Cloning, Heterologous Expression, and Biochemical Characterization of a Novel Glycoside Hydrolase 16 Family Enzyme for Biorefinery of Furcellaria lumbricalis.

Carrageenan has strong structural heterogeneity, resulting in the production of several hybridized forms in nature. Furcellaran is a typical hybrid type of carrageenan that includes both κ-carrageenan and β-carrageenan motifs in its structure. The discovery and characterization of a novel furcellaranase is of great significance for investigating and determining the structures of carrageenan.

Biochemical characterization and elucidation of the action mode of a GH16 family κ-carrageenase for efficient preparation of carrageenan oligosaccharides.

κ-Carrageenan oligosaccharides have a variety of biological activities. Degradation of κ-carrageenan by κ-carrageenase leads to degradation products with different degrees of polymerization (DPs). A novel gene (CecgkA) encoding a new κ-carrageenase was cloned from Colwellia echini and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3).