Chen_2025_Enzyme.Microb.Technol_187_110619

Acetic acid production from corn straw by enzyme catalysis shows its application value in food industry. In this study, a gene encoding for a putative acetyl esterase derived from Sphingobacterium soilsilvae Em02 was discovered in metagenome assembled genome. The gene was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 to obtain enzyme with a molecular mass of 38.8 kDa. P-Nitrophenyl acetate was used as a substrate to determine the enzyme activity. The enzyme demonstrated optimal activity under conditions of 40 degreesC and a neutral pH of 7.0. Under optimal conditions, 17.58 mg of acetic acid was obtained using the enzyme from 50 mg corn straw pretreated with amylase. The acetyl esterase derived from Sphingobacterium soilsilvae Em02, demonstrates significant potential for biotechnological applications, particularly in biomass degradation.