Cloning and Characterization of an Enantioselective l-Menthyl Benzoate Hydrolase from Acinetobacter sp. ECU2040

Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2015 Jun;176(4):1102-13. doi: 10.1007/s12010-015-1632-0. Epub 2015 May 1.

Abstract

A new esterase gene abmbh, encoding a benzoate hydrolase which can enantioselectively hydrolyze l-menthyl benzoate to l-menthol, was recently identified from the genomic library of a soil isolate Acinetobacter sp. ECU2040. The abmbh gene contains a 1080-bp open reading frame encoding a protein of 360 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 40.7 kDa. The corresponding enzyme AbMBH was functionally expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), purified, and characterized. The AbMBH displayed the maximum activity towards p-nitrophenyl butyrate at 50 °C, and an optimum pH of 8.5. A K M of 2.6 mM and a k cat of 0.26 s(-1) were observed towards dl-menthyl benzoate. The AbMBH exhibited a moderate enantioselectivity (E = 27.5) towards dl-menthyl benzoate. It can also catalyze the enantioselective hydrolysis of a variety of racemic menthyl esters, including dl-menthyl acetate, dl-menthyl chloroacetate, and dl-menthyl butyrate.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acinetobacter / chemistry*
  • Acinetobacter / enzymology
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Benzoates / chemistry*
  • Butyrates / chemistry
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Escherichia coli / metabolism
  • Esterases / chemistry*
  • Esterases / genetics
  • Gene Expression
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Hydrolysis
  • Kinetics
  • Menthol / chemistry*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Molecular Weight
  • Open Reading Frames
  • Recombinant Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Stereoisomerism
  • Substrate Specificity

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Benzoates
  • Butyrates
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Menthol
  • 4-nitrophenyl butyrate
  • Esterases