Timo Stressler

Biodiversity of refrigerated raw milk microbiota and their enzymatic spoilage potential.

The refrigerated storage of raw milk selects for psychrotolerant microorganisms, many of which produce peptidases and lipases. Some of these enzymes are heat resistant and are not sufficiently inactivated by pasteurisation or even ultra-high temperature (UHT) treatment. In the current study, 20 different raw cows milk samples from single farms and dairy bulk tanks were analysed close to delivery to the dairies or close to processing in the dairy for their cultivable microbiota as well as the lipolytic and proteolytic potential of the isolated microorganisms. Altogether, 2906 isolates have been identified and assigned to 169 species and 61 genera. Pseudomonas, Lactococcus and Acinetobacter were the most abundant genera making up 62% of all isolates, whereas 46 genera had an abundance of <1% and represent only 6.6%. Of all isolates, 18% belong to hitherto unknown species, indicating that a large fraction of the milk microbiota is still unexplored. The potential of the isolates to produce lipases or peptidases followed in many cases a genus or group specific pattern. All isolates identified as members of the genus Pseudomonas exhibited mainly lipolytic and proteolytic activity or solely proteolytic activity. On the other hand, nearly all isolates of the genus Acinetobacter were lipolytic but not proteolytic. Only 37% of all tested lactic acid bacteria (LAB) showed enzymatic activity at 6 °C and the type of activity was proteolytic in 97% of these cases.

Characterization of the Recombinant Exopeptidases PepX and PepN from Lactobacillus helveticus ATCC 12046 Important for Food Protein Hydrolysis

The proline-specific X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase (PepX; EC 3.4.14.11) and the general aminopeptidase N (PepN; EC 3.4.11.2) from Lactobacillus helveticus ATCC 12046 were produced recombinantly in E. coli BL21(DE3) via bioreactor cultivation. The maximum enzymatic activity obtained for PepX was 800 µkatH-Ala-Pro-pNA L−1, which is approx. 195-fold higher than values published previously. To the best of our knowledge, PepN was expressed in E. coli at high levels for the first time. The PepN activity reached 1,000 µkatH-Ala-pNA L−1. After an automated chromatographic purification, both peptidases were biochemically and kinetically characterized in detail. Substrate inhibition of PepN and product inhibition of both PepX and PepN were discovered for the first time. An apo-enzyme of the Zn2+-dependent PepN was generated, which could be reactivated by several metal ions in the order of Co2+>Zn2+>Mn2+>Ca2+>Mg2+. PepX and PepN exhibited a clear synergistic effect in casein hydrolysis studies. Here, the relative degree of hydrolysis (rDH) was increased by approx. 132%. Due to the remarkable temperature stability at 50°C and the complementary substrate specificities of both peptidases, a future application in food protein hydrolysis might be possible.

Flavourzyme, an Enzyme Preparation with Industrial Relevance: Automated Nine-Step Purification and Partial Characterization of Eight Enzymes

Flavourzyme is sold as a peptidase preparation from Aspergillus oryzae. The enzyme preparation is widely and diversely used for protein hydrolysis in industrial and research applications. However, detailed information about the composition of this mixture is still missing due to the complexity. The present study identified eight key enzymes by mass spectrometry and partially by activity staining on native polyacrylamide gels or gel zymography. The eight enzymes identified were two aminopeptidases, two dipeptidyl peptidases, three endopeptidases, and one α-amylase from the A. oryzae strain ATCC 42149/RIB 40 (yellow koji mold). Various specific marker substrates for these Flavourzyme enzymes were ascertained. An automated, time-saving nine-step protocol for the purification of all eight enzymes within 7 h was designed. Finally, the purified Flavourzyme enzymes were biochemically characterized with regard to pH and temperature profiles and molecular sizes.

Production Strategies and Applications of Microbial Single Cell Oils.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of the ω-3 and ω-6 class (e.g., α-linolenic acid, linoleic acid) are essential for maintaining biofunctions in mammalians like humans. Due to the fact that humans cannot synthesize these essential fatty acids, they must be taken up from different food sources. Classical sources for these fatty acids are porcine liver and fish oil. However, microbial lipids or single cell oils, produced by oleaginous microorganisms such as algae, fungi and bacteria, are a promising source as well. These single cell oils can be used for many valuable chemicals with applications not only for nutrition but also for fuels and are therefore an ideal basis for a bio-based economy. A crucial point for the establishment of microbial lipids utilization is the cost-effective production and purification of fuels or products of higher value. The fermentative production can be realized by submerged (SmF) or solid state fermentation (SSF). The yield and the composition of the obtained microbial lipids depend on the type of fermentation and the particular conditions (e.g., medium, pH-value, temperature, aeration, nitrogen source). From an economical point of view, waste or by-product streams can be used as cheap and renewable carbon and nitrogen sources. In general, downstream processing costs are one of the major obstacles to be solved for full economic efficiency of microbial lipids. For the extraction of lipids from microbial biomass cell disruption is most important, because efficiency of cell disruption directly influences subsequent downstream operations and overall extraction efficiencies. A multitude of cell disruption and lipid extraction methods are available, conventional as well as newly emerging methods, which will be described and discussed in terms of large scale applicability, their potential in a modern biorefinery and their influence on product quality. Furthermore, an overview is given about applications of microbial lipids or derived fatty acids with emphasis on food applications.

