Cloning and expression of an amylase gene from Bacillus stearothermophilus

In the industrial process of liquefying starch to make glucose or high fructose syrups, it is crucial that the amylase used is stable and active at about 105 degrees C at pH 6.5 or preferentially at a lower pH. The amylase from Bacillus licheniformis is well suited for this purpose but it is possible that other amylases might perform even better. Therefore, we cloned and characterized amyS encoding a heat-stable alpha-amylase from Bacillus stearothermophilus. Using a newly developed method for creating exact gene fusions by in vivo recombination, we attempted to increase expression of amyS in Bacillus subtilis. However, only by introducing the amyS gene into B. licheniformis, we obtained significantly better yields.