New Bacterial Phytase through Metagenomic Prospection.

Alkaline phytases from uncultured microorganisms, which hydrolyze phytate to less phosphorylated myo-inositols and inorganic phosphate, have great potential as additives in agricultural industry. The development of metagenomics has stemmed from the ineluctable evidence that as-yet-uncultured microorganisms represent the vast majority of organisms in most environments on earth. In this study, a gene encoding a phytase was cloned from red rice crop residues and castor bean cake using a metagenomics strategy. The amino acid identity between this gene and its closest published counterparts is lower than 60%. The phytase was named PhyRC001 and was biochemically characterized. This recombinant protein showed activity on sodium phytate, indicating that PhyRC001 is a hydrolase enzyme. The enzymatic activity was optimal at a pH of 7.0 and at a temperature of 35 °C. ß-propeller phytases possess great potential as feed additives because they are the only type of phytase with high activity at neutral pH. Therefore, to explore and exploit the underlying mechanism for ß-propeller phytase functions could be of great benefit to biotechnology.

Aspergillus ficuum phytase activity is inhibited by cereal grain components.

In the current study, we report for the first time that grain components of barley, rice, wheat and maize can inhibit the activity of Aspergillus ficuum phytase. The phytase inhibition is dose dependent and varies significantly between cereal species, between cultivars of barley and cultivars of wheat and between Fusarium graminearum infected and non-infected wheat grains. The highest endpoint level of phytase activity inhibition was 90%, observed with grain protein extracts (GPE) from F. graminearum infected wheat. Wheat GPE from grains infected with F. graminearum inhibits phytase activity significantly more than GPE from non-infected grains. For four barley cultivars studied, the IC50 value ranged from 0.978 ± 0.271 to 3.616 ± 0.087 mg×ml-1. For two non-infected wheat cultivars investigated, the IC50 values were varying from 2.478 ± 0.114 to 3.038 ± 0.097 mg×ml-1. The maize and rice cultivars tested gaveIC50 values on 0.983 ± 0.205 and 1.972 ± 0.019 mg×ml-1, respectively. After purifying the inhibitor from barley grains via Superdex G200, an approximately 30-35 kDa protein was identified. No clear trend for the mechanism of inhibition could be identified via Michaelis-Menten kinetics and Lineweaver-Burk plots. However, testing of the purified phytase inhibitor together with the A. ficuum phytase and the specific protease inhibitors pepstatin A, E64, EDTA and PMSF revealed that pepstatin A repealed the phytase inhibition. This indicates that the observed inhibition of A. ficuum phytase by cereal grain extracts is caused by protease activity of the aspartic proteinase type.

Cloning and Expression of Phytase appA Gene from Shigella sp. CD2 in Pichia pastoris and Comparison of Properties with Recombinant Enzyme Expressed in E. coli.

The phytase gene appAS was isolated from Shigella sp. CD2 genomic library. The 3.8 kb DNA fragment contained 1299 bp open reading frame encoding 432 amino acid protein (AppAS) with 22 amino acid signal peptide at N-terminal and three sites of N-glycosylation. AppAS contained the active site RHGXRXP and HDTN sequence motifs, which are conserved among histidine acid phosphatases. It showed maximum identity with phytase AppA of Escherichia coli and Citrobacter braakii. The appAS was expressed in Pichia pastoris and E. coli to produce recombinant phytase rAppAP and rAppAE, respectively. Purified glycosylated rAppAP and nonglycosylated rAppAE had specific activity of 967 and 2982 U mg(-1), respectively. Both had pH optima of 5.5 and temperature optima of 60°C. Compared with rAppAE, rAppAP was 13 and 17% less active at pH 3.5 and 7.5 and 11 and 18% less active at temperature 37 and 50°C, respectively; however, it was more active at higher incubation temperatures. Thermotolerance of rAppAP was 33% greater at 60°C and 24% greater at 70°C, when compared with rAppAE. Both the recombinant enzymes showed high specificity to phytate and resistance to trypsin. To our knowledge, this is the first report on cloning and expression of phytase from Shigella sp.

Characteristics and Applicability of Phytase of the Yeast Pichia anomala in Synthesizing Haloperoxidase.

