Molecular characterization of a dimeric intracellular maltogenic amylase of Bacillus subtilis SUH4-2

An additional amylase besides the typical alpha-amylase was detected in the cytoplasm of Bacillus subtilis SUH4-2, an isolate from Korean soil. The corresponding gene encoded a maltogenic amylase, which hydrolyzed cyclodextrin or starch to maltose and glucose; pullulan to panose; acarbose to glucose and acarviosine-glucose. Maltogenic amylase of B. subtilis SUH4-2 transferred sugar molecules to form various branched oligosaccharides upon the hydrolysis of substrates. The enzyme existed in a monomer-dimer equilibrium with a molar ratio of 3:2 in 50 mM KH(2)PO(4)-NaOH buffer (pH 7.0). The maltogenic amylase is most likely to be associated with carbohydrate metabolism in the cytoplasm, since the nucleotide sequence of the gene was highly homologous to the yvdF gene of B. subtilis 168, which is located in a gene cluster involved in maltose/maltodextrin utilization.