Isolation and characteristics of highly active α-amylase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis>-150

Partially purified enzyme preparation with specific activities of 153.7 U/mg for α-amylase and 0.15 U/mg for protease was produced by selective adsorption on starch. Enzymes were purified until homogeneous electrophoretically by gel-filtration over HW-55 TSK-gel with specific activities of 245 U/mg for α-amylase and 1.44 U/mg for protease. The optimum temperature and pH for purified α-amylase activity are 40–50°C and pH 6.0. The effects of various metal ions on the activity and stability of the enzyme were studied. __________ Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 374–376, July–August, 2007.     

Biochemical Properties of α-Amylase from Peel of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrus sinensis</Emphasis> cv. Abosora

α-Amylase activity was screened in the peel, as waste fruit, of 13 species and cultivars of Egyptian citrus. The species Citrus sinensis cv. Abosora had the highest activity. α-Amylase AI from Abosora peel was purified to homogeneity using anion and cation-exchange, and gel filtration chromatographies. Molecular weight of α-amylase AI was found to be 42 kDa. The hydrolysis properties of α-amylase AI toward different substrates indicated that corn starch is the best substrate. The α-amylase had the highest activity toward glycogen compared with amylopectin and dextrin. Potato starch had low affinity toward α-amylase AI but it did not hydrolyze β-cyclodextrin and dextran. Apparent Km for α-amylase AI was 5 mg (0.5%) starch/ml. α-Amylase AI showed optimum activity at pH 5.6 and 40 °C. The enzyme was thermally stable up to 40 °C and inactivated at 70 °C. The effect of mono and divalent metal ions were tested for the α-amylase AI. Ba²⁺ was found to have activating effect, where as Li⁺ had negligible effect on activity. The other metals caused inhibition effect. Activity of the α-amylase AI was increased one and half in the presence of 4 mM Ca²⁺ and was found to be partially inactivated at 10 mM Ca²⁺. The reduction of starch viscosity indicated that the enzyme is endoamylase. The results suggested that, in addition to citrus peel is a rich source of pectins and flavanoids, α-amylase AI from orange peel could be involved in the development and ripening of citrus fruit and may be used for juice processing.     

Hyperthermostable,Ca<Superscript>2+</Superscript>-Independent,and High Maltose-Forming α-Amylase Production by an Extreme Thermophile <Emphasis Type="Italic">Geobacillus thermoleovorans</Emphasis>: Whole Cell Immobilization

The synthesis of extracellular α-amylase in Geobacillus thermoleovorans was constitutive. The enzyme was secreted in metabolizable carbon sources as well as non-metabolizable synthetic analogues of glucose, but the titers were higher in the former than that in the latter. G. thermoleovorans is a fast-growing facultatively anaerobic bacterium that grows under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions and produces an extracellular amylolytic enzyme α-amylase with the by-product of lactic acid. G. thermoleovorans is a rich source of various novel thermostable biocatalysts for different industrial applications. α-Amylase synthesis was subject to catabolite repression in the presence of high concentrations of glucose. The addition of cAMP to the medium containing glucose did not result in the repression of α-amylase synthesis. The addition of maltose (1%) to the starch arginine medium resulted in a twofold enhancement in enzyme titers. Polyurethane foam (PUF)-immobilized cells secreted α-amylase, which was higher than that with the free cells. PUF appeared to be a better matrix for immobilization of the thermophilic bacterium than the other commonly used matrices. The repeated use of PUF-immobilized cells was possible over 15 cycles with a sustained α-amylase secretion. The use of this enzyme in starch saccharification eliminates the addition of Ca²⁺ in starch liquefaction and its subsequent removal by ion exchangers from the product streams.     

β-Cyclodextrin production by simultaneous fermentation and cyclization

Production of β-cyclodextrin (CD) with high-dextrose equivalent (DE) starch hydrolysates by simultaneous fermentation and cyclization (SFC) gives higher yields than using only the enzyme CGTase, because fermentation eliminates glucose and maltose that inhibit CD production, while at the same time, produces ethanol that increases yield. A 10% (w/v) solution of cassava starch, liquefied with α-amylase, was incubated with CGTase using: only the enzyme, added ethanol (from 1 to 5%), and added yeast,S. cerevisiae (12% w/v), plus nutrients, the latter being the SFC process. Reaction conditions were: 38αC, pH 6.0, DE from 2 to 25, and 3.3 mL of CGTase/L. The yield of β-CD has decreased with an increase in DE, and maximum reaction yields were found for DE equal to 3.54, reaching 5.6, 14.7, and 11.5 mM β-CD, respectively. For an increase of DE, of approx 6 times (from 3.54 to 23.79), β-CD yield decreased 6 times for the first, and second reaction media with 3% (v/v) ethanol, and only approx 3 times for SFC (from 11.5 to 3.73 mM), showing that this process is less sensitive to variations in the DE     

