β-D-galactofuranose (Galf) is a component of polysaccharides and glycoconjugates and its transferase has been well analyzed. However, no β-D-galactofuranosidase (Galf-ase) gene has been identified in any organism. To search for a Galf-ase gene we screened soil samples and discovered a strain, identified as a Streptomyces species by the 16S ribosomal RNA gene analysis, that exhibits Galf-ase activity for 4-nitrophenyl β-D-galactofuranoside (pNP-β-D-Galf) in culture supernatants. By draft genome sequencing of the strain, named JHA19, we found four candidate genes encoding Galf-ases. Using recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli, we found that three out of four candidates displayed the activity of not only Galf-ase but also α-L-arabinofuranosidase (Araf-ase), whereas the other one showed only the Galf-ase activity. This novel Galf-specific hydrolase is encoded by ORF1110 and has an optimum pH of 5.5 and a Km of 4.4 mM for the substrate pNP-β-D-Galf. In addition, this enzyme was able to release galactose residue from galactomannan prepared from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, suggesting that natural polysaccharides could be also substrates. By the BLAST search using the amino acid sequence of ORF1110 Galf-ase, we found that there are homolog genes in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, indicating that Galf-specific Galf-ases widely exist in microorganisms.
β-
D-半乳糖呋喃糖(Galf)是
多糖和糖共轭物的一种成分,其转移酶已被充分分析。然而,目前尚未在任何
生物体中发现β-
D-半乳糖呋喃糖苷酶(Galf-ase)
基因。为了寻找半乳
呋喃糖苷酶
基因,我们对土壤样本进行了筛选,发现了一株通过 16S
核糖体 RNA
基因分析确定为链霉菌的菌株,该菌株在培养上清液中对 4-
硝基苯基 β-
D-半乳
呋喃糖苷(pNP-β-D-Galf)具有半乳
呋喃糖苷酶活性。通过对这株名为 JHA19 的菌株进行
基因组测序,我们发现了四个编码 Galf 酶的候选
基因。通过在大肠杆菌中表达
重组蛋白,我们发现四个候选
基因中有三个不仅具有 Galf-酶的活性,而且还具有 α-L-阿拉伯
呋喃糖苷酶(Araf-ase)的活性,而另一个则只具有 Galf-酶的活性。这种新型的 Galf 特异性
水解酶由 ORF1110 编码,对底物 pNP-β-D-Galf 的最适 pH 值为 5.5,Km 为 4.4 mM。此外,这种酶还能从丝状真菌曲霉制备的
半乳甘露聚糖中释放半
乳糖残基,这表明天然
多糖也可以是底物。通过对ORF1110半
乳糖酶的
氨基酸序列进行B
LAST检索,我们发现原核
生物和真核
生物中都存在同源
基因,这表明微
生物中广泛存在半
乳糖特异性半
乳糖酶。