• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.329-336
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• 2021

Cellulophga sp. J9-3, is a gram-negative, aerobic marine bacterium belonging to the family Flavobacteriaceae. In addition to cellulose degradability, the J9-3 strain is also capable of hydrolyzing agar in the solid and liquid medium, and the production of agarase in the presence of agarose can be remarkably induced by the bacterium. From the cell culture broth of Cellulophga sp. J9-3, ammonium sulfate precipitation and three kinds of column chromatography were successively performed to purify a specific agarase protein, the AgaJ93. Purified AgaJ93 showed the strongest hydrolyzing activity towards agarose (approximately 22%), and even displayed activity towards starch. AgaJ93 hydrolyzed agarose into neoagarotetraose and neoagarohexaose via various oligosaccharide intermediates, indicating that AgaJ93 is an endo-type β-agarase. AgaJ93 showed maximum activity at a pH of 7.0 and temperature of 35 ℃. Its activity increased by more than six times in the presence of Co²⁺ ions. The N-terminal sequence of AgaJ93 showed 82% homology with the heat-resistant endo-type β-agarase Aga2 of Cellulophaga sp. W5C. However, the biochemical properties of the two enzymes were different. Therefore, AgaJ93 is expected to be a novel agarose, different from the previously reported β-agarases.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.32 no.10
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• pp.778-783
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• 2022

This study isolated a new agarase-producing bacterium and characterized its agarase. A new agar-degrading strain was isolated from the seashore of Namhae in Gyeongnam province, Korea, and was purely cultured using the Marine Agar 2216 media. The isolated bacterium was identified as Simiduia sp. SH-2 after 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The crude agarase was obtained from the culture medium of the Simiduia sp. SH-2 strain, and the agar-degrading activity was measured. The highest level of activity of the Simiduia sp. SH-2-derived agar-degrading enzyme was 625 U/l. Agar degradation activity was most significant at 40℃ and pH 7.0. Compared to the activity at 40℃, the relative activity was 31% at 20℃ and 71% at 30℃. Compared to the activity at pH 7.0, the relative activity was 94% and 89% at pH 6.0 and pH 8.0, respectively. Residual activity was greater than 96% after exposure to 20℃ and 30℃ for 2 hr and more than 49% after exposure to 40℃ for 2 hr. Simiduia sp. SH-2 was identified as a strain producing β-agarase that creates neoagarooligosaccharides, such as neoagarotetraose and neoagarohexaose. Therefore, the Simiduia sp. SH-2 strain and its β-agarase are expected to be useful functional material producers in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.552-556
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• 2011

A novel agar-degrading bacterium mbrc-1 was isolated from seashore of Kyungpo at Gangwon province and cultured in marine broth 2216 medium. Isolated bacterium mbrc-1 was named as Flammeovirga sp. mbrc-1 based on the 16S rDNA sequence. Its agarase showed maximum activity of 923 units/L at pH 7.0 and $45^{\circ}C$ and sustained 90% remaining activity after exposed to $45^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours. The enzyme hydrolyzed agarose to yield neoagarohexaose (18.5%), neoagarotetraose (38%) and neoagarobiose (43.5%), indicating that the enzyme is ${\beta}$-agarase. Thus, isolated bacterium and its ${\beta}$-agarase would be useful for the industrial production of neoagarotetraose and neoagarobiose.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.36-48
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• 2010

An agar-degrading Agarivorans sp. AG17 strain was isolated from the red seaweed Grateloupia filicina collected from Jeju Island. A beta-agarase gene from Agarivorans sp. AG17 was cloned and designated as agrA. agrA has a 2,985 bp coding region encoding 995 amino acids and was classified into the glycoside hydrolase family (GHF)-50. Predicted molecular mass of the mature protein was 105 kDa. His-tagged agrA was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified as a fusion protein. The enzyme showed 158.8 unit/mg specific activity (optimum temperature at $65^{\circ}C$ and pH 5.5 in acetate buffer) with unique biochemical properties (high thermal and pH stabilities). Enzyme produced neoagarohexaose, neoagarotetraose and neoagarobiose by degrading agar, and hydrolyzed neoagaro-oligosaccharides were biologically active. Hence the purified enzyme has potential for use in industrial applications such as the development of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1197-1200
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• 2009

