A hydrolase from Lactobacillus sakei moonlights as a transaminase.

ABSTRACT: Enzymatic transamination of amino acids yields α-keto acids and is the initial step for the production of volatile compounds that contribute to the sensory perception of fermented foods such as salami. Lactobacillus sakei is one of the lactic acid bacterial strains commonly used in starter cultures. Although the genome sequence of L. sakei 23K lacks genes encoding typical branched-chain amino acid transaminases, transamination activity and the formation of amino acid-derived volatile metabolites could be demonstrated. A protein purified from L. sakei is held responsible for the transamination activity. By heterologous expression of the corresponding gene in Escherichia coli, we were able to characterize the transamination side activity of an enzyme annotated as a putative acylphosphatase (

SUBMITTER: Sinz Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3623254 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature