The esterases and lipases from the ␣/␤ hydrolase superfamily exhibit an enormous sequence diversity, fold plasticity, and activities. Here, we present the comprehensive sequence and biochemical analyses of seven distinct esterases and lipases from the metagenome of Lake Arreo, an evaporite karstic lake in Spain (42°46=N, 2°59=W; altitude, 655 m). Together with oligonucleotide usage patterns and BLASTP analysis, our study of esterases/lipases mined from Lake Arreo suggests that its sediment contains moderately halophilic and cold-adapted proteobacteria containing DNA fragments of distantly related plasmids or chromosomal genomic islands of plasmid and phage origins. This metagenome encodes esterases/lipases with broad substrate profiles (tested over a set of 101 structurally diverse esters) and habitat-specific characteristics, as they exhibit maximal activity at alkaline pH (8.0 to 8.5) and temperature of 16 to 40°C, and they are stimulated (1.5 to 2.2 times) by chloride ions (0.1 to 1.2 M), reflecting an adaptation to environmental conditions. Our work provides further insights into the potential significance of the Lake Arreo esterases/lipases for biotechnology processes (i.e., production of enantiomers and sugar esters), because these enzymes are salt tolerant and are active at low temperatures and against a broad range of substrates. As an example, the ability of a single protein to hydrolyze triacylglycerols, (non)halogenated alkyl and aryl esters, cinnamoyl and carbohydrate esters, lactones, and chiral epoxides to a similar extent was demonstrated. E sterases and lipases from the ␣/␤ hydrolase family have received considerable attention, because they are widely distributed within the microbial communities operating in most of environments where they have important physiological functions (1) and because they are one of the most important groups of biocatalysts for biotechnological applications (2-4). Upon searching the list of genes using Pfam (the protein family database [5]) from the approximately 140 metagenomic projects in various stages of sequencing on the GOLD website (Genomes OnLine Database; http://www.genomesonline.org/) and the available sequences of esterases and lipases, more than 72,000 predicted esterases/lipases of the ␣/␤ hydrolase superfamily were retrieved, which revealed the richness of uncultured biodiversity (6), to provide wide collections of such biocatalysts. This is one of the largest protein families with available sequences. In relation to the cultivation-independent methods used to identify them, it should be highlighted that sequence-based metagenomics only provide the presumptive compositional and functional blueprint represented in the community genome (7,8), but at the same time, this method causes serious problems regarding both sequencing errors (9) and the erroneous assignment of substrate specificity (10). In contrast, the activity-directed techniques have been shown to provide a direct view of known or new protein families and functionalities (for examples, see referen...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of biodiesel production by transesterification of Jatropha oil with methanol, catalyzed by non-commercial sn-1,3-regioselective lipases. Using these lipases, fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and monoacylglycerols are produced, avoiding the formation of glycerol as byproduct. Heterologous Rhizopus oryzae lipase (rROL) immobilized on different synthetic resins and Carica papaya lipase (rCPL) immobilized on Lewatit VP OC 1600 were tested. Reactions were performed at 30°C, with seven stepwise methanol additions. For all biocatalysts, 51-65% FAME (theoretical maximum=67%, w/w) was obtained after 4h transesterification. Stability tests were performed in 8 or 10 successive 4h-batches, either with or without rehydration of the biocatalyst between each two consecutive batches. Activity loss was much faster when biocatalysts were rehydrated. For rROL, half-life times varied from 16 to 579h. rROL on Lewatit VPOC 1600 was more stable than for rCPL on the same support.

The recombinant 1,3-positional selective Rhizopus oryzae lipase (rROL) was used to synthesize biodiesel and monoacylglycerols simultaneously. The reaction was carried out in a solvent-free system with the enzyme immobilized on octadecyl-Sepabeads. Using response surface methodology, the methyl ester yield was optimized by means of the study of the effect of water, substrate molar ratio (methanol:olive oil) and methanol stepwise addition. It was concluded that in order to prevent enzyme inactivation by methanol, alcohol should be added slowly; otherwise a large amount of water would be present. Taking the best conditions, a 50.3 % yield was achieved in 3 h, which corresponds to 75.4 % of the acyl groups at the 1,3-position undergoing transesterification. It was also concluded that methyl esters result from the esterification of the free fatty acid hydrolyzed by the enzyme and also from a direct transesterification of oil. In addition, the fatty acid selectivity of rROL was found not to favor one fatty acid in olive oil over another.

The recombinant Rhizopus oryzae lipase (1-3 positional selective), immobilized on Relizyme OD403, has been applied to the production of biodiesel using single cell oil from Candida sp. LEB-M3 growing on glycerol from biodiesel process. The composition of microbial oil is quite similar in terms of saponifiable lipids than olive oil, although with a higher amount of saturated fatty acids. The reaction was carried out in a solvent system, and n-hexane showed the best performance in terms of yield and easy recovery. The strategy selected for acyl acceptor addition was a stepwise methanol addition using crude and neutralized single cell oil, olive oil and oleic acid as substrates. A FAMEs yield of 40.6% was obtained with microbial oils lower than olive oil 54.3%. Finally in terms of stability, only a lost about 30% after 6 reutilizations were achieved.

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