Genetic characterization of the major lactococcal aromatic aminotransferase and its involvement in conversion of amino acids to aroma compounds.

ABSTRACT: In lactococci, transamination is the first step of the enzymatic conversion of aromatic and branched-chain amino acids to aroma compounds. In previous work we purified and biochemically characterized the major aromatic aminotransferase (AraT) of a Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris strain. Here we characterized the corresponding gene and evaluated the role of AraT in the biosynthesis of amino acids and in the conversion of amino acids to aroma compounds. Amino acid sequence homologies with other aminotransferases showed that the enzyme belongs to a new subclass of the aminotransferase I subfamily gamma; AraT is the best-characterized representative of this new aromatic-amino-acid-specific subclass. We demonstrated that AraT plays a major role in the conversion of aromatic amino acids to ar

SUBMITTER: Rijnen L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC91656 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature