Purification and characterisation of a salt-stable protease from the halophilic archaeon Halogranum rubrum

A hyperstable, low-salt adapted protease from halophilic archaeon with potential applications in salt-fermented foods

Salt-tolerant proteases with remarkable stability are highly desirable biocatalysts in the salt-fermented food industry. In this study, the undigested autocleavage product of HlyA (halolysin A), a low-salt adapted halolysin from halophilic archaeon Halococcus salifodinae, was investigated. HlyA underwent autocleavage of its C-terminal extension (CTE) at temperatures over 40 °C or NaCl concentrations below 2 M to yield HlyAΔCTE. HlyAΔCTE demonstrated robust stability over a wide range of -20-60 °C, 0.5-4 M NaCl, and pH 6.0-10.0 for at least 72 h. Notably, HlyAΔCTE is the first reported halolysin with such exceptional stability. Compared with HlyA, HlyAΔCTE preferred high temperatures (50-75 °C), low salinities (0.5-2.5 M NaCl), and near-neutral (pH 6.5-8.0) conditions to achieve high activity, consistently with its production conditions. HlyAΔCTE displayed a higher Vmax value against azocasein than HlyA. During fish sauce fermentation, HlyAΔCTE significantly enhanced fish protein hydrolysis, indicating its potential as a robust biocatalyst in the salt-fermented food industry.

Expression, purification, and enzymatic characterization of an extracellular protease from Halococcus salifodinae

Extracellular proteases from halophilic archaea displays increased enzymatic activities in hypersaline environment. In this study, an extracellular protease-coding gene, hly34, from the haloarchaeal strain Halococcus salifodinae PRR34, was obtained through homologous search. The protease activity produced by this strain at 20% NaCl, 42 °C, and pH 7.0 was 32.5 ± 0.5 (U·mL-1). The codon-optimized hly34 which is specific for Escherichia coli can be expressed in E. coli instead of native hly34. It exhibits proteolytic activity under a wide range of low- or high-salt concentrations, slightly acidic or alkaline conditions, and slightly higher temperatures. The Hly34 presented the highest proteolytic activity at 50 °C, pH 9.0, and 0-1 M NaCl. It was found that the Hly34 showed a higher enzyme activity under low-salt conditions. Hly34 has good stability at different NaCl concentrations (1-4 M) and pH (6.0-10.0), as well as good tolerance to some metal ions. However, at 60 °C, the stability is reduced. It has a good tolerance to some metal ions. The proteolytic activity was completely inhibited by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, suggesting that the Hly34 is a serine protease. This study further deepens our understanding of haloarchaeal extracellular protease, most of which found in halophilic archaea are classified as serine proteases. These proteases exhibit a certain level of alkaline resistance and moderate heat resistance, and they may emerge with higher activity under low-salt conditions than high-salt conditions. The protease Hly34 is capable of degrading a number of proteins, including substrate proteins, such as azocasein, whey protein and casein. It has promising applications in industrial production.

Microbial-derived salt-tolerant proteases and their applications in high-salt traditional soybean fermented foods: a review

Different microorganisms can produce different proteases, which can adapt to different industrial requirements such as pH, temperature, and pressure. Salt-tolerant proteases (STPs) from microorganisms exhibit higher salt tolerance, wider adaptability, and more efficient catalytic ability under extreme conditions compared to conventional proteases. These unique enzymes hold great promise for applications in various industries including food, medicine, environmental protection, agriculture, detergents, dyes, and others. Scientific studies on microbial-derived STPs have been widely reported, but there has been little systematic review of microbial-derived STPs and their application in high-salt conventional soybean fermentable foods. This review presents the STP-producing microbial species and their selection methods, and summarizes and analyzes the salt tolerance mechanisms of the microorganisms. It also outlines various techniques for the isolation and purification of STPs from microorganisms and discusses the salt tolerance mechanisms of STPs. Furthermore, this review demonstrates the contribution of modern biotechnology in the screening of novel microbial-derived STPs and their improvement in salt tolerance. It highlights the potential applications and commercial value of salt-tolerant microorganisms and STPs in high-salt traditional soy fermented foods. The review ends with concluding remarks on the challenges and future directions for microbial-derived STPs. This review provides valuable insights into the separation, purification, performance enhancement, and application of microbial-derived STPs in traditional fermented foods.

