Molecular properties and sensitivity to cations of ?-Galactosidase from Streptococcus thermophilus with four enzyme substrates

Factors affecting the thermostability of β-galactosidase (Streptococcus salivariussubsp.thermophilus) in milk: a quantitative study

Enhanced stability of β-galactosidase (Streptococcus salivariussubsp.thermophilus) in milk is due to several milk components acting in concert. Milk salts stabilized the enzyme 3-fold compared to phosphate buffer. K+was a better stabilizer than Na+. Omission of divalent cations, especially Mg2+, caused a marked drop in stability. Lactose stabilized enzyme stored in the frozen state but destabilized enzyme stored unfrozen. Caseinate stabilized the enzyme 8-fold in phosphate buffer but it stabilized 144-fold in the presence of lactose. In the presence of milk proteins, lactose was 25 times as effective as galactose and 100 times as effective as glucose at promoting stability; sucrose slightly destabilized the enzyme. Stability rose with increasing lactose concentration but declined with increasing enzyme concentration. In milk, soluble casein was the primary stabilizer; whey proteins and peptides had much less effect. Micellar casein had no effect on stability.

Purification and characterization of a thermotolerant beta-galactosidase from Thermomyces lanuginosus

A new inducible intracellular beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) of the thermophilic fungus Thermomyces lanuginosus was purified by fractional salt precipitation, hydrophobic interaction, and anion exchange chromatography. The first 22 amino acid residues were determined by N-terminal sequencing. Electrophoretic investigations revealed a dimeric enzyme with a molecular mass of 75 to 80 kDa per identical subunit and an isoelectric point of 4.4 to 4.5. The native beta-galactosidase was identified as a glycoprotein by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. The beta-galactosidase activity was optimal at pH 6.7 to 7.2, and the enzyme displayed stability between pH 6 and 9. It was completely stable at pH 6.8 and 47 degrees C for 2 h. After 191 h at 50 degrees C, the remaining beta-galactosidase activity of an enzyme fraction after salt precipitation was 58%. The beta-galactosidase hydrolyzed p- and o-NO2-phenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside, lactose, lactulose, MeOH-beta-D-galactopyranoside, phenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside, and p-NO2-phenyl-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside. The kinetic constants (Km) measured for p- and o-NO2-phenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside and beta-lactose were 4.8, 11.3, and 18.2 mM, respectively.

Purification and thermostability of beta-galactosidase (lactase) from an autolytic strain of Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus

beta-Galactosidase from an autolytic strain of Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus was purified 109-fold to near homogeneity. The yield of purified enzyme was 41% and the specific activity was 592 o-nitrophenyl beta-D-galactopyranoside U/mg at 37 degrees C. Two isozymes were present, but only one subunit was detected, having a mol. wt of 116,000. Enzyme stability was 37-83 times greater in milk than in buffer in the range 60-65 degrees C. At 60 degrees C the half-life in milk was 146 min. Denaturation in buffer was first-order, but in milk the overall reaction order with respect to enzyme concentration was approximately 0.5. The activation energy for denaturation was 453 kJ/mol in milk and 372 kJ/mol in buffer. In milk the activation energy for lactose hydrolysis was 35.1 kJ/mol.