Structural insights into the epimerization of ß-1,4-linked oligosaccharides catalyzed by cellobiose 2-epimerase, the sole enzyme epimerizing non-anomeric hydroxyl groups of unmodified sugars.

Cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE) reversibly converts d-glucose residues into d-mannose residues at the reducing end of unmodified ß1,4-linked oligosaccharides, including ß-1,4-mannobiose, cellobiose, and lactose. CE is responsible for conversion of ß1,4-mannobiose to 4-O-ß-d-mannosyl-d-glucose in mannan metabolism. However, the detailed catalytic mechanism of CE is unclear due to the lack of structural data in complex with ligands. We determined the crystal structures of halothermophile Rhodothermus marinus CE (RmCE) in complex with substrates/products or intermediate analogs, and its apo form. The structures in complex with the substrates/products indicated that the residues in the ß5-ß6 loop as well as those in the inner six helices form the catalytic site. Trp-322 and Trp-385 interact with reducing and non-reducing end parts of these ligands, respectively, by stacking interactions. The architecture of the catalytic site also provided insights into the mechanism of reversible epimerization. His-259 abstracts the H2 proton of the d-mannose residue at the reducing end, and consistently forms the cis-enediol intermediate by facilitated depolarization of the 2-OH group mediated by hydrogen bonding interaction with His-200. His-390 subsequently donates the proton to the C2 atom of the intermediate to form a d-glucose residue. The reverse reaction is mediated by these three histidines with the inverse roles of acid/base catalysts. The conformation of cellobiitol demonstrated that the deprotonation/reprotonation step is coupled with rotation of the C2-C3 bond of the open form of the ligand. Moreover, it is postulated that His-390 is closely related to ring opening/closure by transferring a proton between the O5 and O1 atoms of the ligand.

Structural analysis of the α-glucosidase HaG provides new insights into substrate specificity and catalytic mechanism.

α-Glucosidases, which catalyze the hydrolysis of the α-glucosidic linkage at the nonreducing end of the substrate, are important for the metabolism of α-glucosides. Halomonas sp. H11 α-glucosidase (HaG), belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 13 (GH13), only has high hydrolytic activity towards the α-(1 → 4)-linked disaccharide maltose among naturally occurring substrates. Although several three-dimensional structures of GH13 members have been solved, the disaccharide specificity and α-(1 → 4) recognition mechanism of α-glucosidase are unclear owing to a lack of corresponding substrate-bound structures. In this study, four crystal structures of HaG were solved: the apo form, the glucosyl-enzyme intermediate complex, the E271Q mutant in complex with its natural substrate maltose and a complex of the D202N mutant with D-glucose and glycerol. These structures explicitly provide insights into the substrate specificity and catalytic mechanism of HaG. A peculiar long ß â†’ α loop 4 which exists in α-glucosidase is responsible for the strict recognition of disaccharides owing to steric hindrance. Two residues, Thr203 and Phe297, assisted with Gly228, were found to determine the glycosidic linkage specificity of the substrate at subsite +1. Furthermore, an explanation of the α-glucosidase reaction mechanism is proposed based on the glucosyl-enzyme intermediate structure.

Supplemental epilactose prevents metabolic disorders through uncoupling protein-1 induction in the skeletal muscle of mice fed high-fat diets.

Obesity is one of the major health problems throughout the world. The present study investigated the preventive effect of epilactose--a rare non-digestible disaccharide--on obesity and metabolic disorders in mice fed high-fat (HF) diets. Feeding with HF diets increased body weight gain, fat pad weight and adipocyte size in mice (P<0·01), and these increases were effectively prevented by the use of supplemental epilactose without influencing food intake (P<0·01). Caecal pools of SCFA such as acetic and propionic acids in mice fed epilactose were higher compared with mice not receiving epilactose. Supplemental epilactose increased the expression of uncoupling protein (UCP)-1, which enhances energy expenditure, to 2-fold in the gastrocnemius muscle (P=0·04) and to 1·3-fold in the brown adipose tissue (P=0·02) in mice fed HF diets. Feeding HF diets induced pro-inflammatory macrophage infiltration into white adipose tissue, as indicated by the increased expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1, TNF-α and F4/80, and these increases were attenuated by supplemental epilactose. In differentiated myogenic-like C2C12 cells, propionic acid, but not acetic or n-butyric acids, directly enhanced UCP-1 expression by approximately 2-fold (P<0·01). Taken together, these findings indicate that the epilactose-mediated increase in UCP-1 in the skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue can enhance whole-body energy expenditure, leading to effective prevention of obesity and metabolic disorders in mice fed HF diets. It is suggested that propionic acid--a bacterial metabolite--acts as a mediator to induce UCP-1 expression in skeletal muscles.

