• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.345-350
• /
• 2007

Phosphosugars are found in all living organisms and are commercially valuable compounds with possible applications in the development of a wide range of specialty chemicals and medicines. In carbohydrate metabolism, fructose 6-phosphate (F6P) is an essential intermediate formed by phosphorylation of 6' position of fructose in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate pathway and Calvin cycle. In glycolysis, F6P lies within the glycolysis metabolic pathway and is produced by isomerisation of glucose 6-phosphate. For large-scale production, F6P could be produced from starch using many enzymes such as pullulanase, starch phosphorylase, isomerase and mutase. In enzymatic reactions carried out at high temperatures, the solubility of starch is increased and microbial contamination is minimized. Thus, thermophile-derived enzymes are preferred over mesophile-derived enzymes for industrial applications using starch. Recently, we reported the production of glucose 1-phosphate (G1P) from starch by Thermus caldophilus GK24 enzymes. Here we report the production of F6P from starch through three steps; from starch to glucose 1-phosphate (glucan phosphorylase, GP), then glucose 6-phosphate (phosphoglucomutase, GM) and then F6P (phosphoglucoisomerase, GI). Using 200 L of 1.2% soluble starch solution in potassium phosphate buffer, 1,253 g of G1P were produced. Then, 30% yields of F6P were attained at the optimum reaction conditions of GM : G1 (1 : 2.3), 63.5$^{\circ}C$, and pH 6.85. The optimum conditions were found by response surface methodology and the theoretical values were confirmed by the experiments. The optimum starch concentrations were 20 g/L under the given conditions.