Comparative Analysis of the Recombinant α-Glucosidases from theThermotoga neapolitanaandThermotoga maritimaMaltodextrin Utilization Gene Clusters

Identification of an extracellular thermostable glycosyl hydrolase family 13 α-amylase from Thermotoga neapolitana

We cloned the gene for an extracellular α-amylase, AmyE, from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga neapolitana and expressed it in Escherichia coli. The molecular mass of the enzyme was 92 kDa as a monomer. Maximum activity was observed at pH 6.5 and temperature 75°C and the enzyme was highly thermostable. AmyE hydrolyzed the typical substrates for α-amylase, including soluble starch, amylopectin, and maltooli-gosaccharides. The hydrolytic pattern of AmyE was similar to that of a typical α-amylase; however, unlike most of the calcium (Ca(2+))-dependent α-amylases, the activity of AmyE was unaffected by Ca(2+). The specific activities of AmyE towards various substrates indicated that the enzyme preferred maltooligosaccharides which have more than four glucose residues. AmyE could not hydrolyze maltose and maltotriose. When maltoheptaose was incubated with AmyE at the various time courses, the products consisting of maltose through maltopentaose was evenly formed indicating that the enzyme acts in an endo-fashion. The specific activity of AmyE (7.4 U/mg at 75° C, pH 6.5, with starch as the substrate) was extremely lower than that of other extracellular α-amylases, which indicates that AmyE may cooperate with other highly active extracellular α-amylases for the breakdown of the starch or α-glucans into maltose and maltotriose before transport into the cell in the members of Thermotoga sp.

Characterization of an exo-acting intracellular alpha-amylase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga neapolitana

We cloned and expressed the gene for an intracellular alpha-amylase, designated AmyB, from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga neapolitana in Escherichia coli. The putative intracellular amylolytic enzyme contained four regions that are highly conserved among glycoside hydrolase family (GH) 13 alpha-amylases. AmyB exhibited maximum activity at pH 6.5 and 75 degrees C, and its thermostability was slightly enhanced by Ca2+. However, Ca2+ was not required for the activity of AmyB as EDTA had no effect on enzyme activity. AmyB hydrolyzed the typical substrates for alpha-amylase, including soluble starch, amylose, amylopectin, and glycogen, to liberate maltose and minor amount of glucose. The hydrolytic pattern of AmyB is most similar to those of maltogenic amylases (EC 3.2.1.133) among GH 13 alpha-amylases; however, it can be distinguished by its inability to hydrolyze pullulan and beta-cyclodextrin. AmyB enzymatic activity was negligible when acarbose, a maltotetraose analog in which a maltose residue at the nonreducing end was replaced by acarviosine, was present, indicating that AmyB cleaves maltose units from the nonreducing end of maltooligosaccharides. These results indicate that AmyB is a new type exo-acting intracellular alpha-amylase possessing distinct characteristics that distinguish it from typical alpha-amylase and cyclodextrin-/pullulan-hydrolyzing enzymes.

Co-expression of the Thermotoga neapolitana aglB gene with an upstream 3'-coding fragment of the malG gene improves enzymatic characteristics of recombinant AglB cyclomaltodextrinase

A cluster of Thermotoga neapolitana genes participating in starch degradation includes the malG gene of sugar transport protein and the aglB gene of cyclomaltodextrinase. The start and stop codons of these genes share a common overlapping sequence, aTGAtg. Here, we compared properties of expression products of three different constructs with aglB from T. neapolitana. The first expression vector contained the aglB gene linked to an upstream 90-bp 3'-terminal region of the malG gene with the stop codon overlapping with the start codon of aglB. The second construct included the isolated coding sequence of aglB with two tandem potential start codons. The expression product of this construct in Escherichia coli had two tandem Met residues at its N terminus and was characterized by low thermostability and high tendency to aggregate. In contrast, co-expression of aglB and the 3'-terminal region of malG (the first construct) resulted in AglB with only one N-terminal Met residue and a much higher specific activity of cyclomaltodextrinase. Moreover, the enzyme expressed by such a construct was more thermostable and less prone to aggregation. The third construct was the same as the second one except that it contained only one ATG start codon. The product of its expression had kinetic and other properties similar to those of the enzyme with only one N-terminal Met residue.