Characterization of a thermophilic 4-O-ß-D-mannosyl-D-glucose phosphorylase from Rhodothermus marinus.

4-O-ß-D-Mannosyl-D-glucose phosphorylase (MGP), found in anaerobes, converts 4-O-ß-D-mannosyl-D-glucose (Man-Glc) to α-D-mannosyl phosphate and D-glucose. It participates in mannan metabolism with cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE), which converts ß-1,4-mannobiose to Man-Glc. A putative MGP gene is present in the genome of the thermophilic aerobe Rhodothermus marinus (Rm) upstream of the gene encoding CE. Konjac glucomannan enhanced production by R. marinus of MGP, CE, and extracellular mannan endo-1,4-ß-mannosidase. Recombinant RmMGP catalyzed the phosphorolysis of Man-Glc through a sequential bi-bi mechanism involving ternary complex formation. Its molecular masses were 45 and 222 kDa under denaturing and nondenaturing conditions, respectively. Its pH and temperature optima were 6.5 and 75 °C, and it was stable between pH 5.5-8.3 and below 80 °C. In the reverse reaction, RmMGP had higher acceptor preferences for 6-deoxy-D-glucose and D-xylose than R. albus NE1 MGP. In contrast to R. albus NE1 MGP, RmMGP utilized methyl ß-D-glucoside and 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol as acceptor substrates.

Metabolic mechanism of mannan in a ruminal bacterium, Ruminococcus albus, involving two mannoside phosphorylases and cellobiose 2-epimerase: discovery of a new carbohydrate phosphorylase, ß-1,4-mannooligosaccharide phosphorylase.

Ruminococcus albus is a typical ruminal bacterium digesting cellulose and hemicellulose. Cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE; EC 5.1.3.11), which converts cellobiose to 4-O-ß-D-glucosyl-D-mannose, is a particularly unique enzyme in R. albus, but its physiological function is unclear. Recently, a new metabolic pathway of mannan involving CE was postulated for another CE-producing bacterium, Bacteroides fragilis. In this pathway, ß-1,4-mannobiose is epimerized to 4-O-ß-D-mannosyl-D-glucose (Man-Glc) by CE, and Man-Glc is phosphorolyzed to α-D-mannosyl 1-phosphate (Man1P) and D-glucose by Man-Glc phosphorylase (MP; EC 2.4.1.281). Ruminococcus albus NE1 showed intracellular MP activity, and two MP isozymes, RaMP1 and RaMP2, were obtained from the cell-free extract. These enzymes were highly specific for the mannosyl residue at the non-reducing end of the substrate and catalyzed the phosphorolysis and synthesis of Man-Glc through a sequential Bi Bi mechanism. In a synthetic reaction, RaMP1 showed high activity only toward D-glucose and 6-deoxy-D-glucose in the presence of Man1P, whereas RaMP2 showed acceptor specificity significantly different from RaMP1. RaMP2 acted on D-glucose derivatives at the C2- and C3-positions, including deoxy- and deoxyfluoro-analogues and epimers, but not on those substituted at the C6-position. Furthermore, RaMP2 had high synthetic activity toward the following oligosaccharides: ß-linked glucobioses, maltose, N,N'-diacetylchitobiose, and ß-1,4-mannooligosaccharides. Particularly, ß-1,4-mannooligosaccharides served as significantly better acceptor substrates for RaMP2 than D-glucose. In the phosphorolytic reactions, RaMP2 had weak activity toward ß-1,4-mannobiose but efficiently degraded ß-1,4-mannooligosaccharides longer than ß-1,4-mannobiose. Consequently, RaMP2 is thought to catalyze the phosphorolysis of ß-1,4-mannooligosaccharides longer than ß-1,4-mannobiose to produce Man1P and ß-1,4-mannobiose.

