MOLECULAR-PROPERTIES AND ACTIVITY OF A CARBOXYL-TERMINAL TRUNCATED FORM OF XYLANASE-3 FROM AEROMONAS-CAVIAE W-61

Aeromonas caviae W-61 produces five species of xylanases, xylanases 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 [Nguyen, V.D. ct al., Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem., 56 , 1708-1712 (1993) and Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 57, 445-449 (1991)]. While preserving a purified xylanase 3 preparation from A. caviae in solution at 4 degrees C, the xylanase 3 was found to be proteolyzed to give a truncated form with a smaller molecular mass than that of the intact one. It appears likely that the truncated form of xylanase 3 wa s produced in this particular purification experiment by the action of a contaminating protease. We isolated the truncated form of xylanase 3 (Xyn3tr), of which the C-terminal 102-residue segment is missing. By the chemical analysis of the N- and C-terminal amino acid residues of Xyn3tr and the DNA sequencing analysis of the xylanase 3 gene (xyn3), the N-terminal 398th proline residue of xylanase 3 was found to be th e C-terminus of Xyn3tr. Xyn3tr had the activity to form xylotriose (X3 ), xylotetraose (X4), xylopentaose (X5), and xylohexaose (X6) as main final products from oat spelt xylan. In contrast, intact xylanase 3 re leased X6 and higher xylo-oligosaccharides as main products. Xylanase 3 hydrolysed X4 through X6. However, Xyn3tr had no activity towards X4 and X5. The recombinant Xyn3tr (XYN3tr) and recombinant xylanase 3 (X YN3) were purified homogeneously from the periplasmic space of E. coli harboring the plasmids pXYN3 and pXYN3tr, which include xyn3 and xyn3 tr genes, respectively, and their enzymatic activities were measured. The cleavage patterns of oat spelt and xylo-oligosaccharides by XYN3tr were identical with that by intact Xyn3tr. Thus, we conclude that the C-terminal region comprising a 102-residue segment in xylanase 3 is i nvolved In governing the molecular size of xylo-oligosaccharides cleav ed from beta-1,4-xylan by the enzyme and in the hydrolytic activity to wards X4 and X5.