Cloning and characterization of a beta-galactosidase encoding region in Lactobacillus coryniformis CECT 5711

A chromosomal DNA fragment of 7.8 kb from Lactobacillus coryniformis CECT 5711 was cloned in Escherichia coli K-12 and was found to express a functional beta-galactosidase. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that this fragment contained two partially overlapping genes, the lacL (1,881 bp) and the lacM (960 bp), that encode the subunits of a heterodimeric beta-galactosidase, with estimated molecular masses of 72,129 and 35,233 Da, respectively. Other three incomplete open reading frames showing homology to another beta-galactosidase, an alpha-galactosidase, and a galactokinase, respectively, were also found. The L. coryniformis beta-galactosidase was overproduced in E. coli by using an isopropyl-beta-D: -thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) expression system. Two new proteins with an estimated M (r) s of approximately 72,000 and 35,000 appeared upon induction with IPTG, and extracts of the recombinant E. coli strain showed beta-galactosidase activity.