Isolation of poly-alpha-L-guluronate lyase from Klebsiella aerogenes

The bacterium Klebsiella aerogenes type 25 produces an extracellular alginolyase which has been partly purified. The enzyme is specific for the alpha-L-guluronosyl linkages in whole alginate and fractions therefrom. The end products of its action on polyguluronic acid blocks are mainly the unsaturated di- and tri-saccharides, with a smaller proportion of the homologous tetrasaccharide. Some general properties of the enzyme are reported.