Purification and characterization of D-xylose isomerase from Bifidobacterium adolescentis

D-Xylose isomerase was purified to homogeneity from cell-free extracts of Bifidobacterium adolescentis by ammonium sulfate fractionation and chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose and Butyl-Toyopearl. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 168,000 by gel filtration on TSKgel G-3000SW, and 53,000 on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The optimum pH was around 7 and the enzyme was stable at pH 7-8. The enzyme required bivalent cations, Mg2+, Co2+, or Mn2+ for the activity, particularly Mn2+ to be best. The enzyme had a pI of 4.3, and the Km for D-xylose was 4 mM. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the enzyme was not similar to those of D-xylose isomerases from other sources such as Clostridium thermosulfurogenes, Escherichia coli, or Bacillus subtilis.