Francesco La Cara
National Research Council
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Featured researches published by Francesco La Cara.
Plant Science | 2002
Raffaella Briante; Maurizio Patumi; Simona Limongelli; Ferdinando Febbraio; Carlo Vaccaro; Anna Di Salle; Francesco La Cara; Roberto Nucci
Abstract During the ripening of two Italian cultivars of Olea europaea L. (Ascolana Tenera and Frantoio Seedling no. 17 (FS17)) we have identified a β-glucosidase activity that contributes to the oleuropein degradation during maturation as well as an esterase activity, whose trend during the ripening is hypothesised to be linked to the fatty acid biosynthesis involved later in the maturation of fruits. This activity, in fact, is involved in the estereolysis of C3 and C4 esters that supply acetyl-CoA as the basic unit for fatty acid biosynthesis. The data obtained during the ripening indicate that polyphenol content and composition, in particular the oleuropein concentration, and their correlation with the recovered enzymatic activities, will be useful for a biochemical characterisation of different O. europaea L. varieties as important parameters in testing the quality of the obtainable oils.
Journal of Biotechnology | 2002
Raffaella Briante; Francesco La Cara; Ferdinando Febbraio; Maurizio Patumi; Roberto Nucci
A very simple method is proposed to produce, using non-homogeneous hyperthermophilic beta-glycosidase immobilised on chitosan, 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylethanol (hydroxytyrosol), a commercially unavailable compound with well known biological properties which justify a potential commercial application. Leaf extracts from Olea europaea with high oleuropein content are selected as substrate for biotransformation. Under the biotransformation conditions, high amounts of hydroxytyrosol are collected within a short space of time after being preliminarily purified by a non-treated chitosan column. This is possible due to the capacity of amino groups on the chitosan to bind aldehydic groups of molecules present at the end of the reaction. We have produced a natural and non-toxic product from vegetal source, as opposed to the molecule obtainable through chemical synthesis, as a candidate to test in vivo its biological properties. The proposed process may prove useful for a further application for recycling Olea europaea leaves. The radical-scavenging properties of the bioreactor eluates and their capacity to inhibit fatty acid peroxidation rates are characterized in order to make them candidates as substitutes for synthetic antioxidants commonly used to increase the shelf-life of food products as well as for their possible protective effect in human cells.
Journal of Biotechnology | 2000
Raffaella Briante; Francesco La Cara; Ferdinando Febbraio; Roberto Barone; Gennaro Piccialli; Rita Carolla; Pietro Mainolfi; Lorenzo De Napoli; Maurizio Patumi; Giuseppe Fontanazza; Roberto Nucci
The recombinant beta-glycosidase (EcS beta gly) from Sulfolobus solfataricus was immobilised on chitosan to perform the enzymatic hydrolysis of commercial oleuropein (heterosidic ester of elenolic acid and 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylethanol (hydroxytyrosol)) at two temperatures (60 and 70 degrees C). Interestingly, on the basis of the reasonable assumption that the enzyme hydrolyses only the sugar linkage, the biotransformation produces unstable aglycone species formed by oleuropein hydrolysis that, differently from some commercially available beta-glucosidases tested, give rise to the formation of hydroxytyrosol, at the operative temperatures of the bioreactor. The results of the biotransformation at 70 degrees C showed that the main products are hydroxytyrosol, and glucose, being the oleuropein aglycone present in low amount at the end of reaction. Both in single step approach or in recycle approach the amounts of glucose and oleuropein aglycone were lightly dependent from flow rate. The amount of hydroxytyrosol, increased on decreasing the flow rate of bioreactor in recycle approach, following a non-linear trend and obtaining the highest value at a flow rate of 15 ml h-1 while in the single step approach the 3,4-dihydroxy-phenylethanol was at its maximum at higher flow rate (16 ml h-1). For the hydrolysis of the oleuropein by bioreactor at 60 degrees C we used lower molar ratio oleuropein/enzyme only by the single step approach. In these conditions it is possible to obtain high amounts of only two products (glucose and hydroxytyrosol) in short time (2 h). The stability of the bioreactor at the operative temperatures showed a t1/2 of 30 days at 70 degrees C and a t1/2 of 56 days at 60 degrees C.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology | 2008
Angela Pennacchio; Biagio Pucci; Francesco Secundo; Francesco La Cara; Mosè Rossi; Carlo A. Raia
ABSTRACT The gene encoding a novel alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) that belongs to the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) superfamily was identified in the extremely thermophilic, halotolerant gram-negative eubacterium Thermus thermophilus HB27. The T. thermophilus ADH gene (adhTt) was heterologously overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and the protein (ADHTt) was purified to homogeneity and characterized. ADHTt is a tetrameric enzyme consisting of identical 26,961-Da subunits composed of 256 amino acids. The enzyme has remarkable thermophilicity and thermal stability, displaying activity at temperatures up to ∼73°C and a 30-min half-inactivation temperature of ∼90°C, as well as good tolerance to common organic solvents. ADHTt has a strict requirement for NAD(H) as the coenzyme, a preference for reduction of aromatic ketones and α-keto esters, and poor activity on aromatic alcohols and aldehydes. This thermophilic enzyme catalyzes the following reactions with Prelog specificity: the reduction of acetophenone, 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone, α-tetralone, and α-methyl and α-ethyl benzoylformates to (S)-(−)-1-phenylethanol (>99% enantiomeric excess [ee]), (R)-α-(trifluoromethyl)benzyl alcohol (93% ee), (S)-α-tetralol (>99% ee), methyl (R)-(−)-mandelate (92% ee), and ethyl (R)-(−)-mandelate (95% ee), respectively, by way of an efficient in situ NADH-recycling system involving 2-propanol and a second thermophilic ADH. This study further supports the critical role of the D37 residue in discriminating NAD(H) from NADP(H) in members of the SDR superfamily.
