Purification and characterization of alpha-L-fucosidases from Streptomyces sp. OH11242

Y Goso1, K Ishihara, S Sugawara

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Sagamihara, Japan. goso@kitasato-u.ac.jp

Insights

Streptomyces sp. OH11242 produces two alpha-L-fucosidase enzymes, Fase-I and Fase-II, that cleave fucose residues from porcine gastric mucin (PGM) and synthetic substrates with distinct specificities, aiding in understanding PGM oligosaccharide roles.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Enzymology
  • Glycobiology

Background:

  • Porcine gastric mucin (PGM) contains complex fucosylated oligosaccharides.
  • Alpha-L-fucosidases are enzymes that hydrolyze alpha-L-fucose residues.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To isolate and characterize alpha-L-fucosidases from Streptomyces sp. OH11242.
  • To investigate the substrate specificity of these enzymes for understanding fucose-oligosaccharide roles in PGM.

Main Methods:

  • Cultivation of Streptomyces sp. OH11242 with PGM as the sole carbon source.
  • Enzyme purification using ammonium sulfate precipitation and multiple chromatography techniques (Sepharose CL-4B, hydroxyapatite, Resource Q, Mono Q).
  • Enzyme activity assays using PGM and p-nitrophenyl alpha-L-fucoside (Fucalpha-O-PNP) as substrates.

Main Results:

  • Two distinct alpha-L-fucosidase fractions, Fase-I and Fase-II, were purified.
  • Fase-I hydrolyzed fucose from PGM oligosaccharides, specifically targeting alpha1-2 linkages.
  • Fase-II was further separated into Fase-IIa and Fase-IIb, with Fase-IIb hydrolyzing alpha1-3 and alpha1-4 linkages from Fucalpha-O-PNP.

Conclusions:

  • Streptomyces sp. OH11242 secretes alpha-L-fucosidases with differential substrate specificities.
  • These enzymes, particularly Fase-I and Fase-IIb, can cleave specific fucosidic linkages found in PGM.
  • The characterized fucosidases offer valuable tools for elucidating the physiological functions of fucose-containing oligosaccharides in gastric mucins.