Acid Pullulanase from Bacillus polymyxa MIR-23

Within the frame of a screening program aimed at the isolation of amylolytic sporeformers, one strain with high amylolytic activity designated MIR-23 was selected. The microbial characterization was carried out by morphological and biochemical tests and, by means of statistical treatment, was identified asBacillus polymyxa. The organism could grow in acidic conditions (pH 5.0) on a starch medium and produce α-amylase, pullulanase, and α-glucosidase. Batch cultures showed the highest enzyme activities in the stationary phase. Pullulanase activity exhibited an optimal temperature of 52–57°C at pH 4.5–5.5. These properties would allow its use in the saccharification processes in the starch industries.     

Glucoamylase covalently coupled to porous glass

Glucoamylase (EC 3.2.1.3) was immobilized to alkylamine porous glass with glutaraldehyde. The choice and pretreatment of carrier and conditions for immobilization have been investigated. The immobilized enzyme contained about 4.0–8.0% protein and its activity was about 1000–1700 U/g. Some characteristics of the immobilized enzyme and the native enzyme have been comparatively investigated. The optimum temperature and the pH stability of the preparation were almost identical to the native one. However, the optimum pH of bound glucoamylase shifted 1.3 pH units toward the alkaline side compared to the native one. The Michaelis constant(K _m ) of bound glucoamylase for soluble starch was about four times higher than that of the native enzyme, whileK _m values for maltose approached those of the native material. At 45‡C the half-life of IMG was 104 days under operational conditions. Alkaline protease, α-amylase, asparaginase, and penicillin acylase were also chemically coupled to porous glass by the same method and high relative activities were obtained.     

Statistical Optimization of Alpha-Amylase Production with Immobilized Cells of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptomyces erumpens</Emphasis> MTCC 7317 in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Luffa cylindrica</Emphasis> L. Sponge Discs

The purpose of this investigation was to study the effect of Streptomyces erumpens cells immobilized in various matrices, i.e., agar–agar, polyacrylamide, and luffa (Luffa cylindrica L.) sponge for production of α-amylase. Luffa sponge was found to be 21% and 51% more effective in enzyme yield than agar–agar and polyacrylamide, respectively. Response surface methodology was used to evaluate the effect of three main variables, i.e., incubation period, pH, and temperature on enzyme production with immobilized luffa cells. The experimental results showed that the optimum incubation period, pH, and temperature were 36h, 6.0, and 50 °C, respectively. The repeated batch fermentation of immobilized cells in shake flasks showed that S. erumpens cells were more or less equally physiologically active on the support even after three cycles of fermentation (3,830–3,575 units). The application of S. erumpens crude enzyme in liquefying cassava starch was studied. The maximum hydrolysis of cassava starch (85%) was obtained with the application of 4ml (15,200 units) of crude enzyme after 5 h of incubation.     

Heterologous Expression of a Hyperthermophilic α-Amylase in Xanthan Gum Producing Xanthomonas campestris Cells

A hyperthermophilic α-amylase encoding gene from Pyrococcus woesei was transferred and expressed in Xanthomonas campestris ATCC 13951. The heterologous α-amylase activity was detected in the intracellular fraction of X. campestris and presented similar thermostability and catalytic properties with the native P. woesei enzyme. The recombinant α-amylase was found to be stable at 90 °C for 4 h and within the same period it retained more than 50% of its initial activity at 110 °C. Furthermore, X. campestris transformants produced similar levels of recombinant α-amylase activity regardless of the carbon source present in the growth medium, whereas the native X. campestris α-amylase production was highly dependent on starch availability and it was suppressed in the presence of glucose or other reducing sugars. On the other hand, xanthan gum yield, which appeared to be similar for both wild type and recombinant X. campestris strains, was enhanced at higher starch or glucose concentrations. Evidence presented in this study supports that X. campestris is a promising cell factory for the co-production of recombinant hyperthermophilic α-amylase and xanthan gum.     

