Tulsani_2021_Protein.Expr.Purif_187_105941

Bacterial esterases are gaining the importance in pharmaceuticals and agrochemical industries due to their excellent biocatalytic properties and a wide range of applications. In the present study, a novel gene encoding an esterase (designated as Est-CR) was identified from shotgun metagenomic sequencing data of camel rumen (Camelus dromedarius) liquor. The open reading frame consisted of 1,224bp, which showed 84.03% sequence identity to Bacteroidales bacterium, corresponding to a protein of 407 amino acids and has a catalytic domain belonging to an esterase. Est-CR belonged to family V with GLSMG domain. The purified enzyme with a molecular mass of 62.64skDa was checked on SDS-PAGE, and its expression was confirmed by western blotting. The enzyme was active and stable over a broad range of temperature (35-65s degreesC), displayed the maximum activity at 50s degreesC and pH 7.0. Individually all metal ions inhibited the enzyme activity, while in combination, K(2+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+) and Mn(2+) metal ions enhanced the enzyme activity. The detergents strongly inhibited the activity, while EDTA (10smM) increased the activity of the Est-CR enzyme. The enzyme showed specificity to short-chain substrates and displayed an optimum activity against butyrate ester. This novel enzyme might serve as a promising candidate to meet some harsh industrial processes enzymatic needs.