fe³⁺ slightly. The enzyme catalyzed the hydration of 3-cyanopyridine to nicotinamide, and itsKm value was 0.1 mol/L. Uncompetitive inhibitor sodium cyanide has a K, value of 5 mmol/L.     

Purification and partial characterization of a lipase from Bacillus coagulans ZJU318

An extracellular lipase was purified from the fermentation broth of Bacillus coagulans ZJU318 by CM-Sepharose chromatography, followed by Sephacryl S-200 chromatography. The lipase was purified 14.7-fold with 18% recovery and a specific activity of 141.1 U/mg. The molecular weight of the homogeneous enzyme was (32 kDa), determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme activity was maximum at pH 9.0 and was stable over a pH range of 7.0–10.0, and the optimum temperature for the enzyme reaction was 45°C. Little activity loss (6.2%) was observed after 1 h of incubation at 40°C. However, the stability of the lipase decreased sharply at 50 and 60°C. The enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by Ag⁺ and Cu²⁺, whereas EDTA caused no inhibition. SDS, Brij 30, and Tween-80 inhibited lipase, whereas Triton X-100 did not significantly inhibit lipase activity.     

Purification, characterization, kinetic properties, and thermal behavior of extracellular polygalacturonase produced by filamentous fungus Tetracoccosporium sp

For the first time, a polygalacturonase from the culture broth of Tetracoccosporium sp. was isolated and incubated at 30°C in an orbital shaker at 160 rpm for 48h. The enzyme was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and two-step ion-exchange chromatography and had an apparent molecular mass of 36 kDa, as shown by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Its optimum activity was at pH 4.3 and 40°C, and the K _m and V _max values of this enzyme (for polygalacturonic acid) were 3.23 mg/mL and 0.15 μmol/min, respectively. Ag⁺, Co²⁺, EDTA, Tween-20, Tween-80, and Triton X-100 stimulated polygalacturonase activity whereas Al³⁺, Ba²⁺, Ca²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, and SDS inhibited it. In addition, iodoacetamide and iodoacetic acid did not inhibit enzyme activity at a concentration of 1 mM, indicating that cysteine residues are not part of the catalytic site of polygalacturonase. We studied the kinetic properties and thermal inactivation of polygalacturonase. This enzyme exhibited a t _1/2 of 63 min at 60°C and its specific activity, turnover number, and catalytic efficiency were 6.17 U/mg, 113.64 min⁻¹, and 35.18 mL/(min·mg), respectively. The activation energy (ΔE ^#) for heat inactivation was 5.341 kJ/mol, and the thermodynamic activation parameters ΔG ^#, ΔH ^#, and ΔS ^# were also calculated, revealing a potential application for the industry.     

Cloning,Expression, and Characterization of a Wide-pH-Range Stable Phosphite Dehydrogenase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas</Emphasis> sp. K in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis>

A phosphite dehydrogenase gene (ptdhK) consisting of 1,011-bp nucleotides which encoding a peptide of 336 amino acid residues was cloned from Pseudomonas sp. K. gene ptdhK was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and the corresponding recombinant enzyme was purified by metal affinity chromatography. The recombinant protein is a homodimer with a monomeric molecular mass of 37.2 kDa. The specific activity of PTDH-K was 3.49 U mg⁻¹ at 25 °C. The recombinant PTDH-K exhibited maximum activity at pH 3.0 and at 40 °C and displayed high stability within a wide range of pHs (5.0 to 10.5). PTDH-K had a high affinity to its natural substrates, with K _m values for sodium phosphite and NAD of 0.475 ± 0.073 and 0.022 ± 0.007 mM, respectively. The activity of PTDH-K was enhanced by Na⁺, NH₄⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Co²⁺, and EDTA, and PTDH-K exhibited different tolerance to various organic solvents.     

Biochemical and enzymatic properties of a novel marine fibrinolytic enzyme from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Urechis unicinctus</Emphasis>

A novel potent protease, Urechis unicinctus fibrinolytic enzyme (UFE), was first discovered by our laboratory. In this study, we further investigated the enzymatic properties and dynamic parameters of UFE. As a low molecular weight protein, UFE appeared to be very stable to heat and pH. When the temperature was <50°C, the remnant enzyme activity remained almost unchanged, but when the temperature was raised to 60#x00B0;C the remnant enzyme activity began to decrease rapidly. UFE was quite stable in a pH range of 3.0–12.0, especially at slightly alkaline pH values. Mn²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Fe²⁺ ions were activators of UFE, whereas Fe³⁺ and Ag⁺ ions were inhibitors. Fe²⁺ ion along with Fe³⁺ ion might regulate UFE activity in vivo. The optimum pH and temperature of UFE were about 8.0 and 50°C, respectively. When using casein as substrate and a substrate concentration <0.1% casein (w/v), the reaction velocity was increased with substrate concentration. Also when using casein as substrate, the determined K _m and V _max of UFE were 0.5298 mg/mL and 3.0845 mol of l-tyrosine equivalent, respectively. Our systematic research results are significant when UFE is applied for medical and industrial purposes.     

Purification and Characterization of a Hyperthermostable and High Maltogenic α-Amylase of an Extreme Thermophile <Emphasis Type="Italic">Geobacillus thermoleovorans</Emphasis>

The purified α-amylase of Geobacillus thermoleovorans had a molecular mass of 26 kDa with a pI of 5.4, and it was optimally active at 100 °C and pH 8.0. The T _1/2 of α-amylase at 100 °C increased from 3.6 to 5.6 h in the presence of cholic acid. The activation energy and temperature quotient (Q ₁₀) of the enzyme were 84.10 kJ/mol and 1.31, respectively. The activity of the enzyme was enhanced strongly by Co²⁺ and Fe²⁺; enhanced slightly by Ba²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Mg²⁺; inhibited strongly by Sn²⁺, Hg²⁺, and Pb²⁺, and inhibited slightly by EDTA, phenyl methyl sulfonyl fluoride, N-ethylmaleimide, and dithiothreitol. The enzyme activity was not affected by Ca²⁺ and ethylene glycol-bis (β-amino ethyl ether)-N,N,N,N-tetra acetic acid. Among different additives and detergents, polyethylene glycol 8000 and Tween 20, 40, and 80 stabilized the enzyme activity, whereas Triton X-100, glycerol, glycine, dextrin, and sodium dodecyl sulfate inhibited to a varied extent. α-Amylase exhibited activity on several starch substrates and their derivatives. The K _m and K _cat values (soluble starch) were 1.10 mg/ml and 5.9 × 10³ /min, respectively. The enzyme hydrolyzed raw starch of pearl millet (Pennisetum typhoides) efficiently.