Identification and characterization of cellobiose 2-epimerases from various aerobes.

Cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE), found mainly in anaerobes, reversibly converts D-glucose residues at the reducing end of ß-1,4-linked oligosaccharides to D-mannose residues. In this study, we characterized CE-like proteins from various aerobes (Flavobacterium johnsoniae NBRC 14942, Pedobacter heparinus NBRC 12017, Dyadobacter fermentans ATCC 700827, Herpetosiphon aurantiacus ATCC 23779, Saccharophagus degradans ATCC 43961, Spirosoma linguale ATCC 33905, and Teredinibacter turnerae ATCC 39867), because aerobes, more easily cultured on a large scale than anaerobes, are applicable in industrial processes. The recombinant CE-like proteins produced in Escherichia coli catalyzed epimerization at the C2 position of cellobiose, lactose, epilactose, and ß-1,4-mannobiose, whereas N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetyl-D-mannosamine, D-glucose, and D-mannose were inert as substrates. All the CEs, except for P. heparinus CE, the optimum pH of which was 6.3, showed highest activity at weakly alkaline pH. CEs from D. fermentans, H. aurantiacus, and S. linguale showed higher optimum temperatures and thermostability than the other enzymes analyzed. The enzymes from D. fermentans, S. linguale, and T. turnerae showed significantly high k(cat) and K(m) values towards cellobiose and lactose. Especially, T. turnerae CE showed a very high k(cat) value towards lactose, an attractive property for the industrial production of epilactose, which is carried out at high substrate concentrations.

Identification of rice ß-glucosidase with high hydrolytic activity towards salicylic acid ß-D-glucoside.

ß-Glucosidases (EC 3.2.1.21) split ß-glucosidic linkages at the non-reducing end of glucosides and oligosaccharides to release ß-D-glucose. One of the important functions of plant ß-glucosidase is deglucosylation of inactive glucosides of phytohormones to regulate levels of active hormones. Tuberonic acid is a jasmonate-related compound that shows tuber-inducing activity in the potato. We have identified two enzymes, OsTAGG1 and OsTAGG2, that have hydrolytic activity towards tuberonic acid ß-D-glucoside in rice (Oryza sativa L.). The expression of OsTAGG2 is upregulated by wounding and by methyl jasmonate, suggesting that this isozyme is involved in responses to biotic stresses and wounding, but the physiological substrate of OsTAGG2 remains ambiguous. In this study, we produced recombinant OsTAGG2 in Pichia pastoris (rOsTAGG2P), and investigated its substrate specificity in detail. From 1 L of culture medium, 2.1 mg of purified recombinant enzyme was obtained by ammonium sulfate precipitation and Ni-chelating column chromatography. The specific activity of rOsTAGG2P (182 U/mg) was close to that of the native enzyme (171 U/mg), unlike recombinant OsTAGG2 produced in Escherichia coli, which had approximately 3-fold lower specific activity than the native enzyme. The optimum pH and temperature for rOsTAGG2P were pH 3.4 and 60 °C. After pH and heat treatments, the enzyme retained its original activity in a pH range of 3.4-9.8 and below 55 °C. Native OsTAGG2 and rOsTAGG2P showed 4.5-4.7-fold higher activities towards salicylic acid ß-D-glucoside, an inactive storage-form of salicylic acid, than towards tuberonic acid ß-D-glucoside (TAG), although OsTAGG2 was originally isolated from rice based on TAG-hydrolytic activity.

Modulation of allosteric regulation by E38K and G101N mutations in the potato tuber ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase.

