꿀벌(Apis mellifera)의 장으로부터 xylan분해능이 우수한 세균 HY-20을 분리하였고, Bacillus 속으로 동정하였다. 분리균주 HY-20의 세포 외 GH11 xylanase (XylP) 유전자 (687-bp)는 25,522 Da의 분자량과 9.33의 pI 값을 갖는 228개의 아미노산으로 구성된 단백질을 인코딩하는 것으로 확인되었으며, 지금까지 특성규명이 이루어지지 않은 B. pumilus xylanase (GenBank accession no.: AY526092)의 아미노산 서열과 97%의 상동성을 보였다. pET-28a(+)/xylP를 포함하고 있는 Escherichia coli BL21 균주에서 과발현 된 His-tagged XylP (rXylP)는 cation exchange 및 gel permeation chromatography를 통해 순수하게 분리 정제 되었으며, $50^{circ}C$의 온도와 pH 6.5 조건에서 반응할 때 birchwood xylan에 대해 가장 높은 가수분해 활성을 나타내었다. rXylP는 15분간 $55^{circ}C$에 노출될 때 본래 활성의 약 50%를 잃어버리는 전형적인 중온성 효소의 특성을 보였으며, $Hg^{2+}$ (1mM)와 N-bromosuccinimide (5mM)에 노출될 때 완전히 불활성화 되었고, $Mn^{2+}$ (1 mM), $Fe^{2+}$ (1mM) 및 sodium azide (5 mM)에 의해서는 활성이 약 10% 증가될 수 있는 것으로 밝혀졌다. 한편, rXylP는 xylose유래 다당류는 효율적으로 분해하였지만 PNP-sugar 유도체 및 glucose 유래 다당류는 분해하지 못하였다.
A xylan-decomposing bacterium, HY-20, was isolated from the gut of a honeybee, Apis mellifera, and identified as Bacillus sp. The extracellular GH11 xylanase (XylP) gene (687-bp) of strain HY-20 encoded a protein of 228 amino acids with a deduced molecular mass of 25,522 Da and a calculated pI of 9.33. The primary structure of XylP was 97% identical to that of B. pumilus xylanase (GenBank accession no.: AY526092) that has not been characterized yet. The recombinant His-tagged enzyme (rXylP) overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 harboring pET-28a(+)/xylP was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by cation exchange and gel permeation chromatographies. The purified enzyme exhibited the highest catalytic activity toward birchwood xylan at pH 6.5 and $50^{circ}C$ and retained approximately 50% of its original activity when pre-incubated at $55^{circ}C$ for 15 min. The recombinant enzyme was completely inactivated by $Hg^{2+}$ (1 mM) and N-bromosuccinimide (5 mM), while its activity was slightly stimulated by approximately 10% in the presence of $Mn^{2+}$ (1 mM), $Fe^{2+}$ (1 mM), and sodium azide (5 mM). rXylP was able to efficiently degrade various polymeric xylose-based substrates but PNP-sugar derivatives and glucose-based polymers were not susceptible to the enzyme.
