• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2010

The gene encoding $\beta$-agarase (agaB) which hydrolyzes $\beta$-1,4 linkages of agarose from Zobellia galactanivorans was cloned and fused to Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating factor alpha-1 secretion signal ($MF{\alpha}1$), in which the transcription of $MF{\alpha}1$-AgaB was under the control of AOX1 (alcohol oxidase 1, methanol inducible) promoter. The constructed plasmid pPIC-AgaB (9 kb) was integrated into HIS4 gene locus of Pichia pastoris genome. Successful integration was confirmed by performing colony PCR. The transformed cells showed red halos around its colonies in methanol agar plate by adding iodine solution, indicating the active expression of agaB in P.pastoris. By SDS-PAGE and zymographic analysis, the molecular weight of $\beta$-agarase was estimated to be a 53 kDa and about 15% N-linked glycosylation was occurred. The activity of extracellular $\beta$-agarase reached 1.34, 1.42 and 1.53 units/mL by inducing 0.1, 0.5, and 1% methanol, respectively, at baffled flask culture of P.pastoris GS115/pPIC-AgaB for 48 hr. Most of the enzyme activity was found in the extacellular fraction and the secretion efficiency showed 98%. Thermostability of recombinant $\beta$-agarase was also increased by glycosylation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.235-243
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• 2019

A special eosinophilic agarase exo-type ${\beta}$-agarase gene, AgaDL6, was cloned from a marine agar-degrading bacterium, Flammeovirga sp. HQM9. The gene comprised 1,383-bp nucleotides encoding a putative agarase AgaDL6 of 461 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 52.8 kDa. Sequence analysis revealed a ${\beta}$-agarase domain that belongs to the glycoside hydrolase family (GH) 16 and a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM_4_9) unique to agarases. AgaDL6 was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Enzyme activity analysis of the purified protein showed that the optimal temperature and pH of AgaDL6 were $50^{\circ}C$ and 3.0, respectively. AgaDL6 showed thermal stability by retaining more than 98% of activity after incubation for 2 h at $50^{\circ}C$, a feature quite different from other agarases. AgaDL6 also exhibited outstanding acid stability, retaining 100% of activity after incubation for 24 h at pH 2.0 to 5.0, a property distinct from other agarases. This is the first agarase characterized to have such high acid stability. In addition, we observed no obvious stimulation or inhibition of AgaDL6 in the presence of various metal ions and denaturants. AgaDL6 is an exo-type ${\beta}$-1,4 agarase that cleaved agarose into neoagarotetraose and neoagarohexaose as the final products. These characteristics make AgaDL6 a potentially valuable enzyme in the cosmetic, food, and pharmaceutical industries.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.284-292
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• 2018

A novel ${\beta}$-agarase, AgaJ5, was identified from an agar-degrading marine bacterium, Gayadomonas joobiniege G7. It belongs to the glycoside hydrolase family 86 and is composed of 805 amino acids with a 30-amino-acid signal peptide. Zymogram analysis showed that purified AgaJ5 has agarase activity. The optimum temperature and pH for AgaJ5 activity were determined to be $30^{\circ}C$ and 4.5, respectively. AgaJ5 was an acidic ${\beta}$-agarase that had strong activity at a narrow pH range of 4.5-5.5, and was a cold-adapted enzyme, retaining 40% of enzymatic activity at $10^{\circ}C$. AgaJ5 required monovalent ions such as $Na^+$ and $K^+$ for its maximum activity, but its activity was severely inhibited by several metal ions. The $K_m$ and $V_{max}$ of AgaJ5 for agarose were 8.9 mg/ml and 188.6 U/mg, respectively. Notably, thin-layer chromatography, mass spectrometry, and agarose-liquefication analyses revealed that AgaJ5 was an endo-type ${\beta}$-agarase producing neoagarohexaose as the final main product of agarose hydrolysis. Therefore, these results suggest that AgaJ5 from G. joobiniege G7 is a novel endo-type neoagarohexaose-producing ${\beta}$-agarase having specific biochemical features that may be useful for industrial applications.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.257-264
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• 2009

A $\beta$-agarase gene, agaB34, was functionally cloned from the genomic DNA of a marine bacterium, Agarivorans albus YKW-34. The open reading frame of agaB34 consisted of 1,362 bp encoding 453 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence, consisting of a typical N-terminal signal peptide followed by a catalytic domain of glycoside hydrolase family 16 (GH-16) and a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM), showed 37-86% identity to those of agarases belonging to family GH-16. The recombinant enzyme (rAgaB34) with a molecular mass of 49 kDa was produced extracellularly using Escherichia coli $DH5{\alpha}$ as a host. The purified rAgaB34 was a $\beta$-agarase yielding neoagarotetraose (NA4) as the main product. It acted on neoagarohexaose to produce NA4 and neoagarobiose, but it could not further degrade NA4. The maximal activity of rAgaB34 was observed at $30^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.0. It was stable over pH 5.0-9.0 and at temperatures up to $50^{\circ}C$. Its specific activity and $k_{cat}/K_m$ value for agarose were 242 U/mg and $1.7{\times}10^6/sM$, respectively. The activity of rAgaB34 was not affected by metal ions commonly existing in seawater. It was resistant to chelating reagents (EDTA, EGTA), reducing reagents (DTT, $\beta$-mercaptoethanol), and denaturing reagents (SDS and urea). The E. coli cell harboring the pUC18-derived agarase expression vector was able to efficiently excrete agarase into the culture medium. Hence, this expression system might be used to express secretory proteins.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1116-1122
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• 2011

In this study, site-directed mutagenesis was performed on the ${\beta}$-agarase AgaA gene from Zobellia galactanivorans to improve its catalytic activity and thermostability. The activities of three mutant enzymes, S63K, C253I, and S63K-C253I, were 126% (1,757.78 U/mg), 2.4% (33.47 U/mg), and 0.57% (8.01 U/mg), respectively, relative to the wild-type ${\beta}$-agarase AgaA (1,392.61 U/mg) at $40^{\circ}C$. The stability of the mutant S63K enzyme was 125% of the wild-type up to $45^{\circ}C$, where agar is in a sol state. The mutant S63K enzyme produced 166%, 257%, and 220% more neoagarohexaose, and 230%, 427%, and 350% more neoagarotetraose than the wild-type in sol, gel, and nonmelted powder agar, respectively, at $45^{\circ}C$ over 24 h. The mutant S63K enzyme produced 50% more neoagarooligosaccharides from agar than the wild-type ${\beta}$-agarase AgaA from agarose under the same conditions. Thus, mutant S63K ${\beta}$-agarase AgaA may be useful for the production of functional neoagarooligosaccharides.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.31-32
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• 2005

Neoagaro-oligosaccharides are produced only by enzymatic degradation of agarose by ${\beta}-agarase.^{1)}$ Neoagaro-oligosaccharides inhibit the growth of bacteria, slow the rate of degradation of starch, are used as low-calorie additives to improve food quality, and have macrophage-stimulating activity. Furthermore, neoagarobiose is a rare reagent that has both moisturizing effect on skin and whitening effect on melanoma $cells.^{2)}$ An agar-degrading marine bacterium was isolated from the sea water at the northeast coast in Cheju island, Korea. The strain was gram negative, aerobic, and motile rod. The 16S rRNA of the strain had the closest match of 98% homology, with that from Agarivorans albus. On the basis of several phenotypic characters and a phylogenetic analysis, this strain was designated Agarivorans sp. JA-1. In solid agar plate, Agarivorans sp. JA-1 produced a diffusible agarase that caused agar softening around the colonies. Agarivorans sp. JA-1 was cultured for 36 hr in marine broth 2216 (Difco, USA) and the supernatant that containing an extracellular ${\beta}-agarase$ was prepared by centrifugation of culture media. The enzyme exhibited relatively strong activity at $40^{\circ}C$ and was stable up to $60^{\circ}C$. Using PCR primers derived from the ${\beta}-agarase$ gene of Vibrio sp., the gene encoding ${\beta}-agarase$ from Agarivorans sp. JA-1 was cloned and sequenced. The structural gene consists of 2931 bp encoding 976 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 107,360 Da. The deduced amino acid sequence showed 99% and 34% homology to $agaA^{2)}$ and $agaB^{2)}$ genes for ${\beta}-agarase$ from Vibrio sp., respectively. The expression plasmid for ${\beta}-agarase$ gene of Agarivorans sp. JA-1 is being constructed and the recombinant enzyme will be biochemically characterized.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1237-1244
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• 2012

Agarase genes of non-marine agarolytic bacterium Cellvibrio sp. were cloned into Escherichia coli and one of the genes obtained using HindIII was sequenced. From nucleotide and putative amino acid sequences (713 aa, molecular mass; 78,771 Da) of the gene, designated as agarase AgaA, the gene was found to have closest homology to the Saccharophagus degradans (formerly, Microbulbifer degradans) 2-40 aga86 gene, belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 86 (GH86). The putative protein appears to be a non-secreted protein because of the absence of a signal sequence. The recombinant protein was purified with anion exchange and gel filtration columns after ammonium sulfate precipitation and the molecular mass (79 kDa) determined by SDS-PAGE and subsequent enzymography agreed with the estimated value, suggesting that the enzyme is monomeric. The optimal pH and temperature for enzymatic hydrolysis of agarose were 6.5 and $42.5^{\circ}C$, and the enzyme was stable under $40^{\circ}C$. LC-MS and NMR analyses revealed production of a neoagarobiose and a neoagarotetraose with a small amount of a neoagarohexaose during hydrolysis of agarose, indicating that the enzyme is a ${\beta}$-agarase.