Rubber-degrading enzyme from a bacterial culture. [Xanthomonas sp]

Journal Article · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Applied and Environmental Microbiology; (USA)

OSTI ID:6727019

Tsuchii, A; Takeda, K ^[1]

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1. Fermentation Research Institute, Tsukuba (Japan)

Rubber-degrading activity was found in the extracellular culture medium of Xanthomonas sp. strain 35Y which was grown on natural rubber latex. Natural rubber in the latex state was degraded by the crude enzyme, and two fractions were separately observed by gel permeation chromatography of the reaction products. One fraction was of higher molecular weight (HMW) with a very wide MW distribution from 10{sup 3} to 10{sup 5}, and the other fraction was of lower molecular weight (LMW) with a MW of a few hundred. {sup 1}H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the partially purified fractions were those expected of cis-1,4-polyisoprene mixtures with the structure OHC-CH{sub 2}-(-CH{sub 2}-C(-CH{sub 3})=CH-CH{sub 2}-){sub n}-CH{sub 2}-C(=O)-CH{sub 3}, with average values of n of about 113 and 2 for HMW and LMW fractions, respectively. The LMW fraction consisted mostly of one component in gas-liquid chromatography as well as in gel permeation chromatography, and the main component was identified as 12-oxo-4,8-dimethyl trideca-4,8-diene-1-al (acetonyl diprenyl acetoaldehyde, A{sub L}P{sub 2}A{sub t}) by {sup 13}C-nuclear magnetic resonance and gas chromatography-mass spectra. Not only the lattices of natural and synthetic isoprene rubber, but also some kinds of low-MW polyisoprene compounds of cis-1,4 type, were degraded by the crude enzyme. The rubber-degrading reaction was found to be at least partly oxygenase catalyzed from the incorporation of {sup 18}O into A{sub L}P{sub 2}A{sub t} under an {sup 18}O{sub 2} atmosphere.

• OSTI ID: 6727019
• Journal Information: Applied and Environmental Microbiology; (USA), Vol. 56:1; ISSN 0099-2240
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BACTERIA
ENZYME ACTIVITY
RUBBERS
BIODEGRADATION
CHROMATOGRAPHY
NMR SPECTRA
OXYGEN 18
OXYGENASES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
ELASTOMERS
ENZYMES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MICROORGANISMS
NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
OXIDOREDUCTASES
OXYGEN ISOTOPES
POLYMERS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPECTRA
STABLE ISOTOPES
550500* - Metabolism