Recent advances in the production, properties and applications of haloextremozymes protease and lipase from haloarchaea

Proteases and lipases are significant groups of enzymes for commercialization at the global level. Earlier, the industries depended on mesophilic proteases and lipases, which remain nonfunctional under extreme conditions. The discovery of extremophilic microorganisms, especially those belonging to haloarchaea, paved a new reserve of industrially competent extremozymes. Haloarchaea or halophilic archaea are polyextremophiles of domain Archaea that grow at high salinity, elevated temperature, pH range (pH 6-12), and low aw. Interestingly, haloarchaeal proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes also perform their catalytic function in the presence of 4-5 M NaCl in vivo and in vitro. Also, they are of great interest to study due to their capacity to function and are active at elevated temperatures, tolerance to pH extremes, and in non-aqueous media. In recent years, advances have been achieved in various aspects of genomic/molecular expression methods involving homologous and heterologous processes for the overproduction of these extremozymes and their characterization from haloarchaea. A few protease and lipase extremozymes have been successfully expressed in prokaryotic systems, especially E.coli, and enzyme modification techniques have improved the catalytic properties of the recombinant enzymes. Further, in-silico methods are currently applied to elucidate the structural and functional features of salt-stable protease and lipase in haloarchaea. In this review, the production and purification methods, catalytic and biochemical properties and biotechnological applications of haloextremozymes proteases and lipases are summarized along with recent advancements in overproduction and characterization of these enzymes, concluding with the directions for further in-depth research on proteases and lipases from haloarchaea.

Heterologous expression and characterization of Bacillus velezensis SW5 serine protease involved in the hydrolysis of anchovy protein

BACKGROUND

Bacillus velezensis SW5, with good enzyme production ability, was isolated and identified in our laboratory from fermented fish sauce. Its galactosidase has been expressed in Escherichia coli, which could hydrolyze lactose in milk. The present study aims to express a novel serine protease gene (SPr-SW5) of this strain by Bacillus subtilis WB800N, and applies the expressed enzyme in hydrolysis of anchovy to prepare antioxidant substances, aiming to alleviate the waste of low-value fish resources.

RESULTS

SPr-SW5 with the open reading frame of 1353 bp encodes a serine protease (SPr-SW5) with 450 amino acids. The theoretical molecular weight and isoelectric point are 47.2 kDa and 5.22, respectively. The successful expression of SPr-SW5 in B. subtilis WB800N was confirmed by a skim milk plate test. Its optimal temperature and pH were 50 °C and 8.0, respectively. SPr-SW5 activity was increased by Ca²⁺ and Zn²⁺ , but inhibited by Fe³⁺ . Furthermore, SPr-SW5 was tolerant to 1% Tween-40 and Tween-80; however, its activity was strongly inhibited by 10 mm phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. Additionally, SPr-SW5 could be capable of hydrolyzing anchovy, the hydrolysate (AHP) at 10 g L^-1 , with 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and hydroxyl (·OH) scavenging rates of 73.21% and 79.71%, displaying good antioxidant activity.

CONCLUSION

The novel SPr-SW5 was successfully expressed in B. subtilis WB800N. It exhibited excellent temperature stability and good tolerance to several metal ions. In addition, the anchovy hydrolyzed by expressed SPr-SW5 has good antioxidant ability. Overall, this research lays a good foundation for SPr-SW5 with respect to exploration and application in the food industry as enzyme preparation. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Characteristics and Application of a Novel Cold-Adapted and Salt-Tolerant Protease EK4-1 Produced by an Arctic Bacterium Mesonia algae K4-1

