Microbial β-Galactosidase of Pediococcus pentosaceus ID-7: Isolation, Cloning, and Molecular Characterization

Pediococcus pentosaceus ID-7 was isolated from kimchi, a Korean fermented food, and it showed high activity for lactose hydrolysis. The β-galactosidase of P. pentosaceus ID-7 belongs to the GH2 group, which is composed of two distinct proteins. The heterodimeric LacLM type of β-galactosidase found in P. pentosaceus ID-7 consists of two genes partially overlapped, lacL and lacM encoding LacL (72.2 kDa) and LacM (35.4 kDa). In this study, Escherichia coli MM294 was used for the production of LacL, LacM, and LacLM. These three types of recombinant proteins were expressed, purified, and characterized. The specific activities of LacLM and LacL were 339 and 31 U/mg, respectively. However, activity was not detected with LacM alone. The optimal pH of LacLM and LacL was pH 7.5 and pH 7.0, and the optimal temperature of LacLM and LacL was 40°C and 50°C, respectively. The optimal temperature changes indicate that LacLM is able to achieve higher activity at a relatively lower temperature. LacLM was strongly activated by Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Zn²⁺, which was not true for LacL. Consistent with this, EDTA strongly inactivated LacLM and LacL, but the presence of reducing agents did not dramatically alter the activity. Taken together, multiple alignment of amino acid sequences and phylogenetic analysis results of LacL and LacM of P. pentosaceus ID-7 suggest the evolution of LacL into LacLM and that the use of divalent metal ions results in higher activity.