Abstract
A β-1,4-mannanase producing bacterium was isolated from soil collected in Akita Prefecture, Japan. The bacterium was identified as Paenibacillus polymyxa KT551 and was shown to produce a novel β-1,4-mannanase. The novelty of the enzyme was established by its N-terminal amino acid sequence, molecular weight and isoelectric point. The isolated β-1,4-mannanase showed activity against mannotetraose, mannopentaose and mannohexaose to produce mannobiose, mannotriose and mannotetraose. However, the enzyme exhibited no activity against mannobiose and mannotriose. Moreover, the crude enzyme preparation of the bacterium had no or minimal β-mannosidase or α-galactosidase activity. Therefore, the enzyme preparation from P. polymyxa KT551 holds potential for the efficient production of mannooligosaccharides from natural resources of galactomannans.