Axial dispersion in a liquid fluidized bed of particles akin to immobilized enzymes

The axial dispersion of a liquid fluidized bed of controlled pore silica (CPS) particles has been determined by the pulse tracer method. The CPS used was the same as for enzyme immobilization, having an average diameter of 0.436 mm and mean pore size of 37.5 nm. The fluidization liquid is α-amylase liquefied manioc starch, 30% w/v, 45°C pH=4.5. Nominal bed porosities tested were 0.7 and 0.8. The results show that the axial dispersion coefficient increases with greater superficial liquid velocities. Various available correlations tested disagree with each other to a large extent and are unable to represent collected experimental data.     

Enzymatic hydrolysis of corn starch after extraction of corn oil with ethanol

To develop a yeast strain that is able to produce ethanol directly from starch, α-amylase cDNA (originated from mouse salivary glands) was introduced into the hyploidSaccharomyces diastiticus cells secreting glucoamylase by using a linearized integrating vector. The integrating vector contains aLEU2 gene and the inside of theLEU2 gene was cut byKpnl to make the linearized vector. One of the transformants exhibited 100% mitotic stability after 100 generations of cell multiplication. To improve its ethanol-fermentability, the haploid transformant was rare-mated with a polyploid industrial strain having no amylase activity. The resulting hybrid RH51 produced 7.5 (w/v) ethanol directly from 20% (w/v) soluble starch and its mitotic stability was 100% at the end of fermentation.     

Thermal stability and energy of deactivation of free and immobilized amyloglucosidase in the saccharification of liquefied cassava starch

Amyloglucosidase from Novo (Copenhagen, Denmark) was immobilized in controlled pore silica particles with the silane-glutaraldehyde covalent method. Thermal stability of the free and immobilized enzyme (IE) was determined with 30% (w/v) α-amylase liquefied cassava starch, pH 4.5, temperatures from 35 to 75°C. Free amyloglucosidase maintained its activity practically constant for 240 min and temperatures up to 50°C. The IE has shown higher stability retaining its activity for the same period up to 60°C. Half-life for free enzyme was 20.6, 6.44, 2.07, 0.69, and 0.24 h for 55, 60, 65, 70, and 75°C, respectively, whereas the IE at the same temperatures had half-lives of 116.4, 30.88, 8.52, 2.44, and 0.73 h. The energy of thermal deactivation was thus 50.6 and 57.6 kcal/mol, respectively for the free and IE, confirming stabilization by immobilization.     

Gene Cloning,Heterologous Expression,and Characterization of a High Maltose-Producing α-Amylase of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizopus oryzae</Emphasis>

A putative α-amylase gene, designated as RoAmy, was cloned from Rhizopus oryzae. The deduced amino acid sequence showed the highest (42.8%) similarity to the α-amylase from Trichoderma viride. The RoAmy gene was successfully expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115 under the induction of methanol. The molecular weight of the purified RoAmy determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was approximately 48 kDa. The optimal pH and temperature were 4–6 and 60 °C, respectively. The enzyme was stable at pH ranges of 4.5–6.5 and temperatures below 50 °C. Purified RoAmy had a K _m and V _max of 0.27 mg/ml and 0.068 mg/min, respectively, with a specific activity of 1,123 U/mg on soluble starch. Amylase activity was strongly inhibited by 5 mM Cu²⁺ and 5 mM Fe²⁺, whereas 5 mM Ca²⁺ showed no significant effect. The RoAmy hydrolytic activity was the highest on wheat starch but showed only 55% activity on amylopectin relative to soluble corn starch, while the pullulanase activity was negligible. The main end products of the polysaccharides tested were glucose and maltose. Maltose reached a concentration of 74% (w/w) with potato starch as the substrate. The enzyme had an extremely high affinity (K _m = 0.22 mM) to maltotriose. A high ratio of glucose/maltose of 1:4 was obtained when maltotriose was used at an initial concentration of 40 mM.     

