An alkali-tolerant phospholipase D from Sphingobacterium thalpophilum 2015: Gene cloning, overproduction and characterization

Abstract

The phospholipase pl-S.t gene of Sphingobacterium thalpophilum 2015 was cloned and the gene sequence was submitted to NCBI with Accession Number KX674735.1. The phylogenetic analysis showed that this PL-S.t was clustered to phospholipase D (PLD). As far as we know, the PL-S.t with a molecular mass of 22.5 kDa is the lowest of the currently purified bacterial PLDs, which belongs to a non-HKD PLD enzyme. This PL-S.t was resistant to a wide range of alkali pHs (7.5–9.0) after 1 h incubation, retaining more than 90% of its maximum activity. The PL-S.t activity can be enhanced by Ni²⁺, Co²⁺ and Mn²⁺. This PL-S.t has only one cysteine residue and fewer negatively-charged amino acids (AAs). The hydrogen bonds network was found around the cystein108, which may be beneficial to the stability and activity of PL-S.t in Ni²⁺ solution. This study has laid the foundation for further research on the molecular mechanism of the catalytic characteristics of low molecular weight alkalic PLD from S. thalpophilum 2015.