The lipolytic system of Bacillus megaterium 370 was investigated, showing the existence of at least two secreted lipases and a cell-bound esterase. A gene coding for an extracellular lipase was isolated and cloned in Escherichia coli. The cloned enzyme displayed high activity on short to medium chain length (C(4)-C(8)) substrates, and poor activity on C(18) substrates. On the basis of amino acid sequence homology, the cloned lipase was classified into subfamily I.4 of bacterial lipases.
Copyright 2002 Federation of European Microbiological Societies