The phytase of the yeast Pichia anomala is a histidine acid phosphatase based on signature sequences and catalytic amino acids identified by site-directed mutagenesis. Among modulators, N-bromosuccinimide and butanedione inhibit phytase, while Ca(2+) and Ni(2+) stimulate slightly. Vanadate exhibits competitive inhibition of phytase, making it bifunctional to act as haloperoxidase. Molecular docking supports vanadate to share its binding site with phytate. The T 1/2, activation energy (E a ), temperature quotient (Q 10), activation energy of thermal inactivation (Ed), and enthalpy (ΔH d (0) ) of the enzyme are 4.0 min (80 °C), 27.72 kJ mol(-1), 2.1, 410.62 kJ mol(-1), and ∼407.8 kJ mol(-1) (65-80 °C), respectively. The free energy of the process (ΔG d (o) ) increases from 49.56 to 71.58 kJ mol(-1) with rise in temperature, while entropy of inactivation (ΔS d (0) ) remains constant at ∼1.36 kJ mol(-1) K(-1). The supplementation of whole wheat dough with rPPHY resulted in 72.5 % reduction in phytic acid content of bread. These characteristics confirm that the phytase has adequate thermostability for its applicability as a food and feed additive.

Purification and characterization of a novel cold-adapted phytase from Rhodotorula mucilaginosa strain JMUY14 isolated from Antarctic.

A yeast producing a cold-adapted phytase was isolated from Antarctic deep-sea sediment and identified as a Rhodotorula mucilaginosa strain JMUY14 of basidiomycetous yeasts. It was cultured in fermentation optimized by a response surface methodology based on the Box-Behnken design. The maximum activity of phytase reached 205.447 U ml(-1), which was close to the predicted value of 201.948 U ml(-1) and approximately 3.4 times higher than its initial activity. The extracellular phytase was purified by 15.2-fold to homogeneity with a specific activity of 31,635 U mg(-1) by (NH4 )2 SO4 precipitation, and a combination of DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow, SP Sepharose Fast Flow, and Sephadex G-100. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 63 kDa and its pI was 4.33. Its optimal temperature and pH were 50 °C and 5.0, respectively. Its activity was 85% at 37 °C, and showed good stability at pH 3.0 ∼ 7.0. When compared with mesophilic counterparts, the phytase not only exhibited a higher activity during 20 ∼ 30 °C but also had a low Km (247 µM) and high kcat (1394 s(-1)). The phytase activity was slightly stimulated in the presence of Mg(2+), Fe(2+), Fe(3+), K(+), Na(+), Ca(2+), EDTA, and EGTA and moderately inhibited by Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Mn(2+), Ag(+), PMSF, SDS, and phenylgloxal hydrate. It was resistant to both pepsin and trypsin. Since the phytase produced by the R. mucilaginosa JMUY14 showed a high specific activity, good pH stability, strong protease resistance, and high activity at low temperature, it has great potential for feed applications, especially in aquaculture.

Trace element inhibition of phytase activity.

Nowadays, 70 % of global monogastric feeds contains an exogenous phytase. Phytase supplementation has enabled a more efficient utilisation of phytate phosphorous (P) and reduction of P pollution. Trace minerals, such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) are essential for maintaining health and immunity as well as being involved in animal growth, production and reproduction. Exogenous sources of phytase and trace elements are regularly supplemented to monogastric diets and usually combined in a premix. However, the possibility for negative interaction between individual components within the premix is high and is often overlooked. Therefore, this initial study focused on assessing the potential in vitro interaction between inorganic and organic chelated sources of Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn with three commercially available phytase preparations. Additionally, this study has investigated if the degree of enzyme inhibition was dependent of the type of chelated sources. A highly significant relationship between phytase inhibition, trace mineral type as well as mineral source and concentration, p < 0.001 was verified. The proteinate sources of OTMs were consistently and significantly less inhibitory than the majority of the other sources, p < 0.05. This was verified for Escherichia coli and Peniophora lycii phytases for Fe and Zn, as well as for Cu with E. coli and Aspergillus niger phytases. Different chelate trace mineral sources demonstrated diversifying abilities to inhibit exogenous phytase activity.

Characterization, gene cloning, and sequencing of a fungal phytase, PhyA, from Penicillium oxalicum PJ3.

