The biochemistry of rumen protozoa. 6. The maltases of Dasytricha ruminantium, Epidinium ecaudatum (Crawley) and Entodinium caudatum

Soil maltase activity by a glucose oxidase–perioxidase system

The enzyme maltase (glucoinvertase; glucosidosucrase; maltase-glucoamylase; α-glucopyranosidase; glucosidoinvertase; α-d-glucosidase; α-glucoside hydrolase; α-1,4-glucosidase EC 3.2.1.20), is involved in the exo-hydrolysis of 1,4-α-glucosidic linkages and certain oligosaccharides into glucose which is an important energy source for soil microbes. This enzyme originates from different sources, which include plants, seaweeds, protozoa, fungi, bacteria, vertebrates, and invertebrates. The assay of soil maltase using maltose as substrate and the released glucose determined using a glucose oxidase–peroxidase system has not been explored or investigated to the best of our knowledge. A simple assay protocol using this system is proposed to evaluate and characterize maltase activity in soils. The protocol involves the release of glucose (determined using a glucose oxidase–peroxidase colorimetric approach) when 1 g soil is treated with toluene and incubated with 5 mM maltose in 67 mM sodium acetate buffer (pH 5.0) at 37 °C for 1 h. The optimal activity using this procedure was at pH 5.0 and decreased at temperatures above 70 °C. The calculated K_m values ranged from 0.8 to 6.5 mM, and are comparable to those of enzymes purified from microorganisms. The Arrhenius equation plots for the activity in the four soils were linear between 20 and 70 °C. The activation energy values ranged from 34.1 to 57.2 kJ mol⁻¹, the temperature coefficients (Q₁₀) ranged from 1.5 to 1.9 (avg. = 1.7), and the coefficients of variation (CV) of the proposed assay protocol for the soils used was <6%. While we recognize the availability of established assay protocols to determine soil α-glucosidase (referred in other literature as maltase) activity based on the p-nitrophenol (artificial product) released from p-nitrophenyl-α-d-glucopyranoside (artificial substrate), our interest was to assay its activity by determining the glucose (natural product) released from maltose (natural substrate).

Molecular cloning, expression, and characterization of an endo-beta-1,4-glucanase cDNA from Epidinium caudatum1

An endo-beta-1,4-glucanase gene (epi3) from the rumen ciliated protozoan Epidinium caudatum was cloned from a cDNA library constructed by using the lambda ZAP II vector. The enzymatic activity of the gene product was detected by the Congo red assay, using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as substrate. The nucleotide sequence of epi3 revealed 1,253 nucleotides with an open reading frame for a protein (Epi3) of 356 amino acids (Mr -41,014). Epi3 shows high homology with family 5 endoglucanase genes and with genes from protozoa isolated from sources other than the rumen. The specific activity of Epi3 produced in Escherichia coli was 5.544, 2.754, and 0.295 mmol of glucose min(-1) mg(-1) protein when the substrates used were CMC, beta-glucan, and xylan, respectively. A beta-1,4-linked trisaccharide of glucose was the preferred substrate of Epi3, as determined by analysis with the p-nitrophenyl form of the substrate. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation of an endoglucanase gene from a rumen protozoan.

Purification and characterization of a heterogeneous glycosylated invertase from the rumen holotrich ciliate Isotricha prostoma

The invertase (beta-fructofuranosidase, EC 3.2.1.26) of the rumen holotrich ciliate Isotricha prostoma has been purified. This is the first report of an enzyme purification from a known species of rumen protozoon. Cells were disrupted by ultrasonic treatment and the enzyme was purified from the cell-free extract by three successive liquid column chromatographies (Sepharose CL4B/octyl-Sepharose CL4B, DE52 DEAE-cellulose and concanavalin A-Sepharose 4B). This resulted in a 160-fold purification and a 15% yield. The major form of the purified enzyme was a tetramer with Mr about 350,000 that was readily dissociated by electrophoresis. The invertase was heterogeneous, as five types of monomers were shown by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis after denaturation. Part of this heterogeneity was due to different glycosylated forms of one of the polypeptides present in the purified enzyme. Isotricha prostoma invertase exhibited maximum activity at pH 5.5-6.0 and 50 degrees C. The kinetic properties of the purified enzyme were very similar to those of invertases from other sources such as yeast or plants (substrate and product inhibition, transferase activity).

Rumen holotrich ciliate protozoa

Images