Separation and characterization of two catalase activities isolated from the yeast Trigonopsis variabilis

The ellagitannin HeT induces electrolyte leakage, calcium influx and the accumulation of nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide in strawberry

HeT (1-0-galloyl-2,3; 4,6-bis-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-β-D-glucopyranose) is a penta-esterified ellagitannin obtained from strawberry leaves. Previous studies have shown that foliar application of HeT prior to inoculation with a virulent pathogen increases the resistance toward Colletotrichum acutatum in strawberry plants and to Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri in lemon plants. In this work we report that HeT induces an immediate leak of electrolytes, the hyperpolarization of the cellular membrane, a rapid Ca²⁺ influx to the cytoplasm during the first few seconds, which in turn modulates the accumulation of nitric oxide 5 min after treatment. At longer times, a biphasic accumulation of H₂O₂ with peaks at 2 and 5 h post treatment could be observed. In addition, HeT elicited the increase of alternative oxidase capacity during the first 12 h post treatment.

Highly Active and Stable Large Catalase Isolated from a Hydrocarbon Degrading Aspergillus terreus MTCC 6324

A hydrocarbon degrading Aspergillus terreus MTCC 6324 produces a high level of extremely active and stable cellular large catalase (CAT) during growth on n-hexadecane to combat the oxidative stress caused by the hydrocarbon degrading metabolic machinery inside the cell. A 160-fold purification with specific activity of around 66 × 10⁵ U mg⁻¹ protein was achieved. The native protein molecular mass was 368 ± 5 kDa with subunit molecular mass of nearly 90 kDa, which indicates that the native CAT protein is a homotetramer. The isoelectric pH (pI) of the purified CAT was 4.2. BLAST aligned peptide mass fragments of CAT protein showed its highest similarity with the catalase B protein from other fungal sources. CAT was active in a broad range of pH 4 to 12 and temperature 25°C to 90°C. The catalytic efficiency (K_cat/K_m) of 4.7 × 10⁸ M⁻¹ s⁻¹ within the studied substrate range and alkaline pH stability (half-life, t_1/2 at pH 12~15 months) of CAT are considerably higher than most of the extensively studied catalases from different sources. The storage stability (t_1/2) of CAT at physiological pH 7.5 and 4°C was nearly 30 months. The haem was identified as haem b by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS/MS).

Catalase from larvae of the camel tick Hyalomma dromedarii

Catalase plays a major role in protecting cells against toxic reactive oxygen species. Here, Catalase was purified from larvae of the camel tick Hyalomma dromedarii and designated TLCAT. It was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, Sephacryl S-300 and CM-cellulose columns. Gel filtration and SDS-PAGE of the purified TLCAT indicated that the protein has a native molecular weight of 120 kDa and is most likely a homodimer with a subunit of approximately 60 kDa. The Km value of TLCAT is 12 mM H2O2 and displayed its optimum activity at pH 7.2. CaCl2, MgCl2, MnCl2 and NiCl2 increased the activity of TLCAT, while FeCl2, CoCl2, CuCl2 and ZnCl2 inhibited the activity of TLCAT. Sodium azide inhibited TLCAT competitively with a Ki value of 0.28 mM. The presence of TLCAT in cells may play a role in protecting H. dromedarii ticks against oxidative damage. This finding will contribute to our understanding of the physiology of these ectoparasites and the development of untraditional methods to control them.

Purification and characterization of catalase from marine bacterium Acinetobacter sp. YS0810

The catalase from marine bacterium Acinetobacter sp. YS0810 (YS0810CAT) was purified and characterized. Consecutive steps were used to achieve the purified enzyme as follows: ethanol precipitation, DEAE Sepharose ion exchange, Superdex 200 gel filtration, and Resource Q ion exchange. The active enzyme consisted of four identical subunits of 57.256 kDa. It showed a Soret peak at 405 nm, indicating the presence of iron protoporphyrin IX. The catalase was not apparently reduced by sodium dithionite but was inhibited by 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole, hydroxylamine hydrochloride, and sodium azide. Peroxidase-like activity was not found with the substrate o-phenylenediamine. So the catalase was determined to be a monofunctional catalase. N-terminal amino acid of the catalase analysis gave the sequence SQDPKKCPVTHLTTE, which showed high degree of homology with those of known catalases from bacteria. The analysis of amino acid sequence of the purified catalase by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry showed that it was a new catalase, in spite of its high homology with those of known catalases from other bacteria. The catalase showed high alkali stability and thermostability.

The variation of antioxidant defense system of Streptomyces sp. M4018 with respect to carbon sources

The effect of glycerol, glucose, and starch as carbon sources on the antioxidant defense system such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, pyruvate levels, and membrane lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels of Streptomyces sp. M4018, after isolation from the rhizosphere samples of Colutea arborescens and identification as a strain of S. hiroshimensis based on phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, were investigated. As an antioxidant defense enzyme, SOD activities increased up to 20 g/L of glycerol and 15 g/L of starch, while they showed negative correlation with glucose concentration. CAT activity variations of glycerol- and glucose-supplemented mediums showed significant positive correlations with the trend of SOD activities. However, CAT activity, in contrast to SOD, in Streptomyces sp. M4018 tended to decrease as the starch concentration increased. The production of pyruvate increased with respect to glycerol and starch up to 15 g/L, while it was positively correlated with glucose concentration. The highest pyruvate production was seen at 20 g/L glucose. Membrane LPO levels were negatively correlated with the activities of SOD and CAT enzymes, and the minimum LPO level was determined at 5 g/L of glucose, where SOD and CAT activities reached their maximum levels. Nevertheless, the higher SOD and CAT activities in a wider range of incubation period compared to the beginning by resulting in insignificant increases in membrane LPO levels showed the unusual antioxidant response capacities of the in Streptomyces sp. M4018 against the potentially deleterious effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for glycerol, glucose, and starch as carbon sources.

Purification and characterization of catalase from sprouted black gram (Vigna mungo) seeds

Black gram (Vigna mungo) is a legume which belongs to Fabaceae family. It is a rich source of protein. It has been known to have interesting small molecule antioxidant activity. However, its enzymatic antioxidant properties have not been explored much. In the present work we studied catalase, a principal antioxidant enzyme from black gram seeds. Day four sprouted black gram seeds were found to have a significant catalase content approximately of 15,240 U/g seeds. IMAC (Seph 4B-IDA-Zn(II)) was used for purifying this catalase, a purification fold of 106 and a high specific activity of 25,704 U/mg was obtained. The K(m) and V(max) of the purified catalase were found to be 16.2 mM and 2.5 μmol/min. The effect of inhibitors like Sodium azide (NaN(3)) and EDTA and different metal ions on catalase activity were studied. NaN(3), Fe(3+)and Cu(2+) were found to have profound inhibitory effects on the enzyme activity. Other metal ions like Ni(2+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+) and Mn(2+) had both enhancing and inhibitory effects. The enzyme showed optimal activity at a temperature of 40°C and pH 7.0. It was stable over a broad range of pH 6.0-10.0 and had a half life of 7h 30 min at 50°C.