A phytase from Penicillium oxalicum PJ3, PhyA, was purified near to homogeneity with 427-fold increase in specific phytase activity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, and ion-exchange chromatographies. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and zymogram analysis of the purified enzyme indicated an estimated molecular mass of 65 kD. The optimal pH and temperature of the purified enzyme were pH 4.5 and 55°C, respectively. The enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by Ca(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF). The Km value for sodium phytate was 0.545 mM with a Vmax of 600 U/mg of protein. The phyA gene was cloned, and it contains an open reading frame of 1,383 with a single intron (118 bp), and encodes a protein of 461 amino acids.

Vanadate inhibition of fungal PhyA and bacterial AppA2 histidine acid phosphatases.

The fungal PhyA protein, which was first identified as an acid optimum phosphomonoesterase (EC 3.1.3.8), could also serve as a vanadate haloperoxidase (EC 1.11.1.10) provided the acid phosphatase activity is shut down by vanadate. To understand how vanadate inhibits both phytate and pNPP degrading activities of fungal PhyA phytase and bacterial AppA2 phytase, kinetic experiments were performed in the presence and absence of orthovanadate and metavanadate under various acidic pHs. Orthovanadate was found to be a potent inhibitor at pH 2.5 to 3.0. A 50% activity of fungal phytase was inhibited at 0.56 µM by orthovanadate. However, metavanadate preferentially inhibited the bacterial AppA2 phytase (50% inhibition at 8 µM) over the fungal phytase (50% inhibition at 40 µM). While in bacterial phytase the K(m) was not affected by ortho- or metavanadate, the V(max) was reduced. In fungal phytase, both the K(m) and V(max) was lowered. The vanadate exists as an anion at pH 3.0 and possibly binds to the active center of phytases that has a cluster of positively charged Arg, Lys, and His residues below the enzymes' isoelectric point (pI). The active site fold of haloperoxidase was shown to be very similar to fungal phytase. The vanadate anions binding to cationic residues in the active site at acidic pH thus serve as a molecular switch to turn off phytase activity while turning on the haloperoxidase activity. The fungal PhyA phytase's active site housing two distinct reactive centers, one for phosphomonoesterase and the other for haloperoxidase, is a unique example of how one protein could catalyze two dissimilar reactions controlled by vanadate.

The structure of Aspergillus niger phytase PhyA in complex with a phytate mimetic.

Phytases hydrolyse the phosphomonoesters of phytate (myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakis phosphate) and thus find uses in plant and animal production through the mobilisation of phosphorus from this source. The structure of partially deglycosylated Aspergillus niger PhyA is presented in apo form and in complex with the potent inhibitor myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakis sulfate, which by analogy with phytate provides a snapshot of the Michaelis complex. The structure explains the enzyme's preference for the 3'-phosphate of phytate. The apo-and inhibitor-bound forms are similar and no induced-fit mechanism operates. Furthermore the enzyme structure is apparently unaffected by the presence of glycosides on the surface. The new structures of A. niger PhyA are discussed in the context of protein engineering studies aimed at modulating pH preference and stability.

Dietary phytate (inositol hexaphosphate) regulates the activity of intestinal mucosa phytase.

The role of dietary phytate (inositol hexaphosphate) in the regulation of intestinal mucosa phytase was investigated in chicks. Seven-day-old chicks were grouped by weight into six blocks of three cages with six birds per cage. Three purified diets [a chemically defined casein diet, a chemically defined casein diet plus sodium phytate (20 g/kg diet) and a chemically defined casein diet plus sodium phytate (20 g/kg diet) and microbial phytase (1000 units/kg diet)] were randomly assigned to cages within each block. Chicks were fed experimental diets from 8 to 22 days of age then killed, and duodenal mucosa and left tibia removed. Phytase activity in duodenal mucosa, growth performance and bone ash content were determined. Addition of phytate to the chemically defined casein diet reduced (p < 0.05) the V(max) of the duodenal brush border phytase, but the K(m) of the enzyme was not affected. Addition of phytate also reduced (p < 0.05) weight gain, feed intake, feed efficiency and percentage ash. Addition of microbial phytase fully restored the feed efficiency (p < 0.05), but V(max) and body weight gain were only partially restored (p < 0.05). In conclusion, it would seem that dietary phytates non-competitively inhibit intestinal mucosa phytase.