Biochimie | 2010
Immacolata Castellano; Antonello Merlino; Mosè Rossi; Francesco La Cara
Gamma-glutamyltranspeptidases (gamma-GTs) catalyze the transfer of the gamma-glutamyl moiety of glutathione and related gamma-glutamyl amides to water (hydrolysis) or to amino acids and peptides (transpeptidation) and play a key role in glutathione metabolism. Recently, gamma-GTs have been considered attractive pharmaceutical targets for cancer and useful tools to produce gamma-glutamyl compounds. To find out gamma-GTs with special properties we have chosen microorganisms belonging to Geobacillus species which are source of several thermostable enzymes of potential interest for biotechnology. gamma-GT from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans (GthGT) was cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli, purified to homogeneity and characterized. The enzyme, synthesized as a precursor homotetrameric protein of 61-kDa per subunit, undergoes an internal post-translational cleavage of the 61 kDa monomer into 40- and 21-kDa shorter subunits, which are then assembled into an active heterotetramer composed of two 40- and two 21-kDa subunits. The kinetic characterization of the hydrolysis reaction using L-glutamic acid gamma-(4-nitroanilide) as the substrate reveals that the active enzyme has K(m) 7.6 microM and V(max) 0.36 micromol min/mg. The optimum pH and temperature for the hydrolysis activity are 7.8 and 52 degrees C, respectively. GthGT hydrolyses the physiological antioxidant glutathione, suggesting an involvement of the enzyme in the cellular defense mechanism against oxidative stress. Unlike other gamma-GTs, the mutation of the highly conserved catalytic nucleophile, Thr353, abolishes the post-translational cleavage of the pro-enzyme, but does not completely block the hydrolytic action. Furthermore, GthGT does not show any transpeptidase activity, suggesting that the enzyme is a specialized gamma-glutamyl hydrolase. The GthGT homology-model structure reveals peculiar structural features, which should be responsible for the different functional properties of the enzyme and suggests the structural bases of protein thermostability.
Journal of Bacteriology | 2006
Giovanni D'Errico; Anna Di Salle; Francesco La Cara; Mosè Rossi; Raffaele Cannio
An open reading frame (draSO) encoding a putative sulfite oxidase (SO) was identified in the sequence of chromosome II of Deinococcus radiodurans; the predicted gene product showed significant amino acid sequence homology to several bacterial and eukaryotic SOs, such as the biochemically and structurally characterized enzyme from Arabidopsis thaliana. Cloning of the Deinococcus SO gene was performed by PCR amplification from the bacterial genomic DNA, and heterologous gene expression of a histidine-tagged polypeptide was obtained in a molybdopterin-overproducing strain of Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity by nickel chelating affinity chromatography, and its main kinetic and chemical physical parameters were determined. Northern blot and enzyme activity analyses indicated that draSO gene expression is constitutive in D. radiodurans and that there is no increase upon exposure to thiosulfate and/or molybdenum(II).
