Enhancing the Alginate Degrading Activity of Streptomyces sp. Strain M3 Alginate Lyase by Mutation

A polyguluronate-specific lyase from Streptomyces sp. strain M3 has been previously cloned and characterized. In this study, the M3 alginate lyase gene in the pColdI vector was mutated by site-directed mutagenesis and random mutagenesis to enhance the alginate degrading activity. Six mutants were obtained: Ser25Arg, Phe99Leu, Asp142Asn, Val163Ala, Lys191Glu, and Gly194Cys. Phe99Leu and Lys191Glu mutants completely lost their alginate lyase activity, whereas the alginate degrading activity of Gly194Cys mutant increased by nearly 10 fold. The 3-D protein structure of M3 alginate lyase, which was constructed using the Swiss-Model automodeler, was also compared to the crystal structure of another alginate lyase. A mutated glycine residue was positioned between Gly193 and Tyr195 of the C-terminal conserved sequence, YFKAGXYXQ. A phenylalanine residue (at position 99) and a glycine residue (at position 194) mutated in this study were distant from the active site, but the degrading activity was strongly affected by their mutation.