Abstract
Nine distinct fragments of Clostridium stercorarium strain F-9 (which was isolated and identified in this laboratory) DNA have been cloned in Escherichia coli and shown to express enzymatic activities related to xylan hydrolysis. Two of the 9 E. coli clones showed xylanase activity, one showed β-xylosidase activity as well as xylanase activity, and the other 6 showed β-xylosidase activity. On comparing the restriction maps of the xylanase and xylosidase genes cloned in this study with those reported so far, it was concluded that all the 9 clones carried hitherto unidentified genes. All the enzymes expressed in the E. coli clones were thermophilic.