A novel synthesis method for cyclodextrins from maltose in water-organic solvent systems

A novel enzymatic synthesis method of cyclodextrin (CD) from low-mol-wt maltose using cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) fromBacillus macerans has been developed in various water-organic solvent systems. A Β-CD was synthesized in a two-phase system consisting of water and cyclohexane. However, no CDs could be synthesized in an aqueous buffer solution. A maximal yield of Β- CD has been obtained at a cyclohexane content volume of 44%. This synthesis has been obtained only at low temperatures, i.e., 7‡C, and did not take place at 50‡C. In addition, various organic solvents have been used for the enzymatic synthesis of CD from maltose. Consequently, Β-CD could be synthesized in various water-organic solvent systems, e.g., cyclohexane, benzene, xylene, and chloroform, but no enzymatic reaction occurred using aliphaticn-hydrocarbon solvents such as hexane, dodecane, and hexadecane. Furthermore, α- and Β- CD could be synthesized in water mixture solutions using organic solvents having an alcoholic group (e.g., ethanol, propanol, butanol, and pentanol) in a wide range of the reaction temperatures, typically 7–50‡C. In this temperature range, α- and Β-CD were also formed and the maximal yield from maltose to Β-CD of approx 13% was reached in 60 h.     

Enhanced conversion of starch to cyclodextrins in ethanolic solutions by bacillus circulans var alkalophilus cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase

Improved formation of cyclodextrins (CDs) from starch in ethanolic solutions byBacillus circulans var alkalophilus cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase was studied. The β- and γ-CD yields increased and α-CD yield gradually decreased as the ethanol concentration was raised. The ethanol concentration required for maximal CD yield depended essentially on starch concentration. The ethanol's effect was pronounced at high starch concentrations. For example, with 30% (w/v) starch, the CD yield was 2.4-fold (146.5 g/L) in the presence of 15% (v/v) ethanol. The effect of dimethylsulfoxide on the formation of CDs was similar to that of ethanol. The disintegration of β- and γ-CDs were narrowly interdependent on the formation of a α-CD and malto-sugars. The amount of reducing sugars decreased from a dextrose equivalent value of roughly 7.5 to 4.5 in the presence of ethanol at starch concentrations 1-30% (w/v). The effect of ethanol on starchy materials from various sources was similar. It was concluded that ethanol retards the decomposition of β-CD by a general mechanism involving a decreased activity of water.     

Improvement of heterologous protein productivity through a selected bioprocess strategy and medium design

The effect of polypeptide fractions of proteose peptone on the induction of cloned gene expression of rice α-amylase in recombinantYarrowia lipolytica which is under the control of itsXPR2 promoter, was studied. Gel-filtration chromatography with Sephacryl S-100 and Sephadex G-25 (coarse) gels was used to fractionate the active polypeptide fractions from the proteose peptone. The polypeptide size fractions that were effective for the induction of cloned gene expression ranged between mol wt of 1.0 and 6.0 kDa. The fed-batch culture experiments with active polypeptide fractions were performed in a 6-L fermenter. The specific productivity of α-amylase and the enzyme yield based on nitrogen source increased from 25.7 to 33.0 U/g cell·h and 4.96 to 6.73 U/(mg nitrogen consumed), respectively, when proteose peptone was replaced by active polypeptide fractions in production medium. The specific productivity of α-amylase and the enzyme yield further improved to 36.2 U/g cell·h and 8.14 U/(mg nitrogen consumed), respectively, when the glutamic acid-enriched active polypeptide fractions in the production medium was used. The specific productivity of α-amylase and the enzyme yield were improved by 41 and 64%, respectively, as compared with the results obtained with the medium containing proteose peptone. Through medium design, a bioprocess strategy for heterologous protein production was developed and a significant productivity improvement achieved.     

Factors influencing activity of enzymes and their kinetics

The conventional chemically based method of dehairing and fiber-opening discharges an enormous amount of pollutants in the processing of skins. Hence, bioprocessing of skin through a two-step process, dehairing using protease and fiber opening using α-amylase, has been developed. However, because this process involves two steps, we characterized commercial protease and α-amylase for their optimum activity and determine the influence of one enzyme on the activity of the other, in order to develop an integrated enzymatic dehairing and fiber-opening process. The influence of various factors, substrate concentration, time, pH, and temperature, on the activity of both protease and α-amylase was determined. Furthermore, the activity of protease on mixing with α-amylase and vice versa was investigated. It was found that there was no significant change in the activity of one enzyme in the presence of the other. Lineweaver-Burk plots showed K _m and V _max values of 31.6 mg/mL and 0.0106 mg/(mL@min) for protease and 8.79 mg/mL and 0.0912 mg/(mL@min) for α-amylase. This study provides substantial evidence for integrating the enzyme-based dehairing and fiber-opening processes using both the selected protease and α-amylase in one step.     