Enzymatic production of lactulose and epilactose in milk

The enzymatic production of lactulose was described recently through conversion of lactose by a thermophilic cellobiose 2-epimerase from Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus (CsCE). In the current study, we examined the application of CsCE for lactulose and epilactose production in milk (1.5% fat). The bioconversions were carried out in stirred reaction vessels at 2 different temperatures (50 and 8°C) at a scale of 25 mL volume. At 50°C, 2 highly different CsCE amounts were investigated for the time course of formation of lactulose and epilactose. The conversion of milk lactose (initial lactose content of 48.5 ± 2.1 g/L) resulted in a final yield of 57.7% (28.0 g/L) lactulose and 15.5% (7.49 g/L) epilactose in the case of the approximately 9.5-fold higher CsCE amount (39.5 µkat epilactose, 50°C) after 24 h. Another enzymatic lactose conversion was carried out at low 8°C, an industrially relevant temperature for milk processing. Although the CsCE originated from a thermophilic microorganism, it was still applicable at 8°C. This enzymatic lactose conversion resulted in 56.7% (27.5 g/L) lactulose and 13.6% (6.57 g/L) epilactose from initial milk lactose after 72 h. The time courses of lactose conversion by CsCE suggested that first epilactose formed and afterward lactulose via epilactose. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that an enzyme has produced lactulose directly in milk in situ at industrially relevant temperatures.

Production, active staining and gas chromatography assay analysis of recombinant aminopeptidase P from Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis DSM 20481

The aminopeptidase P (PepP, EC 3.4.11.9) gene from Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis DSM 20481 was cloned, sequenced and expressed recombinantly in E. coli BL21 (DE3) for the first time. PepP is involved in the hydrolysis of proline-rich proteins and, thus, is important for the debittering of protein hydrolysates. For accurate determination of PepP activity, a novel gas chromatographic assay was established. The release of L-leucine during the hydrolysis of L-leucine-L-proline-L-proline (LPP) was examined for determination of PepP activity. Sufficient recombinant PepP production was achieved via bioreactor cultivation at 16 °C, resulting in PepP activity of 90 μkatLPP Lculture-1. After automated chromatographic purification by His-tag affinity chromatography followed by desalting, PepP activity of 73.8 μkatLPP Lculture-1 was achieved. This was approximately 700-fold higher compared to the purified native PepP produced by Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis NCDO 763 as described in literature. The molecular weight of PepP was estimated to be ~ 40 kDa via native-PAGE together with a newly developed activity staining method and by SDS-PAGE. Furthermore, the kinetic parameters Km and Vmax were determined for PepP using three different tripeptide substrates. The purified enzyme showed a pH optimum between 7.0 and 7.5, was most active between 50°C and 60°C and exhibited reasonable stability at 0°C, 20°C and 37°C over 15 days. PepP activity could be increased 6-fold using 8.92 mM MnCl2 and was inhibited by 1,10-phenanthroline and EDTA.

Pseudomonas helleri sp. nov. and Pseudomonas weihenstephanensis sp. nov., isolated from raw cow's milk.

Analysis of the microbiota of raw cows milk and semi-finished milk products yielded seven isolates assigned to the genus Pseudomonas that formed two individual groups in a phylogenetic analysis based on partial rpoD and 16S rRNA gene sequences. The two groups could be differentiated from each other and also from their closest relatives as well as from the type species Pseudomonas aeruginosa by phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characterization and average nucleotide identity (ANIb) values calculated from draft genome assemblies. ANIb values within the groups were higher than 97.3 %, whereas similarity values to the closest relatives were 85 % or less. The major cellular lipids of strains WS4917T and WS4993T were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol; the major quinone was Q-9 in both strains, with small amounts of Q-8 in strain WS4917T. The DNA G+C contents of strains WS4917T and WS4993T were 58.08 and 57.30 mol%, respectively. Based on these data, strains WS4917T, WS4995 ( = DSM 29141 = LMG 28434), WS4999, WS5001 and WS5002 should be considered as representatives of a novel species of the genus Pseudomonas, for which the name Pseudomonas helleri sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Pseudomonas helleri is strain WS4917T ( = DSM 29165T = LMG 28433T). Strains WS4993T and WS4994 ( = DSM 29140 = LMG 28438) should be recognized as representing a second novel species of the genus Pseudomonas, for which the name Pseudomonas weihenstephanensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Pseudomonas weihenstephanensis is strain WS4993T ( = DSM 29166T = LMG 28437T).

