Isolation and characterization of novel tyrosinase from Laceyella sacchari.

We here describe the isolation and characterization of a tyrosinase from a newly isolated soil bacterium. 16S rDNA sequence analysis revealed that the bacterium most probably belongs to the species Laceyella sacchari (Ls) ( > 99.9 % identity). The tyrosinase extracellular enzymatic activity was induced in the presence of L-methionine and CuSO4. The crude enzyme was first purified by centrifugation followed by ammonium sulphate precipitation and ultrafiltration. After removal of a brown pigment, probably melanin, a purified enzyme was obtained by further separation of the crude protein mixture using size exclusion chromatography. Some 10.5 mg of pure tyrosinase (LsTyr) was isolated with a molecular mass of 30 910 Da, based on MALDI mass spectrometry. Together with the observed enzymatic activity, N-terminal chemical sequence analysis confirmed that the isolated enzyme is homologous to other tyrosinases. The kinetic parameters for the diphenol substrates L-DOPA and dopamine and for the monophenol substrate L-tyrosine were determined to be KM = 4.5 mM , 1.5 mM and 0.055 mM, and kcat/KM = 261.5 mM-1 s -1 , 30.6 mM-1 s-1 and 56.3 mM-1 s-1, respectively. Maximal activities of the purified enzyme were found to occur at pH 6.8.

Purification and characterization of tyrosinases from Streptomyces albus.

The bacterium Streptomyces albus has so far never been investigated for tyrosinase activity. The studies presented in this communication show that this bacterium may be a future source for larger production of tyrosinase. The enzyme was purified starting with 5,600 ml of culture filtrate. The crude enzyme was first purified by centrifugation, followed by ammonium sulfate precipitation and ultrafiltration. Then, melanin was removed applying a Servacell DEAE 52 resin, using the batch technique. Thereafter, the crude enzyme was loaded on a SEC Sephacryl S-100 column and, after ultrafiltration, 1.17 mg of purified tyrosinase were obtained. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was determined by MALDI mass spectrometry to be 30,096 Da which corresponds to the obtained results from SDS-PAGE. Using the diphenol L-DOPA and the monophenol L-tyrosine as substrates, the kinetic parameters for both substrates, Km = 7.8 mM and 0.5 mM and k(cat)/Km = 157 mM(-1) s(-1) and 23 mM(-1) s(-1), respectively, were determined. Maximal activities of the purified enzyme were recorded at pH 7.0. Long-term experiments with Streptomyces albus tyrosinase revealed that storage of the lyophilized enzyme sample at temperatures below zero turned out to be the best. For tyrosinase in buffer containing 20% glycerol, no loss of activity was observed at 4 degrees C and -60 degrees C.