Activation and stabilization of enzymes entrapped into reversed micelles

Observations of the activity of two hydrolyzing enzymes—protease and α-amylase—entrapped inside the reversed micelles formed by surfactants in hexane, benzene, and cyclohexane are reported. The surfactants chosen for this study are: Tween 80, a nonionic surfactant, Cetyl pyridinium chloride, a cationic surfactant, and two anionic surfactants, sodium lauryl sulfate and Aerosol OT. Tween 80 enhances the activity of both protease and α-amylase. Sodium lauryl sulfate and Aerosol OT, which are ionic surfactants, enhance the activity of protease, but inhibit the activity of α-amylase. Cetyl pyridinium chloride, however, enhances the activity of α-amylase, but inhibits the activity of protease. Enhanced activity is generally severalfold greater in comparison to the activity observed in the usual aqueous system in the absence of reversed micelles. It has also been observed that the enhanced activity of the enzymes entrapped inside the reversed micelles remains preserved for a much longer period of time in comparison to the activity in the usual aqueous systems. These observations, which support the view that with proper choice of surfactant and the organic solvent, reversed micelles act like a microreactor that provides a favorable aqueous microenvironment for enzyme activity, have biotechnological overtones.     

Kinetic characterization of extracellular α-amylase from a derepressed mutant ofBacillus licheniformis

Three strains ofBacillus licheniformis were isolated and screened for α-amylase production by solid-state fermentation. Of these, IS-2 gave relatively higher enzyme production (32±2.3 U/[g·min]) and was selected for improvement after treatment withN-methylN-nitroN-nitroso guanidine (NG) or nitrous acid (NA) to enhance its hydrolytic potential. Among the mutant variants, NA-14 gave higher enzyme production (98±1.6 U/[g·min]), and hence, was selected for kinetic and thermal characterization. M1 as a moistening agent (pH 7.0, optimized) supported 2.65-fold improved amylolytic activity by the derepressed mutant 72 h after inoculation. The values of product yield coefficient (Y _p/x=1833.3 U/g) and specific rate constant (q _p=25.46 U/[g·h]) with starch were severalfold improved over those from other carbon sources and the other cultures. The purified enzyme from NA-14 was most active at 40°C; however, the activity remained almost constant up to 44°C. The NA-induced random mutagenesis substantially improved the enthalpy (ΔH _D=94.5±11 kJ/mol) and entropy of activation (ΔS=−284±22 J/[mol·K]) for α-amylase activity and substrate binding for starch hydrolysis. The results of this study (117.8±5.5 U/[g·min]) revealed a concomitant improvement in the endogenous metabolism of the mutant culture for α-amylase production.     

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.     

Investigation of Drug Nanoparticle Formation by Co-grinding with Cyclodextrins: Studies for Indomethacin, Furosemide and Naproxen

Drugs with poor water solubility were co-ground with cyclodextrins (CDs) to create nanoparticles with improved solubility characteristics. Indomethacin (IDM), furosemide (FRM) and naproxen (NAP) were co-ground with β-CD at the molar ratio of 2:1 (CD:drug). Co-grinding of a drug with CD resulted in not only the formation of drug nanoparticles but also the solubilization of the drug by inclusion complex formation with CD in aqueous media. The nanoparticle fraction of IDM, and FRM from ground mixtures prepared with β-CD was as high as 60–70% while the solubilization fraction was less than 10%. In contrast, β-CD–NAP ground mixture showed a large fraction, 48%, for drug solubilization and only 4% for nanoparticle formation. Furosemide ground mixtures prepared with α-CD, β-CD and γ-CD showed comparatively high nanoparticle fraction while the solubilization fraction was around 10%. Both the nanoparticle fraction and the solubilization fraction were greater in the IDM–β-CD system than those in γ-CD and α-CD systems. The nanoparticle formation of NAP depended on the types of CD used as a co-grinding additive. Naproxen nanoparticles could be prepared by co-grinding NAP and α-CD, while the solubilization of NAP tended to improve when β-CD or γ-CD was used.