Mesonia algae K4-1 from the Arctic secretes a novel cold-adapted and salt-tolerant protease EK4-1. It has the highest sequence similarity with Stearolysin, an M4 family protease from Geobacillus stearothermophilus, with only 45% sequence identity, and is a novel M4 family protease. Ek4-1 has a low optimal catalytic temperature (40 °C) and is stable at low temperatures. Moreover, EK4-1 is still active in 4 mol/L NaCl solution and is tolerant to surfactants, oxidizing agents and organic solvents; furthermore, it prefers the hydrolysis of peptide bonds at the P1' position as the hydrophobic residues, such as Leu, Phe and Val, and amino acids with a long side chain, such as Phe and Tyr. Mn²⁺and Mg²⁺ significantly promoted enzyme activity, while Fe³⁺, Co⁺, Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ significantly inhibited enzyme activity. Amino acid composition analysis showed that EK4-1 had more small-side-chain amino acids and fewer large-side-chain amino acids. Compared with a thermophilic protease Stearolysin, the cold-adapted protease EK4-1 contains more random coils (48.07%) and a larger active pocket (727.42 ų). In addition, the acidic amino acid content of protease EK4-1 was higher than that of the basic amino acid, which might be related to the salt tolerance of protease. Compared with the homologous proteases EB62 and E423, the cold-adapted protease EK4-1 was more efficient in the proteolysis of grass carp skin, salmon skin and casein at a low temperature, and produced a large number of antioxidant peptides, with DPPH, ·OH and ROO· scavenging activities. Therefore, cold-adapted and salt-tolerant protease EK4-1 offers wide application prospects in the cosmetic and detergent industries.

A novel halolysin without C-terminal extension from an extremely halophilic archaeon

Halolysins are extracellular proteases secreted by halophilic archaea for nutritional purposes. They bear great application potentials in various industries. Yet the diversity of halolysins remains underexplored. In this study, a halolysin from the extremely halophilic archaeon Haladaptatus sp. DYF46 (Hly_Hap) was identified to be a novel type of halolysin without C-terminal extension (CTE). Addition of the CTE of a halolysin from Halococcus salifodinae to Hly_Hap did not significantly affect its extracellular proteolytic activity. Mature Hly_Hap was generated from recombinant Hly_Hap precursor by high-affinity column refolding. Hly_Hap displayed optimal activity at 0.25-0.50 M NaCl, 45 °C and pH 8.5-9.0. Interestingly, Hly_Hap preferred a low salinity and was stable in a broad range of salinity, albeit from an extremely halophilic archaeon. Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ significantly promoted Hly_Hap activity. Hly_Hap activity was stable with organic solvents and detergents. The K_m and V_max values of Hly_Hap against azocasein were 0.018 mM and 7,179 U/mg, and those against succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-pNA were 0.32 mM and 3×10⁶ μmol/min/μg, respectively. The unusual traits of Hly_Hap, a novel type of halolysin without CTE, may endow it with strong potential for various industrial uses, such as biocatalysis in fluctuating salinities and aqueous-organic solvent. KEY POINTS: • This is the first report of a novel type of halolysin without C-terminal extension • Hly_Hap was obtained by heterologous expression and high-affinity column refolding • Hly_Hap exhibited good salinity tolerance.

Rice flour powder carrying mixed starter culture of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KU-LM173 and Pediococcus acidilactici KU-LM145 for fermented mussel, Perna viridis Linnaeus 1758

AIMS

To develop a dried rice flour powder (DP) formulation to contain a lactic acid bacterial starter culture for fermenting mussel meat (FM).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KU-LM173 (LP), Enterococcus hirae KU-LM174 and Pediococcus acidilactici KU-LM145 (PA) were selected from commercial FMs and identified to have high acid and protease production. Mixed culture between LP, for high acid production, and PA, for the flavour, was the best for DP and had greater organoleptic properties than a single starter fermentation. The best ratio of DP for production was 1% of the mussel weight, while the highest numeric scoring of the organoleptic test between 3% and 6%. The starter culture fermentation accelerated over the natural (wild) fermentation and ended at day 3. The shelf life of the product was at least 30 days at 30-35°C with no pathogens detected. The shelf life of DP at 4°C was 10 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS

DP with the best strains and long shelf life promoted safety of FM and reduced the processing time. High consumer acceptance, protease and acid production and flavour were unique product characteristics.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY

Accelerated commercial FMs with effective DP formulation for the industrial sector may be plausible.

One-step selective affinity purification and immobilization of His-tagged enzyme by recyclable magnetic nanoparticles

The NiFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles (NF-MNPs) were prepared for one-step selective affinity purification and immobilization of His-tagged recombinant glucose dehydrogenase (GluDH). The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by a Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometer and microscopy. The immobilization and purification of His-tagged GluDH on NF-MNPs were investigated. The optimal immobilization conditions were obtained that mixed cell lysis and carriers in a ratio of 0.13 in pH 8.0 Tris-HCl buffer at 30℃ and incubated for 2 h. The highest activity recovery and protein bindings were 71.39% and 38.50 μg mg-1 support, respectively. The immobilized GluDH exhibited high thermostability, pH-stability and it can retain more than 65% of the initial enzyme after 10 cycles for the conversion of glucose to gluconolactone. Comparing with a commercial Ni-NTA resin, the NF-MNPs displayed a higher specific affinity with His-tagged recombinant GluDH.

