Four tandem subtilisin-like protease genes were found on a 6,854-bp DNA fragment cloned from the alkalophilic Bacillus sp. strain LG12. The two downstream genes (sprC and sprD) appear to be transcribed independently, while the two upstream genes (sprA and sprB) seem to be part of the same transcript.

Three strains of alkalophilic bacteria, Bacillus sp. NT-39, NT-53 and NT-76, were selected for the degumming of ramie fibers and production of polysaccharide-degrading enzymes. After 48 h of incubation with the strains, the loss of the gum might amount to 5.0% or more of the fibers and a number of polysaccharide-degrading enzymes were secreted to the culture supernatants. The residual gum of th...

Preparation and crystallization G6-amylase from alkalophilic Bacillus sp.707 was expressed by Bacillus subtilis 207-25. The enzyme was crystallized by the hanging drop vapor diffusion method using the reservoir solution containing 50% (v/v) 2methylpentane-2, 4-diol, 100 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.5) and 200 mM ammonium phosphate. Calcium chloride and sodium chloride were added to final 1 mM in the drop ...

Alkalophilic Bacillus sp. strain NG-27 produces a 42-kDa endoxylanase active at 70 degrees C and at a pH of 8.4. The gene for this endoxylanase was cloned and sequenced. The gene contained one open reading frame of 1,215 bases. An active site characteristic of the family 10 beta-glycanases was recognized between amino acids 303 and 313, with the active glutamate at position 310. Though highly t...

Endo-beta-1,4-xylanases of the family 11 glycosyl-hydrolases are catalytically active over a wide range of pH. Xyl1 from Streptomyces sp. S38 belongs to this family, and its optimum pH for enzymatic activity is 6. Xyn11 from Bacillus agaradhaerens and XylJ from Bacillus sp. 41M-1 share 85% sequence identity and have been described as highly alkalophilic enzymes. In an attempt to better understa...

Activity of a Na+/H+ antiporter has been suggested to be critically involved in pH homeostasis in obligately alkalophilic bacteria (Krulwich, K. A., Mandel, K. G., Bornstein, R. F., and Guffanti, A. A. (1979) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 91, 58-62) and in Escherichia coli (Zilberstein, D., Padan, E., and Schuldiner, S. (1980) FEBS Lett. 116, 177-180). A concern with respect to these proposals...