Production and characterization of L-fucose dehydrogenase from newly isolated Acinetobacter sp. strain SA-134

Microorganisms producing L-fucose dehydrogenase were screened from soil samples, and one of the isolated bacterial strains SA-134 was identified as Acinetobacter sp. by 16S rDNA gene analysis. The strain grew well utilizing L-fucose as a sole source of carbon, but all other monosaccharides tested such as D-glucose and D-arabinose did not support the growth of the strain in the absence of L-fucose. D-Arabinose inhibited the growth even in the culture medium containing L-fucose. Although the strain grew on some organic acids and amino acids such as citric acid and L-alanine as sole sources of carbon, the enzyme was produced only in the presence of L-fucose. The fucose dehydrogenase was purified to apparently homogeneity from the strain, and the native enzyme was a monomer of 25 kD. L-Fucose and D-arabinose were good substrates for the enzyme, but L-galactose was a poor substrate. The enzyme acted on both NAD(+) and NADP(+) in the similar manner.