A gram-negative bacterium producing a heat-stable nitrilase highly active on aliphatic dinitriles

Gavagan, J.E.; DiCosimo, R.; Eisenberg, A.; Fager, S.K.; Folsom, P.W.; Hann, E.C.; Schneider, K.J.; Fallon, R.D.

A gram-negative bacterium producing a heat-stable nitrilase highly active on aliphatic dinitriles

1999

A Gram-negative bacterial strain, identified as Acidovorax facilis strain 72W, has been isolated from soil by enrichment using 2-ethylsuccinonitrile as the sole nitrogen source. This strain grows on a variety of aliphatic mono- and dinitriles. Experiments using various heating regimes indicate that nitrile hydratase, amidase and nitrilase activities are present. The nitrilase is efficient at hydrolyzing aliphatic dinitriles to cyanoacid intermediates. It has a strong bias for C(3)-C(6) dinitriles over mononitriles of the same chain length. Whole, resting cell hydrolysis of 2-methylglutaronitrile results in 4-cyanopentanoic acid and 2-methylglutaric acid as the major products. Heating, at least 20 min at 50 degrees C, eliminates nitrile hydratase and amidase activities, resulting in greater than 97% selectivity to 4-cyanopentanoic acid. The nitrilase activity has good heat stability, showing a half-life of 22.7 h at 50 degrees C and a temperature optimum of at least 65 degrees C for activity. The strain has been deposited as ATCC 55746.

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