Automated multi-step purification protocol for Angiotensin-I-Converting-Enzyme (ACE).

Highly purified proteins are essential for the investigation of the functional and biochemical properties of proteins. The purification of a protein requires several steps, which are often time-consuming. In our study, the Angiotensin-I-Converting-Enzyme (ACE; EC 3.4.15.1) was solubilised from pig lung without additional detergents, which are commonly used, under mild alkaline conditions in a Tris-HCl buffer (50mM, pH 9.0) for 48h. An automation of the ACE purification was performed using a multi-step protocol in less than 8h, resulting in a purified protein with a specific activity of 37Umg(-1) (purification factor 308) and a yield of 23.6%. The automated ACE purification used an ordinary fast-protein-liquid-chromatography (FPLC) system equipped with two additional switching valves. These switching valves were needed for the buffer stream inversion and for the connection of the Superloop™ used for the protein parking. Automated ACE purification was performed using four combined chromatography steps, including two desalting procedures. The purification methods contained two hydrophobic interaction chromatography steps, a Cibacron 3FG-A chromatography step and a strong anion exchange chromatography step. The purified ACE was characterised by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and native-PAGE. The estimated monomer size of the purified glycosylated ACE was determined to be ∼175kDa by SDS-PAGE, with the dimeric form at ∼330kDa as characterised by a native PAGE using a novel activity staining protocol. For the activity staining, the tripeptide l-Phe-Gly-Gly was used as the substrate. The ACE cleaved the dipeptide Gly-Gly, releasing the l-Phe to be oxidised with l-amino acid oxidase. Combined with peroxidase and o-dianisidine, the generated H(2)O(2) stained a brown coloured band. This automated purification protocol can be easily adapted to be used with other protein purification tasks.

Batch-to-batch variation and storage stability of the commercial peptidase preparation Flavourzyme in respect of key enzyme activities and its influence on process reproducibility

The synergy of endopeptidases and exopeptidases is the key for an efficient hydrolysis of proteins. Flavourzyme is sold as a commercial peptidase preparation from Aspergillus oryzae that exhibits various endo- and exopeptidase activities and, therefore, generates protein hydrolysates with high degrees of hydrolysis. The manufacturer (Novozymes) standardizes the enzyme preparation for one peptidase activity, determined with the marker substrate H-Leu-pNA. However, seven peptidases of Flavourzyme were recently identified and purified, and the significant contribution of six of them to wheat gluten hydrolysis was demonstrated. The knowledge about the batch-to-batch variation and storage stability of the Flavourzyme preparation regarding the other peptidase activities are still unclear, and this is important information for the usage of the enzyme preparation to gain reproducible protein hydrolysis processes. In the present study, we tested 12 Flavourzyme batches for the activity of the seven peptidases. The impact of the storage time on the peptidase activities and the magnitude of the batch-to-batch variation were investigated. In contrast to the activity determined with H-Leu-pNA as a substrate, the variations of the other peptidase activities were noticeable. The variation of the endopeptidase activity was most distinct and the activity decreased during the storage time of the preparation. The variation of the Flavourzyme composition also affected the reproducibility of a casein batch hydrolysis process, which should be taken into account for any future research and industrial application.

Quantification of dabsylated di- and tri-peptides in fermented milk.

An improved HPLC method using pre-column dabsyl chloride derivatisation for the separation and quantification of antihypertensive di- and tri-peptides in fermented milk products was established. The dabsylated peptides Val-Pro-Pro (VPP), Ile-Pro-Pro (IPP), Leu-Pro-Pro (LPP) and Phe-Pro (FP) were separated on a C18-column coupled to UV/VIS and mass spectrometric detector, respectively. Due to the derivatisation of the peptides, an HPLC base line separation was achieved and the peak width was improved. The VIS-spectrometry did not allow a good quantification of these peptides since more than one peptide co-eluted under one single peak. In contrast applying LC-ESI-MS with a single quadrupole much better quantification of the dabsylated peptides was done. In Evolus® (Valio Ltd., Finland), a fermented milk drink, 6.9 mg L(-1) for VPP, 6.1 mg L(-1) for IPP, 0.8 mg L(-1) for LPP and 3.2 mg L(-1) for FP were determined. In fermented reconstituted milk (Lactobacillus helveticus, 37°C, 48 h) lower concentrations of these peptides were determined (0.7, 0.6, 0.0 and 2.2 mg L(-1), respectively).