• KSBB Journal
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.327-330
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• 2004

An inducible expression system of poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB) depolymerization was established in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli with the PHB biosynthesis genes. The Ralstonia eutropha PHB depolymerase gene was cloned in a vector system containing the PHB biosynthesis genes and expressed under inducible promoter. Recombinant E. coli harboring the PHB biosynthesis genes and depolymerase gene was first cultured for the accumulation of PHB, and then the depolymerase was expressed resulting in the degradation of accumulated PHB into (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid (R3HB). R3HB could be produced with the concentration of 7.6 g/L in flask culture. Two different PHB biosynthesis genes from Alcaligenes latus and R. eutropha were compared for the production of R3HB. This strategy can be used for the production of enantiomerically pure (R)-hydroxycarboxylic acids with high concentration.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.76-82
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• 2003

To prepare evolved PHB depolymerase with increased activity for PHB or P(3HB-co-3HV) compared to the activity of the original PHB depolymerase from Alcaligenes faecalis T1, random mutation of the cloned PHB depolymerase gene was performed by using a DNA shuffling method. A library of mutated PHB depolymerase genes from A. faecalis T1 was fused to the ice nucleation protein (INP) gene from Pseudomonas syringae in pJHCl 1 and approximately 7,000 transformants were isolated. Using M9 minimal medium containing PHB or P(3HB-co-3HV) as the carbon source, mutants showing alteration in PHB depolymerase activity were selected from the transformants. The PHB depolymease activity of the transformants was confirmed by the formation of halo around colony and the turbidity decrease tests using culture supermatants. The catalytic activity of PHB depolymerase of the best mutant II-4 for PHB or P(3HB-co-13 mol% 3HV) was approximately 1.8-fold and 3.2-fold, respectively, higher than that of the original PHB depolymerase. DNA sequence analysis revealed that three amino acid residues (Ala209Val, Leu258Phe, and Asp263Thr) were substituted in II-4. From the mutational analysis, it was presumed that the substitution of amino acids near catalytic triad to more hydrophobic amino acids enhance the catalytic activity of PHB depolymerase from A. faecalis T1.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.244-247
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• 2020

We have expressed extracellular poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) depolymerase of Ralstonia pickettii T1 on the Escherichia coli surface using Pseudomonas OprF protein as a fusion partner by C-terminal deletion-fusion strategy. Surface display of depolymerase was confirmed by flow cytometry, immunofluorescence microscopy and whole cell hydrolase activity. For the application, depolymerase was used as an immobilized catalyst of enantioselective hydrolysis reaction for the first time. After 48 h, (R)-methyl mandelate was completely hydrolyzed, and (S)-mandelic acid was produced with over 99% enantiomeric excess. Our findings suggest that surface displayed depolymerase on E. coli can be used as an enantioselective biocatalyst.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.604-609
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• 2019

To control pathogenic E. coli in biofilm, bacteriophages were isolated from environmental samples. Seventeen isolates had depolymerase activities by translucent zones at the rims of plaques. To determine biofilm-forming ability, an abiotic plastic surface of polystyrene was used; E. coli O103 showed the highest biofilm formation at 30℃ after 24 h. Moreover, biofilm by E. coli O103 on the biotic surface of lettuce was observed by a scanning electron microscope. The bacteriophage cocktail of ΦNOECP40 and ΦNOECP44 showing depolymerase activities was prepared to eliminate the E. coli inbiofilm. By organic acids, reduction of E. coli in biofilm was insignificant and almost undetectable. However, the abundance of E. coli in biofilm was reduced by 3 log CFU/mL from 7.3 log CFU/mL after 60 min with the bacteriophage cocktail. Therefore, we suggest that bacteriophages with depolymerase could be utilized to effectively control pathogenic E. coli in biofilm.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.872-876
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• 2004

The plant pathogen Erwinia pyrifoliae was infected with bacteriophage PEa1(h), which produced a translucent halo plaque when grown on a lawn of E. pyrifoliae. To investigate the function of an exopolysaccharide (EPS)-depolymerase in the growth of E. pyrifoliae, an EPS-depolymerase gene was synthesized using the PCR method and sequenced. The synthesized gene was then transferred to E. pyrifoliae. The transformed E. pyrifoliae did not produce any ooze, and its growth was inhibited. However, the EPS-depolymerase did not appear to induce cell death. Accordingly, the present results suggest that an EPS-depolymerase may be effective in inhibiting the cell growth or infection of the pathogen E. pyrifoliae.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.1935-1939
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• 2006

The gene encoding the extracellular medium-chain-length poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) (MCL-PHA) depolymerase of Pseudomonas luteola Ml3-4, $phaZ_{plu}$, was cloned and analyzed. It was found to be 849 bp, with a deduced protein of 282 amino acids, and was revealed to have a typical leader peptide at its N terminus. The amino acid sequence of $PhaZ_{plu}$ revealed relatively low identity (69 to 72%) with those of other Pseudomonas MCL-PHA depolymerases. In comparison with the amino acid sequences of all available MCL-PHA depolymerases, the depolymerase was found to consist of three domains in sequential order; signal peptide, an N-terminal substrate binding domain, and a catalytic domain, indicating that $PhaZ_{plu}$ belongs to the type IV depolymerases family. The enzyme also contained Asn as an oxyanion hole amino acid.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.371-377
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• 2007