The higher plant ADP-glucose (ADPG) pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), composed of two small subunits and two large subunits (LSs), produces ADPG, the sole substrate for starch biosynthesis from α-D-glucose 1-phosphate and ATP. This enzyme controls a key step in starch synthesis as its catalytic activity is activated by 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA) and inhibited by orthophosphate (Pi). Previously, two mutations in the LS of potato AGPase (PLS), PLS-E38K and PLS-G101N, were found to increase sensitivity to 3-PGA activation and tolerance to Pi inhibition. In the present study, the double mutated enzyme (PLS-E38K/G101N) was evaluated. In a complementation assay of ADPG synthesis in an Escherichia coli mutant defective in the synthesis of ADPG, expression of PLS-E38K/G101N mediated higher glycogen production than wild-type potato AGPase (PLS-WT) and the single mutant enzymes, PLS-E38K and PLS-G101N, individually. Purified PLS-E38K/G101N showed higher sensitivity to 3-PGA activation and tolerance to Pi inhibition than PLS-E38K or PLS-G101N. Moreover, the enzyme activities of PLS-E38K, PLS-G101N, and PLS-E38K/G101N were more readily stimulated by other major phosphate-ester metabolites, such as fructose 6-phosphate, fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, and ribose 5-phosphate, than was that of PLS-WT. Hence, although the specific enzyme activities of the LS mutants toward 3-PGA were impaired to some extent by the mutations, our results suggest that their enhanced allosteric regulatory properties and the broadened effector selectivity gained by the same mutations not only offset the lowered enzyme catalytic turnover rates but also increase the net performance of potato AGPase in vivo in view of increased glycogen production in bacterial cells.

A thermophilic alkalophilic α-amylase from Bacillus sp. AAH-31 shows a novel domain organization among glycoside hydrolase family 13 enzymes.

α-Amylases (EC 3.2.1.1) hydrolyze internal α-1,4-glucosidic linkages of starch and related glucans. Bacillus sp. AAH-31 produces an alkalophilic thermophilic α-amylase (AmyL) of higher molecular mass, 91 kDa, than typical bacterial α-amylases. In this study, the AmyL gene was cloned to determine its primary structure, and the recombinant enzyme, produced in Escherichia coli, was characterized. AmyL shows no hydrolytic activity towards pullulan, but the central region of AmyL (Gly395-Asp684) was similar to neopullulanase-like α-amylases. In contrast to known neopullulanase-like α-amylases, the N-terminal region (Gln29-Phe102) of AmyL was similar to carbohydrate-binding module family 20 (CBM20), which is involved in the binding of enzymes to starch granules. Recombinant AmyL showed more than 95% of its maximum activity in a pH range of 8.2-10.5, and was stable below 65 °C and from pH 6.4 to 11.9. The kcat values for soluble starch, γ-cyclodextrin, and maltotriose were 103 s(-1), 67.6 s(-1), and 5.33 s(-1), respectively, and the Km values were 0.100 mg/mL, 0.348 mM, and 2.06 mM, respectively. Recombinant AmyL did not bind to starch granules. But the substitution of Trp45 and Trp84, conserved in site 1 of CBM20, with Ala reduced affinity to soluble starch, while the mutations did not affect affinity for oligosaccharides. Substitution of Trp61, conserved in site 2 of CBM20, with Ala enhanced hydrolytic activity towards soluble starch, indicating that site 2 of AmyL does not contribute to binding to soluble long-chain substrates.

Immobilization of a thermostable cellobiose 2-epimerase from Rhodothermus marinus JCM9785 and continuous production of epilactose.

Cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE) efficiently forms epilactose which has several beneficial biological functions. A thermostable CE from Rhodothermus marinus was immobilized on Duolite A568 and packed into a column. Lactose (100 g/L) was supplied to the reactor, kept at 50 °C at a space velocity of 8 h(-1). The epilactose concentration of the resulting eluate was 30 g/L, and this was maintained for 13 d.

Enzymatic characteristics of cellobiose phosphorylase from Ruminococcus albus NE1 and kinetic mechanism of unusual substrate inhibition in reverse phosphorolysis.

Cellobiose phosphorylase (CBP) catalyzes the reversible phosphorolysis of cellobiose to produce α-D-glucopyranosyl phosphate (Glc1P) and D-glucose. It is an essential enzyme for the metabolism of cello-oligosaccharides in a ruminal bacterium, Ruminococcus albus. In this study, recombinant R. albus CBP (RaCBP) produced in Escherichia coli was characterized. It showed highest activity at pH 6.2 at 50 °C, and was stable in a pH range of 5.5-8.8 and at below 40 °C. It phosphorolyzed only cellobiose efficiently, and the reaction proceeded through a random-ordered bi bi mechanism, by which inorganic phosphate and cellobiose bind in random order and D-glucose is released before Glc1P. In the synthetic reaction, RaCBP showed highest activity to D-glucose, followed by 6-deoxy-D-glucose. D-Mannose, 2-deoxy-D-glucose, D-glucosamine, D-xylose, 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol, and gentiobiose also served as acceptors, although the activities for them were much lower than for D-glucose. D-Glucose acted as a competitive-uncompetitive inhibitor of the reverse synthetic reaction, which bound not only the Glc1P site (competitive) but also the ternary enzyme-Glc1P-D-glucose complex (uncompetitive).