Phytase activity in Cryptococcus laurentii ABO 510.

Ten Cryptococcus strains were screened for phytase activity, of which the Cryptococcus laurentii ABO 510 strain showed the highest level of activity. The cell wall-associated enzyme displayed temperature and pH optima of 62 degrees C and 5.0, respectively. The enzyme was thermostable at 70 degrees C, with a loss of 40% of its original activity after 3 h. The enzyme was active on a broad range of substrates, including ATP, D-glucose 6-phosphate, D-fructose 1,6-diphosphate and p-nitrophenyl phosphate (p-NPP), but its preferred substrate was phytic acid (K(m) of 21 microM). The enzyme activity was completely inhibited by 0.5 mM inorganic phosphate or 5 mM phytic acid, and moderately inhibited in the presence of Hg(2+), Zn(2+), Cd(2+) and Ca(2+). These characteristics suggest that the Cry. laurentii ABO 510 phytase may be considered for application as an animal feed additive to assist in the hydrolysis of phytate complexes to improve the bioavailability of phosphorus in plant feedstuff.

Alkaline phytase from lily pollen: Investigation of biochemical properties.

Phytases catalyze the hydrolysis of phytic acid (InsP6, myo-inositol hexakisphosphate), the most abundant inositol phosphate in cells. In cereal grains and legumes, it constitutes 3-5% of the dry weight of seeds. The inability of humans and monogastric animals such as swine and poultry to absorb complexed InsP6 has led to nutritional and environmental problems. The efficacy of supplemental phytases to address these issues is well established; thus, there is a need for phytases with a range of biochemical and biophysical properties for numerous applications. An alkaline phytase that shows unique catalytic properties was isolated from plant tissues. In this paper, we report on the biochemical properties of an alkaline phytase from pollen grains of Lilium longiflorum. The enzyme exhibits narrow substrate specificity, it hydrolyzed InsP6 and para-nitrophenyl phosphate (pNPP). Alkaline phytase followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a K(m) of 81 microM and V(max) of 217 nmol Pi/min/mg with InsP6 and a K(m) of 372 microM and V(max) of 1272 nmol Pi/min/mg with pNPP. The pH optimum was 8.0 with InsP6 as the substrate and 7.0 with pNPP. Alkaline phytase was activated by calcium and inactivated by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; however, the enzyme retained a low level of activity even in Ca2+-free medium. Fluoride as well as myo-inositol hexasulfate did not have any inhibitory affect, whereas vanadate inhibited the enzyme. The enzyme was activated by sodium chloride and potassium chloride and inactivated by magnesium chloride; the activation by salts followed the Hofmeister series. The temperature optimum for hydrolysis is 55 degrees C; the enzyme was stable at 55 degrees C for about 30 min. The enzyme has unique properties that suggest the potential to be useful as a feed supplement.

Structures of Selenomonas ruminantium phytase in complex with persulfated phytate: DSP phytase fold and mechanism for sequential substrate hydrolysis.

Various inositide phosphatases participate in the regulation of inositol polyphosphate signaling molecules. Plant phytases are phosphatases that hydrolyze phytate to less-phosphorylated myo-inositol derivatives and phosphate. The phytase from Selenomonas ruminantium shares no sequence homology with other microbial phytases. Its crystal structure revealed a phytase fold of the dual-specificity phosphatase type. The active site is located near a conserved cysteine-containing (Cys241) P loop. We also solved two other crystal forms in which an inhibitor, myo-inositol hexasulfate, is cocrystallized with the enzyme. In the "standby" and the "inhibited" crystal forms, the inhibitor is bound, respectively, in a pocket slightly away from Cys241 and at the substrate binding site where the phosphate group to be hydrolyzed is held close to the -SH group of Cys241. Our structural and mutagenesis studies allow us to visualize the way in which the P loop-containing phytase attracts and hydrolyzes the substrate (phytate) sequentially.

Unfolding and inactivation during thermal denaturation of an enzyme that exhibits phytase and acid phosphatase activities.

