Screening and Identification of a Streptomyces platensis YK-2, a New Transglutaminase Producer

A bacterial strain, YK-2, was isolated as a producer of trans glutaminase from a forest soil sample of Daegu, Korea. The isolate showed a G+C content of 72.7 mol%, contained meso-$A_2pm$ as the cell-wall amino acid, and possessed menaquinone MK-9 ($H_6$) and menaquinone MK-9 ($H_8$) at a ratio of 6:4. The chemotaxonomic analysis, as well as phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rDNA sequence, identified the isolate as a member of Streptomyces platensis. For transglutaminase production, the optimum medium composition was determined to be 2% glucose, 1% polypeptone, 1% soy tone, and 0.1% $MnCl_2$. The transglutaminase was stable within the pH range of 5.0-9.0 and $30-45^{\circ}C$, and the optimum pH and temperature were pH 8.0 and $45^{\circ}C$, respectively, without any requirement for $Ca^{2+}$.