Purification and characterization of a liquefying α-amylase from alkalophilic thermophilic Bacillus sp. AAH-31.

α-Amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) hydrolyzes an internal α-1,4-glucosidic linkage of starch and related glucans. Alkalophilic liquefying enzymes from Bacillus species are utilized as additives in dishwashing and laundry detergents. In this study, we found that Bacillus sp. AAH-31, isolated from soil, produced an alkalophilic liquefying α-amylase with high thermostability. Extracellular α-amylase from Bacillus sp. AAH-31 (AmyL) was purified in seven steps. The purified enzyme showed a single band of 91 kDa on SDS-PAGE. Its specific activity of hydrolysis of 0.5% soluble starch was 16.7 U/mg. Its optimum pH and temperature were 8.5 and 70 °C respectively. It was stable in a pH range of 6.4-10.3 and below 60 °C. The calcium ion did not affect its thermostability, unlike typical α-amylases. It showed 84.9% of residual activity after incubation in the presence of 0.1% w/v of EDTA at 60 °C for 1 h. Other chelating reagents (nitrilotriacetic acid and tripolyphosphate) did not affect the activity at all. AmyL was fully stable in 1% w/v of Tween 20, Tween 80, and Triton X-100, and 0.1% w/v of SDS and commercial detergents. It showed higher activity towards amylose than towards amylopectin or glycogen. Its hydrolytic activity towards γ-cyclodextin was as high as towards short-chain amylose. Maltotriose was its minimum substrate, and maltose and maltotriose accumulated in the hydrolysis of maltooligosaccharides longer than maltotriose and soluble starch.

Arabidopsis CYP94B3 encodes jasmonyl-L-isoleucine 12-hydroxylase, a key enzyme in the oxidative catabolism of jasmonate.

The hormonal action of jasmonate in plants is controlled by the precise balance between its biosynthesis and catabolism. It has been shown that jasmonyl-L-isoleucine (JA-Ile) is the bioactive form involved in the jasmonate-mediated signaling pathway. However, the catabolism of JA-Ile is poorly understood. Although a metabolite, 12-hydroxyJA-Ile, has been characterized, detailed functional studies of the compound and the enzyme that produces it have not been conducted. In this report, the kinetics of wound-induced accumulation of 12-hydroxyJA-Ile in plants were examined, and its involvement in the plant wound response is described. Candidate genes for the catabolic enzyme were narrowed down from 272 Arabidopsis Cyt P450 genes using Arabidopsis mutants. The candidate gene was functionally expressed in Pichia pastoris to reveal that CYP94B3 encodes JA-Ile 12-hydroxylase. Expression analyses demonstrate that expression of CYP94B3 is induced by wounding and shows specific activity toward JA-Ile. Plants grown in medium containing JA-Ile show higher sensitivity to JA-Ile in cyp94b3 mutants than in wild-type plants. These results demonstrate that CYP94B3 plays a major regulatory role in controlling the level of JA-Ile in plants.

OsJAR1 and OsJAR2 are jasmonyl-L-isoleucine synthases involved in wound- and pathogen-induced jasmonic acid signalling.

The synthesis of JA-Ile was catalysed by JA-Ile synthase, which is a member of the group I GH3 family of proteins. Here, we showed evidence that OsGH3.5 (OsJAR1) and OsGH3.3 (OsJAR2) are the functional JA-Ile synthases in rice, using recombinant proteins. The expression levels of OsJAR1 and OsJAR2 were induced in response to wounding with the concomitant accumulation of JA-Ile. In contrast, only the expression of OsJAR1 was associated with the accumulation of JA-Ile after blast infection. Our data suggest that these two JA-Ile synthases are differentially involved in the activation of JA signalling in response to wounding and pathogen challenge in rice.

New microbial mannan catabolic pathway that involves a novel mannosylglucose phosphorylase.