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a family of microbial polyesters that can be produced by fermentation from renewable resources. PHAs can be used as completely biodegradable plastics or elastomers. In this paper, novel applications of PHAs in biosensor are described. A general platform technology was developed by using the substrate binding domain (SBD) of PHA depolymerase as a fusion partner to immobilize proteins of interest on PHA surface. It could be shown that the proteins fused to the SBD of PHA depolymerase could be specifically immobilized onto PHA film, PHA microbead, and microcontact printed PHA surface. We review the results obtained for monitoring the specific interaction between the SBO and PHA by using enhanced green fluorescent protein, red fluorescent protein, single chain antibody against hepatitis B virus preS2 surface protein and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus surface antigen as model proteins. Thus, this system can be efficiently used for studying protein-protein and possibly protein-biomolecule interactions for various biotechnological applications.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2002

An extracellular PHB depolymerase was purified from P. simplicissimum LAR13 cultural medium by Sepharose CL-6B chromatography. When the fungus was grown in a basal salt medium with poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) as the sole carbon source, PHB depolymerase production reached maximum at its stationary phase. The mycelial growth rate was higher at 37$^{\circ}C$ than at 30$^{\circ}C$ and even higher than at 25$^{\circ}C$, However, the enzyme production was lower at 37$^{\circ}C$ than 30$^{\circ}C$ or 25$^{\circ}C$. The isolated enzyme is composed of a single polypeptide chain with a molecular mass of about 36 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. The optimum conditions for the enzyme activity are pH 5.0 and 45$^{\circ}C$. The enzyme was stable for 30 min at a temperature lower than 50$^{\circ}C$, and stable at pH higher than 2.0 but it was unstable at pH 1.0.1 mM Fe$\^$2+/ reduced the enzyme activity by 56% and the enzyme was inhibited almost completely by 4 mM Fe$\^$2+/ . The enzyme was partially inhibited by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and was very sensitive to diazo-DL-norleucine methyl esters dithiothreitol and mercuric ion. However, N-p - tosyl - L - Iysinechloromethyl ketone, p -hydroxymercuricbenzoate and N- acetylimidazole had no influence upon its activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.732-737
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• 2015

We present here an in silico search of fungal sterol-esterase/lipase and bacterial depolymerase sequences from environmental metagenomes. Both enzyme types contain the α/β-hydrolase protein fold. Analysis of DNA conserved motifs, protein homology search, phylogenetic analysis, and protein 3D modeling have been used, and the efficiency of these screening strategies is discussed. The presence of bacterial genes in the metagenomes was higher than those from fungi, and the sequencing depth of the metagenomes seemed to be crucial to allow finding enough diversity of enzyme sequences. As a result, a novel putative PHA-depolymerase is described.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.285-294
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• 2005

A bacterial strain M4-7 capable of degrading various polyesters, such as poly$(\varepsilon-caprolactone)$, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate), poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate), and poly(3-hydroxy-5-phenylvalerate), was isolated from a marine environment and identified as Pseudomonas alcaligenes. The relative molecular mass of a purified extracellular medium-chain-length poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) (MCL-PHA) depolymerase $(PhaZ_{palM4-7})$ from P. alcaligenes M4-7 was 28.0 kDa, as determined by SDS-PAGE. The $PhaZ_{palM4-7}$ was most active in 50 mM glycine-NaOH buffer (pH 9.0) at $35^{\circ}C$. It was insensitive to dithiothreitol, sodium azide, and iodoacetamide, but susceptible to p-hydroxymercuribenzoic acid, N-bromosuccinimide, acetic anhydride, EDTA, diisopropyl fluorophosphate, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, Tween 80, and Triton X-100. In this study, the genes encoding MCL-PHA depolymerase were cloned, sequenced, and characterized from a soil bacterium, P. alcaligenes LB19 (Kim et al., 2002, Biomacro-molecules 3, 291-296) as well as P. alcaligenes M4-7. The structural gene $(phaZ_{palLB19})$ of MCL-PHA depolymerase of P. alcaligenes LB19 consisted of an 837 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a protein of 278 amino acids with a deduced $M_r$ of 30,188 Da. However, the MCL-PHA depolymerase gene $(phaZ_{palM4-7})$ of P. alcaligenes M4-7 was composed of an 834 bp ORF encoding a protein of 277 amino acids with a deduced Mr of 30,323 Da. Amino acid sequence analyses showed that, in the two different polypeptides, a substrate-binding domain and a catalytic domain are located in the N-terminus and in the C-terminus, respectively. The $PhaZ_{palLB19}$ and the $PhaZ_{palM4-7}$ commonly share the lipase box, GISSG, in their catalytic domains, and utilize $^{111}Asn$ and $^{110}Ser$ residues, respectively, as oxyanions that play an important role in transition-state stabilization of hydrolytic reactions.