The whitening effect, tyrosinase inhibition, and cytotoxicity of neoagarotetraose were measured after its purification from hydrolyzed agar by gel filtration chromatography. In melanoma B16F10 cells, the melanin content of neoagarotetraose-treated cells was the same as that treated by kojic acid or arbutin. In addition, tyrosinase of melanoma cells was strongly inhibited by neoagarotetraose at a concentration of $1{\mu}g/ml$ and similarly inhibited at 10 and $100{\mu}g/ml$ compared with those by arbutin or kojic acid. The activity of mushroom tyrosinase showed a 38% inhibition by neoagarotetraose at $1{\mu}g/ml$, and this inhibitory effect was more efficient than that by kojic acid. Neoagarotetraose revealed a similar $IC_{50}$ (50% inhibition concentration) value for mushroom tyrosinase as that by kojic acid. These data suggest that the neoagarotetraose generated from agar by recombinant $\beta$-agarase might be a good candidate as a cosmetic additive for the whitening effect.

• 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.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.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.58-62
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• 2008

A novel agar-degrading bacterium SL-12 was isolated from seashore of Kijang at Busan, Korea, and cultured in marine broth 2216 media. Isolated bacterium SL-12 was identified as Glaciecola genus by 16S rDNA sequencing with 98% identity. The optimum pH of the enzyme activity was 7.0 and the optimum temperature for the reaction was $30^{\circ}C$. The enzyme hydrolyzed neoagarohexaose to yield neoagarobiose as the main product, indicating that the enzyme is ${\beta}$-agarase. Thus, isolated bacterium and the enzyme would be useful for the industrial production of neoagarobiose.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.17 no.1 s.81
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• pp.70-75
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• 2007

A novel agar-degrading bacterium SL-5 was isolated from seashore of Homigot at Kyung-Buk province, and cultured in marine broth 2216 media. The bacterium SL-5 was identified as Thalassomonas genus by 16S rDNA sequencing with 96% identity. Growth rate was faster at $27^{\circ}C$ than at $37^{\circ}C$ and agarase was produced as growth-related. The optimum pH of the enzyme activity was 7.0 and the optimum temperature for the reaction was $40^{\circ}C$. Although the enzyme had no thermostability, the enzyme activity was remained over 80% at $60^{\circ}C$. The enzyme hydrolyzed neoagarohexaose to yield neoagarobiose as the main product, indicating that the enzyme is $\beta-agarase$. Thus, the enzyme would be useful for the industrial production of neoagarobiose.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.913-922
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• 2013

An agar-degrading bacterium was isolated from red seaweed (Gelidium amansii) on a natural seawater agar plate, and identified as Saccharophagus sp. AG21. The ${\beta}$-agarase gene from Saccharophagus sp. AG21 (agy1) was screened by long and accurate (LA)-PCR. The predicted sequence has a 1,908 bp open reading frame encoding 636 amino acids (aa), and includes a glycosyl hydrolase family 16 (GH16) ${\beta}$-agarase module and two carbohydrate binding modules of family 6 (CBM6). The deduced aa sequence showed 93.7% and 84.9% similarity to ${\beta}$-agarase of Saccharophagus degradans and Microbulbifer agarilyticus, respectively. The mature agy1 was cloned and overexpressed as a His-tagged recombinant ${\beta}$-agarase (rAgy1) in Escherichia coli, and had a predicted molecular mass of 69 kDa and an isoelectric point of 4.5. rAgy1 showed optimum activity at $55^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.6, and had a specific activity of 85 U/mg. The rAgy1 activity was enhanced by $FeSO_4$ (40%), KCl (34%), and NaCl (34%), compared with the control. The newly identified rAgy1 is a ${\beta}$-agarase, which acts to degrade agarose to neoagarotetraose (NA4) and neoagarohexaose (NA6) and may be useful for applications in the cosmetics, food, bioethanol, and reagent industries.