Screening for bacteria producing sucrose phosphorylase and characterization of the enzymes

Two microbial strains, No. 165 and No. 168, were isolated from soil as sucrose phosphorylase producers and identified as Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides and subsp. dextranicum, respectively. The sucrose phosphorylases were purified, characterized, and compared with the enzymes of L. mesenteroides AKU1102 and ATCC12291. As for the catalytic properties, these enzymes were close to each other, while as for the enzyme molecules, the No. 165 enzyme (Mr: 58,000) was slightly different from the other (Mr: 54,000), though their N-terminal amino acid sequences were almost the same.