The thermostability of an enzyme that exhibits phytase and acid phosphatase activities was studied. Kinetics of inactivation and unfolding during thermal denaturation of the enzyme were compared. The loss of phytase activity on thermal denaturation is most suggestive of a reversible process. As for acid phosphatase activities, an interesting phenomenon was observed; there are two phases in thermal inactivation: when the temperature was between 45 and 50 degrees C, the thermal inactivation could be characterized as an irreversible inactivation which had some residual activity and when the temperature was above 55 degrees C, the thermal inactivation could be characterized as an irreversible process which had no residual activity. The microscopic rate constants for the free enzyme and substrate-enzyme complex were determined by Tsou's method [Adv. Enzymol. Relat. Areas Mol. Biol. 61 (1988) 381]. Fluorescence analyses indicate that when the enzyme was treated at temperatures below 60 degrees C for 60 min, the conformation of the enzyme had no detectable change; when the temperatures were above 60 degrees C, some fluorescence red-shift could be observed with a decrease in emission intensity. The inactivation rates (k(+0)) of free enzymes were faster than those of conformational changes during thermal denaturation at the same temperature. The rapid inactivation and slow conformational changes of phytase during thermal denaturation suggest that inactivation occurs before significant conformational changes of the enzyme, and the active site of this enzyme is situated in a relatively fragile region which makes the active site more flexible than the molecule as a whole.

Purification and properties of a phytate-degrading enzyme from Pantoea agglomerans.

A periplasmatic phytate-degrading enzyme from Pantoea agglomerans isolated from soil was purified about 470-fold to apparent homogeneity with a recovery of 16% referred to the phytate-degrading activity in the crude extract. It behaved as a monomeric protein with a molecular mass of about 42 kDa. The purified enzyme exhibited a single pH optimum at 4.5. Optimum temperature for the degradation of phytate was 60 degrees C. The kinetic parameters for the hydrolysis of sodium phytate were determined to be KM = 0.34 mmol/l and kcat = 21 s(-1) at pH 4.5 and 37 degrees C. The enzyme exhibited a narrow substrate selectivity. Only phytate and glucose-1-phosphate were identified as good substrates. Since this Pantoea enzyme has a strong preference for glucose-1-phosphate over phytate, under physiological conditions glucose-1-phosphate is its most likely substrate. The maximum amount of phosphate released from phytate by the purified enzyme suggests myo-inositol pentakisphosphate as the final product of enzymatic phytate degradation.

Isolation and characterisation of phytase from dormant Corylus avellana seeds.

Phytase (myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.26), which catalyses the step-wise hydrolysis of phytic acid, was purified from cotyledons of dormant Corylus avellana L. seeds. The enzyme was separated from the major soluble acid phosphatase by successive (NH4)(2)SO(4) precipitation, gel filtration and cation exchange chromatography resulting in a 300-fold purification and yield of 7.5%. The native enzyme positively interacted with Concanavalin A suggesting that it is putatively glycosylated. After size exclusion chromatography and SDS-PAGE it was found to be a monomeric protein with molecular mass 72+/-2.5 kDa. The hazel enzyme exhibited optimum activity for phytic acid hydrolysis at pH 5 and, like other phytases, had broad substrate specificity. It exhibited the lowest Km (162 microM) and highest specificity constant (V(max)/Km) for phytic acid, indicating that this is the preferred in vivo substrate. It required no metal ion as a co-factor, while inorganic phosphate and fluoride competitively inhibited enzymic activity (Ki=407 microM and Ki=205 microM, respectively).

Enzyme mechanism and catalytic property of beta propeller phytase.

