A novel beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase of Clostridium paraputrificum M-21 with high activity on chitobiose.

A beta- N-acetylglucosaminidase gene ( nag3A) from Clostridium paraputrificum M-21 was cloned in Escherichia coli. The nag3A gene consists of an open reading frame of 1,239-bp, encoding 413 amino acids with a deduced molecular weight of 45,531 Da. Nag3A is a single domain enzyme containing a family 3 glycoside hydrolase catalytic domain. Nag3A was purified from recombinant E. coli and characterized. The enzyme hydrolyzed chitooligomers such as di- N-acetylchitobiose, tri- N-acetylchitotriose, tetra- N-acetylchitotetraose, penta- N-acetylchitopentaose, hexa- N-acetylchitohexaose, ball-milled chitin, and synthetic substrates such as 4-methylumbelliferyl N-acetyl beta- D-glucosaminide [4-MU-(GlcNAc)], but had no activity at all against p-nitrophenyl-beta- D-glucoside, p-nitrophenyl-beta- D-xyloside, or p-nitrophenyl-beta- D-galactosamine. The enzyme was optimally active at 50 degrees C and pH 7.0, and the apparent K(m) and V(max) values for 4-MU-(GlcNAc) were 7.9 micro M and 21.8 micro mol min(-1) mg protein(-1), respectively. SDS-PAGE, zymogram, and immunological analyses suggested that this enzyme is induced by ball-milled chitin.