The consecutive genes BF0771-BF0774 in the genome of Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 were found to constitute an operon. The functional analysis of BF0772 showed that the gene encoded a novel enzyme, mannosylglucose phosphorylase that catalyzes the reaction, 4-O-ß-d-mannopyranosyl-d-glucose+Pi→mannose-1-phosphate+glucose. Here we propose a new mannan catabolic pathway in the anaerobe, which involves 1,4-ß-mannanase (BF0771), a mannobiose and/or sugar transporter (BF0773), mannobiose 2-epimerase (BF0774), and mannosylglucose phosphorylase (BF0772), finally progressing to glycolysis. This pathway is distributed in microbes such as Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, Flavobacterium, and Cellvibrio.

Biochemical characterization of a thermophilic cellobiose 2-epimerase from a thermohalophilic bacterium, Rhodothermus marinus JCM9785.

Cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE) reversibly converts glucose residue to mannose residue at the reducing end of ß-1,4-linked oligosaccharides. It efficiently produces epilactose carrying prebiotic properties from lactose, but the utilization of known CEs is limited due to thermolability. We focused on thermoholophilic Rhodothermus marinus JCM9785 as a CE producer, since a CE-like gene was found in the genome of R. marinus DSM4252. CE activity was detected in the cell extract of R. marinus JCM9785. The deduced amino acid sequence of the CE gene from R. marinus JCM9785 (RmCE) was 94.2% identical to that from R. marinus DSM4252. The N-terminal amino acid sequence and tryptic peptide masses of the native enzyme matched those of RmCE. The recombinant RmCE was most active at 80 °C at pH 6.3, and stable in a range of pH 3.2-10.8 and below 80 °C. In contrast to other CEs, RmCE demonstrated higher preference for lactose over cellobiose.

Tobacco salicylic acid glucosyltransferase is active toward tuberonic acid (12-hydroxyjasmonic acid) and is induced by mechanical wounding stress.

Recently we reported that rice salicylic acid (SA) glucosyltransferase (OsSGT) is active toward 12-hydroxyjasmonic acid (tuberonic acid, TA) and that OsSGT gene expression is induced by wounding stress. Here we report that tobacco SA glucosyltransferase (NtSGT), which is thought to be an ortholog of OsSGT, is also active toward TA. Although NtSGT expression is known to be induced by biotrophic stress, it was also induced by wounding stress in the same manner as OsSGT. These results indicate that this glucosyltransferase is important not only in biotrophic stress but also for wounding stress. It was found that this enzyme is dually functional, with activity both toward TA and SA.

Physiological and biochemical characterization of three nucleoside diphosphate kinase isozymes from rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK) is a ubiquitous enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of the γ-phosphoryl group from a nucleoside triphosphate to a nucleoside diphosphate. In this study, we examined the subcellular localization, tissue-specific gene expression, and enzymatic characteristics of three rice NDPK isozymes (OsNDPK1-OsNDPK3). Sequence comparison of the three OsNDPKs suggested differential subcellular localization. Transient expression of green fluorescence protein-fused proteins in onion cells indicated that OsNDPK2 and OsNDPK3 are localized to plastid and mitochondria respectively, while OsNDPK1 is localized to the cytosol. Expression analysis indicated that all the OsNDPKs are expressed in the leaf, leaf sheath, and immature seeds, except for OsNDPK1, in the leaf sheath. Recombinant OsNDPK2 and OsNDPK3 showed lower optimum pH and higher stability under acidic pH than OsNDPK1. In ATP formation, all the OsNDPKs displayed lower K(m) values for the second substrate, ADP, than for the first substrate, NTP, and showed lowest and highest K(m) values for GTP and CTP respectively.

Practical preparation of epilactose produced with cellobiose 2-epimerase from Ruminococcus albus NE1.

A practical purification method for a non-digestible disaccharide, epilactose (4-O-beta-galactosyl-D-mannose), was established. Epilactose was synthesized from lactose with cellobiose 2-epimerase and purified by the following procedure: (i) removal of lactose by crystallization, (ii) hydrolysis of lactose by beta-galactosidase, (iii) digestion of monosaccharides by yeast, and (iv) column chromatography with Na-form cation exchange resin. Epilactose of 91.1% purity was recovered at 42.5% yield.