Study of new feruloyl esterases to understand lipase evolution: the case of Bacillus flexus.

Recently, the crystal structure of the feruloyl esterase A from Aspergillus niger (AnFaeA) was elucidated. This enzyme displays an α/β hydrolase fold and a catalytic triad similar to that found in fungal lipases (30-37% identity). Surprisingly, AnFaeA showed an overall fold similarity with the Rhizomucor miehei and other related fungal lipases.

Isolation and characterization of new facultative alkaliphilic Bacillus flexus strains from maize processing waste water (nejayote).

Aims: This work describes the isolation and characterization of two new alkaliphilic micro-organisms present in nejayote.

Methods And Results: Samples of fresh industrial nejayote were plated on nejayote medium and incubated for 4 days at 37 °C. Isolates were identified based on morphological and physiological characteristics, as well as 16S rDNA sequence analysis.