Enzymatic hydrolysis of agar: purification and characterization of neoagarobiose hydrolase and p-nitrophenyl α-galactoside hydrolases

Abstract

The mixture of polysaccharides in the gelling component of agar (agarose) is hydrolyzed to D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose by a series of hydrolytic enzymes obtained from Pseudomonas atlantica. The final degradative step in the pathway of agarose decomposition is the hydrolysis of the α-linkage in the dissaccharide neoagarobiose yielding D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose. Pseudomonas atlantica when grown on agar produces two specific enzymes, p-nitrophenyl α-galactose hydrolase and neoagarobiose hydrolase. The purification and partial characterization of both enzymes are presented.