Genome sequencing of cold-adapted Planococcus bacterium isolated from traditional shrimp paste and protease identification

BACKGROUND

Psychrophiles have evolved to adapt to freezing environments, and cold-adapted enzymes from these organisms can maintain high catalytic activity at low temperature. The use of cold-adapted enzymes has great potential for the revolution of food and molecular biology industries.

RESULTS

In this study, four different strains producing protease were isolated from traditional fermented shrimp paste, one of which, named Planococcus maritimus XJ11 by 16S rRNA nucleotide sequence analysis, exhibited the largest protein hydrolysis clear zone surrounding the colonies. Meanwhile, the strain P. maritimus XJ11 was selected for further investigation because of its great adaptation to low temperature, low salinity and alkaline environment. The enzyme activity assay of P. maritimus XJ11 indicated that the optimum conditions for catalytic activity were pH 10.0 and 40 °C. Moreover, the enzyme also showed an increasing activity with temperatures from 10 to 40 °C and retained more than 67% activity of the maximum over a broad range of salinity (50-150 g L^-1 ). Genome sequencing analysis revealed that strain XJ11 possessed one circular chromosome of 3 282 604 bp and one circular plasmid of 67 339 bp, with a total number of 3293 open reading frames (ORFs). Besides, 21 genes encoding protease, including three serine proteases, were identified through the NR database.

CONCLUSION

Cold-adapted bacterium P. maritimus XJ11 was capable of producing alkaline proteases with high catalytic efficiency at low or moderate temperatures. Furthermore, the favorable psychrophilic and enzymatic characters of strain P. maritimus XJ11 seem to have a promising potential for industrial application. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Biochemical characterization of a low salt-adapted extracellular protease from the extremely halophilic archaeon Halococcus salifodinae

Extracellular proteases from haloarchaea can expand the application fields of proteases. Exploring novel robust proteases is of great importance. An extracellular protease HlyA from Halococcus salifodinae was obtained by heterologous expression, affinity chromatography, in vitro refolding and gel filtration chromatography. Its activity was optimal at 45 °C, pH 9.0 and 1.5-2 M NaCl. Interestingly, although HlyA was from an extremely halophilic archaeon, it retained >75% of maximal activity in a broad NaCl concentration of 0.5-4 M. It displayed relatively stable activities over a wide range of temperature, pH and salinity. Thus, HlyA exhibited good temperature, pH and especially, salinity tolerance. Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Sr²⁺ significantly enhanced the protease activity. HlyA activity was completely inhibited by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), suggesting it is a serine protease. HlyA showed good tolerance to some surfactants and organic solvents. The K_m and V_max values of HlyA for azocasein were calculated to be 0.72 mM and 21.98 U/μg, respectively. HlyA was able to effectively degrade several protein substrates, including bovine hemoglobin, casein and azocasein. Generally, HlyA from the extremely halophilic archaeon Hcc. salifodinae is an alkaliphilic and low salt-adapted halolysin with high activity, thus representing an attractive candidate for various industrial uses.

Cloning, expression, and characterization of an alkaline protease, AprV, from Vibrio sp. DA1-1

A novel alkaline protease (named AprV) gene from Vibrio sp. DA1-1 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS. The sequence analysis showed the highest homology of 68% with the characterized protease from Alkalimonas collagenimarina AC40^T. The recombinant AprV was purified with the molecular weight of 28 kDa. The optimum temperature and pH were determined to be 55 °C and 10.0, respectively. The enzyme activity was slightly enhanced by Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Zn²⁺, Ba²⁺, and, however, was highly inhibited by Sn²⁺ and EDTA. The AprV was stable in the presence of some surfactants and oxidizing agents, such as 1% Tween 20-80, 1% JFC-2, and 5% JFC-2. Casein was found to be the ideal substrate with specific activity of 1139 U/mg. Moreover, we found that AprV (10,000 U), together with commercial detergent, could completely remove the blood on the cotton. Furthermore, AprV also demonstrated dehairing activity on goat and bull skin. These results indicated that the alkaline protease AprV might be a potential candidate for applications in the detergent and leather industries.