An ultrasensitive nanofiber-based assay for enzymatic hydrolysis and deep-sea microbial degradation of cellulose.

Substrates for enzymatic reactions, such as cellulose and chitin, are often insoluble in water. The enzymatic degradation of these abundant organic polymers plays a dominant role in the global carbon cycle and has tremendous technological importance in the production of bio-based chemicals. In addition, biodegradation of plastics is gaining wide attention.

A high-molecular-weight, alkaline, and thermostable β-1,4-xylanase of a subseafloor Microcella alkaliphila.

An endo β-1,4-xylanase (XynE15) from a culture broth of a deep subseafloor microorganism, Microcella alkaliphila JAM-AC0309, was purified to homogeneity. The molecular mass of XynE15 was approximately 150 kDa as judged by SDS-PAGE. The optimal pH and temperature for hydrolysis of xylan were pH 8 and 65 °C.

Biochemical and genetic characterization of β-1,3 glucanase from a deep subseafloor Laceyella putida.

A β-1,3-glucanase (LpGluA) of deep subseafloor Laceyella putida JAM FM3001 was purified to homogeneity from culture broth. The molecular mass of the enzyme was around 36 kDa as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). LpGluA hydrolyzed curdlan optimally at pH 4.

Highly thermostable and surfactant-activated chitinase from a subseafloor bacterium, Laceyella putida.

A novel chitinase (LpChiA) was purified to homogeneity from a culture of Laceyella putida JAM FM3001. LpChiA hydrolyzed colloidal chitin optimally at a pH of 4 in an acetate buffer and temperature of 75 ºC. The enzyme was remarkably stable to incubation at 70 ºC up to 1 h at pH 5.

Genetic and biochemical characterization of the Pseudoalteromonas tetraodonis alkaline κ-carrageenase.

An alkaline κ-carrageenase, Cgk-K142, was found in the culture broth of a deep-sea bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas tetraodonis JAM-K142. A gene for the enzyme was cloned and expressed. Purified recombinant Cgk-K142 (rCgk-K142) showed an optimal pH of about 8.

Cloning and sequencing of inulinase and β-fructofuranosidase genes of a deep-sea Microbulbifer species and properties of recombinant enzymes.

An inulinase-producing Microbulbifer sp. strain, JAM-3301, was isolated from a deep-sea sediment. An inulin operon that contained three open reading frames was cloned and sequenced.

Cloning and sequencing of alginate lyase genes from deep-sea strains of Vibrio and Agarivorans and characterization of a new Vibrio enzyme.

Four alginate lyase genes were cloned and sequenced from the genomic DNAs of deep-sea bacteria, namely members of Vibrio and Agarivorans. Three of them were from Vibrio sp. JAM-A9m, which encoded alginate lyases, A9mT, A9mC, and A9mL.

Collagenolytic subtilisin-like protease from the deep-sea bacterium Alkalimonas collagenimarina AC40T.

A new alkaline protease (AcpII) was purified from a culture of the deep-sea bacterium Alkalimonas collagenimarina AC40(T). AcpII degraded collagen three times faster than it degraded casein. The optimal pH was 8.

A new high-alkaline alginate lyase from a deep-sea bacterium Agarivorans sp.

A high-alkaline, salt-activated alginate lyase is produced by Agarivorans sp. JAM-A1m from a deep-sea sediment off Cape Nomamisaki on Kyushu Island, Japan. Purified to homogeneity, as judged by SDS-PAGE, the enzyme (A1m) had a molecular mass of approximately 31 kDa.

Nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of a subtilisin-like serine protease from a deep-sea bacterium, Alkalimonas collagenimarina AC40(T).

The acpI gene encoding an alkaline protease (AcpI) from a deep-sea bacterium, Alkalimonas collagenimarina AC40(T), was shotgun-cloned and sequenced. It had a 1,617-bp open reading frame encoding a protein of 538 amino acids. Based on analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence, AcpI is a subtilisin-like serine protease belonging to subtilase family A.

Intragenomic diversity of the V1 regions of 16S rRNA genes in high-alkaline protease-producing Bacillus clausii spp.

Alkaliphilic Bacillus sp. strain KSM-K16, which produces high-alkaline M-protease, was characterized phenotypically, biochemically and genetically. This strain was identified as Bacillus clausii based on the results of taxonomic studies, including sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and DNA-DNA hybridization.

Salt-activated endoglucanase of a strain of alkaliphilic Bacillus agaradhaerens.

An endoglucanase was purified to homogeneity from an alkaline culture broth of a strain isolated from seawater and identified here as Bacillus agaradhaerens JAM-KU023. The molecular mass was around 38-kDa and the N-terminal 19 amino acids of the purified enzyme exhibited 100% sequence identity to Cel5A of B. agaradhaerens DSM8721(T).