BACKGROUND: Phytases hydrolyze phytic acid (myo-inositol-hexakisphosphate) to less-phosphorylated myo-inositol derivatives and inorganic phosphate. Phytases are used in animal feed to reduce phosphate pollution in the environment. Recently, a thermostable, calcium-dependent Bacillus phytase was identified that represents the first example of the beta propeller fold exhibiting phosphatase activity. We sought to delineate the catalytic mechanism and property of this enzyme. RESULTS: The crystal structure of the enzyme in complex with inorganic phosphate reveals that two phosphates and four calcium ions are tightly bound at the active site. Mutation of the residues involved in the calcium chelation results in severe defects in the enzyme's activity. One phosphate ion, chelating all of the four calcium ions, is close to a water molecule bridging two of the bound calcium ions. Fluoride ion, which is expected to replace this water molecule, is an uncompetitive inhibitor of the enzyme. The enzyme is able to hydrolyze any of the six phosphate groups of phytate. CONCLUSIONS: The enzyme reaction is likely to proceed through a direct attack of the metal-bridging water molecule on the phosphorous atom of a substrate and the subsequent stabilization of the pentavalent transition state by the bound calcium ions. The enzyme has two phosphate binding sites, the "cleavage site", which is responsible for the hydrolysis of a substrate, and the "affinity site", which increases the binding affinity for substrates containing adjacent phosphate groups. The existence of the two nonequivalent phosphate binding sites explains the puzzling formation of the alternately dephosphorylated myo-inositol triphosphates from phytate and the hydrolysis of myo-inositol monophosphates.

Analysis of myo-inositol hexakisphosphate hydrolysis by Bacillus phytase: indication of a novel reaction mechanism.

Phytic acid (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate, InsP(6)) hydrolysis by Bacillus phytase (PhyC) was studied. The enzyme hydrolyses only three phosphates from phytic acid. Moreover, the enzyme seems to prefer the hydrolysis of every second phosphate over that of adjacent ones. Furthermore, it is very likely that the enzyme has two alternative pathways for the hydrolysis of phytic acid, resulting in two different myo-inositol trisphosphate end products: Ins(2,4,6)P(3) and Ins(1,3,5)P(3). These results, together with inhibition studies with fluoride, vanadate, substrate and a substrate analogue, indicate a reaction mechanism different from that of other phytases. By combining the data presented in this study with (1) structural information obtained from the crystal structure of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens phytase [Ha, Oh, Shin, Kim, Oh, Kim, Choi and Oh (2000) Nat. Struct. Biol. 7, 147-153], and (2) computer-modelling analyses of enzyme-substrate complexes, a novel mode of phytic acid hydrolysis is proposed.

Biochemical characterization of cloned Aspergillus fumigatus phytase (phyA).

The gene for Aspergillus fumigatus phytase (phyA) was cloned and expressed in Pichia pastoris. The enzyme expressed was purified to near homogeneity using sequential ion-exchange chromatography and was characterized biochemically. Although A. fumigatus phytase shows 66.2% sequence homology with A. ficuum phytase, the most widely studied enzyme, the cloned phytase showed identical molecular weight and temperature optima profile to the benchmark phytase. The pH profile of activity and kinetic parameters, however, differed from A. ficuum phytase. The cloned enzyme contains the septapeptide RHGARYP motif, which is also identical to the active site motif of A. ficuum phytase. Chemical probing of the active site Arg residues using both cyclohexanedione and phenylglyoxal resulted in the inactivation of phytase. The cloned A. fumigatus phytase, however, was more resistant to phenylglyoxal-induced inactivation. Both cloned A. fumigatus and A. ficuum phytases were identically affected by cyclohexanedione. Both the thermal characterization data and kinetic parameters of cloned and expressed A. fumigatus phytase indicate that this biocatalyst is not superior to the benchmark enzyme. The sequence difference between A. fumigatus and A. ficuum phytase may explain why the former enzyme catalyzes poorly compared to the benchmark enzyme. In addition, differential sensitivity toward the Arg modifier, phenylglyoxal, indicates a different chemical environment at the active site for each of the phytases.

Susceptibility of wheat and Aspergillus niger phytases to inactivation by gastrointestinal enzymes.

The activity of wheat and Aspergillus niger phytases was determined following preincubation for 60 min at 37 degrees C alone or in the presence of pepsin or pancreatin to examine their ability to survive in the gastrointestinal tract. At pH 3.5 both phytases were stable, but at pH 2.5 wheat phytase rapidly lost activity. Following preincubation at pH 3.5 in the presence of 5 mg of pepsin/mL, A. niger phytase retained 95% of its original activity, whereas only 70% of the wheat phytase activity was recovered. The stability of A. niger phytase in the presence of pepsin was the same at pH 2.5 as at pH 3.5. Results similar to those with pepsin at pH 3.5 were obtained following preincubation of the phytases in the presence of pancreatin at pH 6.0.