Bioelectromagnetics | 1999
Francesco La Cara; Maria Rosaria Scarffi; Sabato D'Auria; Rita Massa; Guglielmo d'Ambrosio; Giorgio Franceschetti; Mosè Rossi; Mario De Rosa
The effect of microwave (f = 10.4 GHz) irradiation on a thermostable enzyme was experimentally tested, showing that irreversible inactivation is obtained. Enzymatic solutions (500 microliters, with concentrations between 10-100 micrograms/ml) were exposed at 70 degrees C, at SAR levels of 1.1 and 1.7 W/g for 15, 30, 45, or 60 min, and their activity was compared to that of a sample heated in a water bath at the same temperature. The residual activity of the exposed samples depends on enzyme concentration, microwave power level, and exposure time; activity was reduced to 10% in 10 micrograms/ml solutions treated at 1.7 W/g for 60 min. Microwave effects disappeared at concentrations above 50 micrograms/ml. These results were not found following water bath heating at the same temperature and durations.
Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology | 2015
Antonella Amore; Binod Parameswaran; Ramesh Kumar; Leila Birolo; Loredana Marcolongo; Elena Ionata; Francesco La Cara; Ashok Pandey; Vincenza Faraco
Background Cellulases and xylanases are the key enzymes involved in the conversion of lignocelluloses into fermentable sugars. Western Ghat region (India) has been recognized as an active hot spot for the isolation of new microorganisms. The aim of this work was to isolate new microorganisms producing cellulases and xylanases to be applied in brewers spent grain saccharification. Results 93 microorganisms were isolated from Western Ghat and screened for the production of cellulase and xylanase activities. Fourteen cellulolytic and seven xylanolytic microorganisms were further screened in liquid culture. Particular attention was focused on the new isolate Bacillus amyloliquefaciens XR44A, producing xylanase activity up to 10.5 U mL−1. A novel endo-1,4-beta xylanase was identified combining zymography and proteomics and recognized as the main enzyme responsible for B. amyloliquefaciens XR44A xylanase activity. The new xylanase activity was partially characterized and its application in saccharification of brewers spent grain, pretreated by aqueous ammonia soaking, was investigated. Conclusion The culture supernatant of B. amyloliquefaciens XR44A with xylanase activity allowed a recovery of around 43% xylose during brewers spent grain saccharification, similar to the value obtained with a commercial xylanase from Trichoderma viride, and a maximum arabinose yield of 92%, around 2-fold higher than that achieved with the commercial xylanase.
Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology | 1996
Sabato D’Auria; Fernando Pellino; Francesco La Cara; Roberto Barone; Mosè Rossi; Roberto Nucci
ASulfolobus solfataricus β-glycosidase expressed inSaccharomyces cerevisiae (Sβgly) was immobilized on chitosan activated with glutaraldehyde. The yield of immobilization was evaluated as 80%. Compared to the free β-glycosidase, the immobilized enzyme showed a similar pH optimum (pH = 7.0), the same increasing activity up to 80°C, improved thermostability, and no inhibition by glucose. Functional studies pointed out that the kinetic constant values for both enzymes were comparable. A bioreactor, assembled with the immobilized Sβgly, was used for glucose production. The values of cellobiose conversion increased on increasing residence time in the bioreactor, following a nonlinear trend. However, the highest glucose production/ min was obtained at a flow of 0.5 mL/min.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta | 2012
Andrea Pica; Irene Russo Krauss; Immacolata Castellano; Mosè Rossi; Francesco La Cara; Giuseppe Graziano; Filomena Sica; Antonello Merlino
γ-glutamyltranspeptidases (γ-GTs) are ubiquitous enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of γ-glutamyl bonds in glutathione and glutamine and the transfer of the released γ-glutamyl group to amino acids or short peptides. These enzymes are generally synthesized as precursor proteins, which undergo an intra-molecular autocatalytic cleavage yielding a large and a small subunit. In this study, circular dichroism and intrinsic fluorescence measurements have been used to investigate the structural features and the temperature- and guanidinium hydrochloride (GdnHCl)-induced unfolding of the mature form of the γ-GT from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans (GthGT) and that of its T353A mutant, which represents a mimic of the precursor protein. Data indicate that a) the mutant and the mature GthGT have a different secondary structure content and a slightly different exposure of hydrophobic regions, b) the thermal unfolding processes of both GthGT forms occur through a three-state model, characterized by a stable intermediate species, whereas chemical denaturations proceed through a single transition, c) both GthGT forms exhibit remarkable stability against temperature, but they do not display a strong resistance to the denaturing action of GdnHCl. These findings suggest that electrostatic interactions significantly contribute to the protein stability and that both the precursor and the mature form of GthGT assume compact and stable conformations to resist to the extreme temperatures where G. thermodenidrificans lives. Owing to its thermostability and unique catalytic properties, GthGT is an excellent candidate to be used as a glutaminase in food industry.