No abstract

Enzymes that convert starch and dextrins to alpha,alpha-trehalose and glucose were found in cell homogenates of the hyperthermophilic acidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus shibatae DMS 5389. Three enzymes were purified and characterized. The first, the S. shibatae trehalosyl dextrin-forming enzyme (SsTDFE), transformed starch and dextrins to the corresponding trehalosyl derivatives with an intramolecular transglycosylation process that converted the glucosidic linkage at the reducing end from alpha-1,4 to alpha-1,1. The second, the S. shibatae trehalose-forming enzyme (SsTFE), hydrolyzed the alpha-1,4 linkage adjacent to the alpha-1,1 bond of trehalosyl dextrins, forming trehalose and lower molecular weight dextrins. These two enzymes had molecular masses of 80 kDa and 65 kDa, respectively, and showed the highest activities at pH 4.5. The apparent optimal temperature for activity was 70 degrees C for SsTDFE and 85 degrees C for SsTFE. The third enzyme identified was an alpha-glycosidase (Ss alpha Gly), which catalyzed the hydrolysis of the alpha-1,4 glucosidic linkages in starch and dextrins, releasing glucose in a stepwise manner from the nonreducing end of the polysaccharide chain. The enzyme had a molecular mass of 313 kDa and showed the highest activity at pH 5.5 and at 85 degrees C.

A novel technique is proposed to achieve higher cell yield in extremophile fermentation. Because the accumulation of toxic compounds is thought to be responsible for low biomass yields, a bioreactor has been designed based on a microfiltration hollow-fiber module located inside the traditional fermentation vessel. Using the cultivation of the thermoacidophilic archeon Sulfolobus solfataricus theta as a model, a biomass of 35gl(-1) dry weight was obtained which proved greater than that of 2gl(-1) obtained in batch fermentation. The bioreactor was characterized by running several fermentation experiments to check the high stability of the membrane module to sterilization cycles, high temperatures, and acidic pHs, even for prolonged periods of time. It was shown that the exhaust medium is unable to sustain growth for the presence of toxic compounds, and ultrafiltration and ion-exchange techniques were used in all the attempts to regenerate it. The results demonstrated the ability of the method to lower inhibitor concentrations and prolong the growth phase, thus achieving high cell density. Furthermore, they indicated that the toxic compounds are ionic species of less than 1kDa.

A microfiltration (MF) membrane bioreactor was developed for an efficient production of a recombinant thermostable α‐glucosidase (rSsGA) from Sulfolobus solfataricus MT‐4. The aim of the membrane bioreactor was to improve the control of the concentration of key components in the growth of genetic engineered microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli. The influence of medium composition was studied in relation to cell growth and α‐glucosidase production. The addition of components such as yeast extract and tryptone resulted in a higher enzyme production. High cell density cultivation of E. coli BL21(DE3) on semidefined medium, exploiting a microfiltration bioreactor, was studied in order to optimize rSsGA production. In addition to medium composition, the inducer employed (either isopropyl β‐D‐thiogalactopyranoside or lactose), the induction duration, and the cultivation mode influenced both the final biomass and the enzyme yield. The MF bioreactor allowed a cell concentration of 50 g/L dry weight and a corresponding α‐glucosidase production of 11,500 U/L. The improvement obtained in the enzyme production combining genetic engineering and the microfiltration strategy was estimated to be 2,000‐fold the wild‐type